From the report's introduction:
"'Americans Speak Out about the Arts' is national public opinion survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs (the third largest survey research firm in the world) on behalf of Americans for the Arts. The poll was conducted in December 2015. To ensure precision in the findings, a sample of 3,020 adults were interviewed online (by way of comparison, the typical national political poll has a sample size of just 1,000 adults).
Because of the significance of the arts to American life, there are many studies that document the social, educational and economic impacts of the arts on communities. What makes this study different is that it measures, from the public’s perspective, (1) personal engagement in the arts as attender, collector, and creator; (2) support for arts education and government arts funding; (3) opinions on the personal and well‐being benefits that come from engaging in the arts; and (4) if and how those personal benefits extend to the community."
From the report's Executive Summary:
"Americans are attending the arts: Two‐thirds of the American adult population attended an arts event in the past year (68 percent), such as the theater, zoo or botanical garden, historic home, or musical performance.
Yet, more Americans experienced the arts at a “non‐arts” venue: The public is also enjoying the arts beyond the traditional arts institutions—and at remarkable levels. 78 percent experienced the arts in a 'non‐arts' venue such as a park, hospital, shopping mall, or airport. This remarkable finding suggests local arts agency efforts to integrate the arts deeper into the fabric of their communities are having measurable impacts.
People of color are more likely to attend the arts than whites: People of color were more likely to attend an arts event than their white counterparts (71 percent vs. 66 percent). Higher rates of attendance were noted for people of color for multiple art forms, including dance, museums, and theater.
The public finds high value in arts institutions: Regardless of whether they attend or not, when asked about museums, theaters, and concert halls, a decisive 82 percent of Americans believe these institutions are 'important to business and the economy.' 87 percent believe they are 'important to quality of life' (49 percent rated this 'very important,' a figure five times greater than those who said they are “not important.”
