Advancing the Arts: Stress Appreciation

The broad range of benefits that the arts provide to individuals can be sustained and enhanced by strengthening public appreciation of the arts, according to a RAND Corporation study issued recently.

The study — commissioned by The Wallace Foundation — concludes that giving individuals repeated rewarding experiences with the arts over time is a necessary first step before other, more public benefits of the arts can be realized. These other benefits include exposure to new perspectives, sharpened learning skills among young people, expanded capacity for empathy, and stronger social bonds in communities.

Based on these findings, the report recommends that federal, state and local policy be refocused to build demand for the arts by introducing more Americans to engaging arts experiences, especially when they are young. This would be an expansion of the current focus on maintaining the supply of the arts.

More here.