Survey reveals New Zealanders are cultured

New Zealanders and the Arts: Attitudes, Attendance and Participation in 2011
Creative NZ Survey

The latest Creative NZ survey of attitudes to the arts is a reflection of the economic, cultural and social attitudes of New Zealanders to the arts.

While Kiwis continue to enjoy and support the arts they are less prepared to have government funding, with 76% believing there should be public funding for the arts which is down by 3% on the similar survey of 2008.

However, 73% believed local councils should support the arts - the same as in the previous survey.

Most New Zealanders (80%) agree the arts help define who we are. Engagement in the arts also remains strong, with 85% attending or being actively involved in the arts in the past 12 months.

While high numbers of people (60% - 80%) regarded the arts as important to themselves and their communities, in Christchurch 90% thought it had an important role to play in the city's rebuild.

‘’As a nation we continue to value the arts highly and young New Zealanders, in particular, gain a strong sense of wellbeing from being creative,’’ says Creative NZ chief executive Stephen Wainwright.

The triennial survey also revealed some new findings:

# Young New Zealanders are increasingly involved in the arts: four out of five young Kiwis (80%) like to do at least one creative arts activity in their spare time. It makes them feel good about themselves, with 46% saying they feel “brilliant” when being creative and 38% saying they feel “really good”.

# Young New Zealanders rate being creative as a favourite pastime (80%), ahead of playing computer or video games (77%) and alongside watching TV and DVDs (80%). Online engagement with the arts has grown significantly. In 2011, 51% of New Zealanders watched a performance or looked at art online, compared to 38% in 2008. This had a flow-on effect for attendance at live events, with 23% of online arts viewers attending the live event as a result, compared to just 15% in 2008.

# Maori and Pacific arts events appeal to a broad range of New Zealanders. Almost threequarters (74%) of those who attended a Maori arts event in the past 12 months did not identify as Māori and 88% of people who attended a Pacific arts event did not identify as from a Pacific Island ethnic group. “This strong interest in Maori and Pacific arts reflects our changing demographics and who we are as a nation,’’ Mr Wainwright said.

The report also notes that:

• The market for arts and culture in New Zealand is large, with 95% of those surveyed saying they have been to at least one cultural event within the last three years – compared to 87% in Australia and 85% in Britain, according to similar surveys in those countries.
• Attendance at arts events in Christchurch has been severely affected by the earthquakes, with two-thirds of residents saying they attend the arts less frequently.
• Attendance at visual arts events has dropped slightly, with 395 attending four or more events in 2011 compared to 49% in 2008.
• Attendance at literary events also decreased from 14% in the 2008 survey to 11% in the latest survey.

New Zealanders and the Arts: Attitudes, Attendance and Participation in 2011 aims to provide insights that help the arts community and its supporters identify new trends in a changing environment and take up new opportunities.

The research was conducted by independent research company Colmar Brunton and involved just over 3300 New Zealanders.