Creating Our Future: Results of the National Arts Participation Survey

Read and download the survey results HERE. (opens in a new window) 

Creating Our Future: Results of the National Arts Participation Survey is the fourth study in the landmark research series that explores Australians’ engagement with and attitudes towards the arts.

The National Arts Participation Survey asks how Australians are engaging with arts and creativity in our daily lives. How do Australians feel about arts and creativity? How is our arts engagement changing? Do we recognise the impacts of arts and creativity in our lives and communities? How do Australians feel about public funding for the arts?

The survey was conducted in late 2019, not long before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted our world, lives and the cultural and creative industries. The survey results provide a benchmark of Australians’ arts engagement before the impacts of the pandemic, providing much needed information as doors reopen, audiences are rebuilt and the cultural and creative industries are re-ignited.

The report provides vital new evidence about the essential role arts and creativity play in Australian communities, showing the arts are a public good infused and embedded in the fabric of our daily lives.

In 2019, targeted methods were used to ensure better representation of young Australians; regional and remote First Nations communities; communities for whom language might be a barrier to participation in the survey; and Australians with intellectual disability.