Nicholas P. Dempsey

This paper examines how different regimes of distributing art can lead to different kinds of art works and different modalities for consuming art. The paper argues that there are at least three key changes in arts distribution that are salient in the sociology of art: 1) technological changes, such as the move to digital distribution of music; 2) market innovations, such as when markets adapt to freeze out or facilitate new kinds of arts or when copyright laws change that facilitate or hinder the production of different kinds of art; 3) globalization, which has partly opened up new avenues for distribution to artists from the Global South, though distribution in general retains somewhat of a local bias. Each of these kind of changes make some kinds of art more available to arts consumers while making other kinds less available. Further, each change may affect how consumers consume art (e.g., digital distribution has made access to a wide variety of music nearly constant for a sector of music consumers). The paper considers examples from different art forms, including literature, visual arts, and music.  

This paper explores the relationship between the utilization of urban amenities and the degree to which residents of a mid-sized city experience happiness and overall subjective wellbeing. Based on a weekly survey of 170 working residents in St. Petersburg, Florida, results indicate that happiness and overall emotional wellbeing are positively correlated with exercise and spending time with friends, as well as spending time at restaurants, clubs, or bars. 

This paper presents early findings from the Sunshine City Happiness Survey, a longitudinal study which assesses the wellbeing of working-age people in St. Petersburg, Florida. Specifically, we examine the degree to which people consume the arts--as measured by whether they attend museums, theatrical, or musical performances--affects their overall wellbeing. As the survey is repeated weekly, we will be able to discern whether arts consumption has positive, negative, or no effect on wellbeing, and will compare the effects of arts consumption to other activities such as exercising, attending sporting events, or eating out at restaurants. 

This paper examines changes in the size of the nonprofit arts sector in mid-sized U.S. cities over the period from 2012 to 2019. Asking why some cities have more robust arts organizations than other cities, and why some see more organizational growth over time than others, the paper analyzes data collected on 223 mid-sized municipalities. I find that organizational capacities both within and beyond the arts sector strongly predict the size and growth of a city's arts organization. Those capacities are measured by the presence of Fortune 500 firms, local arts councils, and successful applications for NEA grants. The findings also suggest that cities with greater income inequality have larger nonprofit arts sectors.

As a prologue to a new study of wellbeing among working-age city residents, this presentation examines the determinants of urban dwellers' social, physical, and psychological wellbeing. Existing research suggests that environmental factors, community factors, and access to certain kinds of amenities like health care facilities and grocery stores are all generally accepted as important elements that partly determine city dwellers' physical and mental wellbeing. Relatively less is known about short- and medium- term effects of elements of urban life like neighborhood disputes, city service provision, and community events such as professional sports and festivals. We seek to understand how these and other determinants of wellbeing can be modeled to better understand the changing quality of life experienced by city dwellers.

      This paper examines changes in the size of the nonprofit arts sector in US cities with populations between 100,000 and 300,000 people over the period from 2012 to 2019. Broadly, its objective is to discover which cities are more likely to have growing, stagnant, or shrinking nonprofit arts sectors. By examining several potential covariates such as mean income and age of the cities, the study aims to better understand why cities are more or less likely to foster active communities of artists.