‘Everybody Loves Arts, Culture And Heritage’ Finds Latest Cultural Participation Survey

The latest Cultural Participation Survey, conducted by Verian for Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage, has revealed that 97% of New Zealanders participate in at least one form of arts, culture or heritage activities.

"The Cultural Participation survey shows us that most New Zealanders are highly engaged, and are attending, different arts, culture and heritage activities" says Manatū Taonga Pou Mataaho o Te Aka Deputy Secretary Policy and Sector Performance, Emily Fabling.

"Almost all of us (97%) are participating in some form of arts, whether it is listening to music, attending festivals, visiting galleries or watching films.

"It’s encouraging to see that there has been an increase in New Zealanders’ engaging in in-person activities such as visual arts, culturally significant festivals and commemorations.

"Of all mediums, New Zealanders are engaging most (89%) with audio media such as music, podcasts or tuning into the radio. As a part of this, listening to New Zealand-made podcasts increased in 2023 to 29%."

New questions were included to this year’s survey to build on previous versions of the survey and to better understand drivers and barriers to participating in cultural activities.

"The report reveals that cost (45%), awareness (32%) and time (29%) are factors keeping Kiwis from engaging. This is really important to know as we want to encourage New Zealanders’ passion for and participation in the arts. Understanding these barriers plays a key role in addressing them.

"Drivers for New Zealanders engaging in the arts includes wanting to try and learn new things (66%), have fun (61%) and connect with others (50%). Almost half of us are creating our own art (44%), showcasing how engrained being creative is in many of our lives.

"The report adds to the Ministry’s evidence base so that we can continue our mahi to support a thriving cultural sector for all New Zealanders," says Emily.

The full report is available on the Manatū Taonga website: www.mch.govt.nz/publications/new-zealanders-cultural-participation-2023

Report highlights:

• listening to commercial radio is the most frequently engaged in activity, with 66% listening at least once a week in 2023
• almost three in four New Zealanders (71%) reported watching a New Zealand-made programme, series or documentary (excluding news and sports) at least occasionally, with 44% watching weekly
• 51% of New Zealanders reported going to the library in the last three months
• 29% of New Zealanders reported going to a museum in the last three months
• one in five New Zealanders (21%) reported attending a musical, dance or theatre performance in the last three months
• 29% of New Zealanders reported attending a public commemoration event at least once in the last year
• 35% of New Zealanders reported visiting a visual arts gallery in the last 12 months.

Manatū Taonga previously published versions of this survey in 2020 and 2022 which are also available on the Ministry’s website.

© Scoop Media