Arts facts compendium

Arts facts is a compendium of short and easy-to-use statistical fact sheets on a range of subjects describing the arts and cultural landscape in Australia.

Each fact sheet provides a snapshot of statistics and information, the source of that information, and links to more detailed studies on the subject.

Overview of sources

The information presented in Arts facts is collected from a number of sources. Many of these have their own particularities which are worth noting when reading these pages.

Who is an artist?

Defining and quantifying the Australian population of artsworkers is not easy and is often subjective. Different data collections apply different definitions of Australians employed in the arts.

Arts facts draws mainly on three sources of information relating to employment and involvement in the arts. Each uses a different yardstick for defining who is an artist.

These three sources are the Australia Council artists survey, Don't give up your day job (Throsby & Hollister, 2003); the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population and Housing; and the Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Work in Selected Culture and Leisure Activities.

Don't give up your day job collected information relating to practicing professional artists in Australia. The survey included full-time and part-time artists; employed and self-employed artists; and artists regardless of whether all, some or none of their income was from art practice.

The survey did not include artists whose primary involvement was in design (furniture, interior, fashion, industrial, architectural or graphic); artists working primarily in the film industry; or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists working in remote Indigenous communities.

The five-yearly Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population and Housing collects information relating to the occupation and industry of each person’s main job, meaning the job in which a person usually works the most hours.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Work in Selected Culture and Leisure Activities collected information relating to people with either paid or unpaid involvement in 35 selected culture and leisure activities. The survey excluded activities undertaken solely for an individual’s own or family’s use; these activities were classified as a hobby.

It is not always possible to have current data for statistical purposes. Some Australian Bureau of Statistics surveys are conducted on a regular basis: monthly, annually or every few years. Other major data collections such as the Census of Population and Housing are of a great scale and are only conducted every five years.

An older statistical source used in Arts facts is the Australia Council’s The Arts Economy 1968–1998: Three Decades of Growth in Australia. It was a major one-off study that was so far-ranging, it could only be commissioned on a periodic basis.

Although at first glance information from this source may appear dated, this analysis gives an important historic perspective on the current state of the arts in Australia

Information not detailed in Arts facts

The range of artistic work undertaken in Australia is enormous. Not all of it is covered in Arts facts for the reason that while the Australia Council recognises these creative industries as integral to the country’s artistic and cultural landscape, there are other peak bodies that lead in their administration and representation.

While there is some information in Arts facts about the Australian film industry, for more detailed information about film and television, visit the Get the Picture statistics pages on the Australian Film Commission website.

For statistics on architecture and design, visit the Design Institute of Australia website.

For statistics on the music industry, visit the Music in Australia Knowledge Base on the Music Council of Australia website.

Advertising is a very significant industry in Australia that uses the services of writers, musicians, designers and sound engineers, among others. For more information about the advertising industry, visit the Advertising Federation of Australia website.

For information about international arts councils and ministries of culture, visit the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) website.

Further ABS links

Cultural Statistics framework

Following extensive consultation with the arts sector and government, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released Information Paper: Arts and Cultural Heritage - An Information Development Plan, 2008

The paper identifies priorities and plans for data and statistics development in the arts and cultural heritage sector. The paper also discusses gaps in the current body of statistics and suggests ways to bridge these gaps.

ANZSCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, First Edition

ANZSCO is a skills-based classification used to classify all occupations and jobs in the Australian and New Zealand labour markets.The 162 occupations selected for inclusion in the Culture and Leisure Alternative View are those which produce a good or service associated with culture or leisure.

Statistical terminology

A glossary of basic statistical terms is available from the Australia Bureau of Statistics. Statistical language! is an educational resource designed to improve the reader's understanding of some fundamental statistical concepts.
 

Other sources of statistical information on the arts in Australia

Australian Bureau of Statistics: National Centre for Culture and Recreation Statistics: Arts and Culture Releases

Australian Bureau of Statistics: 4172.0 - Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2008 (Second Edition)

Cultural Ministers Council: Cultural Data Online

Cultural Ministers Council - Statistics Working Group: Arts and culture in Australian life: a statistical snapshot