Funding the Arts in the Rural: Is it time to pay attention to bias and barriers?

Abstract

Rural communities make up 20% of the American population yet receive less than 7% of governmental and foundation funding. In the arts, this gap can be attributed more to historic bias against rural artists and arts communities, as well as systematic distribution methods of funding and resources. By identifying barriers that exist within arts funding pipelines, solutions then can be explored for both the funders and underrepresented rural communities. Most of these solutions lie within the small arts organizations and the artists in those communities. Arts funders and institutions often employ a system of validation as a means to decide artistic excellence, likely unaware that these validators serve as a barrier to artists from rural communities. By looking at sector terminology, this paper will unpack the marginalization of rural communities, and actions that could resolve biases. The use of intermediaries and regional arts organizations to generate support, share knowledge, and cross local sectors locally will be examined. This paper examines all of these systems in order to identify ways to better serve rural communities, as an essential part of the art sector.