2022 LACE Survey of Workforce Demographics
Thank you for your participation! Unfortunately this survey has closed.
Please check with The Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences to see the results of this survey.
2022 Live Arts, Culture and Entertainment (LACE) Survey of Workforce Demographics
About This Survey
Millions of Americans are employed in the fields of live events, but their work is often hidden. This survey addresses that hidden labor by learning more about workers like you. The LACE Survey is for anyone who works in the performing arts, themed entertainment, museums, exhibitions, parade floats, haunted attractions, live music concerts, houses of worship, retail experiences, immersive environments, living history sites, or other live events in the arts, culture or entertainment.
The Ohio State University is launching this national demographics survey to help us better understand the broad range of workers across these industries and help establish a baseline from which we can measure progress and growth.
Your participation of no more than five minutes is crucial to ensure the success of this project. The LACE Survey will provide an opportunity to better understand the workforce based on self-reported data from individual participants. This study does not collect any personally identifying information and every question provides an option to decline to state an answer. Helping create a more equitable, diverse, inclusive and accessible industry is the goal of many organizations, but we can't measure progress without knowing where we are right now.
The survey is being administered by SMU DataArts, the National Center for Arts Research at Southern Methodist University. The processes used for collection, storage, and analysis of data ensure the anonymity of all respondents. This survey is funded in part by the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) whose 2021 survey of theatre industry demographics serves as a companion to this study. (For more information on their 2021 survey, you can visit USITT’s study portal.)
Help make your work visible to our industries by starting the survey today. Thank you.
Key Dates
The survey opens on September 12, 2022 and will close on November 4, 2022.
About SMU DataArts
SMU DataArts, the National Center for Arts Research, is a project of the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU. Its programs provide free business intelligence tools and educational workshops to help arts leaders leverage data to answer critical management questions, communicate about their organizations, and connect research analyses to their own work. Recent publications include white papers on emergence from the COVID-19 crisis; culturally specific arts organizations; protecting arts organizations through downturns; audience diversity, equity and inclusion in large performing arts organizations; working capital and the resiliency of BIPOC organizations; and more. SMU DataArts also publishes reports on the health of the U.S. arts and cultural sector with its Arts Vibrancy Index, which highlights the 40 most arts-vibrant communities around the country. For more information, visit smu.edu/dataarts.
FAQ
Arts, culture, and creativity are major contributors to improving quality of life within communities, and the arts and culture sector is an important component of many local economies. Information gleaned from SMU DataArts’ Workforce Demographics studies can help communities and organizations better understand the demographics of their current workforces and those of the communities in which they operate. To remain relevant to and representative of our changing society, these studies provide key information that can inform decisions that ensure all community members have access to opportunities available within the arts and culture sector.
By taking this survey, you agree to the uses of your data described here and acknowledge that any interpretation or view expressed in any work product created using any aggregated survey dataset will be solely that of the researcher or other user.
The survey asks questions about age, location, gender identity, sexual orientation, heritage, disability status and workplace perception. All demographic questions have an "I prefer not to answer" option.
Individuals who work in the performing arts, themed entertainment, museums,exhibitions, parade floats, haunted attractions, live music concerts, houses of worship, retail experiences, immersive environments, living history sites, or other live events in the arts, culture or entertainment sectors should take this survey. All responses are anonymous and your privacy will be protected. Individual responses will not be shared with any employer.
SMU DataArts (formerly the Cultural Data Project) is administering the survey on behalf of The Ohio State University. SMU DataArts is an independent non-profit with 15 years of experience in data collection, security, and analysis. Our mission is to empower arts and cultural leaders with high-quality data and evidence-based resources and insights that help them to overcome challenges and increase impact.
SMU DataArts is committed to advancing policies and practices that support diversity, equity, and inclusion across the nonprofit sector. The SMU DataArts' workforce demographics survey is the result of robust collaboration with organizations and experts from across the nonprofit and public sector, including dozens of public and private grantmaking entities, which are conducting complementary demographic data studies.
Collecting this optional demographic information is strongly encouraged as a best practice that can make your work more effective; however, this survey is voluntary. You may complete some, all, or none of the questions. It is entirely up to you, and your choice will have no bearing on the status of your organization's Cultural Data Profile. All information will be aggregated anonymously and reported back to your organization's primary contact. Only SMU DataArts will have access to individual responses at this time. Grantmakers can opt-in to have access to aggregated survey data for your organization, as well as a complete aggregated roll-up of the survey data for all organizations in their applicant pool. SMU DataArts may allow third-parties, such as researchers, advocates, educational organizations or service providers, to use aggregated data from the survey for the purposes of serving or informing the nonprofit arts, cultural, and humanities sector and its stakeholders. On occasion, SMU DataArts may also share aggregated survey information with other partners, researchers, and service providers in order to create, test, and market new services and tools for the nonprofit arts, cultural, and humanities sector.
By taking this survey, you agree to the uses of your data described here and acknowledge that any interpretation or view expressed in any work product created using any aggregated survey dataset will be solely that of the researcher or other user.
SMU DataArts, the survey partner, has built a national reputation as a trusted data collection organization. Since 2004, SMU DataArts has collected and maintained confidential financial and programmatic data for more than 18,000 nonprofit organizations. In addition: The survey DOES NOT ask respondents for personally-identifiable information, such as name, email address, or phone number. Survey responses are kept STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL. Only SMU DataArts will have access to individual response data.
Participating organizations will receive reports on their own workforces only if they reach the required participation threshold. This number varies in proportion to the size of an organization’s workforce. This criterion ensures that individuals cannot be identified within the data reporting. Community-level findings will only be published in the aggregate, ensuring that neither individual respondents’ records nor findings about single organizations will be identifiable.