We are immensely grateful to Limelight, Australia’s classical music and arts magazine, for synthesising the results of an extraordinary 23,000-respondent survey, covering over 150 organisations, commissioned by the Australia Council for the Arts, Creative Victoria, Create NSW, Arts Queensland, Department of the Premier and Cabinet (South Australia) and the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (Western Australia).
As Limelight summarises, ‘one of the major challenges facing [arts managers] will be attracting audiences back. A new survey has found that patrons overwhelmingly intend to return to arts and cultural events in the future, with nine out of 10 respondents saying they will be back. However, 96% said that safety measures will affect how soon they will be ready to return.
Here are some of the statistics that jump out at us, from the Audience Outlook Monitor survey conducted this month:
- 22% of respondents are comfortable with returning as soon as restrictions are lifted,
- 67% will attend when the risk of transmission is deemed to be minimal,
- while 11% won’t consider returning until there is no risk at all. This group, the survey found, mostly included people living with a disability, those who attend the arts less than once a year, those aged over 65, and those who are retired or unemployed.
- 78% of respondents plan to attend as often as they did before the coronavirus,
- while 7% said that they will attend even more often.
- The vast majority – 93% – will be interested in the same kinds of events that they used to attend before the coronavirus, with little appetite for new art that reflects on the crisis, though 25% ‘wanted work that would help them make sense of it’.
In terms of venue size the survey showed a significant win smaller venues:
- 50% or less are the most likely to attract audiences in the near future with 62% saying they would be ‘very comfortable’ or at least ‘somewhat comfortable’ if they were open now and following relevant safety guidelines,
- For venues seating 100, 14% said they would be ‘very comfortable’ and 30% said they would be ‘somewhat comfortable’ with attending today,
- only 7% would be ‘very comfortable’ attending venues seating 1,000 or more. For the time being, outdoor events may be more viable than indoor programming.
When it came to museums and galleries, 88% said they would be at least ‘somewhat comfortable’ with attending.
In terms of specific safety measures, the survey found that expectations were high and will make a big difference in attracting audiences back.
- Most people wanted measures such as disinfecting public areas (89%) and providing hand sanitiser (89%).
- Social distancing was considered important, with 83% supporting patrons being seated apart. But, interestingly, 27% said they would be discouraged from attending if masks had to be worn. 11% percent said they would be discouraged if there was mandatory temperature testing at entries to the venue.
It is hard to disagree with the economic-trigger assessment that Adrian Collette, chief executive of the Australia Council, makes about the significance of cultural Live Events: ‘It will be cultural experiences that will have people hitting the road for domestic tourism, and the shared experiences of live performances and public events that will draw us back into our urban and regional centres and their restaurants, bars and cafes. This will play a critical role in boosting consumer confidence overall.’
If you are interested in subscribing to Limelight, very much money well spent in the opinion of The DAIMANI Journal, then please click here. They are offering a 50% discount for a short time only.
