U.S. public perceptions of artists during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACTThere is a lack of understanding about public opinions of artists in the United States, thereby impeding stakeholders’ ability to empirically inform policy decisions and advocacy relevant to artists. Using novel, nationally representative survey data, this study provides insights on U.S. public opinion of artists during the first two years of the COVID pandemic. We find a decline in the percent of adults who engaged with artists in their local communities over these years, but that perceptions of artists’ roles in local communities remained steady; the opinion that artists make communities better places to live varies by socio-demographics and is positively associated with perceptions of artists as workers, collaborators, and as bringing attention to community concerns; and that over half of the U.S. adult population suggests that artists can uniquely contribute to healing from the pandemic. This study demonstrates means to empirically inform policy decisions and advocacy relevant to artists.KEYWORDS: Artistscommunitiespublic opinionperceptionsCOVID-19 pandemic Disclosure statementJennifer Novak-Leonard has served as a consultant to and has received research support from NORC at the University of Chicago.Notes1. The regression results containing interaction terms are available upon request.Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Investment for Growth fund and by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts [Award#: 1809942-38-18].Notes on contributorsJennifer L. Novak-LeonardJennifer L. Novak-Leonard specializes in the development and use of novel measurement systems to understand cultural participation and the personal and public values derived from these experiences to inform multiple domains of public and social policy. Her research has addressed topics such as immigrant integration, higher education, and public funding.Rachel SkaggsRachel Skaggs is the Lawrence and Isabel Barnett Assistant Professor of Arts Management at The Ohio State University. Rachel is a sociologist of culture and work whose research focuses on relational ecosystems in creative industries. Her recent research can be found in Poetics, Work and Occupations, Social Psychology Quarterly, and The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society.