From: Annie Landenberger <[url=verbatimvt@gmail.com]verbatimvt@gmail.com[/url] >
Date: Sat, Aug 24, 2024 at 6:06 PM
Subject: Correct link for info I used for my list
[url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/most-rural-states]https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/most-rural-states[/url]
Windham Country Lands No. Four Spot in Top 30 Most Arts-Vibrant Rural Counties in the US
-by Annie Landenberger
Submitted Friday, August 23, 10 PM
The United States is composed, within its 50 states, of 3,006 counties, fourteen boroughs, and eleven census areas, according to the US Census Bureau. Fourteen of those counties are in Vermont and of those, three are among America's "Top 30 Most Arts-Vibrant Rural Countries." That's according to a study released in June headlined "Arts Flourish in America's Top Rural Counties" by SMU DataArts, out of Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dallas, TX.
Vermont's Lamoille County is number 25 in the nation for arts vibrancy, Addison County is number 23, and Windham County ranks number four.
According to SMU Communications Manager Emma England, in 2012, SMU's Meadows School of the Arts and Cox School of Business launched the data-driven arts research organization National Center for Arts Research (NCAR); this organization eventually became SMU DataArts, which, its website declares, "brings together thousands of partners and participants united in one common cause: to advance the impact and influence of the arts, culture, and humanities through the power of high-quality data" ([url=http://dataarts.smu.edu]dataarts.smu.edu[/url] ).
The data SMU DataArts integrated for its June report on arts vibrancy in the country comes from numerous sources, the report narrative explains: Internal Revenue Service, DataArts' Cultural Data Profile, Theatre Communications Group, US Census Bureau, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
According to the narrative, the assessment of a community's vibrancy draws on "13 unique measures which cover aspects of supply, demand, and public support for arts and culture, and are adjusted for cost of living and for population size" categorized under "arts dollar metrics," "arts provider metrics" and "public support."
"Arts dollar metrics," according to DataArts stated research methodology, "represent a gauge of demand for nonprofit arts and cultural programming, including earned revenue from program activities, contributed revenue supporting the arts, total compensation to artists and staff, and total expenses."
"Arts provider metrics," are "a gauge of supply and include the number of independent artists, arts and culture employees, nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, and arts, culture, and entertainment firms in the community.".
Finally, public support for arts and culture is measured in "state arts dollars, state arts grants, federal arts dollars, and federal arts grants and total government grant dollars in the community."
DataArts Research Director Jen Benoit-Bryan notes that "while we've been calculating and reporting on arts vibrancy for cities and counties for about a decade now, this is the first year that SMU DataArts has done [arts vibrancy] research on rural communities specifically. We also reported state arts vibrancy rankings for the first time this year."
When asked what was surprising about the SMU DataArts results, Benoit-Bryan says, "In many communities, wealth and arts vibrancy are closely linked. I was excited to see a number of rural communities in the top five percent of ALL counties who have developed highly arts-vibrant ecosystems in the counties with moderate or low socioeconomic contexts. For example, in Windham County, VT there are many more small arts and culture organizations per capita than we see in other communities with more than a dozen local organizations with budgets below $50,000. That kind of flourishing of small arts organizations provides valuable nimbleness and breadth to the arts and culture landscape in a community."
The June DataArts report shows Windham County scored 98 percent in "dollars," 98 percent in "providers," and 99 percent in "public support."
Ahead of Windham Co, Nantucket Co. (MA) is number one; San Miguel (CO), number two and Tyrrell Co. (NC) is three.
Cellist/teacher/conductor Zon Eastes of Guilford was asked for comment. Newly elected state representative, Guilford selectboard chair, and leader of Vermont's Creative Zone Number 6, Eastes says:
"I can say of Massachusetts and Colorado that those states fund arts activity to a greater degree than Vermont does. Vermont does pretty well but their state funding programs are stronger which is usually an indication that probably so are federal [arts/culture] funding programs. In Vermont we're sort of in the upper middling range in terms of the support [for arts and culture] per capita across the state.
"It's certainly true that Windham County captures more of the grants from the [Vermont] arts council than maybe any other area of Vermont –maybe even more than Chittenden County-so granting activity is robust from the state in Windham County.
"I would say the impression is that we fund art through non-government grants-mostly through public funding or private funding." From a national perspective, "a small town like Brattleboro in a smallish county like Windham has outsized creative sector activity that is funded mostly privately-more than in other places."But it isn't just about funding; it's about the level of arts activity and engagement in the county." Moreover, "Windham County has a long tradition of doing creative sector work on the cheap. There's an incredible amount of robust activity and commitment to the value of the arts, but it's not as well funded as it is in other areas."
Reflecting on the area's rich arts culture, Eastes notes, "it's traceable back mostly to post World War II when artists began to settle in this part of the state--certainly in the world of music that's the case and I think that the foment that all that brought into this region" has brought a burgeoning of arts expansion "and now it's a practically a brand."
Moving on to Montpelier, Eastes projects: "A lot of people look at me and think "creative sector" and assume that I might want to focus only that but the fact is that the issues the creative sector faces are the same issues that everyone faces-the lack of housing, the increasein taxes, the issues that are plaguing our small communities now with homelessness and drug use […] And the education funding process is not in good order in Vermont as far as I can understand, so I don't believe that I'll be in the house as an arts advocate or a creative sector advocate only. I'm really more deeply a community builder. The arts-the creative sector-- are the way that I believe in building community and I believe that smart communities have very robust arts and creative community sectors."
In that regard, he adds, "Windham County is doing pretty well but in other regards there are some issues we all need to be looking at-affordability is probably the largest one and I think the sustainability of what we have and being able to preserve the character of our communities so those aren't altered dramatically as we move toward that sustainability" is key.
Joining Vermont's three counties on the top 30 most arts-vibrant are 27 counties in 17 other states with rural populations, according to [url=http://populationreview.com]worldpopulationreview.com[/url] , as charted below. (Rural is defined by the US Census Bureau as "all geographic areas that are not classified as urban." )
Number of counties in the top 30 list Percentage of state population considered rural
Massachusetts 1 9%
Arizona 1 11%
Colorado:6 14%
Maryland 1 14%
Texas 3 16%
Washington 2 17%
Virginia 1 24%
Kansas 2 28%
North Carolina 2 33%
Wisconsin 1 33%
Oklahoma 1 `35%
Iowa 1 37%
Wyoming 1 38%
So. Dakota 1 43%
Arkansas 1 45%
Montana 1 47%
Maine 1 61%
Vermont 3 65%
Regarding use of its findings, SMU DataArts suggests it serve "arts leaders, businesses, government agencies, funders, and engaged citizens [to help them] understand the overall intensity and capacity of the community's arts and culture sector."
More information on the DataArts arts vibrancy study is available at: [url=https://www.culturaldata.org/learn/data-at-work/2024/arts-flourish-in-rural-americaSMU]https://www.culturaldata.org/learn/data-at-work/2024/arts-flourish-in-rural-americaSMU[/url] data and at [url=https://culturaldata.org/media/2152/arts-vibrancy-index-report-vi_smu-dataarts_sept2020.pdf]https://culturaldata.org/media/2152/arts-vibrancy-index-report-vi_smu-dataarts_sept2020.pdf[/url] .
-end-
This Arts item by Annie Landenberger was written for The Commons.