What we do

The Australia Council:

• conducts and commissions a wide range of original research responding to the evolving data and information needs of the sector including arts practice, markets and audiences.  Our two flagship reports are –
  • The National Arts Participation Survey, a triennial study of Australians’ engagement with and attitudes to the arts.
  • The Artist Careers Survey, an ongoing time series of economic studies of professional artists in Australia in partnership with Macquarie University.
• works with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to develop and evolve essential data on arts and culture in Australia, e.g. profiling local arts and cultural attendance and participation through the Local Region Arts Engagement Dashboard.
• is a member of the Meeting of Cultural Ministers Statistics Working Group (SWG). SWG manages a national program of cultural data collection, research and analysis, funded collaboratively by the Australian, state and territory governments through the Meeting of Cultural Ministers.
• partners with specialists in tertiary sector on arts-related projects including those funded by the Australia Research Council (ARC).

The Australia Council welcomes opportunities to partner with academia and industry in the conduct of strategic research. Click here for more information.

Arts Nation Research Library

Click image below to explore our research reports and publications by topic or artform.