These issues are addressed several times in the report, mainly in the section that analyzes NYFA Source data on awards available to artists based on region as well as age. My longer Arts Policy piece shows some of the visual representations of this data. The authors found that, at least at the time of publication, “Demographic, artistic, and career-stage diversity are not well served through mainstream awards, arts criticism, and media coverage.” For example, there were fewer awards, and means of critical recognition, available for folk artists in rural areas. The NYFA Source data revealed that only 1/3 of grants were restricted to a particular geographic area, with the most available in NY, MA and CA. Yet according to the report, artists, especially emerging and mid-career artists, gravitate toward local grants because “such programs are perceived as less competitive and more accessible, as artists are more likely to have connections to their local and state arts agencies or other organizations administering local awards than to organizations working at the national level or in places that are far away.” The authors found it difficult to analyze local grants because there are so many distinctions within that category, i.e. state-specific vs city or neighborhood-specific.

With respect to age, the NYFA Source data revealed that “Only 25 percent of all awards are targeted explicitly to career stage. Of these, most (17 percent of total awards) are targeted to emerging artists, with less than 7 percent of the total to mid-career artists, and 5 percent to elderly artists.”

The most in depth info on these topics can be found in pp. 38-40 of the original “Investing in Creativity” PDF. This is, of course, data published in 2003.

I hope that answers your question and thank you again for continuing the conversation.