Highlights Video: RUPRI Collaborations in Rural Arts & Cultural Wealth Practice & Scholarship Convening

In March 2022, RUPRI invited rural artists, culture bearers, art community leaders, and rural researchers in arts and cultural wealth to a two-day convening to discuss practice and scholarship collaborations in rural arts & cultural wealth. The event was sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Please enjoy highlights from the conversation.

RUPRI Convenes Artists and Researchers to Discuss Rural Arts & Cultural Wealth

March 2022 In a convening sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and USDA, RUPRI hosted Collaborations in Rural Arts & Cultural Wealth Practice & Scholarship, a two-day virtual gathering of rural artists, culture bearers, community thought leaders, and the research community. These leaders came together to engage in conversation about advancing our understanding of …

Rural Cultural Wealth Research Priorities. RUPRI Rural Cultural Wealth Lab. February 2021.

This paper follows an extensive review of the research literature at the intersection of three broad areas—1) rural wealth creation and distribution 2) rural arts and culture, and 3) creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The primary goal of the literature review was to identify the most critical issues that are NOT fully understood about these concepts …

Call for Proposals for Rural Arts & Culture Research Conference

February 23-25 2020 RUPRI and the RUPRI Rural Cultural Wealth-Lab will be hosting a virtual research conference, Role of the Arts and Cultural Capital in Rural Innovation & Entrepreneurship Conference Themes are: The proclivity of the arts and cultural capital to generate nonobvious solutions to complex problems will be a focus of this conference and will …

A New Conceptual Framework for Rural Cultural Wealth. A product of the NEA RUPRI Rural Cultural Wealth Lab. November 2019.

The New Conceptual Framework for Rural Cultural Wealth describes a conceptual framework within which the arts, culture, and cultural wealth can be understood, measured, and compared. While such a framework can be applied equally well in any geographic context, the focus in this document is on the rural and small city context. Examples and specific …

RUPRI Founder Chuck Fluharty Discusses Rural Cultural Wealth at NASSA Rural Prosperity Congressional Briefing. May 2019.

Arts and Rural Prosperity: Capitol Hill Briefing Endorsed by the Congressional Arts Caucus, this May 2019 briefing explores the power of the arts and culture to expand economic opportunities for the 60 million Americans who live in rural areas. The creative industries offer proven pathways to job creation, business expansion, talent retention and a great …

RUPRI Rural Cultural Wealth Lab Releases Phase One Products

The RUPRI Rural Cultural Wealth Lab is pleased to announce the release of several products from the first phase of the Lab’s research. These are designed to review the scholarly and applied literature regarding rural arts and culture. These relate to rural cultural assets, the nature of rural and economic innovation, and the contribution each …

Existing Conceptual Models of Arts & Culture: An Inventory. Rural Cultural Wealth Lab. January 2019.

The Existing Conceptual Models of Arts & Culture: An Inventory describes and compares conceptual models of arts and culture, creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and well-being. Each model attempts to capture a different aspect of this very complex system. Each model therefore provides important insights that help us understand the role and dynamics of arts and culture …

The Rural Differential: A Literature Review at the Nexus of Arts & Culture, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation

The Rural Differential Lit Review (Cover Image)

Our review of the literature reveals that: Current research in arts and culture, creativity, and innovation has a significant metropolitan bias. Most research either focuses solely on metropolitan issues or assumes the arts and culture issues are uniform across the rural-urban continuum. More research on the effect of rural arts and culture on the vitality …

John Davis Named 2018-2020 RUPRI Senior Policy Fellow

Photo of John Davis, RUPRI Fellow, Arts and Culture

The Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) is honored to announce that John Davis, who recently retired as Executive Director of Lanesboro Arts in Minnesota, has been named a 2018-2020 RUPRI Senior Policy Fellow. “We are thrilled and honored that John will serve as a RUPRI Senior Policy Fellow, contributing to our emerging Rural Cultural Wealth …

Rural Cultural Wealth Lab Digital Exchange Webinar

January 23, 2018 The RUPRI Rural Cultural Wealth Lab is one of four inaugural National Endowment for the Arts Research Labs named last year, following a national competition. This national effort unites the knowledge and lived experiences of a diverse array of scholars and practitioners to explore the intersection of rural arts and culture, entrepreneurship and innovation, …

RUPRI Rural Cultural Wealth Lab highlighted in NEA press release: New Research Highlights Economic Impact of the Arts in Rural Communities National Endowment for the Arts Releases Rural Arts, Design, and Innovation in America Online Conversation at #NEArural

Washington, DC—Rural arts organizations draw more non-local audiences to their venues and report greater civic leadership and customer connectedness than their urban peers, according to a new research report, Rural Arts, Design, & Innovation in America: Research Findings from the Rural Establishment Innovation Survey. Published by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the report is …

RUPRI Rural Cultural Wealth Lab: A Conceptual Design

The Rural Cultural Wealth Lab unites the knowledge and experiences of a diverse array ofscholars and practitioners to address some of the most critical issues and opportunities facingrural people and places. It fulfills this need by building innovative metrics that will strengthenpolicymakers’ understanding of the various relationships and assets that define and reveal ruralcommunity wealth.To …

RUPRI Named NEA National Research Lab

Washington, DC – The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announces the first projects funded through a new program, NEA Research Labs. The cross-sector projects supported through the program investigate how the arts contribute to positive outcomes for individuals and communities. The NEA will fund four inaugural projects totaling $598,600 that will yield insights for …