CULTURAL PARTICIPATION

This report uses data from the first Cultural Participation survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to present an overview of people aged 15 years and over living in South Australia and their interaction with the cultural sector via participation in a selection of cultural activities.

Conducted in respect of the 2010-11 year as part of the ABS Multipurpose Household Survey (MPHS), the survey collected data from individuals about their participation in fourteen selected cultural activities in the 12 months prior to interview. Broadly speaking, the list of cultural activities included performing arts, singing or playing a musical instrument, dancing, writing, visual art activities and craft activities. More detail regarding the types of cultural activities included in the survey can be found in the Glossary of the publication listed below. Information was also collected about the characteristics of participants, the number of selected cultural activities in which people participated and whether payments were received for their involvement.

The data contained in this report, including additional demographic data pertaining to cultural participation in South Australia, is available in the data cubes attached to Participation in Selected Cultural Activities, Australia, 2010–11 (cat. no. 4921.0) on the ABS website.


PARTICIPATION IN SELECTED CULTURAL ACTIVITIES BY ACTIVITY TYPE

A quarter (25% or 331,500 people) of the population aged 15 years and over living in South Australia participated in at least one cultural activity in the 12 months prior to interview. The rate of participation for South Australia was less than the national rate of 27%.

The majority of participants (190,700 people or 58%) participated in one activity while 76,500 people (23%) participated in two activities and 33,400 (10%) participated in three activities.

With a participation rate of 9%, textile crafts, jewellery making, paper crafts or wood crafts was the most popular activity in South Australia attracting 122,400 participants. By comparison, 7% participated in sculpting, painting, drawing or cartooning (including digital pieces), whilst 5% were involved in singing or playing a musical instrument and writing any fiction or non-fiction, such as stories, poetry or scripts.

Rates of participation in South Australia were similar to those at the national level across the majority of cultural activities.

CHARACTERISTICS OF PARTICIPANTS

Age and sex

In South Australia, people aged 15-24 years (34%) were more likely to have participated in cultural activities in the 12 months prior to interview than those in any other age group. Participation rates generally declined with age except for people aged 55-64 years.

Overall, women had a higher participation rate (29%) than men (21%) with survey results showing women were more likely to participate in cultural activities at a higher rate across almost all age groups except for those aged 25-34 years. However, there is not enough evidence to conclude that the differences between the participation rates of women and men aged 25-34 years are statistically significant.




Country of birth and area of usual residence

Of the 331,500 participants in cultural activities in South Australia, those born in Australia participated at a higher rate (27%) than those born overseas (20%).

The rate of participation for people born overseas did vary based on the type of country in which they were born. People born in other than main English speaking countries had a lower rate of participation in cultural activities (16%) than those born in main English speaking countries (25%). For a list of main English speaking countries please refer to the Glossary of the publication listed at the beginning of this report.

People residing in the capital city of Adelaide participated in cultural activities at a higher rate (26%) to that of residents living elsewhere in the state (24%). There is not enough evidence to conclude that the differences between those living in the capital city and those living elsewhere in the state are statistically significant.

Labour Force Status

Of the 798,900 people employed in South Australia in the week prior to interview, 27% (212,500 people) participated in a cultural activity. People employed in a part-time capacity had a higher participation rate in cultural activities (32%) than those employed full-time (24%). People who were unemployed had a participation rate of 32% while those not in the labour force had a participation rate in cultural activities of 22%. There is not enough evidence to conclude that the difference between those employed and those unemployed is statistically significant.

Household composition and income

Survey results show that couples with children (28%) were more likely to participate in cultural activities than couples with no children (25%) There is not enough evidence to conclude that the difference between couples and couples with children is statistically significant.

Whilst people living alone (24%) were less likely to participate in cultural activities than single parents with dependent children (25%), there is not enough evidence to conclude that the participation rate of those from lone person households is statistically different from the rates of the remaining (or other) household types.

People from households with income in the fourth quintile were more likely to participate in cultural activities than those with income in any other quintile (29%). There is not enough evidence to conclude that the differences between households with income in the fourth quintile and those in the third and highest quintile are statistically significant.
 
Highest educational attainment

People holding a Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate qualification (46%) were more likely to participate in cultural activities than all other levels of educational attainment. There is not enough evidence to conclude that the difference between people holding a Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate qualification and those with Year 11 as their highest educational attainment is statistically significant. Those who had completed a Postgraduate degree (38%) had a higher rate of participation compared with people who had completed a Certificate I or II qualification (17%). Whether or not a person had completed high school also had an impact on their cultural participation with those holding a Year 12 qualification (29%) having a higher rate of participation compared with those who had finished high school at a level of Year 10 or below (18%).


CHARACTERISTICS OF PARTICIPATION

Payment status

An estimated 15% of people in South Australia who participated in a cultural activity (49,200 people) received some form of payment for their participation.

A higher proportion of men (18%) than women (12%) were paid for their participation.