This book brings together discussions about Australian arts policy and funding, outcomes of arts engagement in terms of social inclusion, well-being and education. It presents exemplars of creative programs or case studies that build capacity and lasting impact for communities in urban and regional Australia. This book describes the impact of the arts using narrative case studies. Through this, it develops conceptual understanding and frameworks that can be used to dynamically assess the value and impact of arts engagement across the three types of cultural value: intrinsic value, instrumental value and institutional value. It focuses on how arts engagement creates, supports and extends factors such as well-being, social inclusion and educational achievement. This book provides an innovative examination of the evidence from Australian projects depicting the impact of the arts on a range of indicators and sectors.

The geography of innovation is changing. Firstly, it is increasingly understood that innovative firms and organizations exhibit a wide variety of strategies, each differently attuned to diverse geographic contexts. Secondly, and concomitantly, the idea that cities, clusters and physical proximity are essential for innovation is evolving under the weight of new theorizing and empirical evidence. The aim of this handbook is to break with the many ideas and concepts that emerged during the course of the 1980s and 1990s, and to fully take into account the new reality of the internet, mobile communication technologies, personal mobility and globalization. The handbook gathers a new generation of ideas and authors to contribute to the debate, providing an empirically grounded critical appraisal of the prevailing knowledge on the geography of innovation. The 28 original chapters, written by a diverse range of scholars with widely differing views, present fresh empirical evidence and new perspectives relating to how innovation plays out across space in an age where mobility has increased, information is ubiquitous and globalisation has been realised. Overall, the dialogue between existing theory and new possibilities provides a unique and challenging appraisal of the connection between innovation, agglomeration and space. Offering cutting edge ideas in an accessible format, this will be an ideal resource for students and scholars of economic geography and innovation studies. The empirical evidence and analysis will also be of great value for policymakers and government officials. Contributors include:B.T. Asheim, H.W. Aslesen, A. Bain, P.-A. Balland, N. Bradford, A. Bramwell, C. Brennan-Horley, S. Breschi, C. Carraincazeaux, C. Chaminade, R. Comunian, C. De Fuentes, D. Doloreux, D. Eckert, A. Faggian, M. Ferru, R.D. Fitjar, K. Flanagan, C. Gibson, M. Grillitsch, M. Grossetti, G. Harirchi, F. Huber, A. Isaksen, S. Jewel, J. Karlsen, N. Komninos, J.-L. Klein, N. Lee, F. Lissoni, M. Maisonobe, J. Mattes, P. McCann, C.T. Noumedem, R. Ortega-Argilés, M. Plechero, A. Rallet, A. Rodriguez-Pose, R. Shearmur, H.L. Smith, B. Spigel, J. Tallec, E. Tranos, D.-G. Tremblay, F. Tödtling, M. Trippl, E. Uyarra, C. Yang, C. Wilkie, D.A. Wolfe

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

Building Communities, Not Audiences: The Future of the Arts in the U.S, written and edited by Doug Borwick, holds that established arts organizations, for practical and moral reasons, need to be more deeply connected to their communities. It serves as an essential primer for any member of the arts community-artist, administrator, board member, patron, or friend-who is interested in the future of the arts in the U.S. It also provides new ways of looking at the arts as a powerful force for building better communities and improving lives. "It is from community that the arts developed and it is in serving communities that the arts will thrive . . . Communities do not exist to serve the arts; the arts exist to serve communities." Building Communities, Not Audiences identifies the factors that serve to isolate established arts organizations from their communities, points out the trends that loom as imminent threats to the long-term viability of the artistic status quo, and presents principles and mechanisms whereby arts organizations can significantly extend their reach into the community, supporting enhanced sustainability. Included are case studies and examples of successful community engagement work being conducted by arts organizations from around the U.S. Twenty-three contributors, representing chamber music, dance, museums, opera, orchestras, and theatre as well as an array of arts administration perspectives provide breadth of coverage. "The economic, social, and political environments out of which the infrastructure for Western 'high arts' grew have changed. Today's major arts institutions, products of that legacy, no longer benefit from relatively inexpensive labor, a nominally homogeneous culture, or a polity openly managed by an elite class. Expenses are rising precipitously and competition for major donors is increasing; as a result, the survival of established arts organizations hinges on their ability to engage effectively with a far broader segment of the population than has been true to date." -------------------------- From the Foreword by Rocco Landesman, Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts: "I think the days of the arts in ivory towers are behind us; the very best arts organizations are . . . connecting communities with artists . . . . Not only can the arts build communities, I think we must." From the Foreword by Robert L. Lynch, President & CEO, Americans for the Arts: "Doug Borwick calls for substantive rather than superficial efforts, authentic and systemic changes. . . . The challenge is not whether to build communities or audiences but how to build communities and audiences together." -------------------------- Contributors: Barbara Schaffer Bacon: Co-Director, Animating Democracy Sandra Bernhard: Director/HGOco, Houston Grand Opera Susan Badger Booth: Professor, Eastern Michigan University Tom Borrup: Principal, Creative Community Builders Ben Cameron: Program Director for the Arts, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation William Cleveland: Director, Center for the Study of Art and Community Lyz Crane: Community Development Consultant David Dombrosky: CMO/InstantEncore Maryo Gard Ewell: Community Arts Consultant Tom Finkelpearl: Executive Director, Queens Museum of Art Pam Korza: Co-Director, Animating Democracy Denise Kulawik: Principal, Oneiros, LLC Helen Lessick: Artist, Civic Art Advocate Dorothy Gunther Pugh: Founder & Artistic Director, Ballet Memphis Stephanie Moore: Arts and Culture Researcher Diane Ragsdale: Cultural Critic, Speaker, Writer Noel Raymond: Co-Director, Pillsbury House Theatre, St. Paul, MN Preranna Reddy: Director-Public Events, Queens Museum of Art Sebastian Ruth: Founder/Artistic Director, Community MusicWorks, Providence, RI Russell Willis Taylor: President & CEO, National Arts Strategies James Undercofler: Professor, Drexel University; former President/CEO, Philadelphia Orchestra Roseann Weiss: Director, CAT Institute, Regional Arts Commission, St. Louis, MO

When the body is foregrounded in artwork – as in much contemporary performance, sculptural installation and video work – so is gendered and sexualised difference. Feminist Perspectives on Art: Contemporary Outtakes looks to interactions between art history, theory, curation, and studio-based practices to theorise the phenomenological import of this embodied gender difference in contemporary art. The essays in this collection are rooted in a wide variety of disciplines, including art-making, curating, and art history and criticism, with many of the authors combining roles of curator, artist and writer. This interdisciplinary approach enables the book to bridge the theory–practice divide and highlight new perspectives emerging from creative arts research. Fresh insights are offered on feminist aesthetics, women’s embodied experience, curatorial and art historical method, art world equity, and intersectional concerns. It engages with epistemological assertions of ‘how the body feels’, how the land has creative agency in Indigenous art, and how the use of emotional or affective registers may form one’s curatorial method. This anthology represents a significant contribution to a broader resurgence of feminist thought, methodology, and action in contemporary art, particularly in creative practice research. It will be of particular value to students and researchers in art history, visual culture, cultural studies, and gender studies, in addition to museum and gallery professionals specialising in contemporary art.

"Twenty-seven contributors--artists, cultural professionals, scholars, a journalist, grantmakers--were asked this question: 'Are the arts essential?' In response, they offer deep and challenging answers applying the lenses of the arts, and those of the sciences, the humanities, public policy, and philanthropy. Playing so many parts, situated in so many places, these writers illustrate the ubiquity of the arts and culture in the United States. They draw from the performing arts and the visual arts, from poetry and literature, and from culture in our everyday lived experiences. The arts, they remind readers, are everywhere, and--in one way and another--touch everyone"--