1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2012
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 24/05/2012
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Statistics contained in the Year Book are the most recent available at the time of preparation. In many cases, the ABS website and the websites of other organisations provide access to more recent data. Each Year Book table or graph and the bibliography at the end of each chapter provides hyperlinks to the most up to date data release where available.
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ARTS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE
ADULT ATTENDANCE AT SELECTED CULTURAL VENUES AND EVENTS
Attending cultural venues such as libraries, museums or zoos, and going to events such as music concerts are an important part of Australian life, whether for enjoyment, education or to stay in touch with family and friends.
The ABS conducted its 2009–10 Survey of Attendance at Cultural Venues and Events between July 2009 and June 2010, collecting information about whether people aged 15 years and over had attended selected cultural venues and events in the 12 months prior to interview.
The survey found that in 2009–10, 15.0 million, or 86% of Australians aged 15 years and over, attended at least one selected cultural venue or event. The most frequently attended cultural venue was the cinema, with 67% of people reporting that they had attended at least once in the 12 months prior to interview (table 14.2). Cinemas were followed by zoological parks and aquariums (37%), botanic gardens (35%) and libraries (34%) as the next most attended cultural venues.
Popular music concerts had the highest rate of attendance (30%) out of the selected performing arts events, with theatre performances and musicals and operas (both 16%) having around half the attendance rate of this event. Classical music concerts (9%) and dance performances (10%) had the lowest attendance rates out of the selected performing arts events included in the survey.
Attendance by sex and age
Females had higher attendance rates than males at all of the selected cultural venues and events (graph 14.1). Nearly twice as many females as males attended musicals and operas (21% compared with 12%), and a higher proportion of females attended libraries than males (41% compared with 26%). Going to the cinema had the highest attendance rates out of all the selected venues and events for both females and males (70% and 64% respectively).
People aged 15–17 years were the most likely to have attended at least one of the selected cultural venues or events included in the survey, with an attendance rate of 97% (table 14.2). As age increased, the attendance rate for at least one of the selected cultural venues or events decreased, with people in the older age groups of 55–64 and 65 years and over having the lowest attendance rates (82% and 71% respectively).
Zoological parks and aquariums were most well attended by people aged 35–44 years, with just over half (51%) attending in the 12 months prior to interview. Popular music concerts were most commonly attended by people aged 18–24 years, with an attendance rate of 45%, and least attended by people aged 65 years and over (12%). Over one-third of people in each of the age groups from 25–34 to 55–64 years visited a botanic garden. Although attendance at libraries was highest for 15–17 year olds at 40%, it was above 30% for all age groups.
State or territory of usual residence
People in the Australian Capital Territory had the highest rate of attendance, with 93% attending at least one cultural venue or event in 2009–10 (table 14.3). The lowest rates of attendance were by people residing in New South Wales (83%) and in Tasmania (84%).
Residents of the Australian Capital Territory had the highest rates of attendance at seven of the thirteen selected cultural venues and events. The cinema had the highest rate of attendance for ACT residents (76%). Residents of the Northern Territory had the highest rates of attendance at zoological parks and aquariums (53%), botanic gardens (43%), dance performances (15%) and other performing arts (23%). Residents of Victoria and the ACT had similar rates of attendance at musicals and operas (21% and 19% respectively). Rates of attendance at libraries were between 30% and 40% for all states and territories.
(b) Refers to mainly urban areas.
ATTENDANCE AT SELECTED CULTURAL VENUES BY PEOPLE WITH A DISABILITY
In the 2009 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, a disability was defined as any limitation, restriction or impairment which lasted, or was likely to last, for at least six months, and restricted everyday activities. The survey asked whether people with a disability had attended any of the selected cultural venues during the 12 months prior to interview. Survey results showed that, of the selected cultural venues, the highest proportion of people aged 15 years and over with a disability had attended the cinema (37%) while the lowest proportion (19%) had visited a museum or art gallery (table 14.4).
Visiting the library was the second most popular activity, with 28% of people with a disability reporting that they had done so in 2009. Similar proportions of people aged 15 years and over with a disability attended the theatre or concert (24%), or visited an animal or marine park or botanic gardens (23%). Females had higher rates of attendance than males at all of the selected cultural venues. The difference between female and male attendance rates was greatest for attending the theatre or concert, and lowest for visiting an animal or marine park or botanic gardens.
Source: Unpublished ABS data, Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, 2009.
CHILDREN'S ATTENDANCE AT SELECTED CULTURAL VENUES AND EVENTS
The 2009 ABS Survey of Children’s Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities was conducted in April 2009 and found that, in the 12 months prior to interview, 71% of children aged 5–14 years (1.9 million) had attended at least one selected cultural venue or event, such as a public library, museum or art gallery, or performing arts event outside school hours.
Attendance by sex and age
The attendance rate for girls at performing arts events (38%) was significantly higher than it was for boys (29%) in 2009, as was attendance at public libraries (56% for girls compared with 52% for boys) (graph 14.5). In contrast, there was no significant difference in the attendance rates of girls and boys visiting museums and art galleries in the same 12-month period (41% of boys compared with 42% of girls).
Boys and girls had different rates of attendance across all age groups at performing arts events, with boys' attendance in each age group around 30% and girls' attendance just under 40% (table 14.6). Attendance at museums or art galleries decreased with age for both sexes. For boys, attendance decreased from 48% of those aged 5–8 years to 32% of those aged 12–14 years. For girls, attendance fell from 46% of those aged 5–8 years to 34% of those aged 12–14 years. Attendance of boys at public libraries generally decreased with age (from 54% of those aged 5–8 years to 46% of those aged 12–14 years), while for girls, attendance remained about the same, regardless of age (around 56%).
CHILDREN'S PARTICIPATION IN SELECTED ARTS AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
The ABS Survey of Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities also found that in the 12 months prior to April 2009, just over one in three children aged between 5 and 14 years (916,300 children) participated in at least one selected organised cultural activity outside of school hours. The selected cultural activities in the survey included playing a musical instrument and participating in dancing, singing or drama.
Participation by sex and age
An estimated 45% of girls and 23% of boys participated in at least one of the selected organised cultural activities. Children's involvement in each of the selected cultural activities in the survey varied by sex, with girls having higher rates of participation than boys (graph 14.7). This was particularly noticeable in the participation rates for dancing, which was the most popular of the selected cultural activities for girls (26%) but not for boys (3%). Playing a musical instrument was the most popular of the selected cultural activities for boys (19%) and the second most popular for girls (21%). Drama had the lowest participation rates for both boys (3%) and girls (7%). Participation rates for singing, dancing and drama were similar for boys in each of the age groups (table 14.8).
Boys in the 9–11 year age group were more likely to play a musical instrument (25%) than those in the other age groups (22% of 12–14 year olds and 12% of 5–8 year olds). This pattern was similar for girls, with 27% of those aged 9–11 playing an instrument compared with 24% of 12–14 year olds and 13% of 5–8 year olds. Participation rates for girls in dancing decreased with age, from 31% of girls aged 5–8 years to 20% of girls aged 12–14 years.
LIBRARIES
The main activities of libraries are the acquisition, collection, organisation, preservation and loan of library materials such as books, magazines, manuscripts, musical scores, maps and prints. The 2009–10 Australian Public Libraries Statistical Report produced by the State Library of Queensland in 2011, found that as at June 2010 there were 1,494 public libraries in Australia. New South Wales accounted for over a quarter (27%) of this total with 397 libraries. Of the balance, 345 (23%) were located in Queensland and 287 (19%) in Victoria. There were 10.1 million registered library users in Australia and about one-third of these (33%) were registered in New South Wales (table 14.9).
In 2009–10, almost all public libraries (95%) provided members of the public with Internet access, with 100% of public libraries in New South Wales, Victoria and the Northern Territory providing access to the Internet. On average, there were 6.2 public terminals with Internet access per public library in Australia. The average was highest in Tasmania with 8.5 such terminals per public library, and lowest in the Northern Territory with 3.1.
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
The Statistics Working Group (known as the Cultural Ministers Council's Statistics Working Group prior to 30 June 2011), is a joint working group consisting of representatives from the federal Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, each of the agencies responsible for the arts and cultural heritage in the states and territories, the Australia Council, Screen Australia and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The mission of the Statistics Working Group is to provide the cultural statistics required for informed policy and decision-making by governments and the cultural sector in areas such as cultural industry development and management. Additional information about the Statistics Working Group and its activities can be obtained from the website, http://www.culturaldata.gov.au/.
The Australia Council for the Arts is the Australian Government's arts funding and advisory body. The Australia Council supports young, emerging, developing and established Australian artists and arts organisations, through diverse funding options and a range of grant programs. During 2010–11, 5,689 grant and project applications were made to the Australia Council, of which 1,897 grants, totalling $164 million, were successful. Around 57% of the grants went to organisations or groups, while the remainder were paid to individual artists. Further information about the Australia Council and its activities can be obtained from its website, http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/.
The Australian Government continues to allocate the majority of its cultural funding (72%) to arts activities. In 2009–10, the Australian Government allocated $1,764 million to arts activities and $693 million to heritage activities. In contrast, the state and territory governments expended the majority of their funds on heritage activities with $2,314 million (77%) of their total cultural funding in this area, while arts activities received $689 million or 23% of funding. In 2009–10, local government funding was minimal in comparison with that of the Australian Government and the state and territory governments for both heritage and arts activities, with libraries receiving the majority of local government funding ($759 million or 63%).
Radio and television services received $1,295 million from the Australian Government, accounting for 73% of Australian Government arts funding and 53% of all Australian Government cultural funding.
The largest recipient of state and territory government funding across all categories was environmental heritage, which received $1,346 million, accounting for 58% of state and territory government heritage funding and 45% of all state and territory government cultural funding. Performing arts venues received $214 million, 31% of state and territory government arts funding and 7% of all state and territory government cultural funding.