A few years ago, in Pittsburgh, on the heels of a big conference on arts and culture in the US, I was

Progress in Arts and Culture Research: A Perspective Several years ago, in Pittsburgh, on the heels of a big conference on arts and culture in the United States, I was asked by a news reporter to comment on the impacts of the arts on communities. Having spent the previous 10 years or so researching the topic—investigating the myriad ways in which arts and cultural activity are often present in communities, the roles that various manifestations of arts and culture can play, and the ways in which cultural vitality can be measured and monitored over time—I relished the opportunity to share what I was learning. “What specifically would you like me to comment on? The presence of artists in neighborhoods? The incidence of amateur arts practice in communities? Audience participation at downtown venues and events? Arts education?” The reporter, rather than being pleased with a menu of items from which to choose and diverse ways of thinking about arts impacts, was slightly perplexed, annoyed, and taken off course by my question. He told me that he needed a brief statement about arts impacts and that if I would talk about activity downtown and its economic impacts that would be just fine. I told him that I could comment on downtown arts activity, but that if he was truly interested in the original question he had asked me, limiting the answer to downtown activity and economic impacts would not do the topic justice. The reporter, not wanting to be perceived as ...