Arts and Culture Nonprofits as Civic Actors: Mapping Audience, Community, and Civic Engagement in Nonprofit Organizations

Abstract The term “community engagement” has been a buzzword in the arts and culture sector, but it has been used interchangeably with “civic engagement” and “audience engagement” without a clear understanding of arts and culture nonprofit organizations. Using original survey data from 106 nonprofit arts and culture organizations, our study identifies the overlap as well as the gap between audience engagement and civic engagement as understood by arts and culture nonprofits, as well as common organizational characteristics that are associated with certain types of engagement activities. We propose ways to differentiate audience engagement and civic engagement activities in arts and culture nonprofits.