Page title

Arts, culture and creativity has an increasingly valuable role in people’s lives.

When respondents were asked to rate the value of arts, culture and creativity in their own life, 60% of respondents gave a high rating of 4 or 5 out of 5. Only 3% of respondents said arts, culture and creativity provided no value at all.

• Personal value has been increasing by 1 index point in each of the past three years, increasing from 65 index points in 2021 to 68 index points in 2024.
• The personal value index score is currently at a 10-year high.

Arts, cultural and creative activities contribute to community health and wellbeing:

• 84% of respondents agreed that arts and culture make them feel good.
• 80% of respondents agreed that attending or participating in arts, cultural and creative activities and events has a positive impact on their mental health.
• 73% of respondents agreed that attending or participating in arts, cultural and creative activities improves their sense of belonging and connection with others.
• 81% of respondents agreed that attending or participating in arts, cultural and creative activities improves understanding and respect for different cultures and perspectives.

In recognition of the valuable role that arts and culture plays in people’s lives, 40% of respondents gave back to the arts, cultural and creative sector over the past 12 months, mostly by donating, volunteering or doing unpaid work.

Although perceived value has been increasing, attendance and participation levels fell in 2024.

Survey participants were informed that arts and cultural activities includes a range of activities such as cinema, music, theatre, dance, visual arts, opera, festivals, libraries, galleries, museums, archives, and community cultural events.

When asked to recall overall attendance or participation in arts and culture activities, 69% of respondents said they attended or participated in an arts and cultural activity over the past 12 months.

After the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted attendance and participation in arts and cultural activities, there were hopeful signs for recovery with overall attendance and participation rates increasing by 4% points to 78% in 2023. Attendance and participation levels were moving back up towards the pre-COVID rate of 82%. In 2024, however, the overall attendance and participation rate fell by 9% points to 69%.

Levels of attendance and participation varied across the community:

• People aged 16 to 24 years and people who did not pursue further studies after high school were least likely to attend or participate in arts and cultural activities.
• Attendance and participation continued to be higher among people with higher levels of education, higher income and living in Perth’s western suburbs.
• Across the state, attendance and participation was highest in the Kimberley region and lowest in the Pilbara, followed by the Goldfields-Esperance and Mid West regions.

People prefer to express themselves creatively through arts and craft, and photography.

62% of respondents specified at least one activity they had participated in to express themselves creatively in the past 12 months. The top 5 most popular activities were art and craft activities (28%), photography (23%), dance (15%), playing a musical instrument (14%), and visual art (11%).

Creative expression varied across the community:

• Although overall reported attendance and participation in arts and cultural activities was lower among 16 to 24 year olds compared other age groups, when asked about their participation in activities to express themselves creatively, they were more likely than other age groups to have taken part.
• Overall participation in activities for creative expression was also higher among LGBTQIA+ people, people who are neurodiverse and people who mainly speak a language other than English at home.
• Participation in activities for creative expression declines as people age and drops off significantly among seniors with only 44% of respondents participating in creative activities after the age of 65 years.
• Across the state, participation in creative activities was highest in Greater Perth, the Mid West and Wheatbelt regions, and lowest in the Goldfields-Esperance region.

People preferred to attend movies, live music events and exhibitions over the past 12 months.

When prompted about attendance at specific types of events, 82% of respondents mentioned that they attended at least one arts, cultural or creative event over the past 12 months.

• Please note that overall reported attendance was significantly higher when respondents were asked about individual types of events than when respondents were asked to recall their overall participation or attendance in arts and culture over the past 12 months.

The top 6 most popular events attended were a movie or film (50%), live music or gigs (41%), exhibitions of art, photography, sculptures etc (32%), comedy (21%), theatre (19%) and musical theatre or opera (18%).

The least popular events attended were writing events (5%), puppetry (3%) and fashion shows (3%).

Although overall attendance at puppetry and fashion shows was lower, these events had the highest frequency of attendance among their patrons.

• Among puppetry patrons, 22% of respondents attended a puppetry event at least once a month.
• Among fashion show patrons, 20% of respondents attended a fashion show at least once a month.
• Across all events tested, on average, 13% of patrons attended an event at least once a month.

Digital arts events, circus or physical theatre, and cabaret or drag shows were more likely to be special occasion events that were only attended once or twice in the past 12 months.

• Among digital arts patrons, 76% of respondents attended a digital arts event, such as a light or drone show, once or twice in the past 12 months.
• Among circus and physical theatre patrons, 73% of respondents attended a circus or physical theatre event once or twice in the past 12 months.
• Among cabaret and drag show patrons, 69% of respondents attended a cabaret or drag show once or twice in the past 12 months.

Attendance at libraries, museums and art galleries was moderate over the past 12 months.

46% of respondents had visited a library or archive facility, 44% had visited a museum and 30% had visited an art gallery over the past 12 months.

• Visitation was highest among people with higher levels of education.
• Respondents in the Pilbara, Peel and Goldfields-Esperance regions were least likely to have visited a cultural venue over the past 12 months. Visitation was also lower among seniors and people with disability.

The most popular place to attend an arts, cultural or creative event over the past 12 months was a library, museum or art gallery.

40% of respondents attended an arts, cultural or creative event at a library, art gallery or museum over the past twelve months.

• The next most popular venues were an outdoor venue or destination (35%), theatre or concert hall (32%), live music venue (30%), or an indoor arena, stadium or entertainment centre (28%).
• The least most popular venues were educational institutions (10%), community centres such as town halls and churches (16%) and arts centres or performing arts centres (19%).

People are engaging in arts, cultural and creative activities online.

47% of respondents had engaged in an online arts, culture and creative experience over the past 12 months.

• The most popular ways to engage with arts, cultural and creative activities online were through computer or video games (15%), library e-resources or web archives (8%), live streamed performances or events (8%), online classes, courses or tutorials (7%) and pre-recorded performances or events (6%).
• Young people aged 16 to 24 years were most likely to engage in online experiences (61% of respondents in this age group engaged over the past 12 months), with online engagement rates declining with age.
• Online engagement was also higher among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with 75% of respondents engaging online over the past 12 months.

People are engaging in First Nations activities and events.

35% of respondents had engaged in a First Nations experience over the past 12 months.

• The most popular ways to engage in First Nations cultures were through art galleries and exhibitions (13%), ceremonies (13%), film or television shows (11%), performances (11%) and storytelling activities or events (9%).
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were most likely to engage in First Nations experiences (70% engaged in an activity over the past 12 months).
• Engagement was also higher among younger people aged 16 to 24 years (47%). Engagement declined with age, dropping to 22% among people aged 75 years and older.

The ease of accessing or participating in arts, cultural and creative activities declined in the past 12 months.

The ease of access index score dropped from 68 points in 2023 to 64 points in 2024.

• Respondents living in Perth and the Peel region found it easiest to access or participate in arts, cultural and creative activities over the past 12 months.
• People with disability, on incomes below $30,000, and in the Gascoyne and Pilbara regions found it more difficult to access or participate in arts, cultural and creative activities.

Rising costs of living impacted attendance and participation in the arts over the past 12 months.

Cost was the main barrier for attending and participating in arts and cultural activities over the past 12 months, mentioned by 31% of respondents.

Time was the next biggest barrier, mentioned by 26% of respondents. People were too busy with work, family and other commitments to attend arts and cultural activities and events over the past 12 months.

People want to be able to attend arts, cultural or creative events more often.

Over the next 12 months, 88% of respondents would like to be able to attend arts, cultural or creative events more often.

The most popular types of arts, cultural and creative events respondents would like to attend more often are movies or films (57%) and live music (49%), followed by comedy (35%), exhibitions (34%), theatre (33%) and musical theatre or opera (29%).

Footnote

¹ This figure includes COVID-19 support provided to arts and cultural organisations.