The Pandemic's Impact on Arts Attendance: Report from the NEA

The Arts Participation Patterns in 2022, is a report released by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) analyzing the results of the 2022 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA).

The report explores how American adults participated in various arts activities over a 12-month period ending in July 2022, including attending arts events, creating art, reading books, and consuming art through digital media. The document highlights key findings, demographic differences in attendance rates, and provides an overview of the survey's methodology. The report also examines trends in arts participation, particularly in comparison to previous SPPA surveys conducted in 2017 and 2012.

One of the most striking findings is the overall decline in arts attendance. Compared to 2017, the rate dropped by almost six percentage points.

Attendance at performing arts events not specifically listed in the survey actually rose. This category, which encompasses genres like rock, folk, country, rap, hip-hop, comedy, improv, magic shows, and circus acts, saw participation grow to 21 percent of adults. This suggests a potential shift in audience preferences towards more diverse and non-traditional art forms.

The survey also highlighted the growing influence of social media in promoting arts events. Over 17 percent of adults reported first learning about an event they attended through social media, while 15 percent learned through friends, neighbors, or coworkers. This underscores the importance of digital platforms for arts organizations seeking to connect with audiences and build excitement for their programming.

Book readership, unfortunately, continued its downward trend. Fewer than 50 percent of adults reported reading any book in the past year, a decline of four and six points from 2017 and 2012, respectively. Novels and short stories experienced a particularly steep drop, with the reading rate diminishing by 17 percent over the past decade. This decline is concerning, raising questions about the future of literature and the factors contributing to this trend.

While the 2022 SPPA reveals a mixed landscape for arts participation, it offers valuable insights into the evolving ways Americans engage with the arts. The data underscores the resilience of art making, the growing importance of digital platforms, and the potential shift in audience preferences towards more diverse and accessible art forms. As the arts sector continues to recover from the pandemic, understanding these trends is crucial for developing strategies to promote participation and ensure the arts remain a vital part of American life.

Immersive Experiences: Links

• Tribeca Games and Immersive 2023: How are immersive technologies changing the way we tell, view, and perceive compelling stories? (Wunderman Thompson Intelligence)

•  Vision Pro: What has Apple built, what is it for, what does it mean for Meta, and why does it cost $3,500? Check back in 2025. (Benedict Evans)

• Early Stats from the General Social Survey: How Virtual Arts Participation Fared in 2022: The arts module of the 2022 GSS was designed to track various types of arts activity among adults in the U.S. Unlike previous surveys, the module includes many questions about virtual participation in arts events. The module also asked respondents whether, at the time of the survey, they were taking part in such activities more or less often than when the pandemic was in its first year. (Arts Journal Blogs)

• NASA Is Behind New York’s Newest Immersive Art Show: The federal space agency has a surprisingly long history of art collaborations. (Observer)

• Some quick notes on Apple’s Vision Pro by Andy Matuschak: The hardware seems faintly unbelievable—a computer as powerful as Apple’s current mid-tier laptops (M2), plus a dizzying sensor/camera array with dedicated co-processor, plus displays with 23M 6µm pixels (my phone: 3M 55µm pixels; the PSVR2 is 32µm) and associated optics, all in roughly a mobile phone envelope.
But that kind of vertical integration is classic Apple. I’m mainly interested in the user interface and the computing paradigm. What does Apple imagine we’ll be doing with these devices, and how will we do it? (Andy’s working notes)

• Olfactory Overload: How it feels to have hyperosmia, a heightened sensitivity to smells, which can accompany autism. (The Polyphony)

• How your brain stays focused on conversations in a noisy room: The brain processes voices differently depending on the volume of the speaker and if the listener is focused on them. (New Scientist)

• Why Being in Nature Makes You Smarter, According to Neuroscientists: The scientific evidence is overwhelmingly clear: spending time outdoors boosts your brain function. (Outside)

• Why VR Photography Could Be the Next Big Thing: Pictures that let you see more; Apple’s new Vision Pro headset lets you take immersive photos and video; Canon is showing off a camera that lets you take 360-degree shots; The new technologies could boost the popularity of virtual reality photography. (Lifewire)

Tech as Art: Supporting Artists Who Use Technology as a Creative Medium

The report Tech as Art: Supporting Artists Who Use Technology as a Creative Medium, presents findings from a field scan commissioned in 2019 by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Ford Foundation and the Knight Foundation:

This report is the result of a two-year research initiative exploring the multifaceted creative practices of artists who engage with digital technologies. The research examines the creative infrastructure supporting tech-focused artistic practices and provides insight into the existing challenges and opportunities faced by artists and organizations working at the intersection of arts and technology.

The report (available here) shares detailed findings; identifies challenges; and ends with recommendations for different stakeholder groups, including funders, arts practitioners, policymakers, and educators. Of particular interest to me is the section addressing artists creating projects within and between virtual worlds using extended reality technologies to create completely new forms of art experiences never seen before.

The following essays were commissioned as a companion to the report:

“Recoding the Master’s Tools: Artists Remake Systems of Oppression and Extraction in Technology” by Vanessa Chang

“How Artists Can Bridge the Digital Divide and Reimagine Humanity” by Agnes Chavez

“Teaching the Co-Creators of a New Economy from Lincoln, Nebraska” by Megan Elliott

“Artist Perspective: Building Afrocentric Technoculture and Community” by Ari Melenciano

“Space, Time, Sustainability, Community: Giving Digital Artists What They Need” by Stephanie Pereira

“How the Arts Sector Can Support Transformational Technology” by Omari Rush

“Funder Perspective: Broadening Support for Arts and Technology” by Eleanor Savage

“Future World-building Depends on Artists and Collaborative Networks” by Kamal Sinclair

“Where Is the Public Discourse Around Art and Technology?” by Hrag Vartanian

“A Call-to-Action in STEAM Education” by S. Craig Watkins

The simple genius of a good graphic

In a talk that's part history lesson, part love letter to graphics, information designer Tommy McCall traces the centuries-long evolution of charts and diagrams -- and shows how complex data can be sculpted into beautiful shapes. "Graphics that help us think faster, or see a book's worth of information on a single page, are the key to unlocking new discoveries," McCall says.

In a talk that's part history lesson, part love letter to graphics, information designer Tommy McCall traces the centuries-long evolution of charts and diagrams -- and shows how complex data can be sculpted into beautiful shapes. "Graphics that help us think faster, or see a book's worth of information on a single page, are the key to unlocking new discoveries," McCall says.

Vince Kadlubek: Make a Mind-Blowing Experience

As the visionary CEO behind Meow Wolf, the immersive art installation in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Vince Kadlubek is combatting the mundanity of our everyday world with an alternate reality that surprises and challenges visitors. In this talk, Kadlubek shares his belief that people are hungry for mind-blowing experiences — and it’s up to creatives to deliver them.