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Executive Summary

Arts and culture continues to be considered important.

• 85 % agree  the Western Australian Government should invest in arts and culture to ensure they are available to the public.
• 95 % agree it is important for school children to have access to arts and culture as part of their education.

Perceptions of individual and community value have increased slightly over the past year.

• This is the highest rating to date and up from 60 in 2016.
• Perceptions of individual value are lower among males and those with lower levels of education. Regionally, perceived value is lowest in Goldfields-Esperance.
• Individual value is highest among females, people with a diploma and postgraduate level education and residents in the Western Suburbs and Inner North metropolitan area.

• This is the highest score over the past 11 years.
• Perceptions of community value are highest among people living in the Western Suburbs.
• Regionally, community value is higher in the Kimberley, Pilbara and Peel regions and lower in the Goldfields-Esperance region.

Most people believe the arts benefits the broader community, not just those who participate.

• Results have remained relatively steady over recent years.
• Kimberley and Pilbara respondents are most likely to recognise the broader community benefits, respondents in Goldfields-Esperance appear least likely to.

Most believe arts and culture contributes to WA’s sense of community and identity.

• The Value Index score is highest among low income earners, residents in the Western Suburbs and in the Peel and Pilbara regions.

The arts continue to make people feel good.

• Level of agreement is greatest among females, people with higher levels of education, those who speak a language other than English at home and residents in the Inner North and Western Suburbs.
• Perceptions vary across the regions, with strongest agreement in the Kimberley and Pilbara and lowest agreement in Goldfields-Esperance.

Perceived ease of accessing arts and culture continues to increase gradually.

• 58% feel it is easy to access or participate in arts and cultural activities in WA.
• Ease of access is highest in the Western Suburbs and tends to improve with level of household income.
• Ease of access is lower among people with a disability or impairment and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and continues to be most difficult for people living in regional WA, especially those in the Wheatbelt, Kimberley and Goldfields-Esperance.

Attendance or participation in the arts is improving.

• 47% of respondents attended or participated in at least three arts and cultural activities over summer and 72% of respondents attended or participated in at least one; up from 39% and 65% respectively in 2018. Non-attendance or participation over the past 2 years has remained at 15%, on par with 2018.

• Frequent participation (attended 3 or more times over summer) is more common among Western Suburbs residents, those with higher levels of education, those on higher incomes and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
• Non-attendance is more common among low income earners and those with lower levels of education.

Interest in content and fun are the main motivators for participating in arts and cultural activities.

• While an interest in the content if the primary motivator for people over 35 years, fun is the primary motivator for younger adults.
• Parents with young children (aged 0-5 years) are mainly motivated by experiencing new things, interacting with friends and family and having fun.

Government and corporate support is considered to be essential for the arts. More funding is wanted.

• 52% of respondents believe $2.21 per person per week is too low as an allocation for arts and culture.
• 44% would be prepared to pay more than $2 extra per person per week. The proportion of respondents willing to do this has been steadily increasing since 2016.
• Support for higher funding is greatest among people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background. This group is more willing to pay from $2.01 to $10+ more per person per week.
• Support is also higher among respondents from inner metropolitan areas.

Perceived value of the WA film and television industry has increased over the past 4 years.

• The Value Index Score is 76, up 4 index points from 2018 and 7 index points from 2016.
• Perceived value is highest among older adults, low income earners and people in the Western Suburbs.
• It is valued by both metropolitan and regional respondents.

Perceived access to WA film and TV has dropped since 2017.

• The Ease of Access Index Score is 53. While up 2 index points from 2018 it continues to be down from a high of 61 in 2017.
• Ease of access is lowest in the Wheatbelt and Gascoyne regions.