The Performing Arts Research Coalition (PARC), a three-year audience-research project being conducted by five national service organizations, has released the second of three reports on the culture-going habits of citizens in selected cities across America. The figures further confirm that that people attend performing arts-related events more than sporting events. And they place a high value on the presence of the performing arts in areas in which they live, work, and seek cultural outlets.
"The Value of the Performing Arts in Five Communities 2" examines audiences in Austin, Tex., Boston, Mass., Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., Sarasota, Fla., and Washington, D.C. Included is data on "participation rates" in cultural activities as well as an in-depth look at the demographics of the attendees themselves. The survey measures the "perceived value of the performing arts" to individuals and communities, and considers the many barriers to increasing those numbers and what can be done to overcome them.
Financed by a $2.7 million grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts and begun in the spring of 2002, PARC is a joint effort of the American Symphony Orchestra League, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Dance/USA, Opera America, and Theatre Communications Group. The coalition has partnered with the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based not-for-profit research group, to analyze and interpret the data.
The first interim report, issued in April 2003 and focused on audiences in the state of Alaska, Cincinnati, Ohio, Denver, Colo., Pittsburgh, Penn., and Seattle, Wash., also showed that people attend performing arts-related events more than sporting events, and placing a high value on the performing arts.
Approximately three-quarters of those participating in the newest survey reported attending one live professional performing arts event within the past 12 months. While this ranged from a high of 78% for Boston respondents to a low of 71% for those in Sarasota, the numbers nevertheless represent a significant level of continuity across a broad swath of the nation. Moreover, the figures contrast positively with the results of the April 2003 survey, which found a high of 69% in Denver to a low of 61% in Pittsburgh.
The report classifies as "frequent attenders" those who attend a performing arts event at least 12 times in a given year. While the percentages of those falling into this category are a good deal lower, of course, the fact that 17% of D.C. respondents and 11% of Minneapolis-St. Paul respondents were classified this way suggests that audiences' interest in the arts is as wide as it is deep.
When it comes to the menu of cultural choices—say, a performing arts event versus a sporting event—the survey takes great care not to suggest that it is all an either/or dynamic. While "more people have attended a live performing arts event at least once in the past year" than a professional sporting event, arts attenders also tend to be "active citizens who participate in a wide range of activities and volunteer for organizations in their community."
The selection criteria for the report are fairly rigorous. A locale must not only have "representation in three or more of the five national service organizations," but it must also boast enough local arts organizations that "are financially and managerially strong."
To generate the most viable set of analyzable data, the surveys that are employed also vary in type: administrative (examining number of performances, attendance, revenue streams, and expenditures); audience-related (focusing on demographics); subscriber-related (like audience surveys, expanded in scope); and community/household-related (conducted by telephone to identify those who don't attend the performing arts regularly and what might motivate them to do so).
Drilling Down
Perhaps the most significant similarity between the most recent report and the one issued last year concerns some of the longest-held assumptions about the ages of contemporary audiences—that they tend to be older. The data shows very much the opposite—indeed, a "lack of a strong relationship between age and level of attendance." Economics are a different matter: Perhaps unsurprisingly, nonattenders "show a trend toward lower incomes" and "frequent attenders show a trend toward higher incomes."
Logically, this information makes a good deal of sense: the more disposable income, the more likely one may direct it toward cultural activities. The survey adds that education plays a role in all this, observing "a strong relationship between education level and category of attendance." As the education of the audience member increases, "so also does the percentage…who are attenders or frequent attenders."
Several study elements offer psychological profiles of audiences as well. More than 80% of respondents said they have "positive opinions about the level of enjoyment derived from live performing arts" and the statistics suggest, moreover, that such a statement is generally unrelated to the level of household income. The one exception was the participants from Sarasota, where "higher household incomes are associated with greater levels of arts enjoyment."
And in a finding that will buttress the growing body of research that supports the economic benefits of the arts in a community, the report makes an attempt to quantify how audiences feel about the "value" of culture in their environment. For example, "at least" 90% of respondents in each of the five communities said they either "strongly agree" or "agree" that the performing arts "contribute to the education and development of children." A slightly smaller but no less substantial figure—more than 80%—believe the performing arts "improve the quality of life in their community."
Finally, there is the key question of how to improve upon these encouraging statistics—how arts groups can scale the "barriers to attendance," which is the core of contemporary arts marketing efforts. The report cites 11 such "barriers," from the cost of tickets to simply feeling "uncomfortable or out of place at performing arts events."
Here the apparent homogeneity of the five studied communities begins to take a different shape. In Austin, 32% of respondents said they preferred "to spend leisure time in other ways" and 3% indicated they did not attend more arts events because they "have not enjoyed past performances." In Boston and Sarasota, a stunning 41% and 42%, respectively, simply said it was "hard to make time to go out."
The final results of the PARC project are slated for release this fall.