It’s no coincidence that Boise, home to Boise State University, is a thriving cultural hub. The same could be said of Ft. Collins, Colorado, home of Colorado State, and Reno, Nevada, home of the University of Nevada, Reno.
Two Boise State faculty members are analyzing these relationships in a study titled “Productive Synergies: Universities and Regional Creative Clusters in the Intermountain West,” funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. Because, when it comes to the arts, universities are good business.
Amanda Ashley, assistant professor of community and regional planning, and Leslie Durham, professor of theatre arts and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, are looking at how universities could impact the career trajectories of working artists and ways to better leverage and invest in the incubation of artistic innovation and economic development in their communities.
“This project should help universities in the region and beyond turn instinct and good intentions about how they support the arts into data-informed practice,” said Durham.
The study will broaden and deepen understanding of how universities work as cultural anchors in their communities, while also improving working conditions and opportunities for artists. The researchers also want to document and highlight the important, two-way cultural transactions that take place between universities and their communities — as universities take on ever-larger and more strategic roles in the economic development that impacts their regions, the value of investment in expanded artistic resources also grows.
Through grants to thousands of nonprofits each year, the NEA promotes opportunities for people in communities across America to experience the arts and exercise their creativity.
“The NEA is committed to advancing learning, fueling creativity and celebrating the arts in cities and towns across the United States,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Funding new projects like this one from Boise State represents an investment in both local communities and our nation’s creative vitality.”
BY: KATHLEEN TUCK PUBLISHED 9:53 AM / MAY 7, 2015