Measuring the intrinsic benefits of arts attendance

TLDR

Current evaluation of funded arts organizations relies heavily on audience satisfaction surveys and attendance metrics, yet the intrinsic benefits to audiences and society are recognized but lack reliable measurement. The article proposes a new method to measure the intrinsic benefits of arts attendance. Over nearly three years of data collection, the authors demonstrate that the Arts Audience Experience Index reliably captures audience experience quality and can be adopted by companies and funding agencies alongside existing tools. Keywords include arts audiences, performing arts, funding, and acquittal.

Abstract

Abstract There is an emerging dissatisfaction with the current evaluative regimes for the quality and effectiveness of funded arts organizations. Far too much evaluation rests on audience satisfaction surveys and quantitative measures of audience attendance numbers, production numbers and revenue sources. The intrinsic benefits of the arts to audiences and to society are recognized to be of major importance, but the means to measure these in an acceptable and on-going manner has not been found. This article changes that. It shows, through almost three years of data collection on arts audiences, that a newly developed and tested Arts Audience Experience Index can be used and embedded by companies and government funding agencies to measure the audience experience of quality, alongside other acquittal tools. Keywords: arts audiencesperforming arts funding acquittal