Why do the arts matter so much in rural areas? The arts are needed now more than ever to heal the social fabric, grow the population, drive the local economy and, in some cases, replace lost industries. Post-pandemic, a significant portion of the population hungers for hands-on, in-person arts experiences at a human scale. At the same time, rural areas are ripe with innovation, community connections, and an entrepreneurial spirit that fits well with creativity and arts-based community engagement. As rural areas continue to evolve past their previous ties to agriculture, industry, and mining, the arts offer new ways to enrich communities, spark local economies, and create tourist destinations, in tandem with their glorious surroundings.

One goal of this book is to help dispel the myth of rural equaling white people. Six of the twelve arts organizations featured in this book are led by people of color and/or serve populations in which people of color are the majority. Eleven of the twelve organizations are led in part or entirely by female-identifying arts leaders. These numbers are happy accidents and not criteria of the selection or search process. It just turns out that, when you start looking for wonderful rural arts organizations, you find diversity.

Managing the Arts in Rural Areas explores the challenges facing rural communities today and the positive impacts provided by the arts on economic development, diversity, equity, inclusion and access, fundraising, arts education, and community development. With dynamic case studies on arts organizations in rural areas from Alaska to Alabama and from Montana to Arizona, Managing the Arts in Rural Areas gives readers deep insights into how the arts are helping to define and grow rural areas today.

David Andrew Snider is an educator, producer, administrator and a rare example of an arts leader who has successfully led arts organizations in both major urban and rural areas over the past 25 years. He is the author of Managing Arts Organizations, published by Rowman & Littlefield in January 2022, including a chapter on rural arts management titled Adapting from City Mouse to Country Mouse. David has taught arts administration at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY for seven years and previously served on the faculty of American University in Washington, DC at the graduate and undergraduate levels. In May of 2022, he presented on the differences between urban and rural arts management at the national conference of the Association for Arts Administration Educators for a national audience of educators and students, titled Adapting from City Mouse to Country Mouse: Managing the Arts in Urban and Rural Areas. Currently also the Executive & Artistic Director of the Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education in Cambridge, NY, David has launched several new artistic and education programs on the campus of Hubbard Hall, greatly expanded the companys outreach to the community, and established the companys first ever major endowment fund. Prior to Hubbard Hall, David served as the Director of Artistic Programming at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, DC, where he directed artistic programming and season planning, oversaw new work development, and commissioned a wide array of artists, including commissions to Lynn Nottage for the Pulitzer Prize winning Sweat and Lawrence Wright for Camp David. David once worked with Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Katori Hall on five plays in six days and witnessed her brilliant artistry and management first-hand. As the Producing Artistic Director and CEO of Young Playwrights Theater, David established partnerships and developed projects with the White House, the Kennedy Center, and the Smithsonian Institution, while building nationally-recognized programs, a resident company of high profile artists, and a series of award-winning community-based projects. David received the Meyer Foundations $100,000 Exponent Award for visionary leadership of a nonprofit, the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from the Presidents Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, and the Hands On Greater DC Cares Essence of Leadership Award. David is a Directing Fellow of the Drama League of New York, a past President of the League of Washington Theatres, a member of Leadership Greater Washington, and a National Arts Strategies Chief Executive Fellow. David received his MFA from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts and his BA in English Literature/Russian language from Dickinson College, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. David has taught arts management for over a decade at the graduate and undergraduate levels, first at American University and currently as a Lecturer in the Arts Administration program at Skidmore College. He resides in the village of Cambridge, NY, with his wife and children. thedavidsnider.com