Reversing the long-term US trend of falling arts attendance is going to take a lot bigger thinking than is generally taking place, says Alexander Forbes.
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has released a set of three studies of unprecedented scope into arts engagement and its economic impact in the United States. The studies focus particularly on 2012 but also offer comparative data between previous years in which polls regarding arts attendance were taken. (The older data did not include information about attendees' motivations or the subsequent economic impact of their engagement.) This latest effort also manages to debunk some of the central myths exploited by arts's detractors, who reject them as a luxury during a tough economic climate.
First, the basics: the report most heavily flags the 71 percent of the US population that used electronic media to access the arts—this includes music and TV/film streaming services—and the 51 percent of the adults who attended a concert, a performance, or an art exhibit in 2012. At first glance, while not phenomenal, those rates aren't exactly awful either. But they fail to present the whole picture... Keep reading on artnet
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has released a set of three studies of unprecedented scope into arts engagement and its economic impact in the United States. The studies focus particularly on 2012 but also offer comparative data between previous years in which polls regarding arts attendance were taken. (The older data did not include information about attendees' motivations or the subsequent economic impact of their engagement.) This latest effort also manages to debunk some of the central myths exploited by arts's detractors, who reject them as a luxury during a tough economic climate.
First, the basics: the report most heavily flags the 71 percent of the US population that used electronic media to access the arts—this includes music and TV/film streaming services—and the 51 percent of the adults who attended a concert, a performance, or an art exhibit in 2012. At first glance, while not phenomenal, those rates aren't exactly awful either. But they fail to present the whole picture... Keep reading on artnet