Five Questions that Shaped this Study

1. Who makes up the arts and culture ecosystem of Rhode Island?
2. How does Rhode Island’s arts sector compare in operational and financial health, and where are the unique state-specific patterns?
3. How has participation evolved?
4. How has the arts and culture workforce of Rhode Island changed?
5. What are leaders prioritizing for 2025 and beyond?

The analysis explores key financial metrics, workforce composition, programming, and audience engagement, highlighting how organizations of varying sizes, disciplines, and revenue models have navigated challenges including rising expenses, uneven revenue recovery, and shifting audience behavior. It also offers comparative insights with peer organizations in the New England region to contextualize Rhode Island’s performance within a broader regional landscape.

Findings reveal a sector demonstrating resilience amid ongoing financial pressures, with many organizations balancing rising costs against modest revenue gains, increased investment in personnel, and expanded programming—even as earned income and contributed support remain below pre-pandemic levels. The report identifies critical areas of concern and opportunity, such as disparities in recovery by organizational scale and revenue composition, and outlines sector priorities moving forward, including growing contributed income, boosting attendance, and diversifying revenue streams.

This detailed assessment provides arts leaders, funders, policymakers, and stakeholders with valuable insights into the current state of Rhode Island’s arts ecosystem and serves as a guide for strategic planning to support the sector’s sustained recovery and future growth.

Key Findings 

• Smaller institutions anchor Rhode Island’s creative ecosystem.
• In 2023, Rhode Island arts organizations reported higher median surpluses than peers in both New England and nationally, primarily fueled by expense restrictions.
• Despite slight improvements in overall median revenue, 70% of organizations ended FY 2023 in deficit.
• Financial recovery trails national and regional peers, in both earned and contributed income. Contributed revenue remained 17% below pre-pandemic levels statewide while earned income was 27% below 2019 levels.
• While the smallest organizations saw the most revenue growth—driven by flexible cost structures and sharp rises in contributed support—small and medium-sized groups experienced the steepest declines, whereas some large organizations managed to grow revenue above inflation.
• Despite revenue challenges, engagement is rebounding as organizations prioritize access to programming.
• To support this programming, investments in employees surged, particularly among the performing arts, which saw a 22% increase in personnel expenses in 2023
• Flexible hiring patterns through contract labor helped increase workforces by 7% without long-term staffing commitments.

For more key findings and a deeper dive into the data, explore the full report linked below.

Read the Full Report

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