​How Are We Doing?

​What does it take for Black artists to thrive in Vermont? This three-part series of reports documents an innovative formative research project designed to find out!  Findings and recommendations from this action-oriented study share important insights and next steps for cross-sectoral collaborations among nonprofit organizations and others working in the arts and public health sectors to support healthy communities and the wellbeing of Black artists.
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Scroll down to view or download and read the Part 1, 2, and 3 reports of the How Are We Doing? Understanding what it takes for Black artists to thrive in Vermont series.​
Part 1: Findings and Recommendations from Artist Interviews.
This report documents the findings from artist interviews around five major areas:
  1. Artists' own definitions of artist empowerment;
  2. The importance of both the sense of place created on the 138 acre physical Farm that promotes a deeper understanding and appreciation for African American and African Diaspora history, arts and culture;
  3. The distinct added value of a Black women-led 50 I c3 nonprofit organization for representation, advocacy, mentoring, and helping artists to build their social capital;
  4. Artists' expressed needs for support to help them thrive; and
  5. Artists' perceptions of their impact in their communities.
Part 2: Findings and Recommendations from a Wellness Check-In with Artists.
This report helps us to build an understanding of What Does It Take for Black Artists to Thrive in Vermont? by sharing methods and findings from a wellness check-in with artists. The report has three main sections:
  1. How to measure thriving and wellbeing through the refinement and use of Clemmons Family Farm's Artist Wellness Check-In Assessment;
  2. Results from using the Artist Wellness Check-in Assessment; and
  3. The learnings from triangulating the different findings from Clemmons Family Farm's needs assessments and formative research with participating artists.
Part 3: A Rapid Scan of the Literature on Black Artists' Empowerment and Measures of Thriving in the Arts and Health Sectors.   
The work of the How Are We Doing? project includes a scan of the arts and health literature- both published and unpublished (“gray”) literature.  The literature scan informed the research approach and the questions for in-depth interviews and a wellness assessment conducted between January and June 2024.  This report:
  • compiles the evidence base and support cross-sectoral programming in the public health and arts sectors;
  • advances the development of meaningful wellness outcomes, indicators and measures for supporting artists to thrive; and
  • supports nonprofit organizations to understand how to deliver improved programs and services by, for, or in collaboration with artists.

The How Are We Doing? project is an extension of Clemmons Family Farm’s Beneath Our Skin COVID-19 Vaccination Storytelling Project, funded by the Vermont Department of Health.