OAUK Audience Report

OutdoorArtsUK works with the Audience Agency, the national audience development agency for the arts, to support all those working in the sector to better understand their audiences. This includes undertaking research that is rigorous whilst also being sensitive to organisers, artists and audiences.

the audience agency

In 2018, the partnership produced the Audience Agency Outdoor Arts Report, a data-backed snapshot of Outdoor Arts audiences, who they are, why they come and what they want.

The data shows that audiences for Outdoor Arts are local, drawn from their immediate hinterland and profiles vary across the country, looking very different in coastal locations, rural settings, urban areas and so on.

This evidence supports the idea that Outdoor Arts has the power to amplify a sense of community and to change people’s perceptions of a place.

Some of the events featured in this report have used Audience Finder to explore these impacts in more depth, with a majority of their audiences reporting an increased sense of belonging, social connection and pride in their place.

“Outdoor Arts attracts young audiences: 25-44 year olds make up 43% of respondents at these events, but only 34% of the English population.”

What also shines through is the value of Outdoor Arts as a celebratory and convivial experience. Social factors are important reasons for attending, with the majority of people wanting “to be entertained” and attending in larger groups than is typical across the arts. Still, though, people rate the quality of their experience itself very highly.

“54% of survey respondents aged 16-34 identify their main reason for attending as being primarily Social, though this decreases steadily with age.”

The festivals present a rich mixture of different experiences, created in a range of ways by artists from various disciplines. Many directly involve their community as volunteers and creative participants. This range and adaptability may help to explain why Outdoor Arts are particularly effective at engaging audiences in such diverse settings.

“Older respondents (aged 55+) are more likely than younger cohorts to cite Entertainment as their main motivation and are increasingly inclined towards Learning.”

The Outdoor Arts events included here are of different scales, but taken together they attract high numbers of audiences, many of whom don’t often take part in other state-supported or commercial cultural activity.

“Outdoor Arts audiences are distinctive. Unlike audiences for many other artforms and cultural activities, they tend to be representative of the demographics of the public in their area.”

Audience Finder is a national framework for collecting, analysing and sharing meaningful audience data devised and delivered by the Audience Agency. Along with a huge amount of UK cultural bodies, OutdoorArtsUK is working to encourage its use – and increase the data across the Outdoor Arts sector. The overall aim is to change Outdoor Arts for the better, helping the sector reach new and bigger audiences and access new resources.

All in the sector will be able to benefit from sector-wide results and reporting.

This work is supported by Arts Council England.

“Outdoor arts can have a significant role to play in local civic life and in enabling greater cultural democracy. This evidence supports the case for Outdoor Art’s particular potential as a driver of community creativity.”

Now that we have a better understanding of audience profile and motivation for attending outdoor events, it is important for the sector to be aware of what these different sections of the public want and how to deliver it, to encourage their continued engagement with Outdoor Arts.

• Though the research shows a positive impact on local economies, the factor given the lowest satisfaction rating by Outdoor Arts audiences was shopping and local facilities.
• It appears that more involved conversations with local providers could only benefit the Outdoor Arts audiences who are looking for a ‘total experience’.
• If an event takes place in a town centre or nearby area, it is important to encourage local business to stay open before, during, and immediately after event times.
• Outdoor Arts events would also benefit from designated ‘chill-out’ areas, designed to fit in with the event theme, in which audience members can eat, drink and socialise between shows. This also encourages them to stay longer in the area.

There is a clear desire for more information about the performances and artists:

• Why are they there?
• What are the performers trying to do?
• How does it fit in with event themes?
• This includes more practical communication about timetabling and signposting, but is also about enabling collaborations, through online and social media.

• Families and larger groups need better navigation of programme and space; their needs are different from other attenders.

• The social nature of the Outdoor Arts experience lends itself extremely well to social media.
• Sharing comments, photos and films, checking-in and tagging demonstrate what is valuable to the
  audience and draws other potential audiences in to attend.

• Some audiences are expressing a desire for more opportunities to interact with artists and to take part in the performance themselves.

• Many events in the last two years have started exploring the use of digital technology in Outdoor Arts, especially as a platform for more interactive experiences.
• This seems to be an especially interesting area which artists and producers could develop. The sector has a special opportunity to connect people, artists, arts and places in this way and of connecting different ideas of space.