Creative Australia is working with Patternmakers and WolfBrown in 2023 to understand changes in the behaviours and sentiments of arts-goers.
Launched in May 2020, the Audience Outlook Monitor was established to track audience sentiment in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, it continues to provide insight into the top trends shaping audiences today.
Results from the August 2023 phase of data collection are now available, and key insights are outlined in a new snapshot report. The findings indicate that audiences have started attending arts and creative events more frequently, showing a strong desire for enjoyable and uplifting experiences and events featuring well-known performers and thought-provoking topics.
However, cost-of-living pressures and financial barriers remain the primary obstacles to attendance. Other factors, such as shifting priorities and a perceived lack of appealing events, continue to impact audience participation nationwide.
All data is available in the Audience Outlook Monitor dashboard, with results from over 103,000 responses across phases 1–8, the ‘Pulse Check’ 2022, the ‘Pulse Check’ 2023 and ‘Phase 9’ in 2023.
Key findings from the August 2023 phase include:
Karina Utomo performs in the 2019 Perth Festival production of Cat Hope’s Speechless, produced by Tura New Music. Credit: Toni Wilkinson
Delivery partner
Supporting partners
List of participating organisations
ACMI
Adelaide Festival Centre
Adelaide Fringe
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
Art Gallery of Ballarat
Arts & Cultural Exchange
Arts and Culture Trust
Arts Centre Melbourne
Australian Centre for Contemporary Art
Australian Chamber Orchestra
Australian Theatre for Young People
Bangarra Dance Theatre
Bell Shakespeare
Belvoir Street Theatre
Bendigo Venues & Events
Biennale of Sydney
Black Swan State Theatre Company
Brisbane Festival
Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre (BREC)
Bunjil Place
Byron Theatre
Canberra Theatre Centre
Carriageworks
Castlemaine Art Museum
Circa
City Recital Hall
Civic Theatre Newcastle
Colac Otway Performing Arts and Cultural Centre (COPACC)
Country Arts SA
Darwin Entertainment Centre
Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention centre
Electronic Music Conference Pty Ltd
Empire Theatre
Footscray Community Arts
Forge Theatre and Arts Hub (East Gippsland Shire Council)
Frankston Arts Centre
Geelong Arts Centre
Glasshouse Arts Entertainment and Conference Centre
Hayes Theatre Co
Ipswich Civic Centre
Lighthouse Theatre Warrnambool
Mackay Entertainment & Convention Centre
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Melbourne International Jazz Festival
Melbourne Recital Centre
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Theatre Company
Merrigong Theatre Company
Mildura Arts Centre
Museums Victoria
Music Victoria
National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery of Victoria
National Museum of Australia
No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability Inc
Opera Australia
Opera Queensland
Orange Civic Theatre
Penrith Performing & Visual Arts
Percussion Australia
Perth Festival
Portland Arts Centre (Glenelg Shire Council)
QAGOMA
Queensland Ballet
Queensland Museum Network
Queensland Performing Arts Centre
Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Red Chair Pty Ltd
Riverside Theatres & National Theatre of Parramatta | City of Parramatta
Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre
South Australian Museum
Spare Parts Puppet Theatre Inc
State Library of South Australia
State Opera South Australia
State Theatre Company South Australia
SWELL Sculpture Festival
Sydney Dance Company
Sydney Festival
Sydney Fringe Incorporated
Sydney Opera House
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
Sydney Theatre Company
Sydney Writers’ Festival
The Australian Ballet
The Cube Wodonga
The Events Centre, Caloundra
The Street Theatre
The Unconformity
The Wheeler Centre
Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts
Victorian Opera
Wangaratta Performing Arts & Convention Centre
West Australian Ballet
West Australian Opera
West Australian Symphony Orchestra
Windmill Theatre Company
Wyndham Cultural Centre
About the series
The Audience Outlook Monitor tracking study supports decision-making and forward planning across the arts and cultural sector.
Baseline data was collected in May 2020 in a cross-sector collaborative survey process involving 159 arts and cultural organisations, including museums, galleries, performing arts organisations and festivals.
Launched in 2020, the Audience Outlook Monitor webinar series explores different topics within the data and digs deeper into the results with industry experts. Fact sheets on specific topics are available from 2020, 2021, 2022 and January 2023. New fact sheets will be available in August 2023.
The Audience Outlook Monitor tracking study was extended for a further three phases in 2023, with a new focus on cost-of-living pressures and other factors impacting on audience behaviour. The first two phases of data collection will occur in April 2023 and August 2023, and the final data will be collected in October 2023.