a strategic study of non -attendees at cultural venues and ... · a strategic study of...

Who doesn’t attend and why? 1

A Strategic Study of Non-Attendees at Cultural Venues and Events in Western Sydney

Unit 36, 7-9 Percy Street Auburn NSW 2144 Australia Phone: (02) 9643 1833 Fax: (02) 9643 1800 Email: [email protected] Website: www.multiculture.com.au

Who doesn’t attend and why? 2 of 6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ........................... 3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................... 5

INTRODUCTION ...................................................... 9

METHODOLOGY ................................................... 11

Sample .............................................................................. 11

Participants’ Council Area .............................................. 12

Participants’ Gender ...................................................... 13

Participants’ Language .................................................. 14

Participants’ Birthplace .................................................. 16

FINDINGS .............................................................. 18

Reasons for Not Attending ............................................. 18

Gender ........................................................................... 19

Age ................................................................................ 20

Language ....................................................................... 22

Household Type ............................................................. 24

Education ....................................................................... 25

Employment ................................................................... 26

Income ........................................................................... 27

Council ........................................................................... 28

Drivers and Barriers ........................................................ 30

Deciding Factors ............................................................ 30

Pricing ............................................................................ 32

Decision maker .............................................................. 34

Sources of Opinion ........................................................ 37

Preferences ...................................................................... 41

Awareness, Attitude and Behaviour .............................. 42

Attitude ........................................................................... 42

Behaviour ....................................................................... 44

Awareness ..................................................................... 47

Sources of Information ................................................... 48

CONCLUSION ....................................................... 52

Appendix 1 Interview Schedule ........................... 53

Appendix 2 Questionnaire ................................... 54


LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

Table 1: Councils where interviews were conducted and where interviewees live

12

Figure 1: Councils where interviewees live by Gender 13

Figure 2: Languages the respondents speak at home by Gender

14

Figure 3: Interviewees’ place of residence and languages spoken at home

15

Figure 4: Birthplace of respondents 16

Figure 5: Birthplace of respondents’ parents (Top 10) 17

Figure 6: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events

18

Figure 7: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by gender

19

Figure 8: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by age

20

Figure 9: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by language spoken

22

Figure 10: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by type of household

24

Figure 11: Reasons for not attending venues or events by education

25

Figure 12: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by employment

26

Figure 13: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by weekly income

27

Figure 14: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by council

28

Table 2: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by council

29

Figure 15: How important are the following for you to decide if you were to attend a cultural venue or event?

30

Figure 16: If you were to attend the following cultural venue or event, what sort of price range are you willing to pay per head?

32

Figure 17: Who makes the decision on where to go during weekends or evenings by gender

34

Figure 18: Who makes the decision on where to go during weekends or evenings by age

35

Figure 19: Who makes the decision on where to go during weekends or evenings by language

36

Figure 20: If you were to attend a cultural venue or event where would you obtain opinions or recommendations by gender

37

Figure 21: If you were to attend a cultural venue or event where would you obtain opinions or recommendations by age

38

Figure 22: If you were to attend a cultural venue or event where would you obtain opinions or recommendations by language

40

Figure 23: How likely would you attend the following in the next 12 months?

41


Figure 24: How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following…(I would feel more positive about cultural activities if there were…)

42

Figure 25: From a list of 22 words that other people have told us how they feel when attending a cultural event or venue. Which words do you believe will best represent how you will feel if or when you attend a cultural event or venue?

44

Figure 26: How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following 16 statements about cultural activities?

45

Figure 27: Which radio stations do you listen to on a regular basis?

48

Figure 28: Which newspapers do you read on a regular basis?

49

Figure 29: Home page used 50

Figure 30: How do you use the Internet? 51


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

While most people would accept that artists create for reasons unique to them as individuals, the reasons for attending are just as varied and individual. However, the reasons for not attending tend to be less individual and, thus, far fewer. Those who regularly participate in the arts, either as artists or as observers and appreciators, know that tending to this part of our lives makes us whole persons, better at being parents, spouses and friends; more interesting; better able to draw on depth of understanding and insight to do our work well; more engaged in and committed to our communities. The effort to include the arts in more people’s lives is an effort to elevate the well being of the community, to make us better at what we do and more useful and connected to others, not just to make us “more highbrow.” A considerable amount of research has been done on current audiences and pricing. However, little has been done on those who stay away from cultural and arts events—who they are, why they stay away, and what might induce them to attend. Western Sydney has been a target for arts development, particularly as such development relates to responding to the needs of audiences from diverse cultural backgrounds. The current study, commissioned in a continued effort to pursue arts development in Western Sydney, has four primary objectives:

To provide data related to specific audiences and potential audiences in communities in Western Sydney and their attitudes to cultural venues and events.

To inform overall understanding of the needs and interests of potential Western Sydney cultural sector audiences, especially among cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.

To understand the attitudes of Western Sydney arts and cultural audiences towards cultural venues, including art galleries, museums, popular music concerts, theatre performances, dance performances, musical and opera performances, classical musical concerts, festivals, and other performing arts.

To provide useful conclusions and recommendations for cultural venues in Western Sydney, Arts NSW, other relevant government departments and local councils in Western Sydney.

After reviewing categorisations from the Australian Bureau of Statistics about audience research, age, income and other variables, Multicultural Marketing and Management (MMM) developed the research instrument in consultation with Arts NSW and its Steering Group (See Appendix 2).


Street interviews were conducted with 665 residents of 14 Western Sydney council areas: Auburn, Bankstown, Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Fairfield, Holroyd, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith, and Wollondilly. These communities have a total population of 1.8 million. Of the 665 interviews, 3 were invalidated because of incomplete answers, resulting in a final sample of 662. Those who agreed to be interviewed were first screened based on whether they lived in one of the 14 council areas and whether they had attended a cultural venue or event in one of the 14 council areas in the past 12 months. A total of 2,015 potential interviewees who did not meet these criteria or who declined to participate were screened out and were not included in the 665 interviews. As far as possible, sampling was done according to the census composition. LANGUAGE AND ORIGIN

The great majority of participants speak English at home, and more than one in ten also speak Arabic at home. Vietnamese, Mandarin and Cantonese were also well represented, as were small samples of other languages.

The council areas in which English is spoken least among the

respondents are Liverpool (55% speak English at home), Fairfield (60%), Parramatta (64%) and Holroyd (69%).

In Wollondilly, Camden and Blue Mountains, 100% of respondents

speak English at home.

Well over half (58%) of respondents were born in Australia, although the parents of 29% of those born in Australia were born elsewhere.

REASONS FOR NON-ATTENDANCE

The top four reasons given for not attending a cultural venue or event were cost (32%), work (30%) family (28%), and program (26%).

Reasons of concern to less than 5% of respondents were time of

year, time of the week, accessibility and ease of booking.

Work is among the top three reasons for not attending arts and cultural events for all speakers except those who speak Arabic, although it reaches its highest levels for those who speak Cantonese (57%) and Vietnamese (52%).

Family ranks in the top three for all speakers, except English, where

it ranks a close fourth.

Among the barriers to attendance, participants rated price, safety, transport, parking and suitability of program as the most important. Child care, website information, transport, distance to home or work, and parking were rated as the least important.


POSITIVE ATTENDANCE-DRIVERS

All factors were important or very important to between 42% and 82% of participants, with friendly staff (82%), variety and suitability of program and safe area to go at night (81%), and information via newspapers, magazines or radio (75%) leading the way.

The high number of factors that were ranked “important” or “very

important” indicates that non-attendees have high expectations and criteria for cultural and arts events that must be met before they can overcome the work, family and cost barriers that they have set up for themselves.

Scoring highest among the activities rated very important, with 23%

rating it very important, was more events and activities that relate to my cultural background. This matches the report “Australians and the Arts,” presented to the Australia Council by Saatchi & Saatchi Australia. This indicated that “people were more likely to highly value the arts if they were prompted to consider both value to themselves personally and the benefits of the arts to Australia as a whole.”

INFLUENCES

Friends were by far the greatest influence in making decisions about attending cultural evens, with 68% of men and 70% of women saying they were influenced by friends.

While still a strong influence, family ran a distant second to friends,

with 38% of men and 43% of women saying they sought the opinion of their family members.

Overall, friends, family and newspapers, in that order, were cited as

the main source of opinion and information by speakers of Arabic, Cantonese, English, Vietnamese and Mandarin.

While 14% of respondents stated that they didn’t listen to the radio,

17% listen to 2-Day FM (104.1) and SBS. However, radio-listening is widely distributed, with nine different stations gleaning at least 10% of the respondents.

Nearly half (49%) read The Daily Telegraph, 30% read The Sydney

Morning Herald, and 23% read free suburban papers. 75% of respondents use the Internet, mostly for email, but 37% also use it to find things to do.

OPPORTUNITIES

Between 42% and 47% say they are very unlikely or unlikely to attend art galleries, classical music performances, and musical or opera performances. However, more than a quarter of respondents are neutral about this “unpopular” group, indicating an opportunity to increase interest.

Less than 3% of respondents are on an email list for a cultural

venue or event in Western Sydney, which indicates a significant opportunity to increase awareness.


Nearly half of the respondents said they were willing to pay less than $10 to attend a festival, a museum, or an art gallery, indicating, perhaps, that these kinds of events are considered public spaces with high entrance fees. On average, they were willing to pay the highest prices for performances—pop music concerts, musical or opera performances and classical music concerts, in that order.

67% of respondents said they were very likely or likely to attend a

festival and 54% a pop music concert in the next 12 months. The next most likely group—theatre performances, museums, and dance performances—followed distantly at around 37-40%.

Respondents were generally positive about all ideas for increasing

involvement in the arts, but particularly increasing education about cultural activities at school, activities for children and young people, and more events and activities that relate to their cultural background.

Almost 77% of respondents say they have not been to a cultural

event or venue in other areas of NSW in the past 12 months, and only 19% of respondents could name a cultural venue in the council area in which they live, and only 14% could name one in another council area in Western Sydney. This finding suggests an opportunity for increasing attendance at local events by increasing awareness of local venues.


INTRODUCTION

For both artists and spectators, the arts are personal. While most people would accept that artists create for reasons unique to them as individuals, the reasons for attending are just as varied and individual. Art resonates inside each of us differently, based on what we bring to it, and that is what makes it art. The reasons for attending art events, then, are as many as the individuals who attend them, but the reasons for not attending tend to be less individual and, thus, far fewer. Many people’s understanding of their hierarchy of needs puts the arts at some elevated level of self-actualisation, to be addressed only after all other needs are met. As a result, a great many busy people believe they never have the time, money or energy to make the arts a part of their lives. However, those who regularly participate in the arts, either as artists or as observers and appreciators, know that tending to this part of our lives makes us whole persons, better at being parents, spouses and friends; more interesting; better able to draw on depth of understanding and insight to do our work well; more engaged in and committed to our communities. The effort to include the arts in more people’s lives is an effort to elevate the connectedness of the community, to make us better at what we do and more useful and connected to others, not just to make us “more highbrow.” At the same time, there’s little doubt that the arts can use the financial support that comes with increased public attendance. While government support may always be required in order to make the arts accessible to all, public support releases government funds for other uses and expands the accessibility and variety of artistic performance. Financial support from the public can come in the form of increased attendance by those who already attend events, increased prices (if such increases do not lower attendance), or added attendance by those who do not currently attend cultural or arts events. A considerable amount of research has been done on the first two categories—current audiences and pricing—through studies such as Guess Who’s Going to the Gallery? (Museums and Galleries NSW, 2008), Arts and Culture in Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008), and Australians and the Arts (Australia Council, 2000) However, little has been done on those who stay away from cultural and arts events—who they are, why they stay away, and what might induce them to attend. In NSW, the State government has provided for Western Sydney arts development under the Western Sydney Arts Strategy since 2000. Audience investment, particularly as it relates to responding to the needs of audiences from diverse cultural backgrounds, is a priority under the strategy. The current study, commissioned in a continued effort to pursue audience development in Western Sydney, has four primary objectives:

To provide specific audience and potential audience data in relation to communities in Western Sydney and their attitudes to cultural venues and events.


To inform overall understanding of the needs and interests of potential Western Sydney cultural sector audiences, especially among CALD communities.

To understand the attitudes of Western Sydney arts and cultural audiences towards cultural venues, including theatres and performing arts, visual arts and crafts galleries, heritage and museums, libraries, cinemas, artists’ and writers’ studios, festivals and open-air arts events.

To provide useful conclusions and recommendations for cultural venues in Western Sydney, Arts NSW and local councils.


METHODOLOGY Permits for conducting street interviews were acquired where necessary, and street interviews were conducted in 14 Western Sydney council areas: Auburn, Bankstown, Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Fairfield, Holroyd, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Paramatta, Penrith, and Wollondilly. (See appendix 1 for the interview schedule.) Street interviewers made an effort to approach a mix of people in terms of gender and age. With a total population in these communities of 1.8 million, the 665 targeted interviews resulted in a confidence level of 99% and a confidence interval of 5% (that is, we are 99% certain that, when 47% of the sample chooses an answer, the true percentage of the population that would have picked that answer, had the entire population been interviewed, is between 42-52%.) The research instrument was developed by Multicultural Marketing and Management (MMM), in consultation with Arts NSW and its Steering Group. (See appendix 2.) All interviewers were bilingual, had a high level of communication skill in English and the target language, and were trained on Australian Market and Social Research Society’s code of professional conduct and interview skills. As part of MMM’s register of over 150 trained, skilled bilingual interviewers across 20 language groups, interviewers had research skills and experience and an understanding of communication issues for the target community. Researchers were also equipped with a letter of introduction certifying their employment by MMM for the project, an ID badge, and a permit from the councils (if any). Each interview required approximately 15 minutes to complete. When the interviews were completed, the interviewers’ hand-written data sheets were collected, entered into a php software and analysed.

Sample Those who agreed to be interviewed were first screened based on whether they lived in one of the 14 council areas and whether they had attended a cultural venue or event in one of the 14 council areas in the past 12 months; those who either did not live in one of the 14 council areas or who had attended a cultural venue or event in one of the council areas in the past 12 months were screened out and were not included in the 665 interviews. 2015 potential participants were screened out, either because they declined to participate or were not eligible based on the two criteria. Of the 665 interviews, 3 were invalidated because of incomplete answers, resulting in a final sample of 662.


Participants’ Council Area

Table 1: Councils where interviews were conducted and where interviewees live

% of

Population Western Sydney sample % of sample sample % of sample

Auburn 64,959 3.5% 21 3.2% 27 4.1%

Bankstown 170,490 9.2% 65 9.8% 65 9.8%

Baulkham Hills 159,391 8.6% 55 8.3% 55 8.3%

Blacktown 271,710 14.7% 93 14.0% 92 13.9%

Blue Mts 74,067 4.0% 28 4.2% 26 3.9%

Camden 49,646 2.7% 18 2.7% 14 2.1%

Campbelltown 143,077 7.7% 55 8.3% 56 8.5%

Fairfield 179,892 9.7% 60 9.1% 63 9.5%

Hawkesbury 60,561 3.3% 24 3.6% 26 3.9%

Holroyd 151,325 8.2% 49 7.4% 42 6.3%

Liverpool 164,602 8.9% 62 9.4% 51 7.7%

Parramatta 148,323 8.0% 55 8.3% 66 10.0%

Penrith 172,140 9.3% 62 9.4% 64 9.7%

Wollondilly 40,342 2.2% 15 2.3% 15 2.3%

Total 1,850,525 100.0% 662 100.0% 662 100.0%

Where interviews were conducted Where interviewees live

Where interviews were conducted and where participants live Table 1 shows the total population in each of the 14 council areas, the number of interviews conducted in each area based on that population, the number of people interviewed (in any area) who resided in each council area, and how that number may differ from the targeted number of interviews based on population. In some cases, the number of interviews conducted with residents of each council area varied from the target number because some interviews conducted in one area were done with people who actually resided in another. Those most under-represented areas were Camden (-29%), Liverpool (-22%) and Holroyd (-17%), while those most over-represented were Auburn (+22%) and Parramatta (+14%). This is due to the random nature of the research methodology.


Participants’ Gender

Figure 1: Council where interviewees live by gender

Council of interviewee x Gender (n=661, female=315, male=346)

2.5%

9.8%

9.8%

12.1%

4.4%

1.6%

10.5%

7.0%

4.8%

6.7%

6.3%

10.5%

11.1%

2.9%

5.5%

9.8%

6.9%

15.6%

3.5%

2.6%

6.6%

11.8%

3.2%

6.1%

8.7%

9.5%

8.4%

1.7%

0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0%

Auburn

Bankstown

Baulkham Hills

Blacktown

Blue Mountains

Camden

Campbelltown

Fairfield

Hawkesbury

Holroyd

Liverpool

Parramatta

Penrith

Wollondilly

Percentage

Female

Male

Men were over-represented in Auburn (68%) and women in Wollondilly (62%) Figure 1 shows the distribution of interviewees from each area, based on gender. For example, among the 346 male interviewed, 19 of them (5.5%) live in Auburn. The percentage in male and female will add up to 100% respectively. Women (48%) and men (52%) were both well represented in the sample, although men were over-represented in Auburn (68%), Fairfield (63%), Camden (62%), Liverpool (58%), and Blacktown (57%). Women were over-represented in Wollondilly (62%), Campbelltown (61%), Hawkesbury (60%), Baulkham Hills (58%), Penrith (57%), and Blue Mountains (56%).


Participants’ Language

Figure 2: Languages the respondents speak at home by gender (multiple responses allowed)

Languages x Gender (n=661)

Male=346, Female=315

18.4

10.5

1.6

77.1

7.0

7.0

26.9

11.6

2.6

71.7

3.5

8.7

Other

Arabic

Cantonese

English

Mandarin

Vietnamese

Percentage

male

female

Women were over-represented in the English and Mandarin speaking groups Figure 2 shows the languages the respondents reported that they speak at home, with multiple responses allowed for languages. For example, of the 315 women interviewed, 33 of them (10.5%) speak Arabic at home, five of them (1.6%) speak Cantonese at home. The percentage in male and female will add up to over 100% respectively because some respondents speak more than one language at home. While the great majority of participants reported speaking English at home—nearly three-quarters of women and more than three-quarters of men—more than one in ten also spoke Arabic at home. Vietnamese, Mandarin and Cantonese were also well represented, as were over 40 small samples of Assyrian, Bosnian, Brazilian, Cambodian, Croatian, Czech, Dari, Pashto, Dutch, Farsi, Filipino, French, Fujian dialect, German, Greek, Hindi , Hungarian, Indian, Indonesian, Iraqi, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Krio, Lao, Lebanese, Maori, Minam dialect, Nepali, Pigeon English, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Samoan, Serbian, Shanghainese, Spanish, Sri Lankan, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Tamil, Teochew dialect, Tongan, Turkish, Urdu, Yiddish.


Figure 3: Interviewees’ place of residence and languages spoken at home (multiple answers allowed)

Council of interviewees x Languages (n=662, responses=816)

18.5

30.8

3.6

5.4

8.8

12.7

9.5

17.7

22.7

40.7

49.2

80.4

84.8

100.0

100.0

84.2

60.3

92.3

69.1

54.9

63.6

98.4

100.0

23.1

30.2

25.5

37.0

15.4

21.4

21.7

11.5

21.4

21.1

22.2

34.6

28.6

27.5

27.3

20.3

20.0

6.2

3.6

9.1

5.3

9.5

7.1

7.6

25.9

7.1

Auburn (n=27)

Bankstown (n=65)

Baulkham Hills (n=56)

Blacktown (n=92)

Blue Mountains (n=26)

Camden (n=14)

Campbelltown (n=57)

Fairfield (n=63)

Hawkesbury (n=26)

Holroyd (n=42)

Liverpool (n=51)

Parramatta (n=66)

Penrith (n=64)

Wollondilly (n=15)

Percentage

Arabic

Cantonese

English

Mandarin

Vietnamese

Other

English is spoken least in Auburn (40%), Bankstown (49%) Figure 3 shows the languages that residents of each council area reported speaking at home, multiple answers allowed for languages. For example, of the 15 respondents from Wollondilly, all of them (100%) reported speaking English at home, and three of them (20%) also reported speaking another language (other than English, Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin or Vietnamese) at home. Therefore the total per council adds up to over 100%. The council areas in which English is spoken least were Auburn (40%), Bankstown (49%). In Wollondilly, Camden and Blue Mountains, 100% of respondents reported speaking English at home. Those council areas in which around a quarter of the respondents reported speaking a language at home in addition to or instead of English, were Parramatta, where 23% speak Arabic; Liverpool, where 26% speak Vietnamese; Fairfield, where 30% speak Vietnamese; Bankstown, where 31% speak Arabic and 23% speak Vietnamese; and Auburn, where 26% speak Mandarin.


Participants’ Birthplace

Figure 4: Birthplace of respondents

Birthplace of respondents (Top 10) (n=660)

58.0%

6.7% 6.2%4.5%

3.0% 2.4% 2.3%1.4% 1.2% 1.1%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

Australia China Vietnam India Lebanon Iraq New Zealand Philippines Egypt Korea

Well over half of respondents were born in Australia Figure 4 shows that well over half of the respondents (383 over 660 people) were born in Australia. Following Australia at some distance, the most frequent places of birth for respondents are China and Vietnam. The parents of 29% of those born in Australia were born elsewhere. Other birthplaces of respondents included over 40 countries: Afghanistan, Bosnia, Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, Croatia , Cuba, Fiji, France, Hong Kong , Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait , Laos, Libya, Malta, Nepal, Netherlands, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Russia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Taiwan, Turkey, UK, USA, Yemen, Yugoslavia. 19 respondents were of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin.


Figure 5: Top 10 birthplace of respondents’ parents (multiple responses allowed)

Birthplace of parents (Top 10) (n=662, responses=697)

39.2%

7.3% 7.0%5.7%

4.6%

2.9% 2.6% 2.3%1.7% 1.6%

Australia Vietnam China India Lebanon New Zealand UK Iraq Italy Egypt

Pe

rcen

tag

e

A majority of the respondents have at least one parent born overseas Figure 5 shows that over 60% of the respondents have at least one parent born overseas, multiple responses allowed. The top 10 birthplaces of respondents’ parents are rounded out by India, Lebanon, New Zealand, the UK, Iraq, Italy and Egypt. If compared to Figure 4, the top 10 birthplaces for respondents were the same, with the exception that the UK and Italy are not among the top 10 for respondents, replaced by Korea and the Philippines. Other birthplaces of respondents’ parents included over 50 countries: Afghanistan, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil , Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus , Czechoslovakia, Fiji, France, French New Caledonia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong , Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland , Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, New Guinea, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa , Spain, Sri Lanka , Sudan, Sweden , Syria, Taiwan , Tonga, Turkey, Yemen, Yugoslavia.


FINDINGS

Reasons for Not Attending Reasons provided for not attending cultural venues or events were family, work, the type of program, cost, distance, transport, ease of booking, safety, accessibility, time of week, and time of year. Other reasons given by respondents included age, health, study, and trips overseas. Figure 6: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events (multiple responses allowed)

Reasons for not attending (n=662, responses =1,258)

20.5

28.9

30.2

26.1

32.5

17.1

9.2

2.0

12.2

3.3

4.7

3.3

Other

Family

Work

Program

Cost

Distance

Transport

Booking

Safety

Accessibility

Time of the week

Time of year

Percentage

Top four reasons were cost, work, family and program Figure 6 shows the percentage of respondents who cited any of the 12 reasons provided for not attending cultural events, multiple responses allowed. For example, 215 of the 662 respondents (32.5%) cited cost as a reason. Since respondents could offer multiple responses, the total of the percentages add to more than 100%. The top four reasons given overall for not attending a cultural venue or event were cost (32%), work (30%) family (28%), and program (26%). Reasons of concern to less than 5% of respondents were time of year, time of the week, accessibility and ease of booking.


Gender

Figure 7: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by gender (multiple responses allowed for reasons)

Reasons for not attending x Gender (n=661, 315 females, 346 males, responses=1,257)

38.4

22.5

17.8

41.9

20.6

12.4

3.2

18.7

4.8 4.4 4.4

21.320.2

37.0

33.8

24.0

13.9

6.4

0.9

6.4

2.0

4.9

2.3

19.9

Family

Wor

k

Progr

am Cos

t

Dista

nce

Trans

port

Booking

Safet

y

Acces

sibility

Time

of th

e wee

k

Time

of yea

r

Oth

er

Perc

en

tag

e

female

male

Women listed cost, family and safety substantially higher than men Figure 7 illustrates how the reasons given for not attending cultural events broke down by gender, multiple responses allowed for the reasons. For example, 121 out of the 315 (38.4%) of females interviewed cited family as a reason, while 20.2% of males cited family. Since respondents could offer multiple responses, the total of the percentages per gender add to more than 100%. Women were significantly more likely to list cost as the top reason (42%) than were men (under 24%), while men were more likely to list work (37%) than women were (22%). Men cited the kind of program (34%) more often than women did (18%), but women were more likely to cite concerns about safety (19%) than men were (6%). Overall, women were more inclined to find reasons not to go than men were; men averaged 14.4% for each of the 12 reasons offered, while women averaged 20.6%. This is a significant and somewhat surprising difference, indicating that women who do not attend cultural events may be more resistant overall than are men who do not attend cultural events. Other reasons given by respondents included age, health, study, and trips overseas.


Age

Figure 8: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by age (multiple responses allowed for reasons)

Reasons for not attending x Age (n=657, responses=1,250)

16.3 10.2

38.830.6

16.36.1 6.1 4.1

44.923.7

26.3

25.0 39.5

17.8

8.6 5.9 5.3

27.044.6

33.1

24.626.2

16.2

5.411.5 4.6

13.9

45.8

42.422.0

30.5

14.4

13.6

12.7

20.044.4

27.8

24.4

11.1

7.86.7

17.8

23.1

33.3

25.6

20.5

15.4

7.77.7

20.5

7.0

7.0

27.9

44.2

27.9

32.6

9.3

23.3

20.9

18.6

13.9

5.625.0

55.6

33.3

27.8

30.6

22.2

11.1

10.3

16.7

44.4

Family

Wor

k

Progr

am Cos

t

Dista

nce

Trans

port

Booking

Safet

y

Acces

sibility

Time

of th

e wee

k

Time

of yea

r

Oth

er

Percentage

75 yrs and over (n=36)

65-74 years (n=43)

55-64 years (n=39)

45-54 years (n=90)

35-44years (n=118)

25-34 years (n=130)

18-24 years (n=152)

15-17 years (n=49)

Program was important to the very young while distance and transport were important to the over 65 Figure 8 depicts the reasons given by participants for not attending a cultural event, broken out by age, multiple responses allowed for the reasons. For example, 16.3% (8 out of 49) of those age 15-17, 23.7% of those age 18-24 and 44.6% of those age 25-24 cited family as a reason. Similarly, for those aged 75 years and older, 13.9% cited family as a reason, 5.6% cited work, 25% cited program, 55.6% cited cost, and so on. Since participants could offer multiple responses, the total of the percentages for each reason may add to more than 100%. For all age groups except those aged 55-64, cost was among the top three reasons for not attending cultural and arts events; it ranked third for all other groups until age 65, at which point it rose to the number 1 reason. Family was consistently in the top three for all but those over 65 and for those aged 45-54, for whom it ranked a close fourth. Not surprisingly, work was in the top three for all groups except the very young and those over 65. Program was important to the very young and those between 45 and 74. Safety and access were among the top three only for those over age 75, and distance and transportation were among the top three only for those aged 65-74.


Those over age 65 are likely to have, on average, the highest number of reasons for not attending and, therefore, to be the most difficult group with which to overcome objections, but addressing their top issues of cost, safety, transportation, access and distance may go a long way to luring them to venues. Other reasons given by respondents included age, health, study, and trips overseas.


Language

Figure 9: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by language spoken (multiple responses allowed for reasons and languages)

Reason for not attending x Language

(n=662, responses to languages=816, responses to reasons=1562)

42.5

23.3 17.8

41.127.4

5.5

23.3

28.657.1

21.4

35.7

24.1

25.8

28.835.3

17.0

10.8 15.2

22.1

35.3

35.3

20.6

8.8

5.9

23.5

46.2

51.9

21.2

7.7

13.5

9.6

31.4

48.4

23.5

35.3

17.7

8.5

11.1

15.7

Family

Wor

k

Pro

gram

Cos

t

Dista

nce

Trans

port

Boo

king

Saf

ety

Acc

essibility

Time

of w

eek

Time

of yea

r

Oth

er

Percentage

Other (n=152)

Vietnamese (n=52)

Mandarin (n=34)

English (n=491)

Cantonese (n=14)

Arabic (n=73)

Work was the number one reason for not attending cultural events for Chinese and Vietnamese Figure 9 shows respondents’ reasons for not attending a cultural event, by the language spoken at home. For example, 42.5% (31 out of 73) of those who speak Arabic at home cited family as a reason. Since participants could offer multiple responses, the total of the percentages for both reasons and languages add to more than 100% respectively. Work is among the top three reasons for not attending arts and cultural events for all speakers except those who speak English and Arabic, although it reaches its highest levels for those who speak Cantonese (57%) and Vietnamese (52%). Family ranks in the top three for speakers of all languages except English, where it ranks a close fourth. Arabic speakers are the only group that lists distance among the top three reasons for not attending cultural events, and only English and Arabic speakers list cost among the top three. In fact, there’s a significant gap between English and Arabic speakers, 35-40% of whom rank cost as a reason for non-attendance, and Cantonese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese speakers, less than 10% of whom rank it as a reason. Overall, English speakers are most likely to find reasons not to attend, with an average of about 19% of English speakers citing each reason; Arabic


speakers follow with 16%, Vietnamese with 13.6%, Cantonese with 12% and Mandarin with 11.6%. Although the Vietnamese, Cantonese, and Mandarin have the lowest average number of objections, Vietnamese and Cantonese speakers also have extremely high work-related reasons for not attending. Other reasons given by respondents included age, health, study, and trips overseas.


Household Type

Figure 10: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by type of household (multiple responses allowed for reasons)

Reasons for not attending x Family type (n=661, responses=1,255)

6.721.1 27.1

54.6 59.3

18.220.7

37.6 27.1

35.7

44.4

27.3

32.7

31.228.2

19.57.4

15.2

31.3

28.4 41.0

23.4

51.9

30.3

18.7

25.7 20.7 5.8

7.4

18.2

11.3

9.2 7.59.7

15.2

16.0

12.8 10.6 12.3

7.4

6.1

27.3

15.6

22.3

12.3

14.8

39.4

15.2

One person (n=150) Couple Only (n=109) Households - all

members 15+ (n=188)

Couple, dependent

children (n=154)

One parent,

dependent children

(n=27)

Other households

(n=33)

Percentage

Other

Time of year

Time of the week

Accessibility

Safety

Booking

Transport

Distance

Cost

Program

Work

Family

Households with one parent and dependent children tend to lead in the number of objections Figure 10 shows the reasons given for not attending a cultural event, by type of household, multiple responses allowed for the reasons. For example, among one-person households, 32.7% (49 out of 150) cited program as the reason for not attending a cultural event or venue. Since participants could offer multiple responses, the total of the percentages for each reason may add to more than 100%. No one household type was likely to voice many more objections than another. However, while it is not surprising that households with one parent and dependent children tend to lead in the number of objections, they are matched in terms of number of objections by households which contain only a couple—which seems, intuitively, to be the household type most likely to attend cultural and arts events. All households with dependent children cited work, family and cost as their top three reasons for non-attendance, with more than half citing family. More than half of households with one parent and dependent children chose cost as a reason; all other household types had cost among their top three reasons. All households except single-person and couple households cited family among their top reasons for non-attendance. Other reasons given by respondents included age, health, study, and trips overseas.


Education

Figure 11: Reasons for not attending venues or events by education (multiple responses allowed for reasons)

Reasons for not attending x Education (n=661, responses=1,255)

24.7 22.728.5 29.6

14.8

8.6

2.4

8.94.1 3.1 4.1

25.1

33.5

28.5

27.2

43.4

16.3

10.0

2.7

18.6

4.1 6.82.3

14.5

30.247.7

20.1

22.2

22.2

8.7

9.4

4.7

3.4

20.1

Family

Wor

k

Progr

am Cos

t

Dista

nce

Trans

port

Booking

Safet

y

Acces

sibility

Time

of th

e wee

k

Time

of yea

r

Oth

er

Perc

en

tag

e

Bachelor degree or higher (n=282)

Certificate or diploma (n=221)

Year 12 or below (n=291)

For the highly educated, work was the number one reason for not attending a cultural event. Figure 11 shows the reasons for not attending cultural events, by level of education, multiple responses allowed for the reasons. For sample, 24.7% (72 out of 291) of those who had an educational level at year 12 or below cited family as the reason for not attending a cultural event or venue. Since participants could offer multiple responses, the total of the percentages for each reason may add to more than 100%. Surprisingly, those with 12 years of education or less cite the lowest number of reasons for not attending cultural events, with an average of only about 14% per reason, compared to 17% for those with a diploma and 15% for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher. All three groups cite family among their top three reasons for not attending. While cost is less of an issue for those with bachelor’s degrees than for those with diplomas or less, work is considerably more of an issue, cited by almost twice as many in this educational category than by others. Other reasons given by respondents included age, health, study, and trips overseas.


Employment

Figure 12: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by employment (multiple responses allowed for reasons)

Reasons for not attending x Employment (n=655, responses=1,244)

23.2

40.2 36.9

12.525.7

27.2

29.6

27.8

21.614.3

28.1

34.9

27.3

45.5 42.9

16.5

14.4

14.2

17.1

8.0

15.9

4.014.3

10.7

24.2

25.6

19.3

42.9

22.063.8

27.3

26.1

34.1

22.7

Working full-time (n=224) Working part-time (n=132) Not currently working

(n=176)

Retired (n=88) Other (n=35)

Percentage

Other

Time of year

Time of the week

Accessibility

Safety

Booking

Transport

Distance

Cost

Program

Work

Family

No surprise that those who are working full time cited work as a the number one reason, and cost for the retired Figure 12 depicts the reasons cited for not attending cultural events, by employment status, multiple responses allowed. For example, 63.8% (143 out of 224) of those who work full time cited work as a reason. Since participants could offer multiple responses, the total of the percentages for each reason may add to more than 100%. It should come as no surprise that those who are working full time cite work as a reason for not attending arts and cultural events more often than other groups, and that other groups cite family and cost more often. As was the case with the upper age groups, those who are retired cite many more reasons for non-attendance than do any of the other groups. Those who are not currently working cite the fewest number of reasons; while they may appear to be a good target group for getting into the arts while they have time, further research may reveal that the group is made up primarily of homemakers, who may not have extra time (37% of those who are not working cite family as a reason for non-attendance), and people who have time but whose low levels of employment may indicate that they are somewhat under-motivated. Other mainly consisted of students.


Income

Figure 13: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by weekly income (multiple responses allowed for reasons)

Reasons for not attending x weekly income (n=662, responses=1,258)

26.3%

11.1%

24.0%

36.4%

14.3% 12.4%4.1%

20.3%

8.3%4.1% 2.8%

26.7%

28.4%

44.2%

31.0%

31.5%

15.7%

9.6%

2.0%

15.7%

1.5%6.1%

1.5%

11.2%

21.0%25.8%

25.8%

67.7%

Family

Wor

k

Progr

am Cos

t

Dista

nce

Trans

port

Booking

Safet

y

Acces

sibility

Time

of th

e wee

k

Time

of yea

r

Oth

er

Perc

en

tag

e

$1,000 or over (n=62)

$400-$999 (n=197)

$399 or under (n=217)

186 decline to reply

.

Work is a concern for the top and middle income earners Figure 13 shows the reasons cited for not attending cultural events, by level of income, multiple responses allowed for reasons. For example, 26.3% (57 out of 217) of those who make $399 or less weekly cited family as a reason for not attending cultural events. Since participants could offer multiple responses, the total of the percentages for each reason may add to more than 100%. Work is a concern for 68% of those in the top tier, who make $1000 or more, and 44% of those in the middle tier of $400-999, but it is a distant eighth for those in the lowest tier who make less than $400. The other major concerns—family, cost and program—are distributed relatively evenly, with between 21% and 36% of each group citing each one as a reason for not attending cultural and arts events. Nearly three times as many in the two lower tiers cite transport as a reason for non-attendance, and ten times as many in the two lower tiers cite safety as those in the highest tier. The low and medium tiers tend to cite more reasons for non-attendance than does the highest tier. Other reasons given by respondents included age, health, study, and trips overseas.


Council

Figure 14: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by council (multiple responses allowed for reasons)

Family was given as the number one reason for non-attendance in Fairfield, Holroyd, and Parramatta Figure 14 shows the top three reasons for not attending cultural events by council area of residence. For example, Cost was the top reason mentioned by respondents from Blue Mountains, followed by Distance. Program and Safety are equal third.


Table 2: Reasons for not attending cultural venues or events by council (multiple responses allowed for reasons)

Family % Work % Program % Cost % Distance % Transport %Booking % Safety %Accessibility %

Time of

the week %

Time of

the year % Other %

Auburn (n=27) 9 33.3 12 44.4 11 40.7 4 14.8 2 7.4 1 3.7 0 0.0 1 3.7 0 0.0 1 3.7 0 0.0 1 3.7

Bankstown (n=65) 19 29.2 26 40.0 17 26.2 9 13.9 5 7.7 2 3.1 0 0.0 3 4.6 0 0.0 6 9.2 1 1.5 9 13.9

Baulkham Hills (n=55) 15 27.3 15 27.3 10 18.2 16 29.1 7 12.7 4 7.3 0 0.0 2 3.6 1 1.8 2 3.6 2 3.6 26 47.3

Blacktown (n=92) 14 15.2 14 15.2 36 39.1 17 18.5 15 16.3 2 2.2 0 0.0 2 2.2 2 2.2 0 0.0 3 3.3 36 39.1

Blue Mountains (n=26) 6 23.1 8 30.8 9 34.6 17 65.4 11 42.3 3 11.5 0 0.0 9 34.6 3 11.5 2 7.7 0 0.0 1 3.9

Camden (n=14) 2 14.3 5 35.7 2 14.3 5 35.7 6 42.9 5 35.7 2 14.3 2 14.3 3 21.4 1 7.1 1 7.1 1 7.1

Campbelltown (n=56) 22 39.3 14 25.0 12 21.4 29 51.8 13 23.2 5 8.9 2 3.6 18 32.1 6 10.7 2 3.6 0 0.0 6 10.7

Fairfield (n=63) 24 38.1 17 27.0 16 25.4 6 9.5 2 3.2 6 9.5 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 15 23.8

Hawkesbury (n=26) 7 26.9 12 46.2 5 19.2 12 46.2 10 38.5 8 30.8 1 3.9 9 34.6 3 11.5 3 11.5 2 7.7 1 3.9

Holroyd (n=42) 14 33.3 11 26.2 11 26.2 13 31.0 3 7.1 4 9.5 0 0.0 1 2.4 0 0.0 2 4.8 4 9.5 11 26.2

Liverpool (n=51) 17 33.3 24 47.1 6 11.8 17 33.3 7 13.7 3 5.9 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 2.0 3 5.9 8 15.7

Parramatta (n=66) 23 34.9 18 27.3 18 27.3 17 25.8 13 19.7 5 7.6 0 0.0 2 3.0 0 0.0 1 1.5 4 6.1 20 30.3

Penrith (n=64) 13 20.3 18 28.1 18 28.1 43 67.2 12 18.8 12 18.8 8 12.5 27 42.2 3 4.7 8 12.5 1 1.6 1 1.6

Wollondilly (n=15) 6 40.0 6 40.0 2 13.3 10 66.7 7 46.7 1 6.7 0 0.0 5 33.3 1 6.7 2 13.3 1 6.7 0 0.0 Table 2 shows the reasons for not attending cultural events by council area of residence. For example, 40% (6 out of 15) of those who live in Wollondilly cited family as a reason for not attending cultural events. Since participants could offer multiple responses, the total of the percentages for each reason may add to more than 100%. Overall, respondents from Wollondilly, Penrith, Hawkesbury, Blue Mountains, Camden and Campbelltown tended to come up with more reasons for not attending arts and cultural events than did those in the other councils. Cost is a concern for between 67% and 46% in Wollondilly, Penrith, Blue Mountains, Campbelltown and Hawkesbury, while work was cited as a concern for 40-47% in Wollondilly, Liverpool, Hawkesbury, Bankstown, and Auburn. Program is a reason for non-attendance for 39-25% of those in Penrith, Parramatta, Holroyd, Fairfield, Blue Mountains, Blacktown and Bankstown. Family is given as the number one reason for non-attendance only in Fairfield, Holroyd, and Parramatta, although it ranks in the top three in all but Camden, Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury and Penrith. Other reasons given by respondents included age, health, study, and trips overseas.


Drivers and Barriers

Deciding Factors

Figure 15: How important are the following for you to decide if you were to attend a cultural venue or event?

Factors affecting your decision to attend cultural venues or events

25.1%

45.7%

31.7%

15.6%

11.0%

11.9%

32.6%

33.5%

43.5%

10.0%

29.3%

25.4%

33.7%

31.6%

49.7%

25.9%

38.4%

64.1%

32.6%

33.8%

37.6%

36.9%

53.0%

36.1%

22.8%

11.6%

13.5%

18.2%

27.4%

17.5%

13.4%

13.9%

15.2%

40.1%

16.2%

30.4%

15.1%

10.7%

20.8%

16.9%

16.4%

14.8%

12.5%

19.4%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Close to home or work (n=661)

Price (n=660)

Variety and suitability of program

(n=660)

Availability of child minding facility

(n=659)

Easy to use website for information

and booking (n-657)

Information via newspaper, magazine

or radio (n=657)

Plenty of parking (n=659)

Availability of public transport (n=662)

Safe area to go at night (n=657)

Flexible dress code (n=658)

Friendly staff (n=659)

Good facility for people with disability

(n=662)

Very important

Important

Neither nor

Not important

Not very important

Participants rated price and safety as the most important factors. Participants were asked to weight factors that could affect the decision to attend a cultural venue or event from very important to not very important, and Figure 15 shows the results of these weightings. In this case all weightings add to 100% so, for example, 43.5% of respondents weighted “safe area to go at night” as “very important,” Overall, participants rated price, safety, transport, parking and suitability of program as the most important. Child care, website information, transport, distance to home or work, and parking were rated as the least important, although all factors were important or very important to between 42% and 82% of participants, with friendly staff (82%), variety and suitability of program and safe area to go at night (81%), and information via newspapers, magazines or radio (75%) leading the way. Although a friendly staff didn’t make the top five factors in terms of “very important” ratings, when “very important” and “important” were combined, it led the list.


The high number of factors that are ranked “important” or “very important” indicates that non-attendees have high expectations and criteria for cultural and arts events that must be met before they can overcome the work, family and cost barriers that they have set up for themselves. However, making people feel welcome, ensuring that information is readily available and emphasising safety can go a long way to overcoming these perceived barriers.


Pricing

Figure 16: If you were to attend the following cultural venue or event, what sort of price range are you willing to pay per head?

Price willing to pay x Cultural activities

48.3%

47.8%

28.7%

25.9%

33.4%

32.9%

37.5%

46.9%

56.5%

24.5%

25.3%

5.8%

11.3%

15.0%

9.8%

10.2%

17.1%

19.9%

16.5%

14.0%

12.0%

19.9%

20.2%

11.7%

11.7%

11.1%

14.1%

5.9%

6.2%

8.7%

13.0%

14.5%

12.7%

10.4%

10.8%

5.4%

13.1%

12.0%

6.9%

10.6%

9.5%

6.2%

25.6%

12.6%

7.2%

17.7%

16.0%

5.0%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Art Gallery (n=660)

Museum (n=657)

Popular music concert (n=656)

Theatre performance (n=652)

Dance performance (n=653)

Musical/opera performance (n=651)

Classical musical concert (n=656)

Festival (n=659)

Other performing arts (n=644)

Below $10

$10-$15

$16-$20

$21-$25

$26-$30

$31-$35

Over $35

Nearly half of the respondents said they were willing to pay less than $10 to attend a festival, a museum, or an art gallery. Figure 16 shows the price range participants said they were willing to pay for a variety of artistic performances and venues. For example, 46.9% (309 out of 659) of participants said they were willing to pay less than $10 for a festival, 17.15% said they were willing to pay between $10 and $15, 14.13% said they were willing to pay between $16 and $20, and so on. Similarly, the venue with the highest percentage of participants (56.52%) who chose under $10 was “other performing arts,” followed by 48.33% for art galleries and 47.79% for museums. In this case, the prices chosen for each venue add to 100% because participants could choose only one price for each venue. Nearly half of the respondents said they were willing to pay less than $10 to attend a festival, a museum, or an art gallery, indicating, perhaps, that these kinds of events are considered public spaces and should not demand high entrance fees. On average, they were willing to pay the highest prices for performances—pop music concerts, musical or opera performances and classical music concerts, in that order. Those events that provide entry at no charge (e.g. festivals, galleries and museums) have an expected low dollar value where as events that have a


high entry charge (e.g. popular music concerts) elicit higher dollar value. This may reflect a general perception of the expense of cultural events. Keep in mind, however, that the question asked participants to answer the question in terms of “if I went,” which assumes all their other objections had been met, not “if the price were this, I would go.”


Decision maker

Figure 17: Who makes the decision on where to go during weekends or evenings by gender (Multiple answers allowed)

Who makes the decision x Gender (n=661, male=346, female=315, responses=1,033)

83.8

85.3

35.6

28.3

18.4

18.5

22.2

20.5

Female

Male

Percentage

Me

My partner/spouse

My friends

My family

Other

Most people said they made the decision themselves Figure 17 shows who make the decision in the household on where to go during weekends or evenings, by gender. For example, 85.3% (295 out of 346) of males said they make the decision themselves. Since participants could choose multiple sources for the decision maker, the percentages add up to more than 100%. When asked who in the family decides where to go on evenings and weekends, most people said they did so themselves (85% for men and 84% for women). Women were slightly more likely to say their partners or spouses sometimes made the decision (36% for women vs. 28% for men).


Figure 18: Who makes the decision on where to go during weekends or evenings by age (Multiple answers allowed)

Who makes the decision on where to go x Age (n=657, responses=1,027)

93.9

90.1

82.3

75.4

80.0

76.9

93.0

94.4

10.2

14.5

48.5

44.1

34.4

35.9

30.2

22.2

46.9

41.5

10.8

6.8

5.6

5.1

14.0

36.7

20.4

19.2

26.3

25.6

18.0

11.6

15-17 years (n=49)

18-24 years (n=152)

25-34 years (n=130)

35-44years (n=118)

45-54 years (n=90)

55-64 years (n=39)

65-74 years (n=43)


Percentage

Me

My partner/spouse

My friends

My family

Other

The young (age 15-24) are far more likely than other groups to be influenced by friends

Figure 18 who makes the decision in the household on where to go during weekends or evenings, by age. For example, 94.4% (34 out of 36) of those over age 75 said they make the decision themselves. Since participants could choose multiple sources for the decision maker, the percentages add up to more than 100%.

In terms of age, those most likely to say their partner/spouse helps make the decision about where to go on evenings and weekends were age 25-44, but a large percentage of those (75-85%) still claimed to make the decision themselves. The youngest of the participants (age 15-24) are far more likely than other groups to be influenced by friends (41-47% for this group vs. 5-14% for other groups). However, family influences 18-26% of those aged 18-64 and 37% of those aged 15-17.


Figure 19: Who makes the decision on where to go during weekends or evenings by language (Multiple answers allowed)

Who makes the decision on where to go x Language

11.8

1.8

77.1

5.0 4.6

22.7

10.7

0.0

79.3

2.5

7.4

29.8

19.3

2.9

21.4 22.1

3.6

55.0

Arabic (r=133) Cantonese (r=19) English (r=763) Mandarin (r=56) Vietnamese (r=70) Other (r=240)

Percentage

Me (r=560)

My partner/spouse (r=210)

My friends (r=121)

My family (r=140)

Vietnamese and Arabic speakers were more likely to say the decision was made by the family Figure 19 shows who makes the decision in the household on where to go during weekends or evenings, by language spoken at home. For example, 11.8% (66 out of 560) of those who speak Arabic at home said they make the decision themselves, but 19.3% (27 out of 140) also said their family may make the decision. Since participants could choose multiple sources for the decision maker, the percentages add up to more than 100%. Vietnamese and Arabic speakers were more likely to say the decision was made by the family, while English speakers were more likely to say they were influenced by friends.


Sources of Opinion

Figure 20: If you were to attend a cultural venue or event where would you obtain opinions or recommendations by gender (Multiple answers allowed)

Where would you obtain opinions if you were to attend a cultural venue or event?

(n=661, responses=1,748)

70.2

42.532.1

36.8

8.9

28.9

8.6 5.1 6.7 9.5

36.2

68.2

37.9

24.0

28.9

6.1

23.4

9.0

4.1 3.54.1

23.7

Friend

s

Family

mem

bers

Inte

rnet

New

spap

er

Mag

azine

Rad

io

Colleag

ues

Leaf

let

Poste

r

Lette

r dro

p

By invita

tion

or fr

ee tick

et

Sign/

billb

oard

/ban

ner

Gro

up/to

ur TV

Oth

er

PercentageMale (n=346)

Female (n=315)

Men and women alike were most likely to be influenced by friends, family, newspaper and television Figure 20 shows where participants get their information about cultural events, by gender. For example, 68.2% (236 out of 346) of males and 70.2% (221 out of 315) of females said they get their information from friends. Since participants could choose multiple sources for information, the percentages add up to more than 100%. Men and women alike were most likely to be influenced by friends, family, television, newspapers, the radio and the Internet, although women were more likely to say they were influenced by all of these sources, especially television. From 23% to 68% of men and from 29% to 70% of women cited these six sources as influencers. All other means—group tours, billboards and signs, invitations, letter drops, posters, leaflets, colleagues and magazines—had far less influence, ranging from 1% to 9%. Friends were by far the greatest influence, with 68% of men and 70% of women saying they were influenced by friends. While still a strong influence, family ran a distant second to friends, with 38% of men and 43% of women saying they sought the opinion of their family members.


Figure 21: If you were to attend a cultural venue or event where would you obtain opinions or recommendations by age (Multiple answers allowed)

Selected sources of opinions x Age (n=657, responses=1,785)

87.8

84.9

71.5

63.6

70.0

41.0

53.5

33.3

55.1

28.3

44.6

55.1

33.3

41.0

32.6

30.6

53.1

50.0

25.4

25.4

13.3

10.3

5.6

4.1

25.0

33.9

37.3

41.1

35.9

32.6

58.3

22.5

17.1

22.3

20.3

36.7

25.6

44.2

55.6

17.8

20.5

15-17 years (n=49)

18-24 years (n=152)

25-34 years (n=130)

35-44years (n=118)

45-54 years (n=90)

55-64 years (n=39)

65-74 years (n=43)


Percentage

Friends

Family members

Internet

Newspaper

TV

Group/tour

Radio

Colleagues

By invitation or free ticket

The strong influence of friends peaks at 88% for those aged 15-17, and it drops relatively slowly as participants age, the reverse holds true for newspaper Figure 21 shows where participants get their information about cultural events, by age. For example, 33.3% (12 out of 36) of those over age 75 said they get their information from friends, but 58.3% (21 out of 36) of that age group also said they get information from newspapers. Since participants could choose multiple sources for information, the percentages add up to more than 100%.

The strong influence of friends peaks at 88% for those aged 15-17, and it drops relatively slowly as participants age, remaining at above 63% until age 55. As the influence of friends’ opinions recedes, the newspaper as a source of information and opinion rises, remaining an important source for between 33% and 41% of people from age 25-74, and peaking at 58% for those over age 75. Not surprisingly, the Internet is a source of opinion and information for more than half of those aged 15-24, but it drops to a quarter for those aged 25-44 and further still for those 45 and older. This trend is not expected to hold over time because the younger groups will take their Internet usage with them as they age. Family members remain a strong source of influence for all age groups, remaining above 28% for all, and the combination of friends and family as


influencers drops below 82% only for the oldest age group, those over age 75. Surprisingly, groups and tours is an influence for around 20% of all age groups younger than 35; less surprisingly, its influence climbs to 36% for those aged 45-54, to 44% for those aged 65-74 and to 56% for those over age 75. The high percentage of older respondents claiming an influence by groups and tours may be a reflection of concerns expressed about transport, distance and safety. Radio peaks as an influencer of 18-20% of those aged 45-64.


Figure 22: If you were to attend a cultural venue or event where would you obtain opinions or recommendations by language (Multiple answers allowed)

Selected source of opinions x Language

76.7

48.0

26.0

34.3

39.7

71.4

71.4

35.7

69.9

36.7

29.5

29.3

26.1

61.8

70.6

29.4

59.6

17.3

28.9

51.9

19.2

71.7

42.1

25.0

25.0

36.8

24.3

34.6

Friends (r=570)

Family members (r=258)

Internet (r=184)

Newspaper (r=211)

TV (r=53)

Radio (r=169)

Colleagues (r=58)

Percentage

Arabic (r=73)

Cantonese (r=14)

English (r=491)

Mandarin (r=34)

Vietnamese (r=52)

Other (r=152)

All cited friends (60-76%) as the number one source of opinion about cultural events except Mandarin speakers who cited family as the number one source Figure 22 shows where participants get their information about cultural events, by language spoken at home. For example, 39.7% (29 out of 73) of those who speak Arabic get information from the radio, while 34.3% (25 out of 73) of those who speak Arabic get information from the newspaper. Since participants could choose multiple sources for information, the percentages add up to more than 100%. Overall, friends, family and newspapers, in that order, were cited as the main source of opinion and information by speakers of Arabic, Cantonese, English, Vietnamese and Mandarin. All groups cited friends (60-76%) as the number one source of opinion about arts and cultural events, and all speakers except Vietnamese speakers cited family (37-71%) as the number two source, although family was cited by significantly more Cantonese and Mandarin speakers (71%) than Arabic (48%) and English (37%) speakers. More than half of Vietnamese speakers cited the newspaper as a source of information and opinion about such events, and 29-36% of all other speakers cited the newspaper. More than a quarter of Arabic, English and Vietnamese speakers cited the Internet as a source of information. Only Vietnamese speakers cited television in any significant way (35%) as a source of information and opinion, but radio was an important source of information for 19-40% of all speakers, with the exception of Cantonese and Mandarin speakers, for whom it barely registered as any influence at all.


Preferences Figure 23: How likely would you attend the following in the next 12 months?

How likely would you attend the following in the next 12 months?

4.7%

7.1%

20.4%

8.2%

7.0%

8.3%

6.3%

16.8%

21.9%

31.0%

33.2%

31.9%

30.5%

19.1%

19.2%

50.0%

23.0%

26.0%

26.1%

17.8%

28.5%

30.5%

30.4%

28.7%

22.6%

53.2%

28.5%

22.2%

15.1%

20.7%

20.3%

27.4%

29.0%

8.7%

17.5%

18.9%

13.5%

13.5%

10.7%

11.7%

14.8%

16.9%

4.5%

1.9%

1.8%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Art Gallery (n=657)

Museum (n=658)

Popular music concert (n=657)

Theatre performance (n-656)

Dance performance (n=659)

Musical/opera performance (n=654)

Classical musical concert (n=652)

Festival (n=654)

Other performing arts (n=647)

Percentage

Very likely

Likely

Neither nor

Unlikely

Very unlikely

Respondents cited pop music concerts and festivals most often as the cultural events they are most likely to attend in the next 12 months. When asked about the kind of event participants would be most likely to attend in the next 12 months, Figure 23 shows the result. Respondents cited pop music concerts and festivals most often, with 66.8% (437 out of 654) very likely or likely to attend a festival and 54% a pop music concert. This confirmed the ABS study on Cultural Data, with popular music concerts being the most attended events in Western Sydney, after cinemas and libraries. The next most likely group—theatre performances, museums, and dance performances—follows distantly at around 37-40%. Between 42% and 47% say they are very unlikely or unlikely to attend art galleries, classical music performances, and musical or opera performances. However, between 26% and 30% of respondents are neutral about this “unpopular” group, indicating an opportunity to increase interest.


Awareness, Attitude and Behaviour

Attitude

Figure 24: How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following…

I would feel more positive about cultural activities if there were...

11.2%

23.0%

14.1%

12.7%

8.9%

6.0%

18.9%

17.6%

8.2%

53.6%

44.9%

48.1%

49.5%

47.8%

45.4%

63.6%

59.9%

40.1%

29.4%

29.8%

33.3%

33.9%

36.3%

41.3%

15.1%

19.7%

39.5%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

More Australian performances, shows

and writing (n=660)

More events and activities that relate to

my cultural background (n=661)

Shows and performances more

relevant to the way things are today

(n=661)

More activities that are intellectually

stimulating (n=661)

More young and debut artists (n=661)

More coverage of the arts in the media

(n=654)

More activities for children and young

people (n=656)

More education about cultural

activities at school (n=659)

Talks by artists, authors or performers

(n=659)

Percentage

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neither nor

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Respondents were generally positive about all ideas for increasing involvement in the arts Figure 24 indicates how strongly participants agreed or disagreed that a number of activities could make them feel more positive about cultural activities. For example, 8.2% (54 out of 659) of respondents strongly agreed that talks by artists would make them feel more positive, while 40.1% (264 out of 659) agreed (but not strongly) that such talks would make them feel more positive. Since participants had to choose only one response for each possible activity, the percentages add to 100%. After the strong negatives in terms of the likelihood of attending some kinds of events, respondents were generally positive about all ideas for increasing involvement in the arts. They were most positive about increasing education about cultural activities at school and activities for children and young people. Perhaps this is a reflection of “the arts are good for other people,” but it may also indicate a desire to increase children’s willingness to attend such events as a family. Scoring highest among the activities rated very important, with 23% rating it very important, was more events and activities that relate to my cultural background. This finding matches that of the report “Australians and the


Arts,” presented to the Australia Council by Saatchi & Saatchi Australia, which indicated that “people were more likely to highly value the arts if they were prompted to consider both value to themselves personally and the benefits of the arts to Australia as a whole.”


Behaviour

Figure 25: From a list of 22 words that other people have told us how they feel when attending a cultural event or venue. Which words do you believe will best represent how you will feel if or when you attend a cultural event or venue? (Top 15 answers)

How you will feel if or when you attend a cultural event or venue?

Top 15 answers (responses=1,667)

20.6%

19.0%

13.4%

8.6%

7.4%

4.9%4.1% 3.8%

3.2% 3.1% 2.7%1.8%

1.3%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

Rel

axed

Com

fortab

le

Car

e free

Excite

d

Wel

l info

rmed

Time

to s

pare

Cal

m

Org

anis

ed

Confid

ent

Unre

strict

ed

Bore

d

Unco

mfo

rtab

le

Impuls

ive

Percentage

Very few reported any negative feelings Figure 25 depicts how participants said they feel when they attend a cultural event. From a list of 22 words, the top 15 answers were listed above. For example, Relaxed scored 20.6% (343 out of 1,667 responses) of the responses. Respondents were most likely to say that they felt relaxed, comfortable, and carefree at cultural events. This result may indicate either that they feel good about the arts or that they attend only those cultural events that make them feel good. Very few reported any negative feelings, such as feeling bored (3%) or uncomfortable (2%). This result also matches the Australia Council report “Australians and the Arts,” showing that 61% of Australians “gain a lot of enjoyment out of the arts” in four or more different ways, and that “few Australians … cannot identify some manner in which they enjoy the arts….”


Figure 26: How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following 16 statements about cultural activities?

17.3%

22.9%

9.7%

24.2%

19.8%

21.4%

25.0%

21.4%

56.3%

59.1%

34.0%

51.8%

51.7%

45.4%

50.8%

60.0%

20.3%

16.1%

25.0%

22.6%

24.9%

27.5%

20.3%

16.5%

25.9%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

8. Different nationalities enrich our

culture (n=659)

7. Aboriginal culture and cultural

activities (n=658)

6. Enjoyed by only a minority of

Australians (n=661)

5. Gives Australians a sense of pride

(n=658)

4. Express ourselves and to be

creative (n=658)

3. A sense of national identity

(n=659)

2. Bring people together in local

communities (n=659)

1. Enrich the quality of people's lives

(n=660)

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neither nor

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

19.2%

17.4%

16.5%

19.2%

7.6%

12.0%

12.0%

19.3%

42.9%

52.1%

54.8%

62.4%

37.2%

36.6%

30.9%

57.2%

35.0%

27.1%

25.6%

15.8%

24.2%

20.9%

29.0%

14.6%

2.4%

3.3%

3.2%

2.0%

23.9%

24.1%

24.0%

7.6%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

16. More sponsorship (n=660)

15. Promoted overseas (n=660)

14. Best of international art and

culture in Australia (n=661)

13. Children should have lots of

involvement (n=657)

12. I don't have a strong sense of

cultural identity (n=658)

11. Sporting activities are more

important (n=656)

10. Cultural activities have a high

profile (n=658)

9. Australia is not as well known for

its culture (n=657)

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neither nor

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Most respondents had positive attitudes about cultural activities Figure 26 shows how strongly participants agree or disagree with statements regarding their attitudes toward cultural activities. The 16 statements are:


1. Cultural activities help to enrich the quality of people’s lives 2. Cultural activities help to bring people together in local communities 3. Australian’s culture and cultural activities give us a sense of national

identity 4. Cultural activities enable us to express ourselves and to be creative 5. The success of Australian artists, musicians, painters, singers,

writers, film-makers and actors gives Australians a sense of pride 6. Cultural activities are enjoyed by only a minority of Australians 7. Aboriginal culture and cultural activities are an important part of

Australian national identity 8. Different nationalities and ethnic groups enrich our culture 9. Australia is not as well known for its culture and cultural activities as

it is for other things, e.g. sport and scenery 10. Cultural activities have a high profile in Australia 11. Sporting activities are more important than cultural activities 12. I don’t have a strong sense of Australian cultural identity 13. Children should have lots of involvement with art, music, theatre,

dance and literature at school 14. Australians should be able to experience the best of international art

and culture in Australia 15. Australia should be promoted overseas for its culture and cultural

activities 16. There should be more sponsorship of cultural activities by private

companies For example, 19.2% (127 out of 660) of participants strongly agreed that there should be more sponsorship of cultural activities by private companies. Most respondents had positive attitudes about cultural activities, with more than 80% saying that children should have lots of involvement with all kinds of arts, that aboriginal cultural and cultural activities are an important part of Australia’s national identity, and that cultural activities help to enrich the quality of people’s lives. Over 70% agreed that Australians should be able to experience the best of international art and culture, that different nationalities and ethnic groups enrich our culture, that the success of Australian artists gives Australians a sense of pride, that cultural activities let us express ourselves and be creative, and that cultural activities help to bring people together in local communities. More than 60% agreed that there should be more sponsorship of cultural activities by private companies, that Australia should be promoted overseas for its culture and cultural activities, and that Australia’s culture and cultural activities provide a sense of national identity. Only 43% of respondents agreed that cultural activities have a high profile in Australia, which is probably the only indicator of opportunity here. People feel strongly that the arts, particularly those related to Australian culture, are important in Australia. These findings are in keeping with the finding in the Australia Council report, “Australia and the Arts,” that “people were more likely to highly value the arts if they were prompted to consider both value to themselves personally and the benefits of the arts to Australia as a whole.”


Awareness

Almost 77% of respondents say they have not been to a cultural event or venue in other areas of NSW in the past 12 months. For those who have been to a cultural event or venue, the most frequently mentioned was Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks. Other events and venues included Archibald Paintings, Australia Day in the city, Big Day Out, Brazilian Festival at Darling Harbour, Canberra, Carols in the Domain, Chinese New Year celebrations in the city, Flying of the Kites, Italian Festival in the Forum, Mardi Gras, National Art Gallery (National Gallery), Newtown Theatre, Opera House, State Theatre, Strathfield Korean Festival, Sydney Aquatic Centre, Taronga Zoo and Tulip Festival in Bowral Only 19% of respondents could name a cultural venue in the council area in which they live. The list included Auburn RSL Club, Bankstown Square, Blacktown Civic Centre, Blacktown Community Theatre, Castle Hill Powerhouse Museum, Castle Hill Showground, Casula Powerhouse, Fairfield Theatre, Fairfield Town Hall, Fishers Ghost Festival, Holroyd Museum, Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Norman Lindsay Gallery, Olympic Park, Paul Keating Park, Pavilion Theatre, Riverside Theatre. Only 14% of participants could name a venue in another council area in Western Sydney, but those who could list Auburn Japanese Garden, Easter Show, Fairfield Showground, Granville RSL Club, Olympic Park, Parramatta Park, Riverside Theatre, and Thirlmere Train Museum. A mere 7% of the respondents could name a cultural venue in the council area in which they live as well as in another council area in Western Sydney.


Sources of Information Figure 27: Radio (multiple responses allowed)

Do you listen to radio on regular basis? (n=662, responses=1,239)

0.8

4.7

1.2

17.7

10.6

5.6 5.7

1.40.5

9.5

2.4

0.8

5.7

12.5

5.7

1.1

11.911.0

2.3

16.6

13.012.4

14.5

19.6

2ac

2CH -

am 1

170

2CR

2-Day

FM

- 10

4.1

fm

2GB -

873

am

2KY -

1017

am

2ME

2Mor

o am

2SM

- am

126

9

2UE -

954

am

2VNR

2VSR

2WS

ABC

702

ABC

Class

ic F

M

Kick FM

Mix 1

06.5

Nov

a - 9

6.9

Rad

io N

ationa

l - 5

76 a

mSBS

Triple

J

Triple

M -

104

.9 fm

No,

I do

n't liste

n to

radio

Oth

er

Percentage

14.5% of respondents stated that they didn’t listen to the radio Figure 27 addresses the radio stations to which respondents said they listen. For example, 12.4% (82 out of 662) of respondents said they listen to Triple M radio station. Since participants could choose more than one radio station in answering the question, the percentages add to more than 100% Radio: While 14% of respondents stated that they didn’t listen to the radio, 17% listen to 2-Day FM (104.1) and SBS. However, radio-listening is widely distributed, with nine different stations gleaning at least 10% of the respondents. Other stations include 96.1 FM, South Ghad, 104.4, Indian channel, Spanish channel, BBC and Koori Radio


Figure 28: Newspapers (multiple responses allowed)

Which newspapers do you read on a regular basis? (n=662, responses=1,098)

2.91.2

4.73.5 3.5

0.52.1

49.2

1.1

6.5

23.1

2.1

5.9

2.1

29.6

6.5

2.0 1.4

13.4

4.7

Al-F

urat

An N

ahar

Aust

ralia

n Chin

ese

Dai

ly

Chie

u Duong

Chin

ese

Epoch

Tim

es

Chin

ese

Her

ald

Chin

ese

New

s Exp

ress

Dai

ly T

eleg

raph

Dan

Vie

t

El T

eleg

raph

Free

suburb

an n

ewsp

aper

Future

(Alm

esta

qbal)

MX

Sin

g Tao

Syd

ney M

ornin

g Her

ald

The Aust

ralia

n

Van

Nghe

Vie

t Luan

No, I

don't

read

new

spap

er

Oth

er

Percentage

13.4% of respondents didn’t read any newspaper Figure 28 addresses the newspapers that respondents said they read. For example, 6.5% (43 out of 662) of respondents said they read The Australian. Since participants could choose more than one newspaper in answering the question, the percentages add to more than 100%

Newspapers: Thirteen percent of respondents don’t read any newspaper at all, but nearly half (49%) read The Daily Telegraph, 30% read The Sydney Morning Herald, and 23% read free suburban papers. Other newspapers include La Fiamma, Indian papers, Korean papers, Serbian papers.


Figure 29: Home page used (multiple responses allowed)

Home page used (n=494, responses =491)

12.22%

0.20% 0.20%

11.61%

0.20% 0.41% 0.20% 0.20% 0.20%

5.50%

1.02%

66.40%

1.22% 0.41%

Yahoo

uws-

site

Unw

ired

Ninem

sn

mys

pace

hotm

ail

Hao

123.

com

Goo

gle,

Yah

oo a

nd N

inem

sn

Goo

gle

and

Yah

oo a

nd H

otm

ail

Goo

gle

and

Yah

oo

Goo

gle

and

Ninem

sn

Goo

gle

Faceb

ook

Bebo

Perc

en

tag

e

75% of the 662 respondents use the Internet Figure 29 describes the home pages interviewees use. For example, 66.4% (326 out of 491) of respondents said they use Google as a home page. Since participants could choose only one home page in answering the question, the percentages add up to more 100% Internet: 75% of respondents use the Internet, with the vast majority (67%) using Google as a homepage.


Figure 30: How do you use the Internet (multiple responses allowed)

How do you use the Internet? (n=495, responses=1,137)

71.3

37.0

10.4

5.3

28.1

19.6

Email Things to do Plan trips Search for family

activities

Facebook Other

Percentage

Most respondents use the Internet for email Figure 30 indicates how participants say they use the Internet. For example, 71.3% (353 out of 495) said they use it to read email. Since participants could choose more than one use for the Internet in answering the question, the percentages add to more than 100% Most respondents use the Internet for email, but 37% also use it to find things to do. However, less than 3% are on an email list for a cultural venue or event in Western Sydney, which indicates a significant opportunity to increase awareness. Other usages include job search, banking, chatting, study, news, work, games and shopping. Less than 3% of the 662 respondents are on an email list with a cultural venue or event at Western Sydney.


CONCLUSION

The arts are widely enjoyed by many, but those who do not take advantage of arts and cultural events in Western Sydney tend to be unaware of arts venues in their area and, therefore, of opportunities for enjoying the arts closer to home. The findings that only 19% of respondents could name a cultural venue in the council area in which they live, and only 14% could name one in another council area in Western Sydney point to a significant opportunity to increase awareness and, in so doing, change behaviour. The attitude toward the arts among those in Western Sydney who typically do not attend arts and cultural venues there is generally good, although many have many reasons that they claim keep them from enjoying the arts, primarily cost and work/family obligations. However, increased awareness of opportunities to enjoy the arts locally can overcome the perception that enjoying the arts requires a day, a wallet full of cash, and a long drive. If the arts are perceived more as being a part of the community—not something behind a curtain—more people will recognise the opportunities that surround them and take advantage of them. At the same time, making the arts as relevant as possible to Western Sydney communities by including cultural references and information within them will increase interest. Increasing awareness, ensuring that arts events are culturally applicable and family-friendly, and using identified drivers to encourage attendance and participation can help overcome obstacles to attendance and make the arts a vibrant and meaningful part of these diverse communities.


Appendix 1 Interview Schedule

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

March 14 15

Auburn Bankstown

Scott, Raed Scott, Sophie

Camden

Noami, Marilyn

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Blacktown Bankstown Cabramatta Liverpool

Scott Scott, Sophie, Thomas Scott, Sophie, Thomas Sophie, Arab, Scott

Bankstown

Ahad

Hawkesbury Wollondilly

Noami, Marilyn Noami

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Fairfield Parramatta Holroyd Blacktown Baulkham Hills

Scott, Ahad, Thomas Scott, Ahad, Thomas Scott, Thomas, Ahad Scott, Thomas Scott, Ahad

Penrith Penrith

Noami, Marilyn Noami, Marilyn

April 30 31 1 2 3 4 5

Baulkham Hills Liverpool Campbelltown Parramatta Campbelltown

Scott, Ahad Ahad Scott, Ahad Scott, Ahad Scott, Ahad

Blacktown (if required) Blue Mts

Scott Noami, Marilyn

6 7 8 9

Holroyd (if required)

Scott, Ahad

The final interview schedule differed slightly from the original schedule, depicted above, depending on the completion of quota each day. When a quota was not met, interviewers returned to the councils on the next available day to conclude the interviews.


Appendix 2 Questionnaire

Survey of Non-Attendees of Cultural Venues and Events in Western Sydney March-April 2009

Interview Date: …………………………..(OFFICE USE ONLY) Council where survey is conducted……………..……………………………….

Interview Time: …………………………..(OFFICE USE ONLY) Council where interviewee lives ………………………..……………………………….

Hi, I am _________________from Multicultural Marketing & Management; we are conducting a survey for Arts NSW, which is a division of the NSW Department of the Arts, Sports and Recreation and the NSW Government’s arts policy and funding body. The survey will help the department understand more about what the people of Western Sydney think about cultural activities. It will take around 15 minutes and we will give out a small gift for those who complete the interview. Would you have time to do it? ASK TWO SCREENING QUESTIONS

Q1 In the last 12 months, have you visited a cultural venue or event in the 14 council areas listed? These would include: art gallery, museum, popular music concert, theatre performance, dance performance, musical and opera performance, classical musical concert, festival, other performing arts.

1. Yes (Thank the participant and terminate) 2. No (Continue)

Q2 What language do you speak at home? (Multiple answers allowed)

1. Arabic 2. Cantonese 3. English

4. Mandarin 5. Vietnamese 6. Other ________________

DRIVERS AND BARRIERS Q3 What may be some of the reasons that you have not attended a venue or event in the 14 council areas in the last 12 months? (Multiple answers allowed)

1. Family commitment 2. Work commitment 3. Not an interesting program

4. Cost 5. Distance 6. Parking/transport

7. Booking problem 8. Safety of the area 9. Physical accessibility of the venue

10. Time of the week of program

11. Time of the year of program

12. Other ______________________

Q4 Have you been to a cultural venue or event in the past 12 months in other areas in NSW?

1. Yes 2. No


Q5 Can you name two cultural venues or events you have been to in other areas of NSW in the last 12 months?

1. ___________________________________ 2. _________________________________

Q6 How important are the following for you to decide if you were to attend a cultural venue or event? PLEASE CIRCLE JUST ONE PER ITEM

Very Important

Important Neither Important nor Not

Important

Not important

Not very important

1. Close to home or work 1 2 3 4 5

2. Price 1 2 3 4 5

3. Variety and suitability of program 1 2 3 4 5

4. Availability of child minding facility 1 2 3 4 5

5. Easy to use website for information and

booking

1 2 3 4 5

6. Information via newspaper, magazine or radio 1 2 3 4 5

7. Plenty of parking 1 2 3 4 5

8. Availability of public transport 1 2 3 4 5

9. Safe area to go at night 1 2 3 4 5

10. Flexible dress code 1 2 3 4 5

11. Friendly staff 1 2 3 4 5

12. Good facility for people with disability 1 2 3 4 5

Q7 If you were to attend the following cultural venue or event, what sort of price range are you willing to pay per head? (PLEASE TICK)

1. Below $10

2. $10 - $15

3. $16 - $20

4. $21 - $25

5. $26 - $30

6. $31 - $35

7. Over $35

1. Art Gallery

2. Museum

3. Popular music concert

4. Theatre performance

5. Dance performance

6. Musical and opera performance

7. Classical musical concert

8. Festival

9. Other performing arts


Q8 Who makes the decision on where to go during weekends or evenings? (Multiple answers allowed)

1. Me 2. My partner/spouse 3. My friends

4. My family 5. Other ___________________________________

Q9 If you were to attend a cultural venue or event where would you obtain opinions or recommendations? (Multiple answers allowed)

1. Friends 2. Family members 3. Internet

4. Newspaper 5. Magazine 6. Radio

7. Colleagues 8. Leaflet 9. Poster

10. Letter drop 11. By invitation or free ticket 12. Sign/billboard/banner

13. Group/tour 14. TV 15. Other ___________________

RECOGNITION OF EXISTING CULTURAL VENUES Q10 Can you name a cultural venue in the council area you live in? ____________________________________________________________________________________ Q11 Can you name a cultural venue in another council area in Western Sydney? ___________________________________________________________________________________ PREFERENCES AND ASPIRATION Q12 Below is a list of cultural activities that are available in Western Sydney. As I read them out to you, can you please indicate how likely you would attend each of them in the next 12 months? PLEASE CIRCLE JUST ONE PER ITEM

Very likely

Likely Neither likely nor Unlikely

Unlikely Very unlikely

1. Art gallery 1 2 3 4 5

2. Museum 1 2 3 4 5

3. Popular music concert 1 2 3 4 5

4. Theatre performance 1 2 3 4 5

5. Dance performance 1 2 3 4 5

6. Musical and opera performance 1 2 3 4 5

7. Classical musical concert 1 2 3 4 5

8. Festival 1 2 3 4 5

9. Other performing arts 1 2 3 4 5


Q13 Below is a list of statements about cultural activities. As I read them out to you, can you please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each of the statements? PLEASE CIRCLE JUST ONE PER ITEM

I would feel more positive about cultural activities if there were …

Strongly Agree

Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree

Disagree Strongly Disagree

1. More Australian performances, shows and writing 1 2 3 4 5

2. More events and activities that relate to my cultural

background

1 2 3 4 5

3. Shows and performances more relevant to the way

things are today

1 2 3 4 5

4. More activities that are intellectually stimulating 1 2 3 4 5

5. More young and debut artists 1 2 3 4 5

6. More coverage of the arts in the media 1 2 3 4 5

7. More activities for children and young people 1 2 3 4 5

8. More education about cultural activities at school 1 2 3 4 5

9. Talks by artists, authors or performers 1 2 3 4 5

ATTITUDE TOWARDS CULTURAL ACTIVITIES Q14 Below is a list of words that other people have told us describe how they feel when attending a cultural event or venue. From this list, which words do you believe will best represent how you will feel if or when you attend a cultural event or venue? PLEASE TICK ALL WORDS THAT APPLY

I would feel…

1. Relaxed 2. Organised 3. Care free 4. Constrained

5. Bored 6. Comfortable 7. Hesitant 8. Time pressured

9. Confident 10. Well informed 11. Unrestricted 12. Uncomfortable

13. Excited 14. Impulsive 15. Worried 16. Uninformed

17. Time to spare 18. Disorganised 19. Frustrated 20. Stressed

21. Cautious 22. Calm


Q15 Below is a list of expressions that other people have told us about their attitude towards cultural activities. I will read them out, can you please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each of the statements? CIRCLE ONE PER ITEM

Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree

Disagree Strongly Disagree

1. Cultural activities help to enrich the quality of people’s lives 1 2 3 4 5

2. Cultural activities help to bring people together in local

communities

1 2 3 4 5

3. Australian’s culture and cultural activities give us a sense of

national identity

1 2 3 4 5

4. Cultural activities enable us to express ourselves and to be

creative

1 2 3 4 5

5. The success of Australian artists, musicians, painters, singers,

writers, film-makers and actors gives Australians a sense of pride

1 2 3 4 5

6. Cultural activities are enjoyed by only a minority of Australians 1 2 3 4 5

7. Aboriginal culture and cultural activities are an important part of

Australian national identity

1 2 3 4 5

8. Different nationalities and ethnic groups enrich our culture 1 2 3 4 5

9. Australia is not as well known for its culture and cultural

activities as it is for other things, eg sport and scenery

1 2 3 4 5

10. Cultural activities have a high profile in Australia 1 2 3 4 5

11. Sporting activities are more important than cultural activities 1 2 3 4 5

12. I don’t have a strong sense of Australian cultural identity 1 2 3 4 5

13. Children should have lots of involvement with art, music,

theatre, dance and literature at school

1 2 3 4 5

14. Australians should be able to experience the best of

international art and culture in Australia

1 2 3 4 5

15. Australia should be promoted overseas for its culture and

cultural activities

1 2 3 4 5

16. There should be more sponsorship of cultural activities by

private companies

1 2 3 4 5


SOURCE OF INFORMATION Q16 Which of the following radio do you listen to on a regular basis, by regular I mean at least once a week? (Multiple answers allowed)

a. Triple J b. ABC Classic FM c. ABC 702

d. Radio National – 576 am

e. TRIPLE M - 104.9 fm

f. 2-Day FM - 104.1 fm

g. 2CH - am 1170 h. 2SM - am 1269 i. 2KY – 1017 am

j. Nova - 96.9 k. Kick FM l. Mix 106.5

m. 2GB - 873 am n. 2UE - 954 am o. 2WS

p. 2ac q. 2CR r. 2VSR

s. 2VNR t. 2ME u. 2Moro am

v. SBS w. No, I don’t listen to radio

x. Other ____________________

Q17 Which of the following newspapers do you read on a regular basis, by regular we mean at least once a week? (Multiple answers allowed)

1. The Australian 2. Sydney Morning Herald 3. Daily Telegraph

4. MX 5. Free suburban newspaper 6. El Telegraph

7. An Nahar 8. Future (Almestaqbal) 9. Al-Furat

10. Sing Tao 11. Australian Chinese Daily 12. Chinese Herald

13. Chinese Epoch Times

14. Chinese News Express 15. Chieu Duong

16. Viet Luan 17. Dan Viet 18. Van Nghe

19. No, I don’t read newspaper

20. Other __________________

Q18 Do you use the Internet?

1. Yes 2. No (GO TO QUESTION 22) Q19 Which home page do you usually use?

1. Google 2. Yahoo 3. Ninemsn

4. Other ___________________________________ Q20 How do you use the Internet for personal purpose? (Multiple answers allowed)

1. Email 2. To find out about things to do

3. To plan trips or holidays

4. To search for family activities

5. FaceBook 6. Other________________

Q21 Are you on an email list with any cultural venues or events at Western Sydney?

1. Yes 2. No


PERSONAL DATA Q22 Are you…? INTERVIEWER TICK BOX BELOW

1. Male 2. Female Q23 Are you of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin?

1. Yes 2. No Q24 Where were you born?

1. Australia 2. China 3. Lebanon

4. Vietnam 5. Other_______________

Q25 Where were your parents born? (Multiple answers allowed)

1. Australia 2. China 3. Lebanon

4. Vietnam 5. Other _____________

Q26 Which age bracket do you fall into?

a. 15-17 years b. 18-24 years c. 25-34 years

d. 35-44 years e. 45-54 years f. 55-64 years

g. 65-74 years h. 75 years and over

Q27 What is your family type?

1. One person 2. Couple Only 3. Households – all members 15+

4. Couple, dependent children

5. One parent, dependent children

6. Other households

Q28 What is your highest education level?

1. Bachelor degree or higher

2. Certificate or diploma 3. Year 12 or below

Q29 Are you currently ……?

1. Working full-time 2. Working part-time 3. Not currently working

4. Retired 5. Other _____________

Q30 Into which of the following income brackets does your individual weekly income fall (before tax is taken out)?

a. $1-$149 b. $150-$249 c. $250-$399

d. $400-$599 e. $600-$799 f. $800-$999

g. $1,000-$1,299 h. $1,300-$1,599 i. $1,600-$1,999

j. $2,000 or more k. Decline to answer


Q31 Do you have any other comment about cultural activities or cultural events in Western Sydney? ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Q32 What is your first name/initial? __________________________________

This is the end of our interview. Thank you for your time. Here is the small gift for you. The information collected will be used by Multicultural Marketing & Management for collating the result ONLY. Each individual response shall remain anonymous. If you have any questions, you can call us at (02) 9643 1833.

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