This entry contains both the Year 1 (May - October 2013) and Year 2 (May - November 2014) reports.
From the Headlines section of the Year 2 report:
"In terms of the findings, especially worthy of note are:
OA attracts a diverse and wide ranging audience, many of whom rarely attend arts events. It is more representative of the population as a whole compared with other artform sectors.
Audiences are local, though in some cases people will travel if the offer is perceived as being distinct or if the audience has a special connection with that place
The social experience is an important part of the appeal of OA
There is a strong association between OA and the places it happens, with this activity being seen as contributing to a wider sense of civic pride and community cohesion.
Audiences rate OA events highly across a range of areas including the quality of performances and the experience overall
Areas which organisations in the OA sector could explore in order to improve their work include better information provision, both practical communication about timetabling and signposting and in the more extended sense of context and detail about the acts, performers and performances themselves.
In some places, audiences are expressing a desire for more opportunities for interaction between artists and public and for more community participation and opportunities to perform and take part.
For the future:
The way in which artists and companies undertake or benefit from the research needs further consideration.
Several areas have been identified for further research either as part of Audience Finder or in other research projects. These include taking a closer look at intrinsic and social impacts of the work and a more in depth understanding of the nature of the artistic experience."
