Our team has been researching audience sentiment and their readiness to return to concerts, exhibitions, festivals and creative arts workshops.

We've heard from over 50,000 audience members throughout Australia, and learned so much about what they've been doing, how they're feeling and how quickly they'll return to cultural events.

But as the pandemic progresses, one thing is becoming clearer. There is no going back. The pandemic is changing the way we all live, our outlook and how we engage in the arts, culture and creativity.

Amidst a hugely challenging time for our sector, there is also enormous opportunity, with the Australia Council's National Arts Participation Survey recently showing that more and more people acknowledge the value of the arts in communities.

As we look forward to this brave new chapter, post-pandemic, we asked audiences, 'What role can arts and culture organisations play in your community, to assist with recovery from the pandemic?' They were asked to share examples, great or small, and their answers were pretty incredible.

From installing street libraries to calling for the end of capitalism, our audiences see many and varied roles for the arts in future.

With support from City of Sydney, we've created 'Visions for Culture', a webpage where you can browse a selection of quotes from audiences across greater Sydney.

Six themes emerged in the data - I'm sharing them here along with some of our favourite quotes from respondents.

Place

Audiences see arts and culture helping to reanimate public places after the pandemic, or, as one audience member put it, 'public places as stage'.

Our quantitative data shows that many people still feel cautious about visiting some public places, and between July and September 2020, levels of comfort at local restaurants and gyms actually declined in several states/territories. After a period of not being able to access events like performances and exhibitions, there is a feeling that they should fill the streets. They should also welcome everyone, and ideally, they should be free!

One audience member gave the example, 'public projections/installations in neighbourhoods where people can access artworks anytime.'

Another said, 'Outdoor concerts using natural amphitheaters. Sculptures by the bay/river. Outdoor movies. Dances, discos in the squares or forecourts.'

Connect

Another clear theme is that audiences are craving connection. Public health measures have limited our social behaviour for many months now, and many people have not been able to spend time with family, friends and colleagues - or simply soak in the atmosphere of a large crowd.

One audience member shared, 'Our community will only feel communal when we gather, laugh, cry and sing together.' (Singing might not be everyone's cup of tea but those that sing with choirs have told us what an incredible experience it is, as one said, 'The joy of singing together is immeasurable'!)

We know that all kinds of arts and culture events like concerts, exhibitions and festivals are at their core, social experiences, and audiences are seeking out the social aspects of art and culture even more than usual - and not just in their format, but in their content as well.

As one said, 'Arts and culture organisations will help buffer the anxiety we all feel with the unknown through revealing the deep connections we have in our common experience of this time.'

Escape

Enjoying music, a great book or a play has always been a way to escape the sometimes harsh realities of day-to-day life, and after one of the hardest periods of our generation, some audiences are very much seeking escapism. One person said, 'Entertain people. Make it happy and light. We have had enough of disaster and being made to feel guilty for everything.'

From comedy, to musicals and community productions - they want it all.

Another explained, 'Allow a neutral space for us to think, feel and process everything that has been unsettling about COVID-19. Arts organisations are safe places which can create an escape from what is happening outside in the real world and inside in the mental health world.'

Several people shared comments in relation to the media, with one suggesting, 'Snippets of impromptu performances by either professional or amateur artists highlighted on the news.'

There is also the idea of playfulness: 'Simple things that get us through hard times and plug into the joy of silliness. Invitations to engage that are immediate and joyful.'

Heal

Beyond escapism, some audiences are looking for arts and culture to help heal from difficult events of the pandemic and process 'The whole range of emotions — love, anger, confusion, despair, injustice, frustration, depression and hope.'

Some are grieving, others are struggling to make ends meet, and all of us have had to make significant changes in our lives. It's no surprise to hear that audiences suggest things like, 'Providing mental health tools — stress relief, laughter.'

One person explained, 'All performing arts can help people express their feelings about the pandemic and its impact on them. Many art forms can be meditative and consoling.'

Audiences see art and culture as a way to help them feel better, as one person said, 'The focusing on the moment, which occurs with any arts and culture event, is also mindfulness meditation. You leave feeling refreshed and re-energised.'

First Nations culture came up several times. One person said, 'We can learn the importance of Dreaming. Sit down, slow down, hear the older generation speak, enjoy our nature around us.' Another said, 'We should look at First Nations people who have known for eons that cultural and artistic endeavours are essential for community health and resilience.'

Transform

One person said, 'We're going to need to laugh and enjoy ourselves, but also grieve, process, engage deeply with some big questions, not lose sight of the many other problems we face.'

It's clear from many responses that audiences hope for a better world, post-pandemic. They want arts and cultural organisations to play a role in social change, and sustainability, among other things. One person explained, 'Arts organisations provide community forums for meeting people, sharing resources and stories. They can encourage participation in current affairs and culture.'

Ideas included, 'Using resources in different ways. Appreciating other things in life' and 'Create works that help alleviate this fear of foreigners, and can help create a more optimistic view of the future.'

Transformation was a theme in relation to all artforms. One person gave the example of 'Theatre that shows compassion or brings up current agendas (i.e. climate change, pollution) rather than back to the old way of over-indulgence.'

Another said, 'Visual artists can help put what happened in perspective with their unique way of seeing things.'I personally loved this quote: 'Remind people why we are alive. Not just to eat, sleep and work, but to experience life in all its facets.'

Remodel

The last theme relates specifically to the arts and culture sector, and our models and ways of working.Here, audiences demonstrate an interest in how we work, and our connectedness to individuals, businesses and communities. From price points to curtain times and ticket subsidies for disadvantaged audience members, there are ideas aplenty.

Offering learning opportunities and sharing skills came up a lot, for example, 'Reaching out into new communities or disadvantaged communities to share skills, resources and experiences and enrich the public realm.'

However, many people felt that it's not just about arts and culture organisations helping communities recover, but vice versa. One person said, 'Arts IS an essential service and needs to be funded in such a way that practitioners can continue to make and create new works throughout a crisis.' Another wanted to see a rise in community fundraising to support artists, saying, 'Anything to support starving artists, writers, directors, actors, musicians. Small local events, including outdoors, that can be done cheaply to raise money for them.'

I'd love to hear what quotes resonate with you... and how it relates to your work.

Head to the Visions of Culture webpage, where you can explore more of the quotes and filter them by theme, as well as artform and community segment.

Over 150 quotes have been designed using a visualisation system created by Patternmakers and independent designer Marchelle Matthew.

Our hope is that this can inform discussions and plans for the future. Feel free to share your favourite on social media using the hashtag #audienceoutlookmonitor, and reach out to the team with any questions at info@thepatternmakers.com.au.

Use the dashboard to get results for your artform and region

Survey data from over 50,000 Australian respondents has been aggregated in a freely available dashboard. Click the image below to access the dashboard and start exploring the data.

About the Audience Outlook Monitor

All results are now available from a three-phase study, which is tracking how audiences feel about returning to events in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Phase 1, data was collected between 6 and 14 May 2020, forming a baseline against which future changes can be tracked. In Phase 2, data was again collected from audiences between 8 and 12 July 2020. A third and final phase of data collection occurred in September 2020 (Phase 3).

Seven government agencies are collaborating with research agencies Patternmakers (Sydney) and WolfBrown (USA) to produce this resource. The dashboard is freely accessible and designed to help artists and cultural organisations of all kinds to make the best possible decisions about re-opening.

How to find out more

More Fact Sheets and resources will be made available in the coming weeks. To receive these directly into your inbox, as soon as they are available, you can opt in to receive Audience Outlook Monitor news below.

If you have a question, or an idea for using this data, please contact Patternmakers at info@thepatternmakers.com.au