Artist: Wen-Ti Sen. Yakima Washington's Millennium Plaza. Introduction The intent of the Artists & Communities survey was to assess attitudes toward the program, its impact on those who participated, and its effect on the communities and organizations hosting project activities. Documentation of the significant impact that Artists & Communities had on participating individuals, communities and organizations also provides ammunition for those advocating greater recognition for community arts endeavors, and increased support for the arts in general. Executive Summary Artists & Communities: America Creates for the Millennium was implemented by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation as a way for communities and community residents to have the opportunity to think, act and address community issues in a new and different way by working directly with some of the nation’s most innovative communicators and atypical problem solvers: artists. A survey was conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide on behalf of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, to assess attitudes toward the program and its impact on those who participated—resident artists, host organizations, and community participants. Surveys were distributed to the sixty resident artists, to four community participants, and to four host organization leaders in each of the fifty-four participating communities, following the completion of each individual project during the year 2000. The findings in this report are based upon the responses from the thirty-one artists, sixty-eight community participants, and sixty-eight host organization leaders who completed and returned questionnaires for the survey. The following are highlights of these findings: Overall Findings From teens to senior citizens, sculptors to photographers, arts organizations in rural areas to those in large cities, the majority of respondents who were involved in Artists & Communities have seen a positive impact of the program. 91% of responding resident artists, 78% of responding community members who participated in creating the artwork, and 74% of responding leaders within the host organizations say the program has had a positive impact on their community as a whole. Nearly all community participants (94%) who responded say the program has had a positive effect on them personally. Eight out of ten artists (83%) who responded say the program has had a positive effect on their personal lives, and 74% see a positive in their professional and creative development as a result of the program. Three-fourths (74%) of hosts responding have also seen their program’s positive impact on their organizations. Community Members Participating members of the community who responded to the survey say they believe they have not only received a deeper level of understanding about the arts and artists themselves, but have also recognized new parts of their own personalities that were previously dormant. 90% of these community members say the program has resulted in a more positive interest in and appreciation for participation in the arts. In fact, while only 31% of participants who responded report they have taken part in similar arts programs In the past, nearly all (97%) say they are likely to participate in future arts-related activities. Nearly all (97%) community respondents say that as a result of the program they now believe the “the arts can benefit everyone” and “the arts are an important part of life.” In addition, respondents say the program allowed community members to create new friendships with people culturally and demographically different from themselves, while developing their own talents and discovering things about their histories and backgrounds that they may never have sought to learn on their own. Artists Artists who responded say they have also thrived in being able to work with diverse groups of people—learning new things about their own talents and personalities while creating artwork that will affect their resident communities throughout the next hundred years. 94% of responding artists say their residency has resulted in the creation of significant works of art. 93% of responding artists believe that the relationships they built will also stand the test of time. Host Organizations The development of new audiences, and a new understanding of ways to continue to cultivate community awareness of and excitement for their art programs are among those aspects of their organizations which were most positively impacted by the program, according to respondents from the host organizations. In addition, the program has laid a foundation for which there would be eager sponsors in the future. Eight out of ten respondents from host organizations (80%) say the program has positively impacted their “partnership building with other community organizations.” More than seven in ten host organization respondents say they have also seen a positive influence on the “awareness of their organization within the community” (74%), and their “development of new audiences” (72%). Nearly three-fourths of host organization respondents (73%) say that artist-in-residence programs are a better way to promote participation in arts activities than other kinds of programs. In addition, nine out of ten responding host organization leaders (91%) expressed interest in hosting future artist-in-residence programs. Suggested Program Improvements Seven out of ten hosts (73%), artists (71%), and community participants (72%) who responded say Artists & Communities is a better program than those they had previously participated in. There is a call for program improvement, however. Many participants who responded share the view that there was not enough national publicity surrounding the program, saying their understanding prior to the program was that there would be more media attention than they actually received. Only 38% of host organizations and 26% of community participants believe that there was an awareness of the program beyond those directly participating. While some host organizations report that they went beyond the call of duty and raised additional funds needed for their project, others who responded feel that the program was a drain on their resources, and hope that there will be additional sources of funding for future programs. In addition, some may have hoped that their participation would generate income from the community, but 58% reported that the program had no effect on their financial growth. Both artists and host organizations who responded say they would like to see the program lengthened. Artists feel that having “prep” time set aside before the program starts would allow them to be better able to meet with their hosts, discuss, and better understand their individual goals for the project and what can be expected.