Seeing the Full Picture: Why Art Matters More Than Ever for Democracy
/Last weekend, I attended Carnaval in San Francisco with friends. The streets were alive with color, movement, and music—people of all ages and backgrounds dancing together in celebration of culture and community. It was a joyful, defiant act of presence and pride.
But behind the scenes, many of the nonprofits and cultural organizations that make events like this possible are facing deep uncertainty. A recent San Francisco Chronicle article highlighted how longstanding organizations that support cultural celebration, community healing, and civic connection are struggling to stay afloat as public funding diminishes.
Carnaval isn’t just a parade—it’s an expression of shared civic life, alive in the streets. These moments of collective joy, cultural expression, and belonging are essential to how communities engage, participate, and imagine themselves as part of something larger. That day offered a glimpse of something bigger: the vital role of art in sustaining democracy, and the growing threats to the infrastructure that supports it.
Across the country, we’re seeing sharp reductions in public funding for the arts, alongside rising political attacks on free expression, civic participation, and social justice movements. Recent federal policies, including cuts to the NEA, content restrictions, and efforts to delegitimize nonprofit work, are not isolated decisions. They’re part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent and narrow the public imagination.
In this climate, the work of artists and cultural organizers is not just valuable—it’s essential. As Vu Le shared in his recent blog, “Art is a means of speaking truth to power... a vital tool to wake people up and mobilize them.” Art helps shape culture, defend democratic values, and offer spaces for reflection, resistance, and relationship—especially when other institutions falter. Even as these pressures mount, artists across the country continue to create spaces that help people stay connected to possibility and to each other.
For funders and practitioners alike, this raises an important question: How do we understand and support the full range of what art makes possible—especially the kinds of impact that are harder to see or measure?
The Iceberg Model: Understanding Art’s Impact
Traditional evaluation methods—designed for clear, linear cause-and-effect relationships—often struggle to capture art’s layered and non-linear influence on social and political change. Some impacts are immediate and visible, while others are subtle and cumulative, unfolding over time.
Our recent collaboration with For Freedoms and Movement Voter Fund (MVF) offered an opportunity to explore this complexity. We set out to explore not just what art achieves in the moment, but how it helps defend democracy and catalyze long-term change.
Through this work, we found that art’s impact can operate at multiple levels, much like an iceberg. At the tip—the visible part—are tangible, measurable outcomes. Below the surface lie deeper shifts that are equally powerful but harder to see.
Visible Impact (Above the Waterline). Outcomes that can be easily counted, like the number of people who attended an event or impressions from a public campaign. These metrics are often the most valued because they are concrete and readily available.
Patterns and Trends (Just Below the Surface). Art shapes behaviors, public conversations, and cultural narratives. For example, it can spark dialogue around critical issues or influence how communities engage with one another over time.
Underlying Structures. At a deeper level, art strengthens the relationships, systems, and networks that sustain civic participation. This includes building connections between artists, organizers, and funders that create pathways for lasting collaboration.
Mental Models (Deepest Level). Art has the power to transform mindsets—how people perceive democracy, power, and their role within it. By sparking imagination, art invites us to see the world differently and envision new possibilities for change.
It’s important to note that not all art operates on all levels, nor does it need to. Some efforts prioritize immediate, visible outcomes, while others aim to shift systems or inspire cultural transformation over time. Each of these approaches has value.
Infographic titled “Considering Impacts & Investments through an Iceberg Lens.” Visible impacts are illustrated above the waterline. underlying patterns, structures, and mental models are illustrated below the waterline.
Case in Point: Carnaval San Francisco
San Francisco’s Carnaval is more than a parade—it’s a layered expression of civic life that illustrates how art operates across the iceberg of impact:
Visible Impact. Tens of thousands of people fill the Mission District streets. Local businesses see a surge in revenue. Media coverage and social media impressions spike. The city issues permits and shows up with infrastructure.
Patterns and Trends. Carnaval affirms joy, visibility, and cultural belonging for Latinx, Black, Indigenous, and immigrant communities in a city grappling with gentrification. It invites all San Franciscans to reconsider who public space is for—and who gets to be seen.
Underlying Structures. Behind the scenes are dozens of cultural groups—like Loco Bloco, Mission Cultural Center, and Dance Mission Theater—whose organizing spans youth leadership, racial justice, and community healing. Carnaval serves as a connective hub where artists, organizers, and funders build long-term civic relationships.
Mental Models. At its deepest level, Carnaval challenges dominant ideas of what democracy looks like. It offers a vision grounded in cultural pride, solidarity, and joy as resistance—and reminds us that participation isn’t only about voting. It’s about showing up, together, in public.
The Challenge of Measurement
This continuum of impact raises important questions for funders. While visible outcomes like voter turnout or attendance numbers are valuable, they tell only part of the story. Art’s influence is often cumulative and non-linear:
A public art installation might spark immediate conversation but also leave a lasting impression that influences someone’s thinking or behavior over time.
A performance might create an emotional connection that shifts perspectives or fosters empathy, opening pathways for deeper engagement.
A convening might strengthen relationships and networks, positioning communities to mobilize in future elections or moments of civic action.
As federal funding retracts and evaluators face mounting pressure to quantify short-term returns, we must resist narrowing our definition of impact. Traditional evaluation frameworks tend to overlook these deeper impacts, focusing instead on what can be easily measured. We need evaluation approaches that reflect the complexity of art’s contribution—especially the subtler shifts that sustain democratic participation.
What Funders Can Learn from the Full Picture
Through this evaluation, we surfaced a few key lessons for funders investing in art for democracy:
Not all art focuses on the same outcomes. Different efforts prioritize different types of impact, from visible metrics to long-term systems change. Funders can embrace this diversity and invest across the full continuum.
Look beyond what’s visible. The less tangible impacts—like shifts in cultural narratives, relationships, and mindsets—are often harder to measure but equally critical for sustaining change. Funders can ask: What deeper shifts might this work be seeding over time?
Adapt evaluation to fit the work. Art’s impact can’t always be captured through traditional metrics. Creative, qualitative approaches—like storytelling, interviews, or participatory evaluation—can help illuminate the full picture.
Support learning, not just measurement. Evaluation should generate insights to inform future work, not just measure past performance. By focusing on learning, funders can adapt strategies and support innovation over time.
Reframing What Success Looks Like
The iceberg model challenges us to think differently about what success looks like in arts funding. It asks us to recognize that art’s impact often extends far beyond the visible tip of the iceberg:
Some efforts drive short-term action and engagement.
Others shift narratives, strengthen networks, or inspire imagination in ways that unfold over months or years.
Both are essential. As democracy faces increasing threats, funders have a responsibility not just to support the arts but to invest in its role as a defender of civic life. These insights point to a broader call to action: to value art not only for cultural enrichment, but as strategic infrastructure for democracy.
Looking Ahead: Urgency and Action
As democratic norms erode, art remains one of the few spaces where people can gather, express truth, and imagine new futures. It allows us to engage with complexity, challenge dominant narratives, and imagine new ways forward.
As learning partners to arts and culture organizations and their funders, we have an opportunity—and a responsibility—to consider how our choices today shape the democratic possibilities of tomorrow. We invite you to reflect with us: What does it look like to support the full spectrum of artistic impact in this moment? How might we listen for the deeper shifts that art helps bring about? And what role can evaluation play in ensuring those contributions are seen, valued, and sustained?
In my work, I’ve come to see arts and culture not just as expression, but as civic infrastructure—essential to how people connect, participate, and imagine new futures. Especially now, funding the arts is not simply a cultural investment. It’s a strategic one.
