The Arts and Media - Arts Activities

Many Americans like to spend their free time experiencing the fine arts. Some attend opera, ballet, or classical music performances, others go to art museums or galleries, and many curl up with a good book.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (2004) found that 39.4% of the American adult population, or 81.2 million people, had attended a classical music, jazz, opera, or ballet performance; musical or play; or visited an art museum or gallery during the previous year. This percentage was down slightly from the 41% of adults who participated in the arts in 1992 (the last time the survey was taken), although the total number of participants was up by five million.

When the number of Americans who participated in these "benchmark" activities (which did not include elementary or high school performances) was added to those who watched other types of dance performances, visited art/craft fairs, visited historic sites, read literature, viewed or listened to performing arts on television or radio, personally performed or created art, took art classes, or owned art, the percentage increased to 76% of adults, or 157 million Americans.

The most popular arts activity among Americans was reading literature, (plays, poetry, novels, or short stories), which was done by 46.7% of adults, or 95.3 million people. It was followed by visiting art/craft fairs or festivals, at 33.4% (68.4 million); visiting historic sites (parks/historic buildings/neighborhoods), 31.6% (64.7 million); visiting art museums or galleries, 26.5% (54.3 million); musical plays, 17.1% (35.1 million); nonmusical plays, 12.3% (25.2 million); classical music concerts, 11.6% (23.8 million); and jazz performances, 10.8% (22.2 million). (See Table 4.1.)

Those who attended arts performances or visited historic sites typically went at least twice per year. Visitors to historic sites tended to visit an average of 3.6 different ones, while those who liked art museums and galleries visited 3.5 times. Fans of modern and other nonballet types of dance saw two performances during 2002, while jazz lovers went to 3.1 performances and classical music listeners, 3.1. Other popular repeat activities included attending art/craft fairs and festivals (2.4 visits per person), musical plays (2.3), and plays (2.3). (See Table 4.2.)

In general, attendance at various arts events was highest among whites. One exception was jazz performances, which a greater proportion of African-Americans attended compared to their percentage of the total U.S. population. Many activities also appealed more to women than men, most notably ballet, for which more than two-thirds of the attendees were female. People between the ages of thirty-five and forty-four were somewhat more likely to attend arts events, with those ages forty-five to fifty-four close behind. Higher levels of education and greater income were also linked to greater participation and attendance at arts events. (See Table 4.3.)