NEA: New survey findings from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) show gains in arts attendance totals, rates, and demographic groups plus sizeable growth in poetry-reading. Published today, U.S. Trends in Arts Attendance and Literary Reading: 2002-2017 is a first look at results from the 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA). A partnership of the NEA and the U.S. Census Bureau, the SPPA is the nation’s largest and longest-running survey of how millions of adults participate in the arts.
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It’s encouraging to see an increase in things like poetry reading and performing arts attendance which have struggled in modern times in terms of public interest. And though it’s sad to see novel and short story reading are still in decline, that can probably be attributed to the increased popularity of audio books. So even though people aren’t actively reading them as much, the content is still being spread and the authors are still being supported.
Overall though, the trend is that interest in the arts is increasing and that’s a very positive turn for the industry. An artist cannot support themselves without an audience.
An interesting thing to note as well is that there has been an increase in minority exposure to the arts, which suggests that there has been more attention to literature and arts education in inner city schools. This has been a topic of discussion for years with public schools in general, but inner-city public schools often have even less access and funding for the arts than others. So, this increasing trend suggests that that could be changing for the better.
One of the things I miss most about New York City (where I call home) is the arts scene. There’s an incredibly vast breadth of work available at iconic museums and trendy galleries, historic Broadway theaters and makeshift blackboxes, Carnegie Hall and uptown jazz lounges. When I was little, arts events of all kinds seemed like occasions for adults. By high school, I was constantly seeking out the newest art exhibitions and taking advantage of the free 18 and under tickets available at most museums. In the spring semester of my senior year through the summer, I was going out to see live theatre, music, and art on average of twice a week alone or with friends and family. Through these experiences, I learned a great deal of art history, discovered current working artists to follow, explored new genres of music, introduced others to exciting art, and mentally fine-tuning my own personal tastes. Whether or not you’re a practicing creative, I firmly believe that public art has the potential to be therapeutic, invigorating, thought-provoking, and ultimately rewarding for the community as a whole.
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