Arts research

Aucklanders and the arts | Asian Aucklanders and the arts

Aucklanders and the arts

Auckland's Pasifika Festival

Late last year Creative New Zealand collaborated with Auckland City Council and three other New Zealand councils to carry out a survey of New Zealanders' attitudes, attendance and participation in the arts. This was a repeat of research done in 2005.

Key findings for Auckland in the 2008 study included:

Aucklanders are supportive of the arts and think they help define who we are as New Zealanders and think the arts should receive public funding
Aucklanders regularly attend arts events and embrace new technologies to access information and engage
Just under half of all Aucklanders participate in the arts
Events celebrating culture and diversity appear to be increasingly important to Aucklanders and make them feel proud to be an Aucklander
Major cultural institutions, facilities and venues are most important as contributors to Auckland being a world-class city.

Download a copy of the Auckland survey results (835kb PDF)

Download a summary of the key findings for New Zealand (108kb PDF)

View the full New Zealand report (www.creativenz.govt.nz)

Summary of key findings for Auckland

Aucklanders are very supportive of the arts

Eighty per cent of Aucklanders think the arts should receive public funding.
Three quarters agree their local council should financially support the arts.
Eight in 10 Aucklanders agree the arts help define who we are as New Zealanders.
More than two thirds of Aucklanders feel their community would be poorer without the arts.
Our fast growing and increasingly diverse population means Aucklanders are likely to be aware of the arts in other countries and cultures.
Seventy per cent of Aucklanders agree the arts are strong in New Zealand. This is lower for Asian Aucklanders (60 per cent).

Aucklanders attend arts events

More than eight in ten Aucklanders have attended an arts event in the past 12 months.
A greater proportion of Aucklanders than the national average attended Pacific arts events during the past 12 months - but slightly less than the national average attended visual arts, film festivals, theatre and Maori arts events.
A notable group of Aucklanders regularly attend music events - and more than 40 per cent attend more than four events each year.
Aucklanders are embracing new technologies to access information about attending arts events, engage with the arts, and purchase tickets.
Younger Aucklanders (15 to 29 year olds) are particularly likely to engage with the arts online, including those in Auckland's Maori, Pacific and Asian communities.

Aucklanders participate in the arts

Almost 45 per cent of Aucklanders have participated in at least one arts event in the past 12 months - however, this is a drop since the last survey in 2005, consistent with the rest of New Zealand, especially in the areas of visual arts and film, performing arts and Pacific arts.
Across all arts, frequency of participation for those involved in the arts has increased since 2005.

What makes Aucklanders proud?

Aucklanders were asked to name any art events or activities in Auckland that have made them proud to be an Aucklander. Auckland City Council's Pasifika Festival was mentioned spontaneously by 35 per cent of respondents who were able to name an event. This was the highest ranked event for NZ European, Maori and Pacific residents - and second highest ranked event for Asians.
Cultural festivals and events appear to be increasingly important to Aucklanders. Auckland City Council is an important contributor to the sense of pride that surrounds Auckland's art events and activities. All but one of the events and activities mentioned most by Aucklanders are located within the council's boundaries, and all but one of those are supported or managed by the council.
The majority of Aucklanders agree that the arts in Auckland reflect the cultural diversity of the city, they recognise the importance of arts to the city, and are positive towards the range and quality of events currently available.

Auckland as a world-class city

Auckland City Council wanted to understand the importance that Aucklanders place some potential contributors to Auckland being a world-class city.

The contributors rated as most important to Auckland being a world-class city are major cultural institutions such as Auckland Museum, Auckland Art Gallery, and Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra; and major facilities and venues, such as the Vector Arena, Aotea Centre, and Civic Theatre.

However, it is clear events celebrating culture and diversity are also seen as very important in the eyes of Aucklanders with more than three quarters agreeing community and cultural events and major arts and cultural events are important.

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Published April 2009