Public want more spent on arts, says report

THE majority of Irish people are in favour of increased spending on the arts in the current economic climate, the first Arts Council report into public attitudes towards the sector in more than a decade reveals.

The Public and the Arts, published yesterday, shows that four out of five people think arts education is as important as science education and three out of four think providing arts amenities is as important as providing sports amenities.

The report also shows a clear majority of Irish people feel arts spending should be safeguarded in times of recession.

Since the last such survey in 1994, there has been a 2% rise in public attendance of arts events, with cinema and rock or popular music being the most popular art forms, and theatre, traditional music and outdoor spectacles not far behind in the popularity stakes.

The report also notes a shift in attendance away from publicly subsidised and traditional art forms, like the theatre, and towards more commercial and popular arts, like mainstream cinema. The overall increase in attendance can partly be explained in the context of the wider economic growth of the last decade, the report says.

Increased funding in the arts well above the rate of inflation, increased arts infrastructure, more disposable income, greater mobility because of higher car ownership, and increased funding from local authorities are among the contributing factors to the higher participation in the arts, it adds.

The report notes that attendance and participation in the arts tend to be particularly high among higher income groups and the higher educated, suggesting there is still a problem of social exclusion in the arts.

The picture that emerges is that the Irish public is broadly supportive of the arts sector and there is a high rate of attendance and participation generally by international standards.

However, those surveyed said arts investment should also target children and the socially disadvantaged.