PUBLIC ATTITUDES TO THE ARTS
PURPOSE
To collect information about public attitudes to the arts. In addition, some information is collected about the exposure of the public both to the arts and to sport.
DESCRIPTION
The Public Attitudes to the Arts collection was conducted as part of the Population Survey Monitor (PSM) collection for November 1997. Interviewers conducted a total of about 3,000 interviews Australia-wide. The PSM covered all usual residents aged 18 years and over in private dwellings in both urban and rural areas of all States and Territories of Australia. However, persons living in remote and sparsely settled areas were excluded from the collection. All persons living in non-private dwellings were also excluded.
GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE
Australia
FREQUENCY OF COLLECTION
Irregular
DATA ITEMS
Number of persons
The total number of persons in Australia aged 18 years and over.
Activities included in the arts
People were asked to indicate, for each category of activity, whether they regarded it as being part of the arts. The activities are:
Plays, ballet and opera
Architecture and design
Painting, drawing and sculpture
Photography
Literature, books and poetry
Sport
Music (concerts, orchestra, singing)
Craft, pottery and weaving
None of the above
Don't know
Perceived importance of cultural venues
Records the level of importance a person places on having a cultural venue in their own community. The levels of importance are:
Very important
Important
Not important
Don't know
Type of cultural venue
Classifies cultural venues into several categories. The categories are:
Cinemas
Museums
Performing arts venues
Art galleries
Libraries
Travel time to nearest cultural venue
Records the range into which falls the time a person takes to travel to the cultural venue nearest to their place of residence. The time ranges are:
Less than 15 minutes
15 but less than 30 minutes
30 but less than 60 minutes
60 minutes and more
Don't know
This data item is used to classify travel to the nearest:
Cinema
Performing arts venue
Art gallery
Attendance
Attendance at venues and activities during the last twelve months is divided into categories. These are:
Attendance at performing arts
Attendance at other cultural venues
Attendance at sporting events
Attendance at performing arts
Attendance at performing arts during the last twelve months is divided into categories. These are:
Attendance at musical theatre
Attendance at dance performances
Attendance at popular music concerts
Attendance at classical music concerts
Attendance at theatre (other than musical)
Attendance at other cultural venues
Attendance at other cultural venues during the last twelve months is divided into categories. These are:
Attendance at museums
Attendance at art galleries
Attendance at libraries
Cultural venue attendance status
Indicates whether a person attended a cultural venue during the last twelve months.
Support for Government funding
People were asked to indicate, for each category of the arts, whether they thought it should receive some Government funding. The categories are:
Live theatre
Libraries
Art galleries
Orchestras
None of the above
Don't know
Information sufficiency status
People were asked to indicate the level of sufficiency of the information they were receiving. The levels are:
Sufficient
Insufficient
No interest
This data item is used to classify:
Information about the arts
Information about sport
Information sources
Records the sources from which people obtain information about the arts, or about sport. The sources are:
Newspaper articles
Magazines
Books
Television
Internet
Radio
Other
Don't know
No interest
Television programs usually watched
The categories of television programs a person usually watches. The categories are:
News
Current affairs
Sport
The arts
None
Don't know
Television programs wanted more often
The categories of television programs a person would like to see more often. The categories are:
News
Current affairs
Sport
The arts
None
Don't know
Don't watch the categories in the survey
Geographic area
Data are available for Australia and States and Territories.
Demographic characteristics
Demographic characteristics for which information is available include:
Age
Sex
Country of birth
Region of residence (metropolitan, other urban or rural)
Socioeconomic characteristics
Socioeconomic characteristics for which information is available include:
Labour force status (employed, unemployed or not in the labour force)
Educational attainment
Other topics of interest
Other topics about which data were collected as part of the Population Survey Monitor in November 1997 were:
Art and craft purchases
Individual donations
HISTORICAL DATA
Similar data were collected for the Australia Council in 1989, 1992 and 1994 by the Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne.
DISSEMINATION
Publications
Australian Bureau of Statistics and Australia Council for the Arts 1998, Public Attitudes to the Arts, Australia, November 1997, Cat. no. 4157.0, ABS, Canberra and Australia Council, Sydney. Price $22.00.
CONTACT
In the first instance, refer to To obtain data or further information in the Introduction to this directory.
Manager
National Centre for Culture and Recreation Statistics
Australian Bureau of Statistics
GPO Box 2272
ADELAIDE SA 5001
Telephone: Adelaide 08 8237 7326
Facsimile: Adelaide 08 8237 7366
Email: nccrs@abs.gov.au