2023-05-05 10:56:27
Has the corona pandemic caused lasting damage to interest in cultural participation – i.e. going to the theatre, museums or cinema? A SORA study commissioned by Secretary of State for Culture Andrea Mayer (Greens) examined this question. What is certain is that, depending on the sector, between 11 and 18 percent of the 2,000 respondents aged 15 and over stopped cultural activities in 2022, but the respondents planned more visits once more this year.
On the occasion of the publication of the study, Mayer was pleased that a “data basis has now been created that is available to cultural institutions and enables a broad discussion regarding the cultural audience,” as she told the media. Basically, she was “relieved” by the results: “There is no bad news, as had been feared in the fall with theses like ’50 percent is the new sold out’.” Current utilization figures in the federal institutions would also show this: “The current trend is positive, and we are already close to the pre-corona level.”
However, older people in particular visit art and cultural events much less frequently than in 2019, which cannot be offset by the increased interest of young visitors, as Daniel Schönherr from SORA explains. As a reason for going to events less now, 41 percent said they currently had too many other worries. 39 percent stated that art and culture had become less and less important to them in recent years. Conversely, 37 percent of those surveyed stated that they took part in cultural events more often in 2022 than in 2019 – the proportion of young people here is particularly high.
However, the frequency of visits depends heavily on the category: While interest in the areas of cinema, monuments, museums and concerts (pop, rock, jazz, Schlager) is high, the proportion of those who will go to cabaret, theater or musicals more frequently in the future will remain the same want to weigh the scales with those who stated that they would be less likely to frequent these divisions in the future. However, many people want to reduce their visits to classical concerts, galleries, readings and dance performances.
The study might not confirm that “domestic activities” compete with visits to cultural institutions. Currently, 22 percent of respondents in Austria regularly attend cultural events, which is an increase of ten percentage points compared to 2003. It is particularly noticeable that the cultural audience still consists of people with a higher household income and a better education and that the school cannot sufficiently compensate for the interest in culture that is not instilled in the parents. While 41 percent of people with an academic degree attend cultural events several times a month, the figure is only 26 percent among people with a high school diploma, 18 percent among people with an intermediate degree and 14 percent among people with an apprenticeship diploma.
When it comes to the individual categories, cinema is experiencing the greatest popularity: 54 percent of those surveyed went to the cinema in 2022. 45 percent went to museums and 34 percent to pop, rock, jazz and hit concerts. The proportion of theatergoers was 27 percent, 23 percent went to galleries. Operas, operettas, readings and dance performances were only attended by 13 to 15 percent of the population. The interest in free admissions, which accounted for 29 percent of all visits to cultural events, is particularly striking.
Mayer sees potential here to expand such events if necessary, but the existing offer should also be made better known. Above all, young people in secondary level 1 from lower income brackets should be more enthusiastic regarding art and culture, and Mayer wants to work intensively with the Ministry of Education on this. In addition, a campaign is to be launched in autumn to motivate people to take part in cultural events.
The authors of the study finally identified four factors that are responsible for the declining frequency of cultural events. On the one hand, there is the connection between age and demographic change (the proportion of older people is increasing, while at the same time it is the group that wants to attend fewer cultural events in the future). Another factor is the unequal distribution of opportunities for arts education. The expectation of social interaction as a motivation to participate also plays a role, which can be used to advertise more strongly. And finally, the increasing risk of poverty due to current economic developments is causing interest to decline. Mayer now wants to include the topic in the long-term agenda and work out concepts together with local institutions in order to inspire new audiences and bring back former visitors.
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