Art Smarts July 2011
Welcome to this edition of Art Smarts.
It is designed to keep you up to date with published research, commentary and issues relevant to the arts from sources across Australia and overseas.
The Australia Council launched Connecting://Arts Audiences Online on the 23rd of June 2011. This new piece of research, done for us by Neilsen Online, looks at how people are using online to engage with the arts.
Essentially we followed them on the journey they made from awareness to attendance and what they did after the event. The research quantified some things we already knew and came up with some surprises. We also had Nielsen do an audit of the regularly funded organisations and their online presence.
We constructed the website where not only can one find the research, but also a series of case studies and an increasing number of blog posts by geeks on various aspects of getting the most from online media. We have integrated the site with our Twitter and Facebook and You Tube. During July we also did a series of live workshops around the country, presenting the research and discussing the issues it raises.
We don’t claim we have the definitive answers. Our aim is to share insights from the research and other resources on the site to inform a discussion that is already happening. So far the response in the live sessions and on social media like Twitter have been passionate and insightful.
The digital world is moving very fast and social media are altering the way people are engaging with the arts. The better we understand what people are doing then we have more opportunities to meet their expectations. Audiences want closer interaction. By increasing their engagement we can increase attendance, which helps the viability of the arts. But it is not just about marketing. By enriching their experience of the arts with these new tools, we also deepen their engagement with arts organisations and artists.
Please join the conversation by visiting the site or going to #connectarts on Twitter.
Nick Herd
Director
Research and Strategic Analysis
In the News
Costs outperform higher earnings in the arts
WEB: 29 June 2011 | The Australian Financial Review | Brook Turner
Due to Copyright, only the abstract of this article is available.
New figures show 2010 was a good year for Australia’s major performing arts companies, but that costs and inflation are outrunning earnings gains. Analysis by the Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG) shows the total income of the 28 national and state opera, theatre and dance companies and orchestras rose $7.8 million to $400 million in 2010. This earnings increase was outstripped by an overall expenditure rise for the companies of $9.6 million or 2.5 per cent to $387 million, and inflation of 4.5 per cent, according to the analysis.
Australian Government Funding to UNESCO to Support Cultural Diversity
15 July 2011
The Australian Government has contributed $80,000 towards UNESCO’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD). The IFCD was established under the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The fund aims to promote sustainable development and cultural diversity in developing countries by supporting the emergence of a dynamic cultural sector.
Philanthropy provides sweet charity for the arts
The Sydney Morning Herald, 06 July 2011, Gina McColl and Wendy Frew
Private giving, rather than corporate sponsorship or government funding, is providing an increasing share of arts companies' financial base. The changing sources of arts funding are contained in a report released last week by the Australia Business Arts Foundation. It revealed that over the past decade, income from sponsorships had increased 52 per cent (up $33.5 million) and income from donations 161 per cent (up $76 million). Yet the global financial crisis meant that in 2009-10, sponsorship declined 2.7 per cent to $98 million while private giving increased 10.6 per cent to $123.1 million.
Arts and Disability on the national agenda
Accessible Arts, 05 July 2011
Arts Minister Simon Crean has joined Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers Senator Jan McLucas to announce $500,000 Australian Government funding for Arts Access Australia, the national peak body for arts and disability.
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations have made a joint submission to this inquiry which argues there is a growing interest in capital markets for social economy organisations (such as arts organisations), but that this market is less developed in Australia than in the rest of the world. The submission then set out the issues that need to be addressed in order to develop a more robust capital market for social economy organisations in Australia, including more effective intermediaries to bring financing institutions and social organisation together and that the challenges in measuring social outcomes present a barrier to greater and more effective investment.
Research
More than Bums on Seats: Queenslanders & the Arts
Queensland Government
The report expands on the research undertaken by the Australia Council for the Arts for More than bums on seats: Australian participation in the Arts in 2009. This research will help artists, artworkers, arts and cultural organisations and policy makers to better understand both attendance and participation of Queenslanders in the arts. This study was conducted in partnership between Arts Queensland and the Australia Council for the Arts by instinct and reason.
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Announces New Research on the Value Added By Cultural Industries
National Endowment for the Arts, July 2011
Cultural industries are economic powerhouses and states have the data to prove it, according to a new analysis from the National Endowment for the Arts. Drawing on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Arts and the GDP: Value Added by Selected Cultural Industries is a new NEA research note that examines the value added by selected cultural industries.
Older Australians and the Internet
CCI, 28 July 2011
Older Australians and the Internet, Sandra Haukka, Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, QUT. This work explores what older Australians who never or rarely use the Internet (referred to as ‘non-users’) know about the types of online products and services available to them, and how they might use these products and services to improve their daily life.
Home internet for remote Indigenous communities
CCI, 20 July 2011
Home internet for remote Indigenous communities, Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation. This report documents the circumstances and experiences of 3 remote Indigenous communities in central Australia and outlines the reasons for the low level of internet take-up, and considers the future prospects for ‘home internet’ in these communities.
Supporting growth in the arts economy
Arts Council England, 20 July 2011
Within the series of three papers: 'The arts economy', 'Place infrastructure and digital' and 'Towards an arts and creative economy', Tom Fleming and Andrew Erskine illustrate synergies between the arts and the creative economy and discuss suggestions for the Arts Council's approach.
New Models New Money
July 2011
This is an abridged version of the final report submitted to the Office for the Arts as a result of the feasibility study New Models New Money – a Foundation for the Artist. It has been prepared under the auspices of CSI with support from a range of partners, in particular Arts Queensland, and prepared by Cathy Hunt, Director of Positive Solutions, on behalf of the research team.
NESTA, July 2011
This publication shares lessons learned through NT Live, the National Theatre's programme of digital cinema broadcasts launched in 2009, which marked the first time the live broadcast of theatre performances had been attempted on this scale in the UK. The report gives an overview of how the National Theatre developed the project, highlighting some of the key issues to consider, and asks what the future may be for this kind of digital delivery.
Practical Resources
Attendance at Live performances in Australia increased in 2010
LPA, August 2011
Live Performance Australia the peak body for Australia’s live performance industry has released its Ticket Attendance & Revenue Survey 2010, which shows that overall, revenue was at $1.3 billion, while attendances were at 17.2 million paid and unpaid tickets. The survey covers non-classical, musical theatre, classical music, opera, dance, ballet, theatre, festivals and circus. It does not cover live performance in pubs or clubs or some free festival events.
Opinion
Predicting future technology: ask the children, study urges
SmartPlanet, July 6, 2011
The Digital vs. Physical Divide is disappearing. Children today don’t neatly divide their virtual interactions from their experiences of the “real world.” For them, these two realms continue to converge as technologies become more interactive, portable, connected and integrated. Nearly 4 in 10 kids imagined technologies that bridged the gap between virtual and physical experiences. “For many kids, the ‘online’ versus ‘offline’ and ‘virtual’ versus ‘real’ distinctions are quickly disappearing,” says Steve Mushkin, founder and president of Latitude. “They naturally think about a future in which traditionally ‘online’ interactions make their way into the physical world, and vice versa – a concept already playing out in augmented reality, transmedia storytelling, the Internet of Things, and other recent tech developments.”
Australia, In Focus, Magazine, 12 July 2011
Policies that encourage arts demand can return balance to an oversupplied Australian arts sector and fix many of the ills of Australian cultural policy. Creative arts participation in Australia has boomed, while at the same time professional artists’ relative incomes have declined.