Photo: Laura Chichisan Why Support International Exchange among Artists? A Decade of Tracking the Economic, Cultural and Social Benefits of Doing So TransCultural Exchange’s Conferences on International Opportunities in the Arts Economic Impact Analysis and Program Evaluation 1 Why Support International Exchange among Artists? A Decade of Tracking the Economic, Cultural and Social Benefits of Doing So ______________________________________________________ Evaluation Staff Submitted by Carol Van Zandt/Mary Sherman Layout Carol Van Zandt/Siyi Yang Previous Surveys’ Research and Editing Support by Marie Costello, Tanya Gruenberger, Lindsay Ladner, Fahrin Zaman Online Survey Tool and Methodology Developed for TransCultural Exchange: Center for Policy Analysis at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth TransCultural Exchange would like to thank the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Boston Cultural Council and National Endowment for the Arts for the funding to help produce this publication. Correspondence and inquiries should be addressed to: TransCultural Exchange The Artist Building at 300 Summer Street, #36 Boston, Massachusetts, 02210 617.670.0307 [email protected] 2 TransCultural Exchange’s Conferences on International Opportunities in the Arts Economic Impact Analysis and Program Evaluation Table of Contents FORWARD p.6 1.00 INTRODUCTION p.10 1.10 SUMMARY 2.00 ECONOMIC IMPACT AND SURVEY EVALUATION p.30 2.10 Methodology 2.11 Process Evaluation 2.12 Survey Evaluation 3.00 ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS p.32 3.10 Overview 3.11 TransCultural Exchange Expenditures 3.12 Conference Attendee Expenditures 3.13 Total Direct, Indirect and Induced Economic Impacts 4.00 PRELIMINARY OUTCOMES p.36 4.10 Goal 1: Creating a Catalyst for International Exchange 4.11 Dates and Attendance 4.12 Examples of Events 4.13 Benefits to Artists‘ Careers 4.14 Benefits to Institutions and Conference Partners 4.15 Measures of Customer Satisfaction 4.16 Website 4.17 Press Coverage 4.20 Goal 2: Strengthening Communities 4.21 Showcasing Massachusetts‘ Creative Economy 4.22 Promoting a Positive View of America Abroad 5.00 SURVEY INSTRUMENTS AND FINDINGS p.63 5.10 Methodology 5.20 General Information 5.21 Place of Residence 3 5.22 How did you participate in the Conference? 5.23 What is your annual income level? 5.24 What is your age? 5.25 How did you find out about the Conference? 5.26 The program session and/or Conference activity respondents thought was most valuable. 5.27 Which one of the following best describes you? 5.28 How long have you held your current position? 5.29 If you are an artist, how would you describe your work? 5.30 Spending Data: Approximately how much in total did you spend during your stay in Boston on the following items? 5.40 Satisfaction with the Conference 5.41 What other activities did you attend during the Conference? 5.42 Overall, how would you rate the quality and efficiency of the following aspects of the Conference? 5.50 Interest in Future Conferences 5.51 Would you be interested in attending a similar Conference in 2018? 5.52 Would you be interested in attending a residency program in the Boston area that included international artists? 5.53 Would you be interested in attending a similar conference overseas? 5.60 Open-Ended Questions 5.61 If you attended any of TransCultural Exchange's previous Conferences, how did you benefit from that event? 5.62 Have you participated in any other non-Conference event by TransCultural Exchange or used any other of the organization's services? 5.63 If you did participate in a non-Conference TransCultural Exchange event, did you benefit from that experience? How? 5.64 How do you think this Conference will benefit your career? 5.65 What new skills/knowledge/expertise did you gain from attending the Conference? 5.70 Moving Forward 5.71 How would you improve the TransCultural Exchange Conference? 5.72 What would be helpful for you to have on TransCultural Exchange's website? 5.73 Is there anything you wish you had known before attending the Conference? 5.74 What other kinds of activities would you like to see TransCultural Exchange do? 5.75 What Information or topic would you like included in the next Conference? 5.80 Additional Comments 6.00 2014 FOLLOW UP SURVEY p.130 6.10 General Information 4 6.11 Place of Residence 6.12 Profession 6.13 How long have you held your current position? 6.14 Do you support yourself solely as an artist? 6.20 Arts Events Attendance 6.21 Aside from presentations of your own work, how often do you attend…? 6.22 What is your primary motivation for attending these events? 6.23 Are there obstacles that keep you from attending these events? 6.30 International Involvement 6.31 During the course of a year, how often do you travel abroad? 6.32 If you have had any other experience working internationally (non- TransCultural Exchange related) what impact did it have on your work? 6.33 National vs. International Exposure? 6.40 How do you see your work contributing to the field of art, other fields of study or society in general? 6.50 What activities, resources or types of connections would be fruitful to your development as an artist? 5 APPENDIX A - SURVEY INSTRUMENT p.148 A.1 – 2016 CONFERENCE SURVEY A.2 – 2014 POST CONFERENCE SURVEY A.3 – 2013 CONFERENCE SURVEY A.4 – 2011 CONFERENCE SURVEY APPENDIX B - ECONOMIC IMPACT METHODOLOGY p.153 B.1 – ARTS AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY IV CALCULATOR B.2 – IMPLAN B.3 – CULTURE COUNT APPENDIX C –OPEN ENDED RESPONSES C.1 - 2016 SURVEY OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES p.157 C.2 - 2016 POST SURVEY COMMENTS C.3 - 2014 SURVEY OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES C.4 - 2013 SURVEY OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES C.5 – 2011 SURVEY OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES APPENDIX D - PRESS AND ONLINE CITATION BIBLIOGRAPHY p.243 APPENDIX E – CONFERENCE PRESENTERS p.245 APPENDIX F – 2016 CONFERENCE PROGRAM SCHEDULE p.285 APPENDIX G - TRANSCULTURAL EXCHANGE’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE p.298 COASTER PROJECT, DESTINATION: THE WORLD APPENDIX H - MINISTRY OF CULTURE, REPUBLIC OF CHINA, TAIWAN'S p.300 BROCHURE FOR TAIWAN ARTIST ACTIONS: REACHING BEYOND APPENDIX I - TRANSCULTURAL EXCHANGE'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, p.302 ADVISORY BOARD AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES Acknowledgements p.253 6 FORWARD TransCultural Exchange is a U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit organization,1 best known for its biennale Conferences on International Opportunities in the Arts, which are unique in their scope and aim. The Conferences are designed for artists. Their goal is to acquaint them with international programs that support their work and put them in touch with new cultures, ideas and ways of thinking. The speakers come from around the world. They are artists-in-residency directors, curators, critics, grantmakers, funders, gallerists and even scientists. The Conferences came about from TransCultural Exchange realizing that, although other professionals have conferences to meet their peers, share ideas, learn about the latest developments and network, artists did not. Consequently, in the US, many artists may know of such artist-in-residencies as the MacDowell Colony and Yaddo; but, they would be hard pressed to name another. Yet, there are over four hundred such national and international programs to serve them. Today, the proliferation of residencies – as well as biennales, open studio events and the internet – are changing how art is being made and sold. Alongside such traditional media as painting and sculpture, there are now ephemeral works, social th interventions, installations and public interactions. The 19 -century invention of the gallery system is waning. A heady new array of possibilities is taking its place. And, these, combined with the rapid-fire onslaught of newer and newer products and ideas, the accompanying anxiety of super-sized, global competition and the race to keep up with the inevitable rise of insatiable appetites causes everything to speed up. Complex ideas are reduced to elevator pitches. Everything is about getting to the endpoint before anyone else; and, then getting to the next one. There is little time for discussion, still less for reflection and none for failure. Throughout history and across cultures, the arts have stood in opposition to this. Since the dawn of civilization, they have accompanied and provided us with avenues for reflection. They offer insights into our past, present and future. They engage our senses, our primary means of accessing and knowing the world. Yet at the moment, they seem left flaying about, like a fish out of water, in search of a justification. 1 In 1989 the artists-run TransCultural Exchange was created to produce the organization‘s first project, an exhibition, film screening and reading of Chicago and Viennese artists‘ works. Then, on September 17th, 2002, the organization incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit in the State of Massachusetts. On March 11th, 2013 TransCultural Exchange expanded its operations, opening a daughter NGO in Berlin, TCE TransCultural Exchange gemeinnützige GmbH. 7 This demand for qualifiable and quantifiable justification is nothing new, but the situation is worsening. Nor is it unique to America. If the new European Union funding guidelines are any indication, then European art institutions are beginning to feel the sting of this bottom-line myopia as well2. This means, unfortunately, that it is not enough for artists and those who support them to do great work and advance their field, they need to adopt the same, very time-consuming strategies for justification. In other words, it is no longer enough to create, support and show people great art, those who make and support it also have to, for instance, gather statistics to be able to say X number of people attended their programs and X said they learned X.