Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Counting New Beans: Intrinsic Impact and the Value of Art

We make art because we believe it makes better human beings. We make art because we believe it makes being human better. So why do we spend so much energy quantifying the economics of what we do and so little quantifying the impact?

Join noted arts researcher Alan Brown and project director Clayton Lord as they discuss Counting New Beans: Intrinsic Impact and the Value of Art, a new book that examines the ways theatre artists, administrators, patrons and funders value and evaluate the art they make and consume.

Be among the first to hear the results of a two-year, nationwide research study called “Measuring the Intrinsic Impact of Live Theatre” that looked at 18 theatre companies across the country, 58 productions, over 20,000 survey responses—all in an effort to increase the field’s understanding of what seeing a piece of theatre actually does to someone emotionally, intellectually and empathetically.

This research, a comprehensive and expansive attempt to understand and quantify the impact of a piece of art on an individual (and the impact of that individual on the art), has the potential to really change the conversation about evaluating art.

• We need a new way to measure and talk about the intrinsic impact of an arts experience on an individual.
• We need a new way to articulate our value to ourselves, our patrons, our funders and
society-at-large.
• We need to bridge anecdote and numbers.
• We need new beans to count.
Join us and find out how.

Monday, March 12, 10AM - 1PM
Steppenwolf Garage Theatre, 1624 N. Halsted
This event is free.
RSVP to ben@chicagoplays.com to attend. Space is very limited for this event, so RSVP today!

Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event, but you can also buy your book in advance by visiting www.theatrebayarea.org/intrinsicimpact. There, you can also see the executive summary of the work, read interview excerpts, and even offer up your own stories about art, audiences and the impact of what we do.

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