Understanding Artist and Audience Needs for the Sandy Spring Museum’s Folk Artist Enterprise Initiative
Client: Sandy Spring Museum | Location: Sandy Spring, MD
We gathered artist and community feedback to shape the development of the Sandy Spring Museum’s new initiative for folk artists and renters.
OVERVIEW
In 2024, Kera Collective collaborated with the Sandy Spring Museum (SSM) to support the museum in the development of the Folk Artist Enterprise Initiative, a new program funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The program aims to provide new opportunities for folk artists to earn income by connecting folk artists to people who rent the museum for private events.
The Initiative aims to create new ways for folk artists who are immigrants and people of color to share their traditions with others, increase exposure and appreciation of traditional arts, and provide new opportunities for traditional artists to earn income. The overarching goals of the Initiative include fostering cultural empathy and advancing social equity by bringing people together for shared cultural experiences.
APPROACH
To help inform the Folk Artist Enterprise Initiative’s development, we worked closely with the museum to explore key outcomes of the initiative (cultural empathy and social equity) and gather artist and renter feedback on initial initiative ideas. This process involved the following:
Evaluation Outcomes Framework: In 2024, to effectively and collaborative plan the evaluation, Kera worked with the Sandy Spring Museum to create an outcomes framework for the Initiative. The outcomes framework was informed by (1) survey responses from artists and renters and (2) an onsite workshop with Sandy Spring staff.
Front-end Evaluation: In 2025, we conducted a front-end evaluation, which explored participant motivations and goals for participating in the Initiative, their views on proposed definitions for cultural empathy and social equity, their perspectives on program elements, and any potential barriers or concerns. For the evaluation, we conducted two remote focus groups and four one-on-one, remote interviews with folk artists. We also interviewed those who had previously rented the Sandy Spring Museum for an event and those who were highly interested in renting the Museum.
CLIENT TAKEAWAYS
The evaluation outcomes framework offered a way to synthesize several different perspectives (from staff, artists, and renters) on cultural empathy and social equity. During the workshop, we contemplated the question: for initiative artists and renters, what does cultural empathy and social equity look like? The resulting framework will serve as a guidepost throughout the initiative’s evaluation—the framework details the initiative’s definitions of cultural empathy and social equity, audience outcomes for participating artists and renters, and the initiative’s anticipated long-term impact.
For the front-end evaluation, we found that the Folk Artist Enterprise Initiative is a unique, enriching opportunity for artists, renters, and potential renters alike. Overall, most participants were intrigued by the initiative’s concept. Artists and renters also had distinct motivations for participating in the initiative. Artists are interested in the initiative’s logistical and administrative support in addition to the income-generating opportunity, while renters wanted to know more about the diverse range of services that would be offered. We also found that the definitions of cultural empathy and social equity resonated with artists and renters. Participants offered several suggestions for fostering cultural empathy and social equity, especially in setting program expectations, liaising between renters and artists, and providing educational frameworks for understanding folk art, culture, and implicit bias.
