Americans Want to Participate in Arts Events

According to the 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA), the public would like to increase their overall arts attendance:

67% indicated that they would like to visit more museums
54% want to see more theater productions or musicals, and
50% would like to attend more dance performances.

Although survey respondents said they wanted to participate more in the arts, they also indicated factors that make participation difficult. Time and convenience are the largest factors keeping potential arts attendees at home. The greatest perceived barriers to increased attendance were:

64% found it difficult to make time to go out;
55% said not many performances here;
53% said tickets are too expensive;
47% said the location is inconvenient; and
20% had child care or babysitter problems.

Ten percent of respondents said they felt uncomfortable or noted “poor performance quality” as a barrier to more attendance.