Survey Measures Minnesota Artists’ Financial, Creative Welfare

6 Questions, 2,430 Answers: The Cost of Culture is a follow-up survey to the McKnight Foundation’s 1996 report Here and Now, which described the state of the arts in Minnesota. This survey, which polled 405 individual dancers, writers, musicians, actors, and visual artists in Minnesota, was intended to gauge the economic health and creative well-being of the state’s artists and the culture they help create. Through responses to questions such as “How much do you think an artist needs to live on?” and “Do you think the state or any other institution should do more for artists?,” the McKnight Foundation discovered that, while arts institutions were receiving a significant share of philanthropic support, individual artists were not. In response, the foundation has augmented the fellowships it awards annually to individual artists and is in the process of developing a Web site where Minnesota artists can showcase their works at no charge. The complete survey with all the artists’ answers is available in CD-ROM format and online at http://www.mcknight.org.

Publisher: McKnight Foundation, 600 TCF Tower, 121 South Eighth Street, Minneapolis, Minn. 55402; (612) 333-4220; fax (612) 332-3833; info@mcknight.org; http://www.mcknight.org; free.