A new and innovative way to explore arts and cultural data in the Detroit-metro area.

Join us this September to launch our interactive data platform for art and culture in Southeast Michigan.

Support Sustain Arts by voting for our 2015 SXSW Interactive Conference panel, “Can Artful Data Sustain the Arts?”

Detroit’s widely publicized grand bargain questions more than the extrinsic value of art.

“Smart giving” is what GiveWell does best. Described as “a charity rating agency that makes recommendations to donors based on the expected impact,” GiveWell encouraged more than $17 million in donations last year.

Southeast Michigan's arts and cultural sector continues to get a bump from private funding sources like Kickstarter. Findings show that in 2013 alone, $1.3 million was raised through the platform to fund regional projects.

"It's a city that has had a long history," says Mame Jackson, founder of Wayne State's ArtsCorpsDetroit. "It's a history of affluence and influence at some moments, and a history of deep valleys at others. But always energy, a resilient energy."

The Cultural Data Project has identified six factors influencing the way arts and cultural data is being collected and used today, along with a list of preliminary suggestions for moving forward in an environment reluctant to employ data for decision-making.