2026 Arts Outlook: Geoff Steele

Steele’s 2026 Projection: 2026 is a pivotal time with the arts playing a significant role in our community’s quality of life and being central to answering Springfield’s identity questions raised in the past few years. Defining the role of the arts will be essential to communicating our message to residents, visitors and donors as funding for the arts goes increasingly private.

The Springfield region is home to numerous arts programs. Where is funding support coming from as national support decreases?
Cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute for Museums and Libraries have trickle-down impacts for regions like ours. Entities are having to navigate that, but the private sector seems to be measuring up, although those numbers are also down. People aren’t giving philanthropically like they were even five years ago. We’re getting an opportunity to become better at advocating the role we play in society. Private sectors and opportunities for grants outside our region are going to become more lucrative in the days ahead because we’re forced to. We’ve been through recession, depression, global conflict and a global pandemic. Yet we’re still here. That speaks to the resilience of the arts.

How will arts organizations need to more meaningfully connect with the public?
I’m seeing an appetite for community and the opportunity to have a shared experience. There’s a greater intentionality to articulate and explore the why: why this matters, why we’re doing it, why the artist is doing it, what the inspiration is. We’re in interesting times financially as a culture. If you feel uncertainty, there is a hold-onto-it mentality. We have to be really intentional about saying, “This is why it matters,” and creating affordable opportunities. We continue to be this unique melting pot of creative energy accessible for rural and urban settings. That’s the message we’ve got to push from a business standpoint, from a Visit Springfield standpoint, from a private-business standpoint. You’ve got to be able to properly acknowledge who we are, and a big part of who we are is a lovely creative environment.

How is that defined in the current cultural climate?
One of the things that comes up all the time is “What is Springfield’s identity?” I believe we’re going to see the arts assume that role of community identity. The quality of life, education and exposure to the arts and humanities is going to directly correlate with the ability for us to retain young professionals and young families. You get a lovely outdoor environment, but you’ve got a world-class opera, an outstanding symphony, a ballet, a community theater program. In 2026, we have the 250th century of our country, the 100th anniversary of Route 66, the 100th anniversary of the Gillioz and conversations about the identity of Springfield. I believe the arts are the answer to the question of Springfield’s identity. We’re in serious times, and the arts play a significant role in helping us define that.

What are the biggest assets and challenges to being in an arts career at this time?
For the next 10 years, there is still overall growth projected for the creative sector. The challenge is beginning median income, affordable housing, the ability to create an environment where they can operate in their field and not have to subsidize their income. Is it possible to sustain a household with what the compensation is in the market? I don’t know that it is. That middle band is underdeveloped.