Arts Audiences Diminish
Arts audiences are getting older and declining, the National Endowment for the Arts reports in a discouraging new survey of public participation in the arts.
Arts Participation 2008: Highlights from a National Survey, compiled with data from the U.S. Census Bureau, is the largest and most representative periodic study of adult participation in arts events and activities.
The following findings were noted:
- Attendance at the most popular types of arts events – such as art museums and craft/visual arts festivals – declined; art museum attendance fell from a high of 26 percent in 1992-2002 to 23 percent in 2008, comparable to the 1982 level.
- Between 1982 and 2008, the rate of attendance at performing arts, such as classical music, jazz, opera, ballet, musical theater, and dramatic plays, has declined by double digits.
- Fewer adults are creating and performing art. For example, the percentage of adults performing dance has dropped six points since 1992. Weaving and sewing remain popular as crafts, but the percentage of adults who do those activities declined. Only the share of adults engaging in photography went up – from 12 percent in 1992 to 15 percent in 2008.