Livefrom Your Neighborhood A National Study 

of Outdoor 

Arts Festivals

executive summary

National Endowment for the Arts

Research Report #51
Acknowledgments

The National Endowment for the Arts would like to thank the 

Association of Performing Arts Presenters for providing valuable 

advice and feedback throughout the course of the study. 

Thanks are also due to the following individuals who composed an 

informal working group for the study: Michael Alexander, Philip 

Horn, Steve Schmader, Robb Woulfe, Stephanie Hughley, Huong 

Vu, Ted Russell, Helen Sause, Claudia Norman, David Rivel, 

Jennifer Lena, and Angela Han. Finally, the NEA would like to 

thank the organizations that helped to generate the list of festival 

organizers surveyed for the national study and/or that helped to 

distribute the survey to festival organizers. For details, see page 67 

of Live From your Neighborhood: A National Study of Outdoor Arts 

Festivals: Summary Report.
1national study of outdoor arts festivals

When I arrived at the NEA, I knew two words to be true: 

“art works.”

Over the past 12 months, I have used these two words 

to mean three things. They are a noun—works of art—the 

stuff that artists produce. They remind us of the ways that 

art works on audiences to engage and inspire us, to challenge us, to comfort us. And they are a bold declaration 

that arts workers are real workers who are part of this 

country’s economy and communities.

And as I have travelled around over the past year, I 

have seen again and again that art works everywhere. 

It works in Memphis, Tennessee, and in San Francisco, 

California. It works in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and it works in 

Chelsea, Michigan. 

It works in the iconic arts buildings—the museums, concert halls, and theaters—where 

many of us have had seminal experiences. 

It also works in schools, community centers, and houses of worship, where many of us 

have important “informal arts” experiences. 

Informal arts participation was the subject of a recent NEA Research Note, one that 

was especially important to me because it was not an area that the NEA had previously 

examined.

Similarly, this report is important for its very existence. This is the most comprehensive 

survey of America’s outdoor arts festivals that we know. And it is an important examination 

because earlier research has shown us that some 102 million people attend arts and cultural 

festivals annually in this country. That’s a lot of art working for a lot of Americans every year, 

and it is time that we started to examine these festivals more closely. 

It is always my hope that NEA research reports spur questions, conversation, and action, 

and the data presented here are rich fodder for all three. After you finish reading Live From 

Your Neighborhood, I hope you will consider sharing your reactions with us on the Art Works 

blog at arts.gov.

Rocco Landesman

Chairman

National Endowment for the Arts

Live from Your Neighborhood

A Message from the Chairman

Photo by Michael Eastman
 This study began with a readily understandable impulse: to enumerate the nation’s outdoor arts festivals 

and to identify their shared and divergent traits, considering factors such as event programming, staffing, 

finances, and audience demographics.

The reason for this query is also straightforward. To 

date, no single report or database carries such comprehensive information about arts festivals nationwide. 

Given their pervasive role in American cultural life, 

this discrepancy is something more than a matter for 

regret. Repeat iterations of the NEA’s Survey of Public 

Participation in the Arts (SPPA) have shown that festivals and fairs collectively attract more unique audience members per year than most arts events. 

In 2008 alone, more than 55 million U.S. adults attended at least one arts-and-crafts fair or festival in 

the past year, and 47 million attended at least one 

outdoor performing arts festival. (Approximately 14% 

of Americans attended both.) In sheer numbers, attendance rates for festivals far exceed those for many 

single types of art activities—classical music concerts, 

for example, or theater, ballet, or opera.

But the size of their audiences is not the only characteristic that merits serious study of arts festivals. 

Festival audiences, on average, are more diverse than 

those for many other types of live art events. As the 

SPPA data reveal (and as the present study observes), 

festival audiences seem to more closely resemble the 

general population than do other groups of art-goers. 

This finding is notable as arts organizations strive not 

only to build new audiences but, what may be more 

important, to actuate potential audiences that already 

exist among groups who engage in art through a variety 

of ways not often acknowledged or studied.

Over the last decade, arts presenters have learned 

to respond to shifting expectations among live audiences, particularly young adults. These audiences 

crave a new level of interactivity, they value personal 

creation and performance as part of the overall arts experience, and they appear to prefer those activities in 

informal settings. Outdoor arts festivals are uniquely 

poised to bridge those expectations with innovative 

arts programming. As the case studies in this report illustrate, festival audiences derive special satisfaction 

from encounters with artists and art forms in an open 

space that reinforces choice, experimentation, and 

free movement. 

A related attribute of arts festivals is a blurring of 

boundaries. Nowhere is this feature more evident than 

in the relationship between festivals and the greater 

community. Local governments and businesses have 

invested in outdoor arts festivals as a token of civic 

pride, a pledge redeemed by the high level of volunteerism that propels festivals year after year, season 

after season. Studies by sociologists Mark Stern and 

Susan Seifert, coupled with the NEA’s own research 

on the statistical links between arts participation and 

civic engagement, provide a context for this understanding.1

The word festival is etymologically allied with feast. 

Festivals convey a smorgasbord of arts experiences and 

opportunities that would baffle even the most intrepid 

researcher. Yet this study is a modest start. By examining a cross-section of U.S. festivals—self-identified 

as predominantly “outdoors” and featuring “arts and 

cultural” programming—we hope to have established 

a basis for future exploration into their significance for 

artists, audiences, and communities. Ideally, the survey and case study results will prompt other arts organizations to ask: what are festivals doing right and how 

can we replicate it?

Sunil Iyengar Mario Garcia Durham

Director, Research Director,

& Analysis Presenting & Artist 

Communities

2executive summary

Preface
From April through October of 2009, the NEA conducted an exploratory study of outdoor arts festivals 

in the United States. The purpose of the study was to 

characterize the number and variety of outdoor arts 

festivals nationwide, the artists they employ, the communities they serve, and the role they play in our cities, 

towns, and neighborhoods. 

The study used a mixed-methods approach that consisted of a) an online survey of arts festival administrators across the U.S., and b) case studies at seven festival 

sites. Although festivals from 49 states participated in 

the online survey, the results are not necessarily representative of the entire field; rather, they reflect a crosssection of U.S.-based outdoor arts festivals. The report 

provides baseline information about a vital, relatively 

unstudied segment of the nation’s arts sector. It can 

serve also as a tool for arts and civic leaders to discuss 

festival planning in their communities. 

3national study of outdoor arts festivals

Introduction

Figure 1. Geographic Distribution of Festivals in the Survey
National Survey 

The questionnaire for the online survey contained approximately 40 items. A web link to the survey was sent 

to the more than 8,000 festival organizers that the NEA 

identified from its database of applicants and grantees, 

and from databases maintained by regional arts organizations, state arts agencies, art service organizations, 

and state festival and event associations. Topics ranged 

from the number and types of events held at the festival to sources of revenue to the number of employees 

and volunteers engaged. 

Two “screener” questions asked organizations, at 

the start of the survey, whether their festival could be 

described as arts and/or cultural and what percentage of the festival’s activities occurred outdoors. Only 

organizations identifying their events as arts and/or 

cultural festivals with at least 50% of their activities 

outdoors were allowed to continue the survey. Of the 

2,440 organizations that visited the survey website, 

over half (1,264) qualified to take the survey, based on 

the screening criteria above. 

The 1,264 survey respondents reported on a total of 

1,413 outdoor arts festivals.2 The survey results in this 

report pertain to those festivals only; the 1,413 festivals—not the 1,264 responding organizations—are our 

unit of study and analysis. 

Case Studies

In addition to the national survey, seven case studies 

were conducted. Researchers spent one to two days at 

each festival site. They collected quantitative and qualitative data about audiences and artists, the festival’s 

operations, and the festival’s interactions with the surrounding community. At each case study site, in-depth 

interviews were held with the festival administrator, 

focus group discussions occurred with festival artists 

and volunteers, and two surveys were given to festival 

audiences. 

Case study sites were selected to provide diversity 

across the following dimensions: geography, governance structure, entrance fee, mission, and arts discipline. Festivals also must have been in existence for at 

least five years and demonstrated the capacity to support the kind of research undertaken for this project. 

For more information on the results of the national 

survey and case studies as well as details on methodology, please see Live from Your Neighborhood: A 

National Study of Outdoor Arts Festivals, Volume One: 

Summary Report and Volume Two: Seven Case Studies, 

both available at arts.gov.

4executive summary

Methods
In aggregate, U.S.-based outdoor arts festivals surveyed 

by the NEA display the following characteristics:

A. Diversity of Art Forms 

and Audiences

1. Activities spanning a wide array of art forms 

converge in a single space. 

• A typical outdoor festival showcases many different 

types of art forms. Music is the most prevalent, with 

81% of survey respondents reporting some kind of 

music performance at their festivals. Visual arts and 

crafts, dance, and folk or traditional arts also are frequently on display. 

• Even festivals that concentrate on a specific art form 

are multidisciplinary in nature.

2. Festival organizers describe a demographically 

diverse audience, one that appears to mirror 

characteristics of the U.S. population.

• By gender and racial/ethnic composition, festival audiences resemble the general population as described 

by U.S. Census figures. Proportionately, however, festival audiences have slightly more females and African Americans, according to estimates from festival 

organizers.3

• Festival organizers reported that 15% of audiences are 

Hispanic. This figure compares with 8% of “benchmark” arts audiences nationwide, as tracked by the 

NEA’s 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts 

(SPPA).4, 5

• African Americans are also in higher attendance at 

festivals than at most arts activities tracked by the 

SPPA: they compose 16% of festival audiences, compared with 7% of benchmark arts audiences.6

Key Findings

“What is exciting is that there is a lot 

of cross-pollination because there are 

all these different disciplines together. 

There’s a real fueling that goes on.” 

— Festival artist

5national study of outdoor arts festivals

Table 1. Percent Distribution of Events at Festivals, by Organizer’s Description of Festival Type

Self-Reported Festival 

Type

Type of Events Featured

Dance Film

Folk/

Traditional 

Arts

Literary Music Theater

Visual 

Arts/Arts 

& Crafts

Other

ALL festivals

(n=1,376) 7% 1% 9% 3% 39% 6% 32% 3% 100%

Music festivals

(n=309) 3% <1% 4% 1% 87% <1% 4% <1% 100%

Arts & crafts festivals

(n=255) 2% <1% 8% <1% 12% <1% 77% <1% 100%

Multidisciplinary 

festivals 

(n=188)

10% 3% 8% 4% 36% 5% 31% 4% 100%

Racial/ethnic festivals

(n=97) 18% <1% 24% 2% 37% 1% 13% 3% 100%

Visual arts festivals

(n=95) 2% <1% 2% <1% 11% 1% 81% 2% 100%

Theater festivals

(n=52) 2% 0% <1% 1% 5% 91% 0% 0% 100%

Performing arts 

festivals 

(n=47)

9% <1% 10% 8% 43% 14% 7% 9% 100%

Child/family festivals

(n=43) 12% 3% 14% 4% 38% 4% 23% 2% 100%
6executive summary

Table 2. Demographic Make-Up of Festival Audiences, as Reported by Festival Organizers, 

in Comparison with U.S. Census and 2008 SPPA Figures 

* Two or more races

81%

67%

42%

41%

22%

19%

12%

8%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Music

Visual arts/crafts

Dance

Folk/traditional arts

Theater

Literary

Other

Film

Figure 1. Percent of Festivals, by Artistic Disciplines Represented

(Percent of Festivals Presenting the Discipline) (multiple answers allowed)

Percent of Festival Audiences, 

by Demographic Group 

(2009 Festival Survey)

Percent of U.S. Population, 

by Demographic Group 

(2008 U.S. Census)

Percent of Audiences at 

NEA Benchmark Arts 

Activities, by Demographic 

Group (2008 SPPA)

Gender

Male 45% 49% 45%

Female 55% 51% 55%

100% 100% 100%

Ethnicity

Hispanic 15% 16% 8%

Non-Hispanic 85% 84% 92%

100% 100% 100%

Race

White 73% 80% 86%

Black/African American 16% 13% 7%

Asian 6% 5% 4%

American Indian/Alaska Native 4% 1% <1%

Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 2% <1% <1%

Other* n/a 2% 1%

100% 100% 100%
B. Commitment to Quality 

Programming

3. Most outdoor arts festivals appear committed to 

achieving a high-quality arts experience for their 

audiences. 

• 70% of festivals have an artistic staff or a staff person 

or volunteer whose primary role is arts curator or arts 

event programmer.

• 56% of visual arts festivals are juried.

4. Arts educational opportunities form a 

component of most outdoor arts festivals.

• Nearly two-thirds (64%) of survey participants said 

their festival offers formal educational activities or 

programming, such as lectures, artist demonstrations, and classes. 

• Among arts festivals that offered educational programs, the majority (63%) held 1–9 educational 

events over the course of the festival.

C. Low or No-Cost Admissions

5. Most outdoor arts festivals are free of charge. 

Most others offer some form of discounted 

ticketing.

• 59% of festivals have no entry fee. 

• Of festivals that do charge an admission fee, 56% 

charge less than $15 per ticket and 68% charge less 

than $20.

• Three out of four festivals that charge $5 or more for 

admissions have a formal program to distribute free 

or discounted tickets. 

7national study of outdoor arts festivals

6%

4%

6%

17%

12%

21%

21%

<$5 14%

$5–$9.99

$10–$14.99

$15–$19.99

$20–$29.99

$30–$39.99

$40–$49.99

>$50

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Figure 4. Percent of Festivals that Charge for Admission, by Average Fee

2% 4% 1%

4% 7%

18%

63%

3%

None 1–9 10–19 20–29 30–39 40–49 50–100 >100

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Figure 2. Percent of Festivals, by Number of Workshops, 

Lectures, or Other Educational Events Scheduled over 

Festival’s Duration

Free for 

all events

59%

Fee for

some events

17%

Fee for

all events

17%

Other

8%

Figure 3. Percent of Festivals, 

by Admission Fee Structure
D. Integration with Their 

Communities

6. Most outdoor arts festivals occur in small to 

mid-sized communities.

• The majority of festivals (77%) take place in towns 

with fewer than 250,000 residents. Of those festivals, 

39% occur in towns with fewer than 10,000 people. 

• 17% of festivals take place in cities with a population 

of a half-million or more.

7. They occur in publicly accessible places that are 

family-friendly.

• Nearly half (46%) of outdoor arts festivals take place 

in a park or plaza, while a quarter hold some of their 

events in the street.

• In focus groups, audiences suggested that the ability to enter and leave programs, to get up and move 

around, and to make noise and dance, renders festivals especially attractive to families with younger 

children.

• In all but one case study site,7 more than half of survey respondents who live in households with children brought children to the festivals. In some cases, 

the percentage was very high: approaching 100% at 

Santa Fe Indian Market and 82% at the Houston International Festival and Lowell Folk Festival. 

• Three-quarters (76%) of festivals in the national 

survey occur in the summer months (June, July, or 

August), when school typically is out.

8. Most outdoor arts festivals (59%) have occurred 

in the same community for more than a decade.

• At each case study site, more than two-thirds of audience survey respondents affirmed that the festivals 

have enriched community life. 

9. Support of local government agencies is crucial 

to the success of outdoor arts festivals.

• Case study participants reported that healthy, longterm partnerships with local government agencies 

Outdoor arts festivals contribute to local 

communities in several important ways. 

According to case study participants, the 

festivals bring people from suburbs and 

surrounding areas into central cities. 

Festivals provide a place where segments 

of the community who may not often spend 

time together can assemble every year.

8executive summary

Plaza/park

Street

Outdoor theater

Other

Museum

Concert hall

School/college

Public building

Private grounds

Community center

Waterfront

Restaurant/hotel

Fairground

Church

Sports venue

46%

25%

19%

18%

10%

10%

9%

8%

8%

7%

6%

4%

4%

3%

2%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Figure 5. Percent of Festivals, by Venue During the Most Recent Season (multiple answers allowed)
proved essential in sustaining festivals’ contributions to community life. Local departments of parks 

and recreation, police, and street-and-sanitation departments offer critical services to festival organizers. Festivals simply cannot take place without the 

cooperation of public agencies to provide services, 

licenses, and permits.

• After corporate sponsorship, support from local 

and/or municipal governments is the most common 

source of funding, with 44% of festivals saying they 

received such support. 

10. Outdoor arts festivals rely heavily on volunteers 

and a small number of dedicated staff.

• 70% of festivals are run by five or fewer full-time 

equivalent (FTE) staff members.

• 61% of festivals have year-round volunteers (the median number is 2 volunteers), and 77% depend on 

seasonal volunteer staff (the median number is 20 

volunteers). 9national study of outdoor arts festivals

No sponsors/donors

Corporate sponsor

Local, municipal government

Foundation

State government

Regional funder

Federal government

12%

72%

44%

36%

28%

13%

8%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Figure 7. Percent of Festivals, by Source of Sponsorship/Donations During the Most Recent 

Season (multiple answers allowed)

Figure 8. Percent Distribution of Festivals,8

by Organization’s Number of FTEs9

5 or less

70% 6–9

8%

10–29

10%

>100

6%

50–100

3%

30–49

3%

 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

35%

24% 22%

15%

3% 2%

First time 1 year 2–4 years 5–9 years 10–20 years >20 years

Figure 6. Percent of Festivals, by Number of Years They Have Occurred in the Same Town
The seven case study sites were selected for diversity 

along the following dimensions: geography, governance 

structure, entrance fee, mission, and arts discipline. 

The festivals also must have been in existence for at 

least five years and have shown the capacity to support 

the type of research undertaken for this project. The 

following festivals were chosen as case study sites:

D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival, 

Brooklyn, NY

The annual D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival is a multi-site, three-day visual arts festival in the 

D.U.M.B.O. neighborhood of Brooklyn (D.U.M.B.O. 

is an abbreviation of “Down Under the Manhattan 

Bridge Overpass”). D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge 

Festival was initially established as a grassroots artists’ 

initiative in 1997. The festival celebrates fringe culture 

in the visual arts and includes 80 peer-reviewed projects, a video series, and an extensive tour of artists’ 

open studios. The festival’s sponsoring organization, 

D.U.M.B.O. Art Center (DAC), also runs an in-depth internship program that introduces students to contemporary art, artistic work, and arts and festival administration. DAC’s mission is “to engage a broad spectrum 

of society in the sensory and intellectual stimuli of 

emerging visual culture by providing artists and curators with the singular opportunity for both on- and offsite experimentation, innovation, presentation, and 

advancement.” Along with D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the 

Bridge Festival, DAC produces year-round exhibitions 

and events in its 3,000-square-foot gallery in the waterfront area of D.U.M.B.O. The D.U.M.B.O neighborhood, with its large, abandoned industrial buildings, 

historically has been home to a community of artists 

since the 1970s. 

Houston International Festival, Houston, TX

The Houston International Festival, or iFest, is a world 

music and culture festival that takes place annually in 

downtown Houston. Each year, iFest chooses a country or culture as the focus of the festival and produces 

a comprehensive education program for students in 

elementary to high school. The Living Museum represents the cultural heart of the festival each year and 

offers a variety of iconic structures, demonstrations, 

and interactive hands-on exhibits immersing the festival attenders in the spotlighted theme. In addition 

to the educational exhibits and programs onsite, the 

festival produces a Teacher’s Curriculum Guide on the 

featured country or region. A visit to the Living Museum brings to life some of the historical and cultural 

information covered in the guide. In 2009, the music, 

dance, literature, food, heritage, and history of Ireland 

were celebrated. The festival included performances 

by traditional Irish bands and dance groups as well as 

interactive exhibits and demonstrations. Africa was 

celebrated in 2008 and in 2010 iFest featured the Caribbean. In addition to the annual focus on country, 

the Houston International Festival presents programs 

showcasing a diversity of cultural groups and heritages. 

An outdoor international market offers shopping experiences involving more than 500 artists from all over 

the world. The international food program component 

features cuisines including Cajun, Creole, Caribbean, 

Mediterranean, Thai, Italian, Japanese, and the Southwestern and Continental U.S. The international music and dance programs included groups performing 

in many styles and genres, ranging from world beat, 

Afro-pop, Cajun, zydeco, blues, and rock to country, 

folk, Latin, and reggae.

Case Studies

10executive summary
Santa Fe Indian Market, Santa Fe, NM

Santa Fe Indian Market is one of the world’s preeminent 

venues for seeing and purchasing Native-American art. 

The festival was first developed in the 1920s to preserve 

and enhance local art forms such as Pueblo pottery and 

Navajo jewelry and weaving, and to provide economic 

development opportunities to Native-American communities in New Mexico. Traditional forms such as 

jewelry, pottery, and textiles are emphasized at Indian 

Market. However, recent years have seen an increase 

in artists exhibiting painting, sculpture, and many 

newer styles and techniques. Today, Indian Market 

includes programming across virtually all visual arts 

disciplines. The 2009 Indian Market included a film 

series produced by the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., and, for many years, 

a popular Indian Fashion Show has been a part of the 

programming. 

Chicago Jazz Festival, Chicago, IL

Chicago Jazz Festival, begun in 1979, was the first of 

the City of Chicago’s now famous and extensive series of music festivals. The festival is held in Chicago’s 

downtown Grant and Millennium Parks. Central to the 

mission of the Chicago Jazz Festival is celebrating and 

honoring the history of jazz in the city and providing 

exposure and performance opportunities for musicians from the Chicago area. Since the first festival, at 

least half of the programming has been exclusively for 

local performers. Festival organizers design the programming to attract an audience that ranges from new 

listener to jazz aficionado. The organizers hope to build 

a broader audience for the genre. Each of the four stages present a carefully considered mix of artists: prominent and nationally known musicians; established, 

but not necessarily well-known artists; and emerging 

performers. A hallmark of the festival has been the 

variety of jazz on display: mainstream, traditional, experimental, vocal, and blues-based jazz. The Chicago 

Jazz Festival also has commissioned works from national and international artists including Danilo Pérez, 

Randy Weston, Gerald Wilson, and George Gruntz, as 

well as local artists Dee Alexander, Edward Wilkerson, 

and T.S. Galloway. 

Lowell Folk Festival, Lowell, MA

The Lowell Folk Festival originated when the city 

hosted the National Folk Festival from 1987 to 1989. 

Spurred by that success, event producers and community members decided to hold the inaugural Lowell 

Folk Festival in 1990. Although the origin of the festival 

is linked to the National Folk Festival, organizers cite 

Lowell’s long tradition of ethnic celebrations as the 

first roots of today’s event. Lowell Folk Festival built on 

smaller local ethnic celebrations that have been established since the early 1970s. The festival is sponsored 

by a highly collaborative group of producing partners: 

the City of Lowell, the Lowell Festival Foundation, 

Lowell National Historical Park, the National Council 

for the Traditional Arts, and the Greater Merrimack 

Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

Piccolo Spoleto, Charleston, SC

Piccolo Spoleto is a 17-day celebration of the arts that 

takes place annually in Charleston, South Carolina, 

and coincides with the internationally renowned Spoleto Festival USA. While Spoleto presents national and 

international artists, Piccolo Spoleto connects the local 

community to Spoleto Festival USA by presenting artists of all disciplines mainly from the Southeast region 

of the U.S. The festival’s organizers strive to present 11national study of outdoor arts festivals
performances and exhibits that are “admission-free 

or modestly priced so that the Spoleto Festival experience can be enjoyed by all people regardless of their 

age, ethnicity, economic background, or experience in 

the arts.” The City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA), a unit of local government, founded Piccolo Spoleto in 1979 and continues to produce it today. 

Piccolo Spoleto has a close but informal partnership 

with Spoleto Festival USA and is considered its official 

outreach program. The two organizations coordinate 

programming to limit overlap between the festivals, 

share a volunteer corps, and occasionally present programs together. 

Tamejavi Festival, Fresno, CA

Tamejavi Festival is a cultural and community festival 

sponsored by the Pan-Valley Institute (PVI), a program established in 1998 by the American Friends’ 

Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization 

that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace, and humanitarian service. 

The Tamejavi Festival was established with a mission 

to create a place where immigrants and refugees can 

gather, learn from each other, and rebuild their world. 

“Tamejavi” is best described as a process of cultural 

development that includes principles of understanding, respect for differences, and engagement in collaborative community-building practices. Cultural 

development is understood as a resource for supporting immigrants in their efforts to become more socially 

and politically included in society. Tamejavi uses cultural exchange and artistic expression to open spaces 

for civic engagement. The Tamejavi Festival has been 

held biennially since 2002 in various parks and cultural venues around the city of Fresno. 

Notes

1

 Stern and Seifert’s work can be found at www.sp2.upenn.edu/

SIAP/ and NEA’s research on the arts and civic engagement can be 

found at arts.gov. 

2

 Survey organizers were contacted by postal and electronic 

mail and requested to participate in the survey. A full discussion 

of the research methodology can be found in Live from Your 

Neighborhood: A National Study of Outdoor Arts Festivals, Volume 

One: Summary Report.

3

 Age comparisons could not be made because of limitations on the 

age data for festival audiences. Survey respondents were allowed 

to check more than one age category to describe the festival 

audience. The “multiple response” nature of these data precluded 

comparisons to U.S. Census figures. 

4

 To facilitate analysis of long-term trends, certain art forms have 

been designated in the SPPA as “benchmark” activities. There 

are seven benchmark arts activities: jazz, classical music, opera, 

musical plays, non-musical plays, ballet, and visits to art museums 

or galleries.

5

 The SPPA, a general population survey, measures only adult (18 

years and older) attenders, whereas all age groups are included in 

the festival audience estimates from the national survey.

6

 The 2008 SPPA collected information on crafts fairs, visual arts 

festivals, and outdoor performing arts festivals. Demographic 

characteristics of individuals attending festivals and fairs are 

similar to those attending benchmark arts and, thus, are not 

reported separately. However, audiences for outdoor performing 

arts festivals in the SPPA showed greater racial/ethnic diversity 

than audiences for many benchmark live arts events.

7

 Chicago Jazz Festival was the only case study site where fewer 

than half of survey respondents (39%) who live in households with 

children brought children to the festival. 

8

 The unit of analysis is the responding organization, of which 

there were 1,264, and not the 1,413 festivals that the organizers 

represented. Festivals, and not organizations, constitute the unit 

of analysis for the remainder of the report. 

9

 The question asked about the number of people working for 

the festival. If the festival was part of an organization, then the 

survey asked also about the number of people working for the 

organization.

12executive summary

National Endowment for the Arts

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Washington, DC 20506-0001

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