Missing the Arts

Millions of Americans are missing the arts. It has been more than six months since the public has been free to attend art festivals, live music performances, plays, musicals, dance recitals and other in-person art events. This is a big loss for all of us. 

Just how big is revealed by a National Endowment for the Arts analysis of the 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. The NEA study analyzed attendance at in-person art events by generation, revealing widespread devotion to the arts regardless of age. The majority of Gen Zers, Millennials, Gen Xers, and Boomers attend at least one in-person art event during a year's time. On average, these arts aficionados attend three events a year...

Percent reporting attendance at in-person art events in the past year (and average annual number of events participated in by attendees)
65% of Gen Zers (3.1)
59% of Millennials (2.9)
55% of Gen Xers (3.0)
53% of Boomers (2.9)
41% of Silent Generation (2.7)

Note: Generation Z was 18 to 20 in 2017. Millennials were 21 to 36. Generation X was 37 to 52. Boomers were 53 to 71. The Silent Generation was 72 to 89.

The 2017 survey also explored the reasons for attending arts events and the barriers preventing attendance. Wanting to spend time with family or friends was the top reason for attending an in-person art event—cited by 82 percent of attendees. The biggest barrier to attendance was a lack of time. Those were the good old days.   

Source: National Endowment for the Arts, 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, Why We Engage: Attending, Creating, and Performing Art

Creative Economy Sheds Jobs

Read it and weep: a Brookings analysis of the effects of Covid-19 on the nation's creative economy is not for the faint of heart. The assessment, undertaken by Richard Florida of the University of Toronto and Michael Seman of Colorado State University, measures the extent of Covid-19 job and revenue losses for arts industries and occupations from April 1 to July 31, 2020. The findings are grim...

• Creative industries—such as music, film, design, advertising, and theater—lost 2.7 million jobs (31 percent) and $150 billion in sales of goods and services (9 percent) from April through July. 
• Fine and performing arts industries lost 50 percent of their jobs. 
• Creative occupations—such as musician, artist, performer, and designer—shed 2.3 million jobs (30 percent) and 15 percent of total average monthly wages.
• By state, California is in the lead in absolute numbers of jobs lost and revenue foregone. But as a percentage of jobs lost, smaller states have bigger losses. Seven states—Alaska, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Maryland, Vermont, and Maine—have lost more than one-third of their creative industry jobs.
• Among metropolitan areas, New York and Los Angeles lost the most creative industry and creative occupation jobs. But in percentage terms, the losses are much greater in smaller metros. Las Vegas lost 36 percent of its creative industry jobs from April through July, 2020. Other metros where creative industry jobs fell by more than one-third are Nashville, Tucson, New Orleans, Baltimore, Jacksonville, and Richmond.

To prevent further damage to the nation's arts culture and economy, Florida and Seman recommend a "substantial and sustained national creative-economy recovery strategy." Without such an effort, every region, state, and metro will be diminished culturally and economically. "Arts, culture, and creativity are one of three key sectors (along with science and technology as well as business and management) that drive regional economies," conclude Florida and Seman. "Any lasting damage to the creative sector will drastically undercut our culture, well-being, and quality of life."

Source: Brookings Institution, Lost Art: Measuring Covid-19's Devastating Impact on America's Creative Economy

Missing the Museums

How soon will Americans return to cultural attractions—the museums, parks, aquariums, zoos, theaters, and concerts they have been unable to visit during the Covid-19 shutdown? The public expects to resume normal visitation patterns within three months, according to Colleen Dilenschneider, the Chief Market Engagement Officer for IMPACTS, a firm that tracks audience engagement for nonprofit and cultural organizations. Dilenschneider provides her insights on the Know Your Own Bone website.

IMPACTS' weekly survey of adults who are likely to visit or have visited cultural attractions in the past shows that "intent to visit" is returning to normal after falling in March. Twenty-one percent of survey respondents as of May 2 intend to visit one of 84 cultural organizations within the next three months. This is the same percentage as the survey measured one year earlier—before coronavirus. Intent to visit is returning to normal. "People who enjoy visiting cultural organizations are starting to plan their trips again," says Dilenschneider.

While this is good news, there's a caveat. "Near-term demand for onsite cultural engagement is being redistributed away from some organization types and towards others," cautions Dilenschneider. Those who visit botanic gardens may be more likely to visit them than usual, according to the survey's findings. Those who visit zoos, public beaches, aquariums, and museums also indicate an increased interest in visiting. But those who attend movie theaters, performing arts, concerts, or sports stadiums are less interested in resuming their usual attendance pattern.

"Experiences requiring a visitor to be indoors and in stationary, close quarters do not currently indicate the same levels of demand as do other cultural enterprises," Dilenschneider concludes.

Source: Colleen Dilenschneider, Know Your Own Bone, Data Update: How Covid-19 Is Impacting Intentions to Visit Cultural Entities—May 4, 2020 and Which Cultural Entities Will People Return to after Reopening?—April 22, 2020

Who Wants to Live Close to the Arts?

Location, location, location. That's what some people look for when choosing a place to live. They want to live in a location convenient to arts and cultural events, according to a study by the National Endowment for the Arts.

But how many feel this way? To find out, the NEA added supplemental questions to the Census Bureau's 2015 American Housing Survey. For most Americans (62 percent), living near arts and cultural events is not important, according to the survey's results. But for 38 percent, it is.

In the 15 metropolitan areas included in the 2015 American Housing Survey, this is the percentage of households who say it is important for them to live close to arts and cultural events...

Percent saying it is important to live convenient to arts and cultural events, by metro area
57% in San Francisco
53% in Los Angeles
50% in New York
49% in Washington, DC
46% in Seattle
45% in Boston
44% in Chicago
43% in Atlanta
41% in Dallas
41% in Philadelphia
40% in Miami
40% in Phoenix
36% in Detroit
35% in Houston
33% in Riverside-San Bernardino

Among people living in nonmetropolitan areas, only 25 percent say living close to arts and cultural events is important to them.

Source: The National Endowment for the Arts, The Arts in Neighborhood Choice

2.5 Million Artists in U.S. Labor Force

The stereotype of the starving artist must be laid to rest. A study of artists in the U.S. labor force by the National Endowment for the Arts shows the earnings of artists to be well above average—a median of $52,800 for those who worked full-time, year-round in 2012–16. Although this is less than the median for all professional workers ($60,460), it is 18 percent more than the median for the average worker ($44,640).

The National Endowment for the Arts collected data for its profile of artists by analyzing a number of government surveys including the Census Bureau's American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Contingent Workers Survey and Occupation Employment Survey. Artists are defined as those working in the following occupations, listed from most to least numerous...

Artists in the labor force
Designers: 938,000
Architects: 256,000
Art directors, fine artists, animators: 247,000
Writers and authors: 235,000
Photographers: 225,000
Musicians: 194,000
Producers and directors: 188,000
Other entertainers: 71,000
Actors: 53,000
Announcers: 51,000
Dancers and choreographers: 23,000

Fully 2.4 million workers are employed as artists in their primary occupation. Another 333,000 workers are artists as a second job. Musicians are the ones most likely to be artists as a second job (35 percent).

The 58 percent majority of those who are artists in their primary job work for a private company, 30 percent are self-employed, 7 percent work for a nonprofit, and 5 percent for government. Most of those who work as artists in a second job are self-employed (58 percent).

The median age of artists ranges from a low of 26 among dancers and choreographers to a high of 45 among architects and musicians. The median earnings in 2012–16 of artists who worked full-time ranged from a low of $31,150 for dancers and choreographers to a high of $76,680 for architects.

Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Artists and Other Cultural Workers: A Statistical Portrait

How Many Attended Arts Events in 2017?

More Americans are attending arts events, according to a survey by the National Endowment for the Arts. The NEA's 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts is an occasional supplement to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, asking Americans aged 18 or older whether they have attended a variety of arts events in the past 12 months. Here is a look at the percentage who attended arts events (or engaged in literary reading) in 2017...

52.7% read any books not required for work or school
41.8% read novels or short stories
28.3% visited parks, monuments, buildings, or neighborhoods for historic or design value
24.2% attended outdoor performing arts festivals
23.8% visited craft fairs or visual arts festivals
23.7% visited art museums or galleries
16.5% attended musical plays
11.7% read poetry
  9.4% attended nonmusical plays
  8.6% attended classical music concerts
  8.6% attended jazz music events
  6.3% attended dance performances other than ballet
  5.9% attended Latin, Spanish, or salsa music events
  3.7% read plays
  3.1% attended ballets
  2.2% attended operas

Between 2012 and 2017, the percentage of adults who took part in arts events increased for a number of activities such as attending outdoor performing arts festivals (up 3.4 percentage points), visiting art museums or galleries (2.7 percentage points), and touring parks, monuments, buildings, etc. (4.4 percentage points). The percentage of adults who read any book fell 1.9 percentage points, however, and reading novels or short stories was down an even larger 3.4 percentage points.

Source: National Endowment for the Arts, U.S. Trends in Arts Attendance and Literary Reading: 2002–2017: A First Look at Results form the 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

64% of Older Americans Create Art

Most older Americans participate in the arts. A study for the National Endowment for the Arts examines arts participation by people aged 55 or older and, using 2014 data from the Health and Retirement Study, determines whether participation is linked to better physical and mental health. It is. Those who participate in the arts and/or attend arts events have higher levels of cognitive functioning and less physical disability than those who do not.

Few older Americans are not involved in the arts. Just 16 percent of people aged 55 or older neither created art nor attended arts events in the past year. Another 20 percent attended events but did not create art. The 64 percent majority of people aged 55 or older created art—49 percent both created art and attended arts events and another 15 percent created art but did not attend events. Here's what the 64 percent of doers create...

27% crochet, knit, quilt, sew, weave, do needlepoint, or make jewelry
24% dance, including social dancing
19% sing or play a musical instrument
13% do photography, graphic design or filmmaking
12% do woodwork, leatherwork, or metal work
7% paint, sculpt, or make ceramics
7% write stories, poetry, or plays
1% act in theater or film

Fully 43 percent of women aged 55 or older crochet, knit, quilt, sew, weave, do needlepoint, or make jewelry compared with only 4 percent of men. Conversely, 26 percent of men participate in woodworking, leatherwork or metal work versus only 3 percent of women.

Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Staying Engaged: Health Patterns of Older Americans Who Participate in the Arts

Importance of Living Near Arts and Culture

More than one-third of American households say it is important for them to live near arts and cultural events. The importance of proximity varies greatly by educational attainment of householder...

Percent saying it is important to live near arts and cultural events
Total households: 37%
Less than high school: 28%
High school graduate: 30%
Associate's degree: 36%
Bachelor's degree: 47%
Graduate degree: 55%

Source: Census Bureau, 2015 American Housing Survey