See also The Detroit Art Ecosystem Part I
Introduction
Previous research has shown that the 15 largest cultural institutions in Metropolitan Detroit (by annual revenue) make up over 80% of the art and culture not-for-profit economy, whereas only 2% of funding goes to grassroots organizations and individual cultural producers, a situation that is neither equitable nor likely to lead to a healthy art and culture ecosystem. In addition, previous research has shown spatial disparities in funding, with over half of art and culture funding in Metropolitan Detroit going to Detroit’s downtown (“Woodward Corridor”), as opposed to less than 3% going to Detroit’s neighborhoods and only 0.5% going to the entire Macomb County.
As was noted in Part I of this study, the network of funders and decision-makers who distribute art and culture resources is densely linked to large cultural organizations and the development and placemaking ecosystem but has minimal connection to the grassroots “creative network.” This observation of potential “network bias” is consistent with the abovementioned concerns about the inequitable economic and spatial distribution of resources.
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