Friday, October 13, 2006
O.C. arts snapshot: Prices rise, access falls
LA Times: "Prices are up, attendance is down, fewer schoolkids are getting free exposure to the arts, and Orange County's museums and performing arts presenters are not feeling terribly bullish about the immediate future, according to a study of the O.C. cultural landscape issued Thursday by Chapman University's Anderson Center for Economic Research."
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5 comments:
I have always thought that appreciating the arts requires some sort of training. Visiting museums, or going to the Opera or the theatre when you are a child may create a devotion for the arts… But if the prices are so high that you cannot afford going to a play with your children, they will not have the chance to develop that need for art. I guess it is also very important to schedule appealing plays or exhibitions for children, so they don´t feel arts are a boring way to spend the evening.
And… talking about money, I am especially amazed with the cinema prices (which is something that, by the way, happens everywhere). Maybe they should consider how far they want to go… especially now, when you can download any movie at any time.
Laura Prieto Garcia
I think these institutions will get the picture eventually...but perhaps too late. If less youth have been attending/participating in the arts, then when their generation is in charge where will the arts be? This may be a downward spiral.
Julianna Slaten
While I agree that the decline in youth attendance for art events or in art museums is a little disheartening, I think it is to be expected with the rise in technology popularity. More and more kids want to stay at home and play on their computers or gaming systems. They're finding a new source of entertainment. I tink Pittsburgh does a good job attempting to reach out to the youth by allowing free or reduced admission with a student ID. If these types of policies were more widely accepted, I think youth involvement would increase. - Maddie Regan
The fact that prices are increasing and attendance is decreasing is simply supply and demand. At a higher price, less people want seats, and if less people want seats, prices must rise to still make the same amount of money. Which is it though? Is the problem leading to this decrease in attendance that companies are putting on more expensive shows that require more ticket revenue, or is the problem that in this age of technology less people are interested in the arts? The article briefly addresses that "there's a danger that programming could turn even more toward elite acts charging top dollar" but says nothing of why even freebies have declined. This really doesn't say much other than they don't know why.
-Aaron Siebert
I know that especially for college students, money is in short supply, and many weekends seeing a movie or going to see something downtown is not possible. Those of us int he school of drama are fortunate that we get comp. tickets to our own shows, otherwise, we probably see many them either, except that we have to. Having been on several boards on campus discussing getting people to go to other events on campus, I have heard many times that the school of drama plays are too expensive, despite student discounts. On the topic of movies however, many of you might have noticed that theaters around the country are providing student prices to movies, often as cheap as a senior ticket during peak hours. This is in direct response to the decline in college students' attendance at local movie theaters. While it is not the same topic, gas prices have a similar issue. A report I read a couple of years ago when gas was about $1.50/gallon said that "IAmericans would not actually take action against oil prices unitl gas got up to $5/gallon. While we are not there yet, we are much closer than $1.50/gallon, and I am eager to see what happens as the prices continue to rise.
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