CULTURE IS

PLURAL

Access to arts and culture is a human right.

A more democratic culture is not inevitable.

We have to create it, one interwoven facet at a time.

This is the very cause of our work.

WolfBrown collaborates with industry leaders to build a more equitable, more pluralistic, and more sustainable future for artists, organizations, and whole ecosystems. Our research and planning work finds opportunity amidst the profound uncertainties of the current day. Our team tackles some of the sector’s most vexing, long-term challenges.

We resist the idea that consultants are “experts” and instead cast ourselves as learners alongside our clients and collaborators. They include foundations, public sector agencies, individual organizations, and consortia. Often, we collaborate with artists and managers to bring diverse perspectives to a particular assignment.

Our goal is to move away from systems of exclusion and privilege that perpetuate inequities wherever we find them, whether in our own approach to consulting work, or in the mechanisms of cultural production that are the objects of our research and planning efforts.

Each of our consultants brings a unique blend of scholarly interests and professional experience to the table. Our five Practice Areas reflect the passions of our team members, and stand on decades of experience and considerable intellectual property.

Creative Opportunities

Through innovative program design, research, and evaluation, we collaborate on deepening and amplifying the creative experiences individuals can access throughout their lives. WolfBrown assists institutions and communities in designing, implementing, and evaluating creative learning programs spanning all age groups. Our innovative, sector-leading work includes basic research, integrative landscape and literature reviews, and participatory and summative program evaluations—all with the understanding of how these programs build the diverse creative capital in individuals, families, and communities. >>

Evaluation

WolfBrown help funders and institutions deepen their effectiveness through rigorous evaluation and creative thinking about program design. With its broad, first-hand experience in the cultural sector, WolfBrown offers the objective, informed perspective and research experience necessary to reflect critically on the design and evaluation of foundation grant programs, programming initiatives, and capacity-building efforts. Our work centers on equity and incorporating the principles of equitable evaluation into our research designs. >>

Market Research

Arts and cultural organizations and agencies draw on WolfBrown’s audience research and analysis to build demand for artistic programs. Our research draws on a wide range of quantitative and qualitative research designs and analytical methods. Over the years we’ve developed expertise in all forms of survey research, as well as qualitative methods such as participatory interviewing, experiential tours and accompanied visits, and observational research. With every project, we seek a deep collaboration with our clients to achieve the clarity of purpose and trust required to ask difficult questions and the fortitude necessary to act upon the results. >>

Planning

WolfBrown partners with organizations and agencies to assess programmatic directions and business processes, consider alternative pathways to mission fulfillment, energize stakeholders, and find fresh alignment between community relevance and financial sustainability. We’ve led strategic planning processes for organizations of all sizes and at all stages of development across the arts and culture sector. Each planning project is tailored to the organization’s needs and starts with a dialogue about what sort of planning process will yield the best results. >>

Sector Support

Through policy research, capacity building and convening, we aim to build a more just and inclusive cultural sector. In fact, field learning is deeply embedded in our way of thinking. This work encompasses sector-level needs assessments, designs for capacity building initiatives, studies of public participation in the arts, designs for agency-level impact and accountability systems, and research on artists and artist support systems. >>

Recent Engagements

Assisting Middle Grades Partnership with Data Evaluation for Further Funding Opportunities We’re pleased to embark on a new partnership with the Fund for Educational Excellence and Middle Grades Partnership (MGP) based in >>

WolfBrown Helps Sponsor Play on Philly’s Annual Fundraiser

WolfBrown will once again be helping to sponsor Play on Philly’s Annual Fund Raiser called “Evening of Harmony” on May 8, 2024 at the Perelman Theatre in Philadelphia. >>

Making Sense of the Landscape of Immersive Experiences (Feb. 6-7, 2024)

A Two-Day Intensive Seminar for Michigan-based Arts and Culture Leaders, supported by CultureSource While nonprofit arts and cultural organizations work to rebuild audiences and visitors post-pandemic, the commercial entertainment >>

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We see the world in different ways and strive to bring a multiplicity of perspectives to every project. WolfBrown is a cross-disciplinary team of full-time professional consultants with specialized skills and experience in program design, strategic planning, market research, evaluation, leadership development, pedagogy, and youth development. Read more about the current work of our team members, collaborators, fellows, Scholars-in-Residence, and interns.