According to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, Wisconsin currently ranks 49th in
the nation for state arts funding. For the creative community, this is particularly disheartening
given that Minnesota, our next-door neighbor, provides one of the highest rates of state funding
toward the arts in the nation. Although some monies are available through the National
Endowment for the Arts (NEA), all federal funds granted through this program must be matched
dollar-for-dollar by the state, and Wisconsin does not allocate enough money for this to have a
truly significant impact. (https://nasaa-arts.org/nasaa_research/fy2023-state-arts-agency-
revenues-report/
The Wisconsin Arts Board addresses this problem by providing grant opportunities to support
the arts throughout the state (https://artsboard.wisconsin.gov/Pages/Home.aspx). Part of its
mission is to enhance the vitality of Wisconsin culturally, educationally and economically by
funding arts projects, but its resources are limited. As such, it seeks innovative ways to combine
the arts with other avenues to generate income and support local economies while still fulfilling
its mission. For example, it currently collaborates with the Department of Tourism to develop
impactful programming to benefit all parties involved. Such partnerships make sense, are
useful, and are potentially sustainable over time.
Your challenge is to develop an innovative program related to the arts to enhance Wisconsin’s
cultural experiences, educational programming, and/or local economies. To do so, you must
identify and research the needs of a region, city, or cultural group in Wisconsin, and come up
with original proposals to address them. Throughout the project, be sure to contact people,
organizations, and pertinent groups so you can incorporate their insights.
Getting Started
Reference resources provide a starting point for your research projects.
Credo Reference
Credo Reference provides hundreds of encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, and more in one place. Below is a sample of keyword searches in Credo Reference related to this topic:
Call Numbers and Subject Headings
You can use the list of call numbers and subject headings below as keyword searches in our catalog and databases, or you can go to these sections of the library to find books on these topics.
- N100-9999 Fine Arts
Books
Books from Lane Library
All books in this list are located either in the Franzen Center on Floor 3A or are e-books.
- At the Crossroads of Intersecting Ideologies: Community-Based Art Education, Community Engagement, and Social Practice Art / e-book
- Philanthropy in art: locality, donor retention, and prestige / e-book
- Building communities from the inside out : a path toward finding and mobilizing a community’s assets / HN90.C6 K748 1993c
- Engagement in the city: how arts and culture impact development in urban areas / JT123 .E54 2021
- Community-based art education across the lifespan / NX180 .A77 H36 2019
- Building communities, not audiences: the future of the arts in the United States / NX180 .S6 B658
- Good & plenty : the creative successes of American arts funding / NX735 .C68 G66 2006
- Leadership in the performing arts / PN1584 .S74 2016
Discovery Search: Search Lane Library’s books, ebooks, and articles in one place.
Books from other libraries
WorldCat: Search for books not available at Lane Library and borrow from other libraries for free through interlibrary loan.
Articles
Databases
The following databases are useful places to search for articles. Contact a librarian if you would like more information on how to search for articles on your specific topic.
- Academic Search Complete: Wide range of academic disciplines, including for scholarly and popular journals.
- JSTOR– Full-text archive of scholarly journals in the arts and sciences. Issues from the past three to five years may not be available.
- New York Times: Access to news and archival content from NY Times. If you run into a paywall, here is more information on how to sign up.
- ProQuest Research Library: Includes both popular and scholarly periodicals covering a variety of subjects, with over 3300 titles available in full text.
Get articles from other libraries
If you cannot find a full-text version of the article you need, request it through interlibrary loan. Interlibrary loan is a free service that allows you to borrow books and articles from other libraries. Find answers to frequently asked questions about ILL here.
Government Sources, Statistics, and Websites
Government sources
- Arts.gov: The National Endowment for the Arts website which has information on grants and other programs.
- artboard.wisconsin.gov: Access to information from the State of Wisconsin art board and programs.
- USA.gov: Access to information from federal agencies.
- Wisconsin.gov: State of Wisconsin government and demographic information
Statistics
- CIA World Factbook : Background information on each country in the world.
- National Center for Education Statistics: primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations.
- ProQuest Statistical Abstracts: Over 1400 indexed tables of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.
- US Census Bureau: Access to data from federal surveys and censuses.
- World Almanac: Annual book with political, economic, scientific, and educational statistics. / Lane Library AY67 .N5 W7.
- The World Bank EdStats: Comprehensive data and analysis source for global education information.
