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.
The report will be officially launched on July 14, 2026, after which it will be available for download.
Please see below to RSVP to the launch event.
Artistic Directors and programming leads from the following institutions generously shared their perspectives, which are reflected in aggregate in the findings of this report:
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
