Business / Arts, a national non-profit group that promotes business investments in the arts, recently released findings of its research into Canada's cultural consumers.
The study, the first of its kind in more than two decades, is based on interviews with more than 6,400 culture-goers from coast to coast. It offers insights into audience behaviours to help arts groups, businesses and governments navigate the Canadian cultural landscape.
The findings dispel common myths about who is attending arts events and why, and explore issues of generational giving and the importance of technology.
Key findings include:
- Audiences across all generations look to cultural experiences to reduce anxiety, with 71 per cent of respondents citing culture's unique ability to relieve stress.
- Millennials donate to more charities than any other generational cohort and the two causes uniquely dear to them are human rights and equality.
- Some 47 per cent of Canadians donate to causes versus 35 per cent of Americans.
- Only five per cent of Canadians donate to arts and culture organizations, reflecting public misperceptions that government is the primary funder.
- Nearly 40 per cent of Canadians prefer analogue experiences to digital ones when it comes to culture.
- The interest in digital experiences is higher in museums (49 per cent) and art galleries (33 percent) than in the classical performing arts (14 per cent).
- People who speak a language other than English or French at home are more culturally active than Anglophones or Francophones, across all generations.
Nichole Anderson Bergeron, the president of Business / Arts, says the research is highly relevant.
"The study's findings offer an evolving definition of what culture means for Canadians and will act as a powerful resource for today's arts, business and government organizations, all of whom will be able to access the data free of charge through our website," she says.
The Culture Track: Canada survey was done by LaPlaca Cohen and Nanos Research from Dec. 21, 2017 to Jan. 11, 2018. A total of 6,444 people over 18 answered an online questionnaire administered in both French and English. Respondents were screened into the survey based on their participation in at least one cultural activity over the previous year.
The sample size for each province was at least 400. In addition, larger samples were completed in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec for more robust data. Samples from all provinces were then weighted to ensure accurate proportionality.
The full report is available at businessandarts.org/culturetrack.