Research
Over the past two years, we’ve been exploring a question that many traditional artists in this country have: How are decisions made about what (and who) appears on major U.S. stages? Incubated at Harvard University’s Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, "Behind the Curtain" examines this system from the presenter’s perspective. This report draws on a national survey of artistic directors and programming leads in order to better understand how traditional artists are discovered, evaluated, and framed, using the South Asian genres as a lens.
Survey Respondents
Alliance Theatre
Amelia Island Dance Festival
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Blumenthal Arts
Caltech
Carnegie Hall
Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech
Fort Lewis College
Georgia Tech
Goshen College Music Center
Green Music Center, Sonoma State University
Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
Jacob's Pillow
Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center at
Auburn University
Lincoln Center
McKnight Fellowships for Dancers and
Choreographers
Miami University, Oxford, OH
Morris Museum
New Jersey Performing Arts Center
New York Live Arts
Paramount Center for the Arts
Performing Arts Houston
Rites of Spring Music Festival, inc.
San Angelo Performing Arts Center
San Francisco Performances
Seattle Theatre Group
Spoleto Festival USA
Tampa Theatre
The Cleveland Museum of Art
TITAS/DANCE UNBOUND
University of Georgia Performing Arts Center
Washington Performing Arts
Works & Process at the Guggenheim
The data analyzed in the report begin to reveal patterns that have significant implications for the field—particularly around audience development, risk assessment, and how institutions identify and support work that may fall outside their existing networks.
The report goes further by examining where current approaches may be leaving opportunity on the table, how audience behavior compares to institutional assumptions, and what strategies presenters can use to more effectively evaluate, position, and build sustainable audiences for traditional and culturally specific work.
On July 14th, Vani Krishnamurthy presented the complete findings with a view towards what these findings mean in practice—for programming strategy, audience growth, and long-term institutional alignment across all stakeholders.
The launch presentation and full report are now officially available to download. Please see below for the links.
