So another month but finally shaking off the haze of summer. How do I know, well? The Australia Council launched a new research report today, nicely called...'More than bums on seats: Australian participation in the Arts' and a few favourite commentators have picked up on it....today I'm going with Ben Eltham who points out some of the study's limitations.
As an arts marketer working in an organisation heavily funded by Ozco can I say the dream is 'more than' bums on seats. Idealistically we toil everyday for those snippets of success when it is more than the transactional relationship. For those moments when an audiences' heart and mind is touched by something. A half forgotten memory just recalled, sheer pleasure and amazement, a chill down the spine, a moment out of the mind when an attendee just connects far beyond the exchange of cash for the 'service' of entertainment.
So what insights do Ozco have for us?
Young people are highly engaged with the arts.
Ok....er...
Oh, now this is getting interesting...Groups who were less engaged with the arts:
Those born overseas in a non-English speaking country have significantly lower levels of both creative and receptive participation compared to the total Australian population Those for whom the main language spoken at home is not English are less likely to attend arts events. People with a serious illness or disability experience significant difficulties accessing the various services offered by the arts and consequently had much lower levels of arts participation. Regional areas have significantly lower levels of attendance at music events than inner metropolitan areas. Rural residents are more likely than inner and outer metropolitan residents to have had a below average year of receptive participation in the arts compared to the year before.
Ok, there's a market or two and some cool segmentation names: The Lovers (heavy participation), The Flirters (influenced by friends to attend), the Unattached (can't see the relevance) and The Outsiders (keep me away from the pretentious art snobs). Kudos on the segmentation names to whom ever came up with those...they gave me a laugh.
And to top if off it's full of buzz words like 'building engagement', one of my favourites! I'm off to read the report in depth but again I have the feeling it will be more of the same, great stats and thoughts...but somehow, lacking the oomph and the final answer to assist us searching for that holy grail of 'more than bums on seats'.
