NATIONWIDE: Createquity has named “Characteristics of Civically Engaged Nonprofit Arts Organizations: The Results of a National Survey,” by Mirae Kim, as the winner of the inaugural Createquity Arts Research Prize. Kim will receive a cash award of $500. The award recognizes outstanding research about the arts field.
“We believe there is much untapped potential in arts research,” read a statement from Createquity. “Our aim is that the Createquity Arts Research Prize will be one mechanism for the field to celebrate and draw greater attention to its best work. We hope that, in recognizing high-quality analysis, we will build our readers’ capacity to recognize and use better information to make wiser decisions. And we envision that increasing the incentives to produce great work will inspire better, more relevant arts research for the benefit of all.”
Kim, an assistant professor at the the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, was selected from hundreds of publications and nominations. The Createquity research team assessed the research on relevance, rigor, and the extent to which the research adds to existing knowledge. Kim’s publication explores what sets civically engaged organizations apart from organizations that are more responsive to market forces. Kim’s research, which was done over a three-year period, includes interviews with 21 arts nonprofit directors, a survey of more than 900 arts organizations, and the integration of financial data reported on 990 forms about income sources. Her findings indicate that civically engaged arts organizations have stronger networks within communities, consider civic engagement an industry norm, and are consciously aware of their nonprofit status. She also found earned income to negatively correlate with civic engagement behaviors.
“I love the idea of condensing research into concise briefs and sharing research,” said Kim in a statement. “I am excited about this and looking to connect with people who might want to have a more in-depth discussion about the research and what they see in the real world. This is a great opportunity for researchers who are studying in their offices trying to work on datasets and understand the world better to convey what they find to the people who are out there making real changes.”
