Since the turn of the 21st century, attendance at arts activities across the country has been on a steady decline. In 2002, the National Endowment of the Arts reported that 76.3% of adults participated in the arts at least once a year. By 2022, that number dropped to 47.9%. Although the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have surely had an impact on arts participation levels since 2020, the trend is clear: Americans are participating in the arts less. Because a majority of US-based arts organizations are 501(c)3 nonprofits, they rely on cultivating and sustaining audiences for a majority of their revenue. In order to combat these attendance declines, organizations must take steps to understand and address the barriers and constraints that stop potential audience members from patronizing their events and programming.
The study of barriers to attendance must occur at the community level. Although some physical and logistical factors, such as the cost of admission or difficulty of access, serve as constraints to attendance that exist for all audience members, barriers to attendance are often very subjective and unique factors. The manifestation of barriers will look different for every arts organization’s constituency. My research about barriers focused on the IU student population and 13 different campus organizations. The artistic disciplines included in the study varied, from traditional arts activities such as theatre, classical music, and art galleries, to more mainstream activities, such as cinema and cultural festivals. Using a web-administered survey with questions gauging the experience of several different barriers to attendance, I collected data from 483 students on the IU campus.
The most prevalently reported barrier to attendance for IU students is a lack of knowledge about organizations’ events and programming. Despite the vastly reported awareness of campus arts organizations, with most students learning about campus arts organizations through official IU communications, a majority of respondents reported lacking information about individual performances and programs. 88% of respondents agreed that they would attend more events if they knew they were happening.
The other primary barrier to students’ attendance was the cost of admission. Although all 13 included organizations offer cost incentives to students, 85% of survey respondents agreed that they would attend more arts events if they did not cost as much. The experience of this barrier is no doubt increased by compounding factors, including the order processing fees associated with purchasing tickets online via Ticketmaster, IU’s primary ticket selling platform. If a student ticket to an event at, say, the Jacobs School of Music is $10, then Ticketmaster’s $8 processing fee nearly doubles the price of admission. For a student whose full-time job is their academic courseload, that extra fee may make the cost of attending arts events unaffordable.
While the fact that these constraints to attendance are so widely experienced is cause for dismay, the good news is that these barriers are well within an organization’s control. IU campus arts organizations that wish to increase student attendance levels can take action to combat the experience of these barriers. One such action would be to increase their marketing efforts toward the student population. In addition to merely making students aware of the organization’s existence, marketing and communications teams must provide information about their performance and program schedules so that students know about the events happening on campus. Further, organizations’ marketing efforts must focus on the unique advantages of their artistic discipline and emphasize the benefits of attendance. Furthermore, organizations can work to increase the cost incentives offered to students. Whether discounted tickets become free admissions policies or work is done to eliminate compounding cost factors such as order processing fees, creating more opportunities for students to attend events for free will help organizations increase their student attendance levels.
The current generation of college students faces a host of social and political challenges as they begin to transition into adulthood and leadership within American society. The events on campus of the past weeks alone demonstrate that we are living through unprecedented levels of divisiveness and unrest. While it is vital that students continue to use their voices and platforms to advocate for justice, they also need opportunities to experience joy and beauty. Arts of any discipline provide avenues to have these joyful experiences, and expanding access to them may help this generation to begin creating happier and more fulfilling lifestyles.
Rachel Petersson is a senior at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
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