Publications
Featured Recent Books
The Rape of Mesopotamia: Behind the Looting of the Iraq Museum
Entering Cultural Communities: Diversity and Change in the Nonprofit Arts
Online Publications
Chicago Music City
Mapping Cultural Participation in Chicago
The Future of Public Television
Mapping State Cultural Policy: The State of Washington
Featured Recent Books
The Rape of Mesopotamia: Behind the Looting of the Iraq Museum
Lawrence Rothfield
University of Chicago Press, 2009
On April 10, 2003, as the world watched a statue of Saddam Hussein come crashing down in the heart of Baghdad, looters attacked the Iraq National Museum. Despite the presence of an American tank unit, the pillaging went unchecked, and more than 15,000 artifacts -- some of the oldest evidence of human culture -- disappeared into the shadowy worldwide market in illicit antiquities. Since then the losses of antiquities in Iraq have increased, and include half a million artifacts that had previously been unexcavated.
Entering Cultural Communities: Diversity and Change in the Nonprofit Arts
Diane Grams and Betty Farrell, Editors
Rutgers University Press, 2008
Long ago, arts organizations sought patrons primarily from among the rich and well educated, but for many decades they have sought to broaden their audiences. Museums, orchestras, dance companies, theaters, and community cultural centers try to involve a variety of people in the arts. They strive to attract a more racially and ethnically diverse group of people, those from a broader range of economic backgrounds, new immigrants, families and youth. This book draws on interviews that the CPC research team conducted with leaders, staff, volunteers, and audience members from 85 nonprofit cultural organizations to explore how they are trying to increase participation and the extent to which they have been successful.
Online Publications
Chicago Music City
Published August 2007
Chicago Music City compares the strength and vitality of music industries and scenes across the United States. Sociologists, urban planners, and real-estate developers point to quality of life and availability of cultural amenities as important indicators of the health and future success of urban areas. Economic impact studies show the importance of music to local economies. This publication compares Chicago’s musical strength with the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., focusing on 11 comparison cities: Chicago and its demographic peers, New York and Los Angeles, and eight other cities with strong musical reputations – Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Las Vegas, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans and Seattle.
Mapping Cultural Participation in Chicago
Published March 2006
Chicago's cultural institutions attract millions of visitors every year. What is the connection between the city's major cultural organizations and its diverse population? This study draws upon data – ticket purchases, subscriptions, donor lists – from over 60 organizations to examine how these transactions are linked to the economic, racial, and ethnic data from the Census to provide neighborhood-by-neighborhood maps of participation patterns. The study, funded by a grant from the Joyce Foundation, establishes a benchmark to enable organizations to assess the future effectiveness of their diversity-building efforts.
The Future of Public Television
Published October 2005
This conference report provides analyses and perspectives from national public broadcasting and communications professionals who convened at a two-day conference hosted by the CPC.
Mapping State Cultural Policy: The State of Washington
Published 2003
State-level funding for the arts, humanities, heritage, and allied forms of culture is an important source of financial support, dwarfing the aid provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. This investigation, underwritten by the Pew Charitable Trusts, shows that states support culture through policies and programs scattered across state government and through means that go beyond direct funding.