Developing a Taxonomy

This report examines the lack of sector-wide data on artist support for individual artists, the lack of a common taxonomy to explain the different forms of artist support, and the lack of benchmark data to track artist support over time. Recognizing that this is a complex picture and that support comes in many forms and from diverse sources, Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) has developed a taxonomy that permits comprehensive, systematic tracking of support to individual artists. This collaborative effort complements GIA’s longstanding work in benchmarking arts funding overall and will give arts funders and service providers a better understanding of the ecology of artist support, thereby allowing them to improve and expand overall support for individual artists of all creative disciplines.