In spring 2005, to gain feedback on preliminary findings from the Benchmark Project, Research for Action conducted two focus groups with twenty-one individuals identified as ‘cultural leaders’ who represented sixteen organizations in Camden and Philadelphia. Participants were drawn from Knight Foundation grantees along with others who played key roles in assisting with the research. Findings from the Cultural Participation Benchmark Project resonated with these cultural leaders active in Camden and Philadelphia. Cultural leaders concurred that community-based organizations fill a gap or need for residents from low- or mixed-income minority neighborhoods, who often do not participate in “mainstream” arts activities to the same degree as others in the region. Leaders shared a glimpse into the complex realities of their work and spoke of the challenges they face in coordinating and implementing successful cultural arts programming in their communities. The focus groups also generated ideas for how cultural arts organizations and funders could expand their notions of cultural participation and surfaced implications for cultural programming, staffing, funding, and evaluation measures.
This presentation provides a summary of findings of a 2004 neighborhood survey of North Philadelphia and Camden, NJ conducted for the Benchmark Project. The slides summarize data on a range of activities, venues, and social context among adult residents of these predominantly low-income neighborhoods. Brown also outlines a framework for thinking about cultural participation based on "level of creative control."
In February and March 2004, Research for Action conducted three focus groups in North Philadelphia and Camden, NJ to shed light on the meanings of cultural participation in these low-income urban neighborhoods. Participants were recruited through neighborhood associations, senior centers, and churches to engage residents who were active in the community but not closely affiliated with arts and cultural organizations. The focus groups were designed to reveal how residents define cultural participation, the range of cultural activities in which they participate, how they express themselves creatively, and the barriers to cultural participation in these neighborhoods.
This document is a summary of the 2005 final report of the Philadelphia and Camden Cultural Participation Benchmark Project. The summary outlines a resident and an organizational perspective as well as strategic challenges and opportunities to support the Knight Foundation goal of increasing cultural participation in North Philadelphia and Camden, NJ.
This document presents the findings of a neighborhood survey undertaken by Alan S Brown & Associates for the Benchmark Project. The study employed a door-to-door intercept methodology using a random sample of addresses in each of five neighborhoods—three in North Philadelphia and two in Camden, NJ. The resident survey, based on themes from Research for Action’s focus group work, investigated a broad range of cultural and creative activities and venues to build a participation profile of adults in the survey neighborhoods. The report also summarizes data on the social context of residents of these predominantly low-income neighborhoods. In his presentation on the research, Alan Brown outlines a framework for thinking about cultural participation based on "level of creative control." The resident survey was administered by the Point Breeze Performing Arts Center, based in South Philadelphia, under the direction of senior vice president Alfred Brown. The team completed 602 interviews, approximately 120 in each neighborhood, between June and October 2004.
The Philadelphia and Camden Cultural Participation Benchmark Project (Benchmark Project), undertaken from 2003 to 2005, was designed to document the current state of cultural participation in North Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey. These two urban communities had been chosen by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation for multi-year investment in order to broaden, deepen, and diversify resident participation in arts and cultural programs and events. In the Benchmark Project final report, SIAP and partners—Research for Action and Alan S. Brown & Associates—provided a detailed description of cultural participation in five neighborhoods of North Philadelphia and Camden. Though not part of the original research design, the study also demonstrated how the disparate elements of cultural engagement influence one another and form a unique cultural ecosystem. Finally, the team identified a set of strengths and challenges in the community cultural sector intended to improve the ability of the Knight Foundation initiative to accomplish its goal.