National Endowment for the Arts

2002 SURVEY OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

IN THE ARTS

Research Division Report #45
Research Division Report #45

March 2004

National Endowment for the Arts

1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest

Washington, DC 20506-0001

Telephone: (202) 682-5400

Produced by Tom Bradshaw and Bonnie Nichols

Research Division, National Endowment for the Arts

Prepared for the Research Division, National Endowment for the Arts 

by BBC Research & Consulting, Denver, Colorado

Designed by Fletcher Design Inc., Washington, DC

www.fletcherdesign.com

Cover photo by Jann Whaley

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

2002 survey of public participation in the arts : summary report.

p. cm. — (Research division report ; #45)

Produced by Tom Bradshaw and Bonnie Nichols, Research Division, National Endowment

for the Arts. 1. Arts audiences—United States. 2. Arts surveys—United States. 3. Arts—United

States—Citizen participation. I. Title: Survey of public participation in the arts. II. Bradshaw,

Tom. III. Nichols, Bonnie. IV. National Endowment for the Arts. Research Division. V. Series. VI.

Research Division report (National Endowment for the Arts. Research Division) ; 45.

NX220.A164 2004

700’.973’090511—dc22

2003027809

CIP

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(202) 682-5496 

For individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

Individuals who do not use conventional print may contact 

the Arts Endowment’s Office for AccessAbility to obtain this 

publication in an alternate format. Telephone: (202) 682-5532

This publication is available online at www.arts.gov, the Web site of the National

Endowment for the Arts.
Chapter 1. Executive Summary...................................................................................................................1

Methodology, 1 • Attendance, 2 • Broadcast and Recorded Media, 3 • Personal Participation 

in the Arts, 5 • Summary, 5 • Additional Information from the 2002 SPPA, 6

Chapter 2. Introduction...............................................................................................................................7

Benchmark Activities, 7 • Data Collection Methodology, 7 • Organization of the Report, 9

Chapter 3. Attendance at Arts Performances and Events............................11

Benchmark Activities, 11 • Performing Arts, 12 • Visual Arts, 18

Historic Sites, 18 • Literature, 19 • Influence of Education on Arts Attendance, 19

Chapter 4. Participation via Media..................................................................................................21

Performing Arts, 21 • Visual Arts, 28 • Literature, 29 • Internet, 29

Chapter 5. Personal Participation in the Arts...............................................................31

Performing and Creating Art, 31 • Owning Art, 40 • Literature, 40 • Arts Classes, 40

Chapter 6. ARTS Preferences and leisure participation....................................43

Arts Preferences, 43 • Music Preferences, 44 • Other Leisure Activities, 45

Chapter 7. Regional Differences in Arts Participation...................................49

Attendance, 49 • Media Participation, 51 • Trips Taken for Art, 51

Chapter 8. Summary Results for Benchmark Activities...................................55

Art Museums and Galleries, 55 • Ballet and Dance, 55 • Classical Music, 56 • Jazz, 56

Musical Plays, 57 • Non-Musical Plays, 58 • Opera, 58

iii

contents
APPENDICES.........................................................................................................................................................................59

Appendix A. Survey of Public Participation in the Arts 

Background and Methodology.............................................................................................................................................59

1982 and 1985 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts, 59 • 1992 Survey of Public 

Participation in the Arts, 59 • 1997 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, 59

2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, 60

Appendix B. Data Collection.............................................................................................................................................................61

Appendix C. Standard Errors, Hypothesis Testing and Design Effect................................62

Appendix D. 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPpA)..............................................63

Participation via Attendance, 63 • Participation via Media, 64 • Leisure Activities, 64

Preferences, 65 • Arts Learning, 66 • Travel/Trips, 68 • Internet, 68

Appendix E. Research Division Reports and Notes of Related Interest.............................69

Notes, 69 • Reports, 69

iv
List of Tables 

Table 1. U.S. Adults Participating in the 

Arts at Least Once in a 12-Month Period: 

1982, 1992, 2002.........................................................2

Table 2. U.S. Adults Who Watched or Listened 

to the Arts on TV, Radio, Recordings or the 

Internet in a 12-Month Period: 1982, 1992, 2002.....4

Table 3. U.S. Adults Performing or 

Creating Art at Least Once in a 12-Month 

Period: 1992 and 2002................................................5

Table 4. Percentage of U.S. Adults Participating 

in the Arts at Least Once in the 12-Month Period 

Ending August 2002....................................................6

Table 5. 2002 SPPA Question Areas for 

Each Art Form ............................................................8

Table 6. U.S. Adults Participating in the Arts 

at Least Once in a 12-Month Period: 1982, 

1992, 2002.................................................................12

Table 7. Average Number of Attendances and 

Total Number of Attendances: 1992 and 2002 ........13

Table 8. Demographic Distribution of U.S. 

Adults Who Attend/Visit/Read at Least Once

in the 12-Month Period Ending August 2002..........14

Table 9. Rates at Which U.S. Adults 

Attend/Visit/Read by Demographic Group, 2002

(Percentage Participating at Least Once 

in the 12-Month Period Ending August 2002).........16

Table 10. U.S. Adults Who Watched or Listened 

to the Arts on TV, Radio, Recordings or the 

Internet in a 12-Month Period: 1982, 1992, 2002...22

Table 11. Demographic Distribution of U.S. 

Adults Participating in the Arts Through 

Media at Least Once in the 12-Month Period 

Ending August 2002..................................................24

Table 12. Rates at Which U.S. Adults 

Participate in the Arts Through Media, 2002

(Percentage Participating at Least Once in the 

12-Month Period Ending August 2002)....................26

v

Table 13. TV/VCR/DVD Viewing Frequency 

for 1992 and 2002 .....................................................28

Table 14. U.S. Adults’ Use of the Internet 

to Explore the Arts, 2002 ..........................................29

Table 15. U.S. Adults Performing or 

Creating Art at Least Once in a 12-Month 

Period: 1992 and 2002..............................................33

Table 16. U.S. Adults Performing in Public or 

Creating Art That Was Publicly Displayed in a 

12-Month Period: 1992 and 2002.............................34

Table 17. Demographic Distribution of U.S. 

Adults Personally Participating in the Arts 

at Least Once in the 12-Month Period Ending 

August 2002...............................................................36

Table 18. Rates at Which U.S. Adults Participate 

in the Arts by Demographic Group, 2002 

(Percentage Participating at Least Once in the 

12-Month Period Ending August 2002)....................38

Table 19. U.S. Adults Taking an Arts Lesson 

or Class at Any Time in Their Lives: 1982, 

1992, 2002.................................................................40

Table 20. U.S. Adults Taking an Arts Lesson 

or Class in the 12-Month period Ending 

August 2002...............................................................40

Table 21. U.S. Adults’ Preferences for Attending 

Additional Arts Events: 1982, 1992, 2002 .............43

Table 22. Type of Arts Event U.S. Adults 

Would Prefer to Attend Most, 2002 ..........................44

Table 23. Types of Music Liked by U.S. 

Adults: 1982, 1992, 2002 .........................................44

Table 24. Type of Music U.S. Adults 

Liked Best, 2002........................................................44

Table 25. U.S. Adults’ Top 5 Music Preferences: 

1982, 1992, 2002 ......................................................45

Table 26.Participation in Other Leisure 

Activities: 1982, 1992, 2002.....................................45
vi

National Endowment for the Arts

Table 27. Demographic Distribution of U.S. 

Adults Personally Participating in Other Leisure

Activities at Least Once in the 12-Month Period

Ending August 2002..................................................46

Table 28. Percentage of U.S. Adults Who 

Participated at Least Once in the 12-Month 

Period Ending August 2002......................................47

Table 29. Percentage of U.S. Adults Participating 

in the Arts at Least Once in the 12-Month Period

Ending August 2002 by Region................................50

Table 30. Percentage of U.S. Adults Who 

Watched or Listened to the Arts in the 12-Month 

Period Ending August 2002 by Region....................52

Table 31. Trips to Performing Arts Events 

Among Arts Attenders, 2002 ....................................53

Table 32.Key Facts for Art Museums 

and Galleries..............................................................55

Table 33. Key Facts for Ballet and Dance................56

Table 34. Key Facts for Classical Music ..................56

Table 35. Key Facts for Jazz......................................57

Table 36. Key Facts for Musicals..............................57

Table 37. Key Facts for Plays....................................58

Table 38. Key Facts for Opera ...............................58

List of Figures

Figure 1. Millions of U.S. Adults Attending 

a Performance Arts Activity at Least Once in 

the 12-Month Period Ending August 2002 ..............11

Figure 2. Percentage of U.S. Adults 

Attending at Least One Benchmark Activity 

by Education, 2002....................................................19

Figure 3. Rate at Which U.S. Adults 

With at Least a College Degree 

Attend/Visit/Read Compared With Adults 

With a High School Degree, 2002 ............................19

Figure 4. Percentage of U.S. Adults Attending 

at Least One Benchmark Activity by Parents’ 

Education, 2002.........................................................20

Figure 5. Millions of U.S. Adults Personally 

Performing Art at Least Once in the 12-Month

Period Ending August 2002......................................32

Figure 6. Ratio of Personal Participation 

of Adults with at Least a College Degree 

Compared With Adults With a High School

Education, 2002.........................................................35

Figure 7. Key Findings for Study Area 

Regions, 2002............................................................51
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

1

National Endowment for the Arts

Although they changed travel and other

plans, Americans continued to attend

arts events in the 12 months after

September 11, 2001 — according to

the results of the Survey of Public

Participation in the Arts (SPPA). Nearly one-third of

adults reported going to at least one jazz, classical

music, opera, musical, play or ballet performance during the 12 months ending August 2002, not including

elementary or high school performances. About onequarter of adults said they visited an art museum or art

gallery. Combined, 39 percent of adults, or 81 million

people, attended these types of events. This is 5 million

more than attended (76 million) in 1992, the last year

of a directly comparable National Endowment for the

Arts survey. The National Endowment for the Arts has

been tracking attendance at these “benchmark” events

since 1982. 

The percentage of adults reporting attendance at

live jazz, classical music, opera, musicals, non-musical

plays, ballet and art museums/galleries held steady

between 1992 and 2002. As in 1992, more people

reported attending musical plays than any other type of

performing arts examined in the SPPA. The SPPA also

examined activities such as visiting historic sites and

reading literature.

Counting all of the art forms and types of participation in the arts examined in the SPPA, 76 percent of

adults, or 157 million people, made the arts part of their

lives in the 12 months ending August 2002. The survey

investigated different forms of participation, including

viewing or listening to performing arts on television or

radio, reading literature, visiting historic sites, performing and creating art, owning art and taking arts classes.

Nearly two-thirds of American adults attended arts and

cultural events, visited historic sites or read literature

from September 2001 through August 2002. Four-inten reported personally performing or creating art during this period. Over half watched or listened to the arts

on television, radio, recorded media or the Internet.

About 5 percent took an arts-related class.

Methodology

The 2002 SPPA marks the fifth NEA survey of arts

participation in the past 20 years. The surveys conducted in 1992 and 1982, also conducted by the U.S.

Bureau of the Census, are the primary points of comparison for the 2002 SPPA. The SPPA supplements in

1992 and 1982 were attached to the National Crime

Survey while the 2002 SPPA was collected as a supplement to the Current Population Survey. The 17,135

adults participating in the 2002 SPPA exceeded the

1992 survey and was about the same as in 1982. The

response rate was 70 percent — similar to the rate in

the second half of 1992 (68 percent) when a similar

questionnaire was used. 

Questions asked of respondents were consistent

from 1992 to 2002 with the exception of several additional questions asked about traveling to arts events and

time spent on the Internet viewing, discussing or learning about the arts. DVD viewing was also added to the

2002 SPPA media participation questions.

In 1997, the SPPA was conducted through a randomdigit dial, telephone survey independent from any Census research studies. Data are not directly comparable to

2002 because of the differences in data collection. Even

CHAPTER 1

Executive 

Summary
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

2

National Endowment for the Arts

though the methodology for the 2002 and 1992 surveys

are more similar, comparisons should be made cautiously because of the change of sponsoring survey (National

Crime Survey in 1992 versus Current Population Survey

in 2002) and different season for the study (surveys conducted each month in 1992 and only in August in 2002).

It is unknown how the topic of prior questions may affect

responses to arts participation questions. 

Attendance

The SPPA has tracked attendance at certain performing

arts events since 1982. Attendance rate trends were

examined for seven “benchmark” activities followed by

analysis of other live arts events.

Benchmark attendance. In the 12 months ending August 2002, 39 percent of U.S. adults attended at

least one of the following arts activities: jazz, classical

music, opera, musicals, plays, ballet or art museums.

These seven activities identify a “benchmark” participation rate for live arts attendance that the NEA has

monitored since 1982. Although the 2002 rate is 2 

percentage points below 1992’s rate of 41 percent, this

difference is not statistically significant. The actual

number of participants increased from 76 million to

Table 1.

U.S. Adults Participating in the Arts at Least 

Once in a 12-month period: 1982, 1992, 2002

Percent of Adults Millions of Adults

Attending/Visiting/Reading Attending/Visiting/Reading

1982 1992 2002 1982 1992 2002

PERFORMING ARTS

MUSIC

Jazz* 9.6 % 10.6 % 10.8 % 15.7 19.7 22.2

Classical music* 13.0 12.5 11.6 21.3 23.2 23.8

Opera* 3.0 3.3 3.2 4.5 6.1 6.6

PLAYS

Musical plays* 18.6 17.4 17.1 30.5 32.3 35.1

Non-musical plays* 11.9 13.5 12.3 19.5 25.1 25.2

DANCE

Ballet* 4.2 4.7 3.9 6.9 8.7 8.0

Other dance1 NA 7.1 6.3 NA 13.2 12.1

VISUAL ARTS

Art museums/galleries* 22.1 26.7 26.5 36.2 49.6 54.3

Art/craft fairs and festivals 39.0 40.7 33.4 63.9 75.6 68.4

HISTORIC SITES

Parks/historic buildings/neighborhoods 37.0 34.5 31.6 60.6 64.1 64.7

LITERATURE

Plays/poetry/novels/short stories 56.9 54.0 46.7 93.3 100.3 95.3

ANY BENCHMARK ACTIVITY 39.0 41.0 39.4 66.5 76.2 81.2

1 “Other dance” refers to dance other than ballet, including modern, folk and tap. “Other dance” was not included in the 1982 survey.

* Denotes “benchmark” art activity.

Note: Figures may differ slightly from those shown in other reports and notes due to rounding.

Source: 1982, 1992, and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

3

National Endowment for the Arts

about 81 million reflecting the growth in the adult population from 1992 to 2002. 

As presented in Table 1, rates of attendance for most

arts activities have remained relatively constant since

1982’s SPPA. There were no statistically significant differences between the percentages of adults attending in

1992 versus 2002.

Other live arts attendance. In addition to the

seven activities described above, survey respondents

were asked about going to arts and crafts fairs and festivals and visits to historic sites. September 11 may

have affected attendance at fairs, festivals and historic

sites. Festival and fair attendance fell to 33 percent of

adults in 2002, 7 percentage points below 1992 and a

statistically significant decline. This was the largest

decline of any live attendance event in the SPPA. Visits

to historic sites dropped from 34 percent of adults in

1992 to approximately 32 percent in 2002, the second

largest drop among live events. This decline was also

statistically significant.

Other arts activity. The SPPA also asks about

reading habits. In 2002, 56 percent of respondents indicated they had read a book during the previous 12

months, about the same as in 1992. However, the percentage of respondents reading literature, defined in the

survey as plays, poetry, short stories or novels,

decreased by 8 percentage points from 1992 to 2002

(46 percent of 2002 respondents), a statistically significant drop. 

Broadcast and 

Recorded Media

Although the past decade saw impressive advances in

media options for viewing and listening to the arts, this

form of arts participation experienced a relatively large

decrease from 1992. Participation via every type of listening or viewing showed statistically significant

declines. Even so, the percentage of adults reporting

viewing or listening via broadcast and recorded media

remained higher than live attendance. Table 2 examines the percentage and number of adults viewing or

listening to different art forms, and, for the first time in

the SPPA, use of the Internet for learning about, listening to, or discussing topics related to the arts.

TV, VCR or DVD viewing. Jazz, classical music,

opera, musicals, plays, dance (including ballet) and 

visual arts each experienced at least a 5 percentage point

decline in respondents’ viewing of these art forms on

broadcast or cable TV, video or DVD from 1992 to 

2002. The largest decline, from 34 to 25 percent, was for

respondents indicating they had watched a program about

artists, art works, or art museums in the previous 12

months. 

The percentage of respondents who reported watching non-musical plays and opera decreased by one-half.

The percentage of adults viewing classical music performances declined from 26 percent in 1992 to 18 percent in 2002. Those viewing dance declined from 20 to

12 percent of adults. Viewing of jazz and musicals

declined as well. Projecting these results to the adult

population in the U.S., the number of adults viewing

these art forms on TV, VCR or DVD declined from

1992 to 2002. 

Radio. The percentage of adults reporting that 

they listen to jazz, classical music, opera, musicals and

plays on the radio declined from 1992 to 2002. Though

not as dramatic as for viewing performances on TV,

declines were substantial. The largest absolute

decrease was for classical music, falling from 31 

percent of adults listening on the radio in 1992 to 24

percent in 2002. However, it should be noted that the

49 million classical music listeners reported in 2002

was still more than a third larger than the number in

1982 (36 million).

Recordings. Classical music also saw the largest

absolute decline in the percentage of adults listening to

audio recordings, from 24 percent in 1992 to 19 percent

in 2002. Other performing arts also experienced large

declines in listening. 

Internet. The 2002 SPPA asked several questions

regarding use of the Internet. About 53 percent of

respondents said they use the Internet. A total of 19

percent of all survey respondents (one-third of Internet

users) reported exploring at least one arts topic on the

Internet. 

Of the art forms, music is the most frequent topic of

Internet investigation, totaling 13 percent of respondents, or 27 million American adults. The second most

commonly investigated arts topic on the Internet is literature (9 percent of respondents), followed by visual

arts (6 percent), theater (4 percent), dance (2 percent)

and opera (1 percent). 
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

4

National Endowment for the Arts

Table 2.

U.S. Adults Who Watched or Listened to the Arts on TV, Radio,

Recordings or the Internet in a 12-Month period: 1982, 1992, 2002

Percent of Adults Millions of Adults

Listening or Watching Listening or Watching

1982 1992 2002 1982 1992 2002

PERFORMING ARTS

MUSIC

Jazz

TV/VCR/DVD 18.0% 22.0% 16.4% 29.6 40.9 33.5

Radio 18.0 28.0 23.5 30.4 52.0 48.0

Audio recordings 20.0 21.0 17.2 32.4 39.0 35.2

Classical music

TV/VCR/DVD 25.0 26.0 18.1 40.8 48.3 37.0

Radio 20.0 31.0 23.9 36.0 57.6 48.9

Audio recordings 22.0 24.0 19.3 35.6 44.6 39.5

Opera

TV/VCR/DVD 12.0 12.0 5.8 20.9 22.3 11.9

Radio 7.0 9.0 5.7 11.2 16.7 11.7

Audio recordings 8.0 7.0 5.5 12.5 13.0 11.3

Internet, exploring opera NA NA 1.3 NA NA 2.7

Internet, exploring all types of music NA NA 13.1 NA NA 27.0

PLAYS

Musicals

TV/VCR/DVD 21.0 17.0 11.7 29.8 31.6 24.0

Radio 4.0 4.0 2.4 8.3 7.4 4.9

Audio recordings 8.5 6.0 4.3 13.0 11.1 8.8

Non-musical plays

TV/VCR/DVD 26.0 18.0 9.4 36.5 33.4 19.2

Radio 4.0 3.0 2.1 6.4 5.4 4.3

Internet, exploring all types of theater NA NA 4.1 NA NA 8.4

DANCE

TV/VCR/DVD NA 20.0 12.6 NA 37.2 25.7

Internet, exploring all types of dance NA NA 2.0 NA NA 4.1

VISUAL ARTS

TV/VCR/DVD 23.0 34.0 25.0 43.3 63.2 51.0

Internet, exploring visual arts NA NA 5.9 NA NA 12.1

LITERATURE

Listen to poetry or novels NA 16.6 12.4 NA 30.8 25.5

Internet, exploring novels, 

poetry or plays NA NA 9.2 NA NA 19.0

Source: 1982, 1992, and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

5

National Endowment for the Arts

Personal Participation 

in the Arts

The 2002 SPPA researched personal participation in the

arts through questions on performing and creating art.

Performance and creation. Singing in a choir,

chorale or other vocal group remained the most popular

form of personal performance in 2002. With 9.8 million

adults participating, it had more than double the 

number of participants than any other type of personal

performance except dance. Weaving, sewing and other

needlework remained the most popular among the 

visual arts activities. Though these activities have 

relatively higher levels of participation than other 

performing arts or visual arts activities, both experienced statistically significant declines from 1992 

to 2002.

Table 3 shows rates of personal performance and creation of art in 1992 and 2002. Measured in millions of

adult participants, only photography, ballet, composing

music and writing literature increased in activity from

1992 to 2002. The percentage of adults who said that

they had performed classical music in the past 12 months

dropped by one-half in 2002, from 4

percent to 2 percent. Adults who performed dance other than ballet

dropped from 8 percent to 4 percent of

respondents. Both declines are statistically significant.

Classes. In the 2002 survey, 

more respondents took classes in the

performing arts in the prior 12 months

(6 million adults) than in the visual

arts (5 million). The most popular

type of class was music — 2 percent

of respondents reported that they had

taken a music class in the past 12

months (4 million adults).

Summary

Table 4 presents an aggregate view of

arts participation for the 2002 SPPA

data. About the same share of adults

participated in performing arts and

visual arts activities (about 59 percent) in the 12 months ending August

2002. For performing arts, most adults

participated by watching or listening

to music, plays or dance on television,

the radio, via audio recordings or the

Internet. Over half of adults say they

have viewed some type of performing

arts media in the previous 12 months.

Participation through attendance at

live events is smaller (32 percent),

with more adults attending plays

(musicals or non-musical plays) than

other types of performing arts events.

Table 3.

U.S. Adults performing or creating 

art at Least Once in a 12-Month period: 

1992 and 2002

Percent of Adults Millions of Adults

Personally Performing Personally Performing

or Creating or Creating

1992 2002 1992 2002

PERFORMING ARTS

MUSIC

Jazz 1.7 % 1.3 % 3.2 2.7

Classical music 4.2 1.8 7.8 3.7

Opera 1.1 0.7 2.0 1.4

Choir/chorale 6.3 4.8 11.7 9.8

Composing music 2.1 2.3 3.9 4.7

PLAYS

Musical plays 3.8 2.4 7.1 4.9

Non-musical plays 1.6 1.4 3.0 2.9

DANCE

Ballet 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6

Other dance1 8.1 4.2 15.0 8.6

VISUAL ARTS

CREATING ART

Painting/drawing 9.6 8.6 17.8 17.6

Pottery/jewelry 8.4 6.9 15.6 14.1

Weaving/sewing 24.8 16.0 46.1 32.7

Photography 11.6 11.5 21.6 23.5

OWN ORIGINAL ART 22.1 19.3 41.1 39.5

LITERATURE

Plays/poetry/novels/

short stories 7.4 7.0 13.7 14.4

1 “Other dance” refers to dance other than ballet, including modern, folk and tap.

Source: 1992 and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

6

National Endowment for the Arts

For the visual arts, participation is most often in the

form of attending an art museum or gallery or an arts

and crafts fair or festival. In addition, nearly 39 percent

report personally creating some type of visual art,

though this includes ownership of an original artwork.

Approximately one-half of U.S. adults experienced

“literature” in some way in 2002 (poetry, plays, novels

or short stories). 

In sum, over 76 percent of adults have experienced

art in some form in the 12 months ending August of

2002.

Additional Information 

from the 2002 SPPA

Additional Research Division reports will examine further topics such as differences in arts participation by

geographic area, age and educational levels. These

reports will be available later in 2004. Current information on these and other Research Division reports and

notes can be found at www.arts.gov. The complete 2002

SPPA dataset can be downloaded from the Cultural

Policy and the Arts National Data Base Archive website

at www.cpanda.org, or ordered from the U.S. Census

Bureau, Customer Services Center.

Research Division Reports and Notes of Related

Interest can be found in Appendix E.

Table 4.

Percentage of U.S. Adults Participating in the Arts at Least Once 

in the 12-month period Ending August 2002

Watched or

Attended/ Listened to Personally

Visited/ on TV/Radio/ Performed Took a All Forms of

Read Recordings/Internet or Created Class Participation

PERFORMING ARTS 31.7% 51.8% 12.6% 2.7% 59.0%

Music 18.8 47.9 8.1 1.8 51.9

Plays 22.3 21.0 3.5 0.5 33.2

Dance 8.7 13.7 4.3 0.8 20.5

VISUAL ARTS 41.9 26.3 38.9 1.7 58.8

HISTORIC SITES 31.6 NA NA NA NA

LITERATURE 46.7 18.2 7.0 1.0 50.0

ANY ARTS ACTIVITY 65.1% 56.0% 43.9% 4.8% 76.3%

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

7

National Endowment for the Arts

T

he Survey of Public Participation of the

Arts (SPPA) collected arts participation

data from Americans in 1982, 1985,

1992, 1997 and 2002. The 2002 SPPA

surveyed over 17,000 adults across the

United States.

The SPPA examines a number of different types of

participation in the arts. The 2002 SPPA included

questions about attendance at arts events; listening to or

watching arts on television, radio and recordings;

exploring arts through the Internet; personally performing or creating art; and taking arts-related classes. 

For art forms such as jazz and theater, many of these

different types of participation were probed in the survey. For art forms such as pottery, the SPPA only

records whether someone created the art. Table 5 displays the types of participation questions asked by art

form and the section of the report that discusses each

item.

Benchmark Activities

Because the SPPA has added new art forms to each survey, it is challenging to examine trends in arts attendance from one survey to another. To allow for easier

analysis of long-term trends, the SPPA has designated

certain art forms as “benchmark” activities that are

included in each survey since 1982. 

“Benchmark attendance” counts attendance at one

or more of the following seven types of arts activities:

jazz performance, classical music performance, opera,

musical play, non-musical play, ballet and visits to an

art museum or gallery. Table 5 identifies these benchmark activities with an asterisk.

Data Collection 

Methodology

Survey approach. For the first time, the 2002 SPPA

was collected in conjunction with the U.S. Bureau of the

Census’ Current Population Survey (CPS). The U.S.

Bureau of the Census surveys about 60,000 households

per month in the CPS. Households are scientifically

selected to represent the socioeconomic characteristics

of the U.S. population. 

The 2002 SPPA was conducted as a supplement to

the August 2002 CPS. In 1982 and 1992, the SPPA was

collected as a supplement to the National Crime Survey

over several months of the year. The National Crime

Survey (now called the national Crime Victimization

Survey) was also conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the

Census.

In the 2002 SPPA, 17,135 adults 18 and older were

interviewed, primarily by telephone. Demographic data

including gender, income, educational level, age and

race/ethnicity were used in weighting the survey data so

that the results match characteristics of the total U.S.

adult population. The U.S. Census Bureau determined

the weight for each survey record.

The response rate to the survey was 70 percent, 

similar to the rate in the second half of 1992 (68 percent) when a similar questionnaire was used. Even

though the SPPA may have been longer than most CPS

supplements, there were no irregular patterns in the

response rate.

Appendix A presents information on the SPPA.

Appendix B discusses the data collection procedures

for both the CPS and SPPA supplement. Appendix C

briefly discusses calculation of standard errors, hypothCHAPTER 2

introduction
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

8

National Endowment for the Arts

Table 5.

2002 SPPA Question Areas for Each Art Form

CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5

Performed or

Attended/ Media Created Took a

Visited/Read Watched Radio Recordings Internet Privately Publicly class

PERFORMING ARTS

MUSIC ■ ■

Jazz* ■ ■■ ■ ■

Classical* ■ ■■■ ■ ■

Opera* ■ ■■■ ■ ■ ■

Music composition ■ ■

Choir/Chorale ■

THEATER ■ ■

Musicals* ■ ■■■ ■ ■

Non-musicals* ■ ■■ ■

DANCE ■

Ballet* ■ ■ ■ ■■

Other dance ■ ■ ■ ■■

VISUAL ARTS ■

Art museums and galleries* ■

Painting, drawing, sculpture, ■ ■

printmaking ■ ■

Art photography, art movies ■ ■

Pottery, ceramics, jewelry, leatherwork, 

metalwork ■ ■

Weaving, crocheting, quilting, 

needlepoint, sewing ■

Own original art ■

Learn about art and artists ■■ ■

Arts/crafts festivals and fairs ■

HISTORIC SITES

Parks/historic buildings/

neighborhoods ■

LITERATURE

Plays/poetry/novels/short stories ■ ■■

Creative writing ■ ■ ■

Reading books ■

* Denotes benchmark activity.

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

9

National Endowment for the Arts

esis tests and design effects for the 2002 SPPA. For a

detailed description of CPS survey methodology, please

see the U.S. Census Bureau technical brief at: http://

www.bls.census.gov/cps/tp/tp63.htm.

Comparison with previous SPPA results. The

SPPA surveys conducted in 1982 and 1992, also conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, serve as the

points of comparison for the 2002 SPPA. The 1997

SPPA was a stand-alone telephone survey conducted by

a private research firm. Because it employed a different

sampling plan (random-digit dial telephone survey), its

results are not directly comparable to other SPPAs. The

1997 Summary Report further explains why the 1997

data cannot be compared with earlier surveys conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Changes and additions to 2002 survey questions. The 2002 SPPA adds questions on DVD viewing

and exploring different types of art through the Internet,

activities that have grown in importance since 1992.

Questions about trips taken to attend arts events were

also added in 2002. These new questions are included

in the survey instrument provided in Appendix D.

Tabulations. As with past SPPA reports, the survey

results are for respondents providing an answer for a

question, excluding those refusing to answer a question

or those replying “don’t know.” For most questions, the

percentage excluded was very small, with less than 0.5

percent of survey respondents refusing to answer or

answering “don’t know” to specific questions.

Organization of the Report

The remainder of this report is organized by type of arts

participation, with a special section at the end of the

report providing one-page highlights for each of the

“benchmark” art forms. 

Attendance see Chapter 3

Media participation see Chapter 4

Personal performance 

and creation see Chapter 5

Leisure participation and 

arts preferences see Chapter 6

Geographic differences 

in arts participation see Chapter 7

Chapter 8 presents one-page summaries of SPPA findings for each of the benchmark activities — jazz, classical music, opera, musicals, non-musical plays, ballet

and art museum or gallery attendance.

Each section examines changes from the 1992 SPPA

as well as major differences in participation by age, gender, income, education level and ethnicity or race.
T

he 2002 SPPA examines U.S. adults’

attendance at performing arts events, art

museums and art fairs, and historic sites.

The SPPA also studies reading habits.

Attendance at “benchmark” activities has

been tracked in the SPPA since 1982. 

This section of the report begins by examining the

number of adults attending an art form at least once in

12 months (Figure 1), the percentage of adults attending (Table 6) and number of attendances (Table 7,

which includes one person going to an art form multiple

times). 

Benchmark Activities

Nearly one-third of adults reported going to at least one

jazz, classical music, opera, musical, play or ballet performance during the 12 months ending August 2002, not

including elementary or high school performances.

About one-quarter of adults said they

visited an art museum or art gallery.

Combined, 39 percent of adults

attended these types of events.

Together, these seven events represent

the benchmark activities tracked

since 1982.

The percentage of adults reporting

that they attended at least one of the

benchmark activities has been very

stable over the past 20 years. In 1992,

41 percent of survey respondents said

that they had been to at least one of

these seven types of events, not a statistically significant difference from

the 2002 attendance rate. In 1982, 39

percent of survey respondents reported going to at least one of the benchmark activities.

A stable rate of attendance combined with a growing adult population

means that the number of people

attending benchmark arts activities

has been increasing. In 1992, about

2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

11

National Endowment for the Arts

CHAPTER 3

attendance at arts 

performances and events

01020

Millions of US Adults

30 40

Musical Plays 35.

Non-musical Plays 25.

Classical Music 23.

Jazz 22.

OtherDance 12.

Ballet 8.

O pera 6.

Figure 1. Millions of U.S. Adults Attending a Performing Arts Activity 

at Least Once in the 12-Month Period Ending August 2002

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.

1

“Other dance” refers to dance other than ballet, including modern, folk and tap.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

12

National Endowment for the Arts

76 million adults attended at least one of the benchmark activities. In 2002, about 81 million people went

to at least one benchmark event. 

Performing Arts

The performing arts attendance studied in the 2002

SPPA includes each of the performing arts in the

“benchmark” activities plus dance other than ballet (a

survey question added in 1992). Among these activities, more people went to musicals from September

2001 through August 2002 than any other type of performing arts.1 As shown in Figure 1, about 35 million

adults went to musical plays during this period.

About 25 million adults attended non-musical plays

in 2002, with somewhat smaller numbers attending

classical music and jazz performances. Dance other

than ballet, which includes modern, folk and tap, drew

12 million adult attenders in 2002. 

About 8 million adults went to at least one ballet

Table 6.

U.S. Adults Participating in the Arts at Least 

Once in a 12-Month period: 1982, 1992, 2002

Percent of Adults Millions of Adults

Attending/Visiting/Reading Attending/Visiting/Reading

1982 1992 2002 1982 1992 2002

PERFORMING ARTS

MUSIC

Jazz* 9.6 % 10.6 % 10.8 % 15.7 19.7 22.2

Classical music* 13.0 12.5 11.6 21.3 23.2 23.8

Opera* 3.0 3.3 3.2 4.5 6.1 6.6

PLAYS

Musical plays* 18.6 17.4 17.1 30.5 32.3 35.1

Non-musical plays* 11.9 13.5 12.3 19.5 25.1 25.2

DANCE

Ballet* 4.2 4.7 3.9 6.9 8.7 8.0

Other dance1 NA 7.1 6.3 NA 13.2 12.1

VISUAL ARTS

Art museums/galleries* 22.1 26.7 26.5 36.2 49.6 54.3

Art/craft fairs and festivals 39.0 40.7 33.4 63.9 75.6 68.4

HISTORIC SITES

Parks/historic buildings/neighborhoods 37.0 34.5 31.6 60.6 64.1 64.7

LITERATURE

Plays/poetry/novels/short stories 56.9 54.0 46.7 93.3 100.3 95.3

ANY BENCHMARK ACTIVITY 39.0 41.0 39.4 66.5 76.2 81.2

1 “Other dance” refers to dance other than ballet, including modern, folk and tap. “Other dance” was not included in the 1982 survey.

* Denotes benchmark activity.

Note: Figures may differ slightly from those shown in other reports and notes due to rounding.

Source: 1982, 1992, and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts.

1 Attendance in the 12 months ending August 2002 is often referred to

as “2002 attendance” in this report even though it spans the period from

September 2001 through August 2002. 
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

13

National Endowment for the Arts

performance during this period, slightly more than the

number that went to opera.

Note that these attendance data pertain to the number of people attending at least once, not total attendance at all arts events. Someone going to the symphony three times in a year is only counted once.

Table 6 compares audience size, in millions, for

1982, 1992 and 2002. The table also displays the percentage of adults attending different types of performing

arts activities at least once in the prior 12 months. 

Another way to examine attendance at performing

arts events is by the number of times people attend a

type of performance in a year. As in prior SPPA surveys,

respondents who had attended a particular type of event

in the prior 12 months were asked to estimate the number of times they had attended. Table 7 presents the

average number of attendances for each “attender” (an

individual who went at least once). Multiplying the total

audience for each art form by the average number of

attendances yields an estimate of the total number of

attendances.

Musical plays lead all types of performing arts with

an estimated 79 million attendances in 2002. The 35

million people who went to a musical play at least once

attended an average of 2.3 musicals in 2002, the same

average as found in the 1992 SPPA. 

Classical music had the second-highest number of

attendances among the types of performing arts in 2002

— 72.8 million. The number of attendances per attender averaged 3.1 for classical music, higher than found

in 1992. Number of attendances grew by over 20 percent from 1992 to 2002. 

Table 7.

Average Number of Attendances and Total Number of 

Attendances: 1992 and 2002

1992 2002

Average Total Average Total

number of number of number of number of

Audience in attendances attendances Audience attendances attendances

millions per attender in millions in millions per attender in millions

PERFORMING ARTS

MUSIC

Jazz* 19.7 2.9 57.1 22.2 3.1 68.8

Classical music* 23.2 2.6 60.3 23.8 3.1 72.8

Opera* 6.1 1.7 10.4 6.6 2.0 13.3

PLAYS

Musical plays* 32.3 2.3 74.5 35.1 2.3 79.3

Non-musical plays* 25.1 2.4 60.2 25.2 2.3 58.7

DANCE

Ballet* 8.7 1.7 14.8 8.0 1.7 13.5

Other dance1 13.2 3.0 39.6 12.1 2.0 24.6

VISUAL ARTS

Art museums/galleries* 49.6 3.3 163.7 54.3 3.5 190.6

Art/craft fairs and festivals 75.6 2.7 204.1 68.4 2.4 164.2

HISTORIC SITES

Parks/historic buildings/

neighborhoods 64.1 3.8 243.6 64.7 3.6 231.0

1 “Other dance” refers to dance other than ballet, including modern, folk and tap.

* Denotes benchmark activity.

Source: 1992 and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

14

National Endowment for the Arts

Table 8.

Demographic Distribution of U.S. Adults who attend/Visit/Read 

at Least Once in the 12-Month period ending august 2002

Any U.S. Population Benchmark Classical Non-musical

Millions Percent Activity Jazz Music Opera Musicals Plays

GENDER

Male 98.7 47.9% 44.2% 47.7% 42.7% 42.2% 39.1% 40.1%

Female 107.2 52.1 55.8 52.3 57.3 57.8 60.9 59.9

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

RACE AND ETHNICITY

Hispanic 22.7 11.0 6.5 6.3 5.2 6.1 4.5 5.5

White* 150.1 72.9 80.5 77.0 86.2 86.4 85.4 84.1

African American* 23.7 11.5 8.1 13.5 4.5 3.8 6.9 6.6

Other* 9.5 4.6 4.9 3.1 4.1 3.6 3.2 3.7

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

AGE

18-24 26.8 13.0 11.8 12.7 8.8 8.3 11.3 12.0

25-34 36.9 17.9 18.0 18.0 14.0 17.0 16.2 15.5

35-44 44.2 21.5 23.0 25.8 19.8 18.9 23.9 22.6

45-54 39.0 18.9 22.1 24.4 24.9 24.0 21.4 23.4

55-64 25.9 12.6 13.0 10.3 17.0 16.8 14.5 14.1

65-74 17.6 8.5 7.7 6.1 9.3 10.7 8.3 9.1

75 and over 15.5 7.5 4.4 2.7 6.2 4.4 4.5 3.3

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

EDUCATION

Grade School 11.6 5.6 1.1 0.5 0.7 0.4 0.5 0.5

Some High School 20.1 9.8 3.4 2.4 1.6 2.6 2.4 2.9

High School Graduate 63.8 31.0 19.5 15.2 12.2 8.3 16.5 14.4

Some College 56.9 27.6 31.4 31.5 27.5 24.1 31.3 28.6

College Graduate 36.1 17.5 28.5 31.5 33.1 35.5 30.8 31.9

Graduate School 17.4 8.5 16.2 18.9 24.9 29.1 18.5 21.7

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

INCOME**

Less than $10K 14.4 7.0 4.1 3.6 4.4 3.2 3.4 3.4

$10K to $20K 22.7 11.0 6.8 6.0 5.5 6.4 5.8 5.4

$20K to $30K 25.0 12.1 8.7 7.8 7.2 7.0 6.7 6.6

$30K to $40K 24.2 11.8 11.5 13.1 11.3 10.7 10.2 10.6

$40K to $50K 17.6 8.5 9.4 9.0 10.5 7.1 8.9 9.4

$50K to $75K 34.7 16.9 21.3 19.3 19.7 20.2 23.2 21.2

$75K and over 45.8 22.2 38.2 41.2 41.5 45.3 41.8 43.5

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

* Not including Hispanics

** Distribution by income differs from percentages reported in Research Note #82 as Note #82 includes “unreported income” as a separate category. 

21.5 million adults did not report their income in the August 2002 CPS.

Note: Total may not equal 100.0 percent due to rounding.

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

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National Endowment for the Arts

Survey results suggest that the number of attendances declined for non-musical plays, ballet and other

dance between 1992 and 2002.

The following discussion examines the audience for

different performing arts. Types of performing arts are

presented in order of the number of adults attending at

least once in 2002.

Musical plays. One out of every six adults went to

at least one performance of a musical play in the 12

months ending August 2002. This 17 percent rate of

attendance was unchanged from 1992. The number of

adults attending musicals at least once per year is growing over the past 20 years solely due to increases in the

adult population. 

More women than men attend musicals. As shown

in Table 8, women comprised over 60 percent of people attending musicals in 2002. About one-half of

attenders were college graduates or people with graduate education.2

Table 9 examines attendance rates by specific

demographic group. For example, 38 percent of people

with graduate education attended musicals compared

with 9 percent of adults with no formal education

beyond a high school degree. Table 9 also shows that

attendance for performing arts is much more closely

correlated with education than income. 

The age groups of people most likely to see musical

plays are those 35 to 64 years of age. People 35 to 44

are just as likely to see a musical at least once a year as

adults 55 to 64, and more likely than younger adults or

adults over 65. 

Non-Hispanic whites are most likely to attend a

musical and Hispanics are least likely to go to a musical play. 

Non-musical plays. About one out of every eight

adults went to a non-musical play in 2002. There was

no statistically significant change from the rate of attendance in 1992. The number of people attending nonmusical plays at least once in a year was stable between

1992 and 2002. 

Art Fairs

Art Other Historic and

Ballet Museum Dance Literature Sites Festivals

31.6% 44.5% 38.2% 38.6% 46.4% 38.8%

68.4 55.5 61.8 61.4 53.6 61.2

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

4.6 6.7 9.7 6.2 6.0 6.7

88.2 81.2 79.0 80.3 83.1 83.0

4.5 6.4 7.6 9.1 6.5 6.8

2.7 5.7 3.7 4.3 4.4 3.5

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

8.8 11.6 12.8 11.9 11.7 11.4

16.2 18.1 16.7 18.3 18.9 18.0

27.2 22.2 23.6 21.4 24.3 23.8

25.1 23.5 24.0 20.9 22.8 22.0

10.8 13.2 12.0 13.2 12.6 13.2

7.4 7.6 7.3 8.3 6.6 8.0

4.4 3.8 3.6 5.9 3.1 3.5

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

0.6 1.0 2.0 1.7 1.1 1.4

1.9 2.8 2.7 4.9 3.5 4.1

9.3 16.6 16.5 25.0 19.9 23.9

27.7 30.2 31.8 31.3 32.0 31.7

32.3 30.7 27.3 23.7 28.3 25.8

28.1 18.6 19.7 13.4 15.2 13.1

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

3.0 3.6 3.2 5.3 3.4 4.5

5.8 6.3 7.3 9.8 5.6 7.7

8.1 8.1 8.0 10.8 8.7 9.7

9.1 11.2 12.4 12.2 11.5 12.7

8.8 8.9 8.6 9.7 9.6 9.7

20.4 21.1 22.0 20.8 22.6 22.2

44.8 40.7 38.5 31.6 38.6 33.5

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 2 The profile of performing arts audience from the SPPA will differ from

a snapshot of people attending a typical performance. The SPPA examines characteristics of people attending at least one event in a year. The

profile of people sitting in any one performance is more influenced by

those who regularly attend that type of event. As a result, the SPPA profile of attendance understates the importance of education in predicting

who will attend an art event.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

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National Endowment for the Arts

The demographic profile of people attending nonmusical plays at least once a year is similar to that for

musicals. More women than men attend. People ages

35 to 54 account for nearly one-half of adults attending

at least once a year. As with musicals, Table 8 examines

the demographic distribution of adults attending nonmusical plays.

Rates of attendance by demographic group are

shown in Table 9. For each demographic group, fewer

people attend non-musical plays in a year than go to

Table 9.

Rates at Which U.S. Adults Attend/Visit/Read by Demographic Group, 2002

(Percentage Participating at Least Once in a 12-Month period ending August 2002)

Any

Benchmark Classical Non-musical

Activity Jazz Music Opera Musicals Plays Ballet

ALL ADULTS 39.0% 10.8% 11.6% 3.2% 17.1% 12.3% 3.9%

GENDER

Male 36.4% 10.7% 10.3% 2.8% 14.0% 10.3% 2.5%

Female 42.2 10.8 12.7 3.5 20.0 14.2 5.1

RACE AND ETHNICITY

Hispanic 23.1 6.2 5.5 1.8 6.9 6.2 1.6

White* 43.6 11.4 13.7 3.8 20.1 14.2 4.7

African American* 27.8 12.7 4.5 1.1 10.3 7.1 1.5

Other* 41.8 7.3 10.3 2.5 11.9 10.0 2.3

AGE

18-24 35.9 10.5 7.8 2.0 14.8 11.4 2.6

25-34 39.6 10.8 9.0 3.0 15.4 10.7 3.5

35-44 42.2 13.0 10.7 2.8 19.1 13.0 4.9

45-54 46.0 13.9 15.2 4.0 19.3 15.2 5.1

55-64 40.6 8.8 15.6 4.2 19.7 13.8 3.3

65-74 35.3 7.6 12.5 4.0 16.6 13.0 3.3

75 and over 23.2 3.9 9.5 1.8 10.1 5.4 2.2

EDUCATION

Grade School 7.3 0.9 1.5 0.2 1.6 1.1 0.4

Some High School 13.6 2.7 1.9 0.8 4.1 3.7 0.8

High School Graduate 24.8 5.3 4.5 0.8 9.1 5.7 1.2

Some College 44.8 12.2 11.5 2.8 19.4 12.7 3.9

College Graduate 64.1 19.4 21.9 6.4 30.2 22.5 7.2

Graduate School 75.8 24.0 34.1 10.9 37.6 31.8 12.9

INCOME

Less than $10K 21.2 5.1 6.7 1.3 7.6 5.3 1.5

$10K to $20K 22.2 5.4 5.2 1.6 8.2 5.4 1.9

$20K to $30K 25.9 6.3 6.3 1.6 8.6 6.0 2.4

$30K to $40K 35.3 10.9 10.3 2.6 13.6 10.0 2.8

$40K to $50K 39.6 10.3 12.9 2.4 16.1 12.2 3.6

$50K to $75K 45.5 11.2 12.4 3.4 21.5 14.0 4.3

$75K and over 61.8 18.2 19.9 5.8 29.3 21.8 7.2

* Not including Hispanics.

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

17

National Endowment for the Arts

musicals. Among all age groups, individuals 45 to 

54 years of age are most likely to attend a non-musical

play at least once a year.

Classical music. The SPPA defines “classical

music” as symphony, chamber or choral music performances. Twelve percent of adults went to a classical

music performance in 2002, about the same as attendance for non-musical plays. The total number of adults

attending classical music performances, 24 million,

was relatively unchanged from 1992. There was no statistically significant difference in rates of attendance

between 1992 and 2002. 

Similar to other performing arts studied in the

SPPA, women comprise more of the classical music

audience than men. The core audience for live classical

music is 44 to 54 years of age. 

Over one-third of people with education beyond college went to at least one classical performance in 2002,

compared with 4 percent of adults with a just a high

school education. Unlike other adults, highly educated

individuals were more likely to go to a classical music

performance than to a non-musical play. 

Jazz. About one in every nine adults went to at least

one jazz performance in 2002. The number of adults

attending live jazz has been growing since 1982

because of increases in the adult population. 

The audience for live jazz is split almost evenly

between men and women. About 14 percent of people

going to jazz performances in 2002 were African

American, the highest proportion for any performing

arts in the SPPA. Young adults comprise more of the

jazz audience than found for other performing arts. (As

for other performing arts, Table 8 presents the demographic profile of people who go to jazz performances.)

Turning to rates of attendance (Table 9), African

Americans and non-Hispanic whites are more likely

than other groups to attend at least one jazz performance a year. 

People ages 35 to 54 are more likely to see live jazz

than other age groups. Young adults are more likely to

go to jazz performances than people over 55 years of

age. As with every other type of performing arts, likelihood of attendance increases with education. 

Other dance. The 1992 and 2002 SPPA surveys

asked adults about their attendance at “dance performances other than ballet, such as modern, folk or tap.”

This question is labeled “other dance.” About 12 million adults (6 percent) attended one of these performances in 2002. The number of people attending other

dance performances remained fairly stable from 1992

to 2002. 

Art Fairs

Art Other Historic and

Museum Dance Literature Sites Festivals

26.5% 6.3% 46.7% 31.6% 33.4%

24.6% 5.0% 37.6% 30.5% 27.0%

28.2 7.5 55.1 32.5 39.2

16.1 5.6 26.5 17.2 20.3

29.5 6.9 51.4 36.0 38.0

14.8 4.2 37.1 17.9 19.7

32.7 5.1 43.7 30.4 25.8

23.7 6.2 42.8 28.3 29.2

26.7 5.9 47.7 33.3 33.5

27.4 7.0 46.6 35.8 37.2

32.9 8.0 51.6 38.0 38.8

27.8 6.0 48.9 31.6 35.1

23.4 5.4 45.3 24.2 31.1

13.4 3.0 36.7 12.8 15.7

4.5 2.2 14.0 6.3 8.4

7.7 1.7 23.4 11.4 14.0

14.2 3.4 37.7 20.2 25.7

29.0 7.3 52.9 36.5 38.2

46.6 9.9 63.1 51.2 49.3

58.6 14.8 74.3 56.8 51.9

12.4 2.7 32.1 14.1 19.7

14.0 3.8 37.5 14.9 21.4

16.2 3.8 37.5 20.8 24.5

23.3 6.1 44.1 28.6 33.2

25.3 5.8 47.9 32.7 34.6

30.4 7.5 52.3 39.1 40.3

44.6 10.1 60.8 50.9 46.5
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

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National Endowment for the Arts

Both formal education and income play a large part

in predicting other dance performance attendance.

People with high incomes (over $75,000) and those who

attended graduate school are more likely to attend these

types of dance performances.

Ballet. The total audience for live ballet performances is considerably smaller than other types of performing arts. About 8 million people (4 percent of

adults) went to a ballet performance in 2002. 

Women comprise much more of the ballet audience

than found for other performing arts. In 2002, more than

two-thirds of ballet attenders were female. The ballet

audience also has the smallest representation of racial

and ethnic minorities — in 2002, 88 percent of attenders were non-Hispanic whites. Over 52 percent of the

audience was between the ages of 35 and 54. 

Attendance of ballet performances reached 13 percent for people with a graduate education, the highest

market penetration rate of any demographic segment

studied for ballet. Only one out of every 80 adults with

a high school education went to the ballet in 2002.

Opera. Three percent of adults go to opera at least

once per year, a rate that has been constant since 1992.

Because of growth in the adult population, the total

number of opera-goers increased to about 7 million

people in 2002. 

About 58 percent of the audience for live opera is

female. Two-thirds of the opera audience has at least a

college degree. More than 10 percent of adults with a

graduate education went to the opera at least once in

2002. Fewer than one in one hundred adults with a high

school education went to opera in 2002.

People 45 to 74 are the most likely to attend opera.

One-third of the opera audience is at least 55 years of

age or older, making the opera audience among the oldest of any of the performing arts. 

Visual Arts

The SPPA includes questions concerning visits to art

museums or galleries and attendance at art and craft

festivals or fairs.

Art museums and galleries. About one-quarter of

adults visited an art museum or art gallery in 2002, the

same rate as recorded in 1992. Because of growth in the

adult population, the total number of people going to art

museums or galleries increased from 50 million in 1992

to 54 million in 2002. Table 6 shows these trends.

Among adults going to an art museum or art gallery

at least once in 2002, 55 percent were women. Almost

one-half of art museum and art gallery adult attenders

are between 35 and 54 years of age. As with the performing arts, Table 8 presents the demographic profile

of people going to an art museum or art gallery at least

once in the 12 months ending August 2002.

As shown in Table 9, nearly 60 percent of people

with a graduate education went to an art museum or art

gallery in 2002. Differences in attendance based on

level of education exceed differences between income

groups. 

People ages 45 to 54 are the most likely to go to

these types of institutions. 

The race and ethnic group most likely to go to art

museums or art galleries is “other races/ethnicities,”

defined as non-Hispanics of races other than white and

African American (mostly Asian Americans and Native

Americans). African Americans were the least likely to

go to an art museum or art gallery in 2002. 

Art and craft fairs and festivals. The percentage

of adults going to art and craft fairs or festivals declined

sharply in the 12 months ending August 2002 compared

with 1992. In 1992, about 40 percent of adults went to

at least one arts fair or festival. In 2002, only 33 percent

of adults went to these events. This decrease is statistically significant. The total audience declined from 76

million people (attending at least once) in 1992 to 68

million people in 2002. This decline may be due in part

to changes in event attendance after September 11. 

Whites are much more likely to attend art fairs and

festivals than other ethnicities, and women are more

likely to attend than men. People ages 35 to 54 are the

age group most likely to attend these fairs and festivals.

As income and level of formal education increase, so

does the likelihood of attending art festivals.

Historic Sites

Visits to historic sites dropped from 34 percent of adults

in 1992 to about 32 percent in 2002, the second largest

drop among live events. This decline is statistically significant. Changes in travel behavior after September 11

may have affected attendance at historic sites. Table 6

presents data for rates of attendance at historic sites and

total attendance among U.S. adults.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

19

National Endowment for the Arts

Women and men visit historic sites in relatively

even numbers. Non-Hispanic whites are far more likely to visit historic sites than African Americans or

Hispanics. 

Literature

The SPPA also asks about reading habits. In 2002, 56

percent of respondents indicated they had read a book

during the previous 12 months, about the same as in

1992. However, the percentage of respondents reading

“literature” (defined as plays, poetry or novels) was only

47 percent of adults in 2002. The share of adults reading literature dropped by 7 percentage points from

1992 to 2002, a statistically significant change.

Women read literature in greater numbers than

men. Only respondents without formal education

beyond grade school had a participation rate under 20

percent. Younger adults (under 45) are more likely to

read literature than older adults.

Influence of Education 

on Arts Attendance

More than any other demographic factor, going to arts

events and art museums is highly correlated with an

individual’s educational attainment. Education is much

more predictive of arts attendance than household

income, for example. 

In turn, educational attainment is a proxy for many

other factors including early introduction to the arts

through parents and schools, formal arts training, proximity to arts offerings, and a number of social factors.

Separate monographs using 2002 SPPA data will focus

on education and arts attendance. The Summary Report

only briefly touches on this relationship.

Own education. Figure 2 shows the percentage of

respondents by educational level that attended at least

one benchmark activity in 2002. The proportion of people attending at least one benchmark activity steadily

increases with each additional level of educational

attainment. Adults with a graduate school education are

ten times as likely to go to the arts as someone with a

grade school education. 

Figure 3 illustrates the strength of the relationship

between education and participation for specific art

forms. A ratio comparing the attendance of adults with

a college degree (and beyond) to adults with a high

Figure 2. Percentage of U.S. Adults Attending at Least

One Benchmark Activity by Education, 2002

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.

Figure 3. Rate at Which U.S. Adults With at Least a

College Degree Attend/Visit/Read Compared With

Adults With a High School Degree, 2002

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.

1 “Other dance” refers to dance other than ballet, including modern, folk and tap.

Note: A ratio of “10” means that people with at least a college degree attend at 10 times the

rate of people with just a high school degree. A ratio of “1” means that both groups attend at

equal rates.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

20

National Endowment for the Arts

school degree was computed for each arts event. This

ratio was 9.9 for opera, which means that an adult with

at least a college degree is about 10 times more likely

to attend opera than an adult with only a high school

education. The ratio for literature is only 1.8, which

means that a college graduate is about twice as likely to

read literature as someone with a high school diploma.

Parents’ education. Arts attendance is also highly correlated with the educational attainment of one’s

parents. Among people with parents who have a postgraduate degree, three-quarters attended at least one

benchmark activity in 2002 compared to about 30 percent for people whose parents did not finish high

school. Figure 4 shows these results.

Figure 4. Percentage of U.S. Adults Attending at Least One Benchmark

Activity by Parents’ Education, 2002

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

21

National Endowment for the Arts

T

he 2002 SPPA assessed participation in

the arts through different media such as

television, radio, audio recordings and the

Internet. In 2002, 56 percent of adults

watched, listened or explored the arts

through some form of media. The total arts audience via

media was 114 million adults, led by participation in

music (classical, jazz and opera). However, participation via the media fell sharply from 1992 to 2002. This

section describes each art form’s media participation in

detail, first discussing performing arts and visual arts,

and then literature and use of the Internet.

Performing Arts 

The SPPA asks respondents separate questions for each

form of media: television (including VCR and DVD

viewing), radio, audio recordings and the Internet.

Questions on Internet use are new to the 2002 survey.

In descending order, the most listened to or watched

performing arts are:

• Classical music;

• Jazz;

• Musical plays;

• Dance (including ballet and other dance);

• Non-musical plays; and

• Opera.

Table 10 shows the media audience for each type of

performing arts in millions. The table also shows the

percentage of adults who used media to explore different art forms.

Classical music. Classical music ranks first among the

performing arts for all three traditional types of media

participation. Table 10 examines television viewing

(including VCR and DVD), listening to the radio and

listening to audio recordings for classical music. 

Percentage of adults participating via media. More

people watch or listen to classical music than any other

type of performing arts. About one-quarter of adults

reported listening to classical music on the radio in

2002. About one in five people said that they listened

to classical music recordings and a similar percentage

viewed some type of classical music performance on

television, video or DVD recordings.

Although classical music leads other performing

arts in media use, it also experienced the greatest

declines in media use from 1992 to 2002. The percentage of people viewing classical music on television

declined 8 percentage points, radio listening dropped 7

percentage points and listening to audio recordings fell

by 5 percentage points. All declines in media viewing,

classical music included, are statistically significant.

More women than men listen to or watch classical

music, as shown in Table 11. Nearly one-quarter of

adults who listen to classical music on the radio are

between 45 and 54 years of age.

As with other types of participation in classical

music, highly educated individuals are far more likely

to listen or watch classical music performances via

media (see Table 12). Over one-half of people surveyed

who had a graduate education reported listening to classical music on the radio compared with only 15 percent

of respondents who had completed high school but not

attended college. 

Adults 18 to 24 years old are the age group least

likely to experience classical music via media. African

CHAPTER 4

participation 

via media
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

22

National Endowment for the Arts

Table 10.

U.S. Adults Who Watched or Listened to the Arts on TV, Radio,

Recordings or the Internet in a 12-Month period: 1982, 1992, 2002

Percent of Adults Millions of Adults

Listening or Watching Listening or Watching

1982 1992 2002 1982 1992 2002

PERFORMING ARTS

MUSIC

Jazz

TV/VCR/DVD 18.0% 22.0% 16.4% 29.6 40.9 33.5

Radio 18.0 28.0 23.5 30.4 52.0 48.0

Audio recordings 20.0 21.0 17.2 32.4 39.0 35.2

Classical music

TV/VCR/DVD 25.0 26.0 18.1 40.8 48.3 37.0

Radio 20.0 31.0 23.9 36.0 57.6 48.9

Audio recordings 22.0 24.0 19.3 35.6 44.6 39.5

Opera

TV/VCR/DVD 12.0 12.0 5.8 20.9 22.3 11.9

Radio 7.0 9.0 5.7 11.2 16.7 11.7

Audio recordings 8.0 7.0 5.5 12.5 13.0 11.3

Internet, exploring opera NA NA 1.3 NA NA 2.7

Internet, exploring all types of music NA NA 13.1 NA NA 27.0

PLAYS

Musicals

TV/VCR/DVD 21.0 17.0 11.7 29.8 31.6 24.0

Radio 4.0 4.0 2.4 8.3 7.4 4.9

Audio recordings 8.5 6.0 4.3 13.0 11.1 8.8

Non-musical plays

TV/VCR/DVD 26.0 18.0 9.4 36.5 33.4 19.2

Radio 4.0 3.0 2.1 6.4 5.4 4.3

Internet, exploring all types of theater NA NA 4.1 NA NA 8.4

DANCE

TV/VCR/DVD NA 20.0 12.6 NA 37.2 25.7

Internet, exploring all types of dance NA NA 2.0 NA NA 4.1

VISUAL ARTS

TV/VCR/DVD 23.0 34.0 25.0 43.3 63.2 51.0

Internet, exploring visual arts NA NA 5.9 NA NA 12.1

LITERATURE

Listen to poetry or novels NA 16.6 12.4 NA 30.8 25.5

Internet, exploring novels, 

poetry or plays NA NA 9.2 NA NA 19.0

Note: Not all questions were asked in 1982 and 1992.

Source: 1982, 1992, and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

23

National Endowment for the Arts

Americans have lower rates of media participation for

classical music than other racial/ethnic groups. 

Frequency of viewing. People who watched classical

music programs on TV or video in the 12 months ending August 2002 saw an average of about seven programs during this time period, slightly more than in

1992. However, because of the large decline in number

of adults watching these programs, the total number of

viewings (audience total multiplied by average number

of viewings) declined from 309 million in 1992 to 251

million in 2002. Table 13 examines frequency of viewing for 1992 and 2002.

Jazz.Jazz draws a slightly smaller television, radio and

recording audience than classical music, but leads all

performing arts in total number of viewings.

Percentage of adults participating via media. As with

classical music, the most popular way of accessing jazz

through electronic media is radio. About 24 percent of

adults listened to jazz on the radio in 2002. One in six

adults listened to jazz recordings and an equal number

watched at least one jazz program on television in 2002.

Similar to media participation for all other art forms,

participation in jazz through television, radio or recordings markedly declined from 1992 to 2002. 

Jazz is the one performing art form where men and

women participate equally when watching programs and

listening to radio and recordings, as shown in Table 11. 

African Americans participate in all three media

forms for jazz at higher rates than other groups (see

Table 12).

Most age groups are much more likely to listen to

jazz on the radio than to watch a television program on

jazz or listen to jazz recordings. 

Compared with adults who only have a high school

education, people with a college degree are three times

more likely to listen to jazz recordings and twice as likely to listen to jazz on the radio or watch jazz programs

on television. 

Frequency of viewing. Among people watching performing arts on television or video, the jazz audience

watches the most frequently (seven times in 2002). As

with classical music, the average number of jazz viewings increased from 1992 to 2002. The increase was not

enough to keep the total number of viewings from

declining, however. Table 13 shows these results. 

Musical plays. Media audience size for musicals ranks

behind classical music and jazz, but before dance. As

with other art forms, the number of adults watching

musicals on television, listening on the radio or listening to recordings of musicals declined from 1992 to

2002.

Percentage of adults participating via media.

Approximately 24 million adults, about 12 percent of

the adult population, reported watching at least one

musical on television, VCR or DVD in 2002.

Audiences for radio and recordings are much smaller.

About 2 percent reported listening to a musical on the

radio and 4 percent reported listening to a recording of

a musical. 

More women than men watch musicals and listen to

recordings of musicals, with an audience that is 63 percent female for each type of media.

Education is as influential in predicting who watches or listens to musicals as it is for other art forms. 

Frequency of viewing. The average number of viewings per audience member was about the same in 1992

and 2002. In 2002, the average number of viewings of

musicals was 4.6, very close to the 4.3 average found in

1992. Because the total number of viewing adults

declined, the total number of musical viewings

decreased from 135.9 million in 1992 to 110.2 million

in 2002. Table 13 displays these trends.

Dance. The SPPA question concerning media participation for dance asked respondents if they had watched

dance, such as ballet, modern, folk or tap, on television,

on tape, or on a DVD in the last 12 months. This was

the only media participation question asked for dance.

Percentage of adults participating via media. About

13 percent of respondents reported watching dance on

television in 2002. 

The audience for viewing dance on television is

about two-thirds female. Adults ages 55 to 74 are most

likely to watch, as are those with more education.

However, the influence of education and income on who

watches dance on television is somewhat smaller than

for other art forms.

Frequency of viewing. The average number of viewings of dance decreased from 6.3 average viewings in

1992 to 4.9 viewings in 2002. With both a drop in the

number of viewers and the average viewings per year,
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

24

National Endowment for the Arts

Table 11.

Demographic Distribution of U.S. Adult Participating in the Arts 

Through Media at least Once in the 12-Month period ending august 2002

U.S. Adult Population JAZZ CLASSICAL

Millions Percent Watch TV Radio Recordings Watch TV Radio Recordings 

GENDER

Male 98.7 47.9% 47.8% 48.4% 47.6% 40.8% 43.8% 39.8%

Female 107.2 52.1 52.2 51.6 52.4 59.2 56.2 60.2

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

RACE AND ETHNICITY

Hispanic 22.7 11.0 8.3 6.5 5.8 6.9 7.1 5.2

White* 150.1 72.9 69.3 72.8 73.5 80.9 81.9 84.9

African American* 23.7 11.5 18.1 16.3 15.7 6.5 6.2 5.1

Other* 9.5 4.6 4.3 4.4 5.0 5.7 4.7 4.9

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

AGE

18-24 26.8 13.0 8.4 8.9 9.8 6.4 7.5 9.4

25-34 36.9 17.9 15.0 18.2 18.2 12.3 15.9 16.8

35-44 44.2 21.5 23.1 25.6 26.3 18.8 21.4 21.3

45-54 39.0 18.9 23.8 23.9 24.0 21.8 23.7 22.7

55-64 25.9 12.6 13.0 13.0 12.3 16.6 15.6 15.0

65-74 17.6 8.5 9.7 6.7 5.9 13.3 9.5 9.2

75 and over 15.5 7.5 6.9 3.8 3.4 10.7 6.5 5.5

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

EDUCATION

Grade School 11.6 5.6 1.8 1.1 0.8 2.1 1.5 1.3

Some High School 20.1 9.8 4.8 4.2 3.3 3.9 3.5 2.5

High School Graduate 63.8 31.0 21.3 19.5 17.6 20.6 18.9 15.5

Some College 56.9 27.6 32.2 32.0 31.3 30.3 30.0 30.0

College Graduate 36.1 17.5 25.7 27.8 30.1 25.7 27.8 31.1

Graduate School 17.4 8.5 14.1 15.3 16.8 17.5 18.4 19.6

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

INCOME

Less than $10K 14.4 7.0 6.3 5.5 4.6 5.8 5.0 3.9

$10K to $20K 22.7 11.0 8.8 8.1 7.0 9.3 8.3 7.7

$20K to $30K 25.0 12.1 10.6 9.8 8.2 10.5 9.7 8.6

$30K to $40K 24.2 11.8 12.7 11.8 12.9 11.6 10.8 10.8

$40K to $50K 17.6 8.5 9.2 9.4 9.2 10.2 10.1 9.8

$50K to $75K 34.7 16.9 20.3 20.6 19.6 20.3 22.0 21.1

$75K and over 45.8 22.2 32.2 34.8 38.5 32.1 34.1 38.1

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

* Not including Hispanics.

Note: Totals may not equal 100.0 percent due to rounding.

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

25

National Endowment for the Arts

OPERA MUSICAL PLAY NON-MUSICAL PLAY DANCE ART

Watch TV Radio Recordings Watch TV Radio Recordings Watch TV Radio Watch TV Watch TV

38.2% 44.2% 39.4% 36.9% 46.7% 36.4% 41.0% 50.2% 34.3% 42.2%

61.8 55.8 60.6 63.1 53.3 63.6 59.0 49.8 65.7 57.8

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

10.5 6.9 5.9 6.3 10.8 5.0 9.0 7.6 9.9 7.9

72.7 79.9 83.0 79.0 73.7 84.6 75.0 75.9 76.4 79.5

9.2 7.7 5.2 9.5 6.4 3.6 10.7 12.8 9.1 8.4

7.6 5.5 5.9 5.2 9.1 6.9 5.4 3.7 4.6 4.2

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

6.8 4.6 6.4 8.0 10.1 9.3 9.6 8.2 9.0 10.9

11.7 14.1 14.4 15.0 13.1 13.6 14.0 17.9 14.3 18.2

16.6 16.3 18.2 21.5 22.1 21.8 19.3 23.8 22.1 21.3

18.8 21.4 23.2 21.5 20.4 26.3 19.5 25.2 20.7 21.7

17.8 19.3 18.3 13.2 14.8 15.0 16.4 9.9 15.1 13.7

15.7 14.1 12.1 11.8 11.4 8.8 12.3 9.8 10.3 8.4

12.6 10.2 7.3 9.1 8.1 5.2 8.8 5.2 8.6 5.8

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

3.2 2.0 1.1 1.8 2.6 1.5 2.1 1.8 2.4 1.9

3.1 2.5 1.5 3.8 3.2 1.7 4.5 3.6 4.6 3.6

20.9 14.5 16.2 19.0 16.6 12.8 22.2 14.8 21.8 21.2

29.6 28.7 26.0 32.4 30.5 29.1 29.3 33.0 32.9 32.1

25.2 27.1 29.4 27.1 26.0 32.1 25.3 29.6 24.0 26.3

17.9 25.2 25.8 15.8 21.1 22.8 16.6 17.3 14.3 14.8

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

6.9 5.7 5.0 5.5 7.0 2.9 7.1 8.6 5.8 5.2

10.3 9.4 8.5 8.9 9.0 6.4 11.8 8.1 9.7 8.8

12.0 11.0 7.8 9.9 9.0 6.7 8.8 8.6 12.0 11.1

12.2 10.6 12.3 11.2 11.4 11.6 12.1 11.4 12.5 12.1

9.7 12.2 8.9 10.9 10.1 9.4 8.9 7.7 8.7 9.4

20.5 19.5 22.5 21.3 19.0 20.7 18.3 19.2 20.3 20.9

28.4 31.5 35.1 32.3 34.3 42.3 33.1 36.4 31.0 32.5

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

26

National Endowment for the Arts

Table 12.

Rates at Which U.S. Adults Participate in the Arts Through Media, 2002

(Percentage Participating at Least Once in a 12-Month period ending august 2002)

JAZZ CLASSICAL

Watch TV Radio Recordings Watch TV Radio Recordings 

ALL ADULTS 16.4% 23.5% 17.2% 18.1% 23.9% 19.3%

GENDER

Male 16.4 23.8 17.1 15.4 21.9 16.1

Female 16.4 23.3 17.3 20.6 25.8 22.3

RACE AND ETHNICITY

Hispanic 12.4 14.0 9.1 11.4 15.5 9.0

White* 15.6 23.5 17.4 20.1 26.9 22.5

African American* 25.9 33.4 23.6 10.2 12.9 8.5

Other* 15.2 22.3 18.7 22.1 24.7 20.7

AGE

18-24 10.7 16.1 13.1 8.9 13.8 14.1

25-34 13.8 23.8 17.5 12.4 21.1 18.1

35-44 17.7 28.1 21.1 15.9 23.9 19.3

45-54 20.7 29.6 21.8 20.9 29.9 23.1

55-64 17.0 24.1 16.8 23.8 29.5 22.9

65-74 18.5 18.4 11.8 28.3 26.5 20.8

75 and over 15.1 11.9 7.7 25.8 20.8 14.2

EDUCATION

Grade School 5.2 4.5 2.5 6.7 6.2 4.4

Some High School 8.2 10.3 5.9 7.2 8.6 5.0

High School Graduate 11.2 14.8 9.7 12.0 14.6 9.6

Some College 19.2 27.2 19.5 19.8 25.9 21.0

College Graduate 24.2 37.4 29.7 26.6 38.1 34.5

Graduate School 27.7 42.8 34.4 37.7 52.1 44.9

INCOME

Less than $10K 13.4 16.9 10.4 13.6 15.6 9.9

$10K to $20K 11.8 15.8 9.9 13.7 16.2 12.4

$20K to $30K 12.9 17.3 10.6 14.0 17.3 12.5

$30K to $40K 16.1 21.6 17.4 16.1 19.9 16.4

$40K to $50K 15.9 23.4 16.9 19.4 25.5 20.3

$50K to $75K 17.9 26.2 18.3 19.6 28.3 22.1

$75K and over 21.7 33.8 27.4 23.6 33.5 30.6

* Not including Hispanics.

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.

the total number of viewings dropped from 234 million

in 1992 to 126 million in 2002.

Non-musical plays. Respondents were asked about

two types of media participation for non-musical stage

plays: television viewing and listening to plays on the

radio. The percentage of adults viewing plays on television declined by one-half from 1992 to 2002, the

largest decline of any performing arts media participation. The television audience declined from 33 million

to 19 million adults (people watching at least once during the year).
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

27

National Endowment for the Arts

OPERA MUSICAL PLAY NON-MUSICAL PLAY DANCE ART

Watch TV Radio Recordings Watch TV Radio Recordings Watch TV Radio Watch TV Watch TV

5.8% 5.7% 5.5% 11.7% 2.4% 4.3% 9.4% 2.1% 12.6% 25.0%

4.6 5.3 4.6 9.0 2.3 3.2 8.1 2.2 9.0 22.0

6.8 6.1 6.4 14.2 2.4 5.2 10.7 2.0 15.9 27.6

5.5 3.6 3.0 6.7 2.4 1.9 7.7 1.4 11.3 17.9

5.7 6.2 6.3 12.7 2.4 5.0 9.7 2.2 13.2 27.2

4.6 3.8 2.5 9.7 1.3 1.3 8.8 2.3 10.0 18.2

9.5 6.8 7.1 13.3 4.7 6.4 11.0 1.7 12.6 22.9

3.0 2.0 2.7 7.2 1.9 3.1 7.0 1.3 8.7 21.1

3.7 4.5 4.4 9.8 1.7 3.2 7.3 2.1 10.0 25.3

4.5 4.3 4.7 11.8 2.5 4.4 8.5 2.3 13.0 24.8

5.7 6.4 6.8 13.3 2.6 5.9 9.7 2.8 13.8 28.5

8.1 8.7 8.1 12.3 2.8 5.1 12.3 1.6 15.0 27.2

10.5 9.4 7.9 16.2 3.2 4.4 13.6 2.4 15.1 24.5

9.7 7.7 5.4 14.1 2.6 2.9 11.1 1.4 14.4 19.1

3.3 2.0 1.1 3.8 1.1 1.1 3.5 0.7 5.3 8.5

1.9 1.5 0.8 4.6 0.8 0.8 4.3 0.8 6.0 9.3

3.9 2.7 2.9 7.2 1.3 1.8 6.8 1.0 8.8 17.0

6.2 5.9 5.2 13.8 2.6 4.5 10.0 2.5 15.0 29.1

8.3 8.8 9.3 18.2 3.6 7.9 13.6 3.5 17.3 37.4

12.2 17.1 17.0 22.1 6.0 11.6 18.6 4.2 21.4 44.0

5.0 4.2 3.6 8.3 2.1 1.6 8.6 2.4 9.6 17.3

4.7 4.3 3.9 8.6 1.7 2.3 9.0 1.4 10.0 18.3

5.0 4.6 8.7 1.5 2.2 6.1 1.4 11.2 20.8

5.3 4.6 5.3 10.2 2.0 3.9 8.7 1.9 12.1 23.8

5.7 7.2 5.2 13.5 2.5 4.3 8.8 1.7 11.5 25.1

6.2 5.9 6.7 13.5 2.4 4.8 9.1 2.2 13.7 28.5

6.5 7.2 8.0 15.7 3.3 7.5 12.7 3.2 16.0 33.7

Percentage of adults participating via media. The

percentage of adults watching non-musical plays and

the percentage listening to plays on the radio declined

by one-half and one-third, respectively, from 1992 

to 2002. In 2002, about 9 percent of survey respondents

said that they had watched a non-musical play on 

television and 2 percent reported listening to a 

non-musical play on the radio. Table 10 shows these

trends. 

Frequency of viewing. The average number of viewings of plays declined slightly from eight in 1992 to

seven in 2002. This puts the total number of viewings
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

28

National Endowment for the Arts

for 2002 at 133 million. Table 13 displays all frequency information for television viewing of the arts.

Opera. Opera has the smallest audience for participation via media of any performing arts studied in the

SPPA. Opera also experienced significant declines in

media participation from 1992 to 2002.

Percentage of adults participating via media. Rates

for viewing opera on television, listening to opera on

the radio and listening to opera recordings were similar in 2002, and all declined from 1992. Six percent of

adults reported watching opera on television in 2002,

down from 12 percent in 1992. Similar numbers of

adults report listening to opera on the radio and listening to opera recordings. Each of these participation

rates is equivalent to an audience of between 11 and

12 million adults.

As with other performing arts, women are more likely to watch an opera program, listen to an opera recording, or listen to opera on the radio. 

Those with a graduate school education are more

likely to watch or listen to opera. People over 55 years

of age are about twice as likely to watch or listen to

opera as younger adults.

Frequency of viewing. Opera has the lowest frequency of viewing on television of any type of performing arts

with four average viewings per adult participant.

Although the average number of viewings per year is

unchanged from 1992, the total number of viewings fell

because of a smaller total audience. In 1992, there were

91 million total viewings of opera programs, which

declined to 49 million viewings by 2002.

Visual Arts

Respondents to the 2002 SPPA were also asked if they

had watched a program about artists, art works or art

museums on television, including VCR or DVD programs. Approximately 25 percent of respondents

replied they had watched a visual arts program in 2002.

This audience of 51 million adults is larger than the television audience for classical music and jazz, the two

types of performing arts with the highest media participation.

Percentage of adults participating via media. As

performing arts media participation declined from 1992

to 2002, so too did watching programs on the visual arts.

The percentage of adults watching at least one visual

arts program in a 12 month period declined from 34

percent in 1992 to 25 percent in 2002, as shown in

Table 10. The total audience declined from 63 million

viewers in 1992 to 51 million adults in 2002 (Table 13).

Women comprise 58 percent of the audience for television programs on the visual arts. (Table 11 shows the

demographic composition of this audience.) 

Table 13.

TV/VCR/DVD Viewing Frequency for 1992 and 2002

1992 2002

Viewing Average Total number Viewing Average Total number

audience number of of viewings audience number of of viewings

in millions viewings in millions millions viewings in millions

MUSIC

Jazz 40.9 6.1 249.5 33.5 7.3 245.9

Classical music 48.3 6.4 309.1 37.0 6.8 251.2

Opera 22.3 4.1 91.4 11.9 4.1 48.7

PLAYS

Musical plays 31.6 4.3 135.9 24.0 4.6 110.2

Non-musical plays 33.4 8.0 267.2 19.2 6.9 133.2

DANCE 37.2 6.3 234.4 25.7 4.9 126.2

VISUAL ARTS 63.2 8.9 562.5 51.0 8.6 436.1

Source: 1992 and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

29

National Endowment for the Arts

Likelihood of watching programs on the visual arts

closely correlates with education. As reported in Table

12, 44 percent of people with a graduate education said

they viewed a visual arts program in 2002, but only 17

percent of high school graduates had viewed such a program. Viewing varies little by age group. Hispanics and

African Americans are less likely to view visual arts

programs. 

Frequency of viewing. Adults who saw a program on

the visual arts in 2002 watched an average of nine

times, the highest of any art form. The average number

of viewings of visual arts programs was stable between

1992 and 2002. Total number of viewings dropped from

562 million in 1992 to 436 million in 2002.

Literature

The SPPA asks respondents whether they listened to

poetry, novels or books being read, either live or recorded. In 2002, about 12 percent of adults had listened to

these forms of literature being read within the past 12

months at least once. More had listened to a novel or

book being read (9 percent of adults) than had listened

to poetry being read (6 percent of adults). 

These questions were also asked in 1992. While the

percent listening to poetry declined from 1992’s rate of

9 percent of adults, the rate of listening to novels or

books increased from 1992’s rate of 8 percent. Both

changes are statistically significant. Table 10 portrays

these results.

Women listen to poetry and novels at slightly higher rates than men. For poetry, listeners tend to be in the

youngest age group, 18 to 24 years old, and the middle

age group, 45 to 54 years old. African Americans are

more likely to listen to poetry than other groups.

Listening to novels draws its bigger audiences from

people 35 to 54 years of age. Listening to poetry and

novels is highly correlated with education. 

Internet

In 2002, the SPPA added questions about Internet

habits as related to the arts. Overall, 54 percent of

SPPA respondents, or 109 million adults, use the

Internet. The age profile of Internet users is quite different from most of the arts activities discussed in this

report. The 18- to 24-year-old age group had the highest rate of Internet participation.

Individuals responding “yes” to the question on any

Internet use were then asked a series of questions about

exploring specific types of arts on the Internet. Table 14

ranks arts topics by the percentage of adults who said

they use the Internet to explore the topic. 

Music. More SPPA respondents said that they

explore music on the Internet than any other art form.

Adults exploring music on the Internet are young.

Internet use for music does not vary by education

level. 

Literature. About 9 percent of U.S. adults

explored literature on the Internet in 2002. Adults with

a college degree are about twice as likely to explore literature on the Internet than those with a high school

diploma. Younger adults have higher rates of participation, similar to Internet use in general. There are no differences by income. 

Visual arts. About 6 percent of survey respondents

said that they explored visual arts topics on the Internet.

They were from a broad cross-section of demographic

groups. 

Theater. Four percent of adults explored theater on

the Internet in 2002. In contrast to other art forms,

adults ages 35 to 54 are most likely to explore theater

on the Internet.

Dance. About 2 percent of adults explore dance on

the Internet. Younger audiences are the most likely to

explore dance. Hispanics are more likely to use the

Internet to explore dance than other groups. 

Opera. About 1 percent of adults explore opera on

the Internet based on 2002 SPPA results.

Table 14.

U.S. Adults’ use of the internet

to explore the arts, 2002

Internet Topic Percent Exploring

Music 13.1%

Literature 9.2

Visual arts 5.9

Theater 4.1

Dance 2.0

Opera 1.3

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

31

National Endowment for the Arts

T

he 2002 SPPA researched personal 

participation in the arts through questions

on performing and creating art. This 

section of the report also examines art

education. 

Performing and Creating Art

The SPPA asks adults whether they had personally performed or created different types of performing and

visual arts in the past 12 months. Depending on their

answer, they are then asked whether they had performed or exhibited their work publicly. Each SPPA

survey since 1982 asked personal participation questions, although the 1982 SPPA examined only public

performance. In total, 44 percent of the 2002 survey

respondents said that they had performed or created at

least one of the art forms examined in the survey.

Performing music, plays or dance. The SPPA suggests that 8 percent of American adults performed or

created at least one type of music, plays or dance in

2002. Some of these performances were public, but

most were for personal enjoyment. 

In descending order of participation, the 2002

SPPA examined personal performance in:

• Singing in a chorale, choir, or glee club or other

type of vocal group;

• Doing any dancing other than ballet such as modern, folk or tap; 

• Singing music from a musical play or operetta;

• Performing classical music;

• Acting in a public performance of a non-musical

play (or rehearsing for a performance);

• Performing jazz music;

• Singing music from an opera; and

• Dancing ballet.

Singing in a choir or other vocal group. Among

the performing arts, singing in a choir or other vocal

group draws the most participants, as shown in Figure 5. 

With 9.8 million adults participating, singing in a

choir or other group had double the number of participants of any other type of personal performance other

than dance. However, fewer people sang in a choir in

2002 than in 1992 (see Table 15).

The SPPA question on choir singing only included

those that had sung in a public performance with a

chorale, choir, or glee club or other type of vocal group,

or rehearsed for a public performance. When the other

forms of personal participation in the arts are restricted

to public performance or public display, the number of

persons singing in choirs stands out even more as the

most popular activity (see Table 16). 

Table 15 examines rates of personal participation

for performing arts, visual arts and literature for 1992

and 2002. In 1992, 6.3 percent of adults surveyed said

that they sang in a choir or chorale. The decline to 4.8

percent personal participation in 2002 is statistically

significant. The total number of adults singing in a choir

declined from about 12 million people in 1992 to 9.8

million in 2002. Over 60 percent of people who sing in

choirs or other vocal groups are women. Table 17 analyzes the demographic distribution of adults personally

participating in each art form. 

African Americans are more likely to sing in a choir

or other vocal group than people of other races or 

CHAPTER 5

personal participation 

in the arts
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

32

National Endowment for the Arts

ethnic groups are. For example, African Americans

were 11.5 percent of the adult population in 2002, 

but 22 percent of those who sang in choirs. An estimated 11 percent of the adult population was Hispanic; 

but Hispanics were only 6.6 percent of those singing 

in choirs. 

Performing dance. Dance involves the second

largest number of adults among all the performing arts,

but participation is declining. 

About 4.2 percent of adults, or 9 million people,

personally performed dance other than ballet in 2002,

including modern, folk and tap dance. (The specific

SPPA question is, “Did you do any dancing other than

ballet such as modern, folk, or tap?”) Only 0.6 percent

of those surveyed (six out of every 1,000 people) danced

ballet in 2002. 

Participation in other forms of dance dropped by

about one-half between 1992 and 2002. The number of

people participating in other dance declined from 15

million adults in 1992 to 8.6 million in 2002, the largest

absolute decrease of any of the performing arts. The rate

of adult performance of ballet

showed little change between

1992 and 2002. 

When asked whether they

had danced modern, folk or tap

in a public performance, fewer

than 1 percent of 2002 SPPA

respondents said that they had

done so in the past 12 months.

Only one out of every thousand

people surveyed reported dancing ballet in a public performance in the past 12 months (or

rehearsing for a public performance). Table 16 shows these

results.

Nearly nine out of ten adults

participating in ballet are women,

which drops to six out of ten for

other dance (see Table 17). 

Adults ages 18 to 24 are

much more likely to participate

in ballet and other dance than

older adults (see Table 18). In

fact, 18- to 24-year-olds comprise 41 percent of the

adults participating in ballet. 

Singing music from musical plays. Five million

adults (2.4 percent of all adults) sang music from a musical play or operetta in 2002. The number of adults

singing music from musicals fell between 1992 and

2002.

About six adults out of every 1,000 surveyed in

2002 (0.6 percent) said that they had sung in a public

performance of a musical play or operetta, or rehearsed

for a performance, in the past 12 months.

The share of adults singing songs from musicals was

consistent across age groups. Among all the age categories shown in Table 18, the percentage doing this

ranged between 2.1 percent to 2.7 percent. Men and

women, however, did not report this parity; almost 62

percent of adults singing songs from musicals were

women.

Performing classical music. Personal performance

of classical music is rapidly declining. Fewer adults

Figure 5. Millions of U.S. Adults Personally Performing Art at Least Once in the

12-Month Period Ending August 2002

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

33

National Endowment for the Arts

reported playing classical music in 2002 than in 1992. 

In 1992, 4.2 percent of those surveyed said that they

had played classical music in the past 12 months. By

2002, this rate had dropped to 1.8 percent of respondents. Extrapolating to the adult population, this means

that nearly 8 million adults were performing classical

music in 1992 and fewer than 4 million were performing this type of music in 2002. This was the largest relative decrease of any type of performing arts. 

Public performance of classical music has held

steady at about 1 percent of U.S.

adults since 1992. 

Personal performance of classical

music is highly correlated with educational level, more so than other performing arts. Adults with a college

degree are seven times more likely to

personally perform classical music

compared with high school graduates,

as shown in Figure 6. 

In contrast, highly educated individuals are only three times more likely

to dance ballet than those with a high

school education. People with at least a

college degree are only twice as likely to

sing in a choir or other vocal group as

people whose formal education stopped

with a high school degree. Measured on

this scale, educational differences in

personal performance have grown 

since 1992. 

Level of formal education may be

important in explaining other demographic differences in rates of arts performance. For example, non-Hispanic

whites and people from “other races

and ethnicities” (largely Asian

Americans and Native Americans) are

much more likely to perform classical

music than Hispanics and African

Americans. 

Acting. About 3 million adults acted

in at least one non-musical play in

2002 (about the same number as 

in 1992).

About 1.4 percent of people surveyed in 2002 said

that they acted in a public performance, or rehearsed

for a public performance, in the past 12 months.

Participation in acting has held steady since 1992.

More than personal performance of other types of performing arts, acting cuts across gender, education, race

and ethnicity, and income. Younger adults are more

likely to act in plays than older adults. 

Performing jazz music. Playing jazz music also

Table 15.

U.S. Adults performing or creating 

art at Least Once in a 12-Month period: 

1992 and 2002

Percent of Adults Millions of Adults

Personally Performing Personally Performing

or Creating or Creating

1992 2002 1992 2002

PERFORMING ARTS

MUSIC

Jazz 1.7 % 1.3 % 3.2 2.7

Classical music 4.2 1.8 7.8 3.7

Opera 1.1 0.7 2.0 1.4

Choir/chorale1 6.3 4.8 11.7 9.8

Composing music 2.1 2.3 3.9 4.7

PLAYS

Musical plays 3.8 2.4 7.1 4.9

Non-musical plays 1.6 1.4 3.0 2.9

DANCE

Ballet 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6

Other dance2 8.1 4.2 15.0 8.6

VISUAL ARTS

CREATING ART

Painting/drawing 9.6 8.6 17.8 17.6

Pottery/jewelry 8.4 6.9 15.6 14.1

Weaving/sewing 24.8 16.0 46.1 32.7

Photography 11.6 11.5 21.6 23.5

OWN ORIGINAL ART 22.1 19.3 41.1 39.5

LITERATURE

Plays/poetry/novels/

short stories 7.4 7.0 13.7 14.4

1 Only includes those singing in a public performance or rehearsing for one. 2 “Other dance” refers to dance other than ballet, including modern, folk and tap.

Source: 1992 and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

34

National Endowment for the Arts

involves about 3 million adults, based on 1992 and

2002 SPPA data. 

In 2002, 1.3 percent of people surveyed said that

they had performed or rehearsed jazz music in the last 

12 months. One-half of these participants performed in

public. 

Although participation rates for jazz may be declining, results from the 2002 SPPA are not conclusive ––

the difference between the 1.7 percent participation

rate in 1992 and the 1.3 percent rate in 2002 is not statistically significant.

Performing jazz and composing music are the only

types of personal participation in performing arts in the

SPPA that involve more men than women. Two-thirds of

adults playing jazz music are men. Non-Hispanic

whites and African Americans participate at higher

rates than other adults do. 

Compared to adults with a high school education,

those holding college degrees were more than six times

as likely to perform jazz (see Figure 6).

Singing music from operas. 1.4 million U.S. adults

sing music from operas. 

In the 2002 SPPA, fewer than 1 percent of respondents reported singing music from operas in the past 12

months. Only two out of every 1,000 people surveyed

(0.2 percent) had sung opera music in public.

Both men and women sing music from operas, and

people singing opera can be from any age group.

Because of the small number of people who sing

opera, it is difficult to determine whether participation

rates have changed since 1992 (there was no statistically significant difference in participation rates between

1992 and 2002). 

Composing music. Nearly five million adults composed music in the United States in 2002. 

In both the 1992 and 2002 SPPA surveys, about 2

percent of adults said that they had written or composed

music during the last 12 months. When asked whether

their musical composition was played in a public performance (or rehearsed for public performance), almost

1 percent said “yes.” 

Almost three-quarters of people composing music

are men (Table 17). Many more young adults than older

adults are involved in writing music (almost 6 percent of

people ages 18 to 24 said that they composed music in

2002 as shown in Table 18). People with a college

degree are more likely to write music than people with a

high school degree. 

Creating visual arts. The SPPA tracks four different

categories of creating visual arts. In order of participation, these activities are:

• Weaving, crocheting, quilting, needlepoint and

sewing;

• Making photographs, movies or videotapes as an

artistic activity;

• Painting, drawing, sculpture and printmaking; and

Table 16.

U.S Adults performing in 

Public or Creating Art That 

Was Publicly Displayed in a 

12-Month period: 1992 and 2002

Percent of Adults Publicly 

Performing or Displaying

1992 2002

PERFORMING ARTS

MUSIC

Play jazz 0.7% 0.7%

Play classical music 0.9 0.9

Sing opera 0.2 0.2

Sing musicals 0.7 0.6

Sing chorale 6.3 4.8

Compose music 0.7 0.9

PLAYS

Act 1.6 1.4

DANCE

Ballet 0.0 0.1

Other dance1 1.2 0.7

VISUAL ARTS

Pottery 1.7 1.1

Needlework 2.4 1.3

Photography 1.7 1.7

Painting 2.0 1.6

LITERATURE

Creative writing 0.9 1.0

1 “Other dance” refers to dance other than ballet, including modern,

folk and tap. 

Source: 1992 and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

35

National Endowment for the Arts

• Working with pottery, ceramics, jewelry or doing

leatherwork or metalwork.

Table 15 presents participation trends.

Weaving, crocheting, quilting, needlepoint and sewing.

Weaving, sewing and related activities remained the

most popular among the visual arts activities studied in

the SPPA. Based on the survey results, about 33 million adults participated in weaving, crocheting, quilting, needlepoint or sewing in 2002. However, participation in these activities fell sharply between 1992 and

2002. Only 16 percent of adults were involved in these

activities in 2002, down from about 25 percent in

1992.

The SPPA’s follow-up question to creating visual arts

was whether people had publicly displayed any of their

work. Of the people involved in weaving, crocheting,

quilting, needlepoint and sewing in 2002, about one in

12 had publicly displayed some of their work (about 1

percent of the total adult population). Public display of

work decreased by almost one-half since 1992. 

Sewing activities are almost

exclusively female, and tend to be

more popular with respondents over

age 45. There are no differences

based on income and only slightly

higher participation for those with

more formal education. Whites are

more likely to report sewing activities

than are other races or ethnicities. 

Photography and movies as art.

The percentage of adults making

photographs, movies or videotapes

“as an artistic activity” was stable

from 1992 to 2002. About 24 million

adults participated in these activities

in 2002. Of the 11.5 percent of adults

who had participated in photography

or video as an art form in 2002, one

in seven had publicly displayed their

work, about the same as in 1992.

Adults indicating they photograph

or make movies as art are likely to be

under 45 years old, with high

incomes. About one in five adults

with a graduate degree take part in

artistic photography.

Painting, drawing, sculpture and printmaking. In

the 2002 SPPA, 9 percent of respondents said that 

they were involved in painting, drawing, sculpture or

printmaking in the past 12 months. Participation 

in these activities was about the same as in 1992.

Adults involved in painting, drawing, sculpture 

and printmaking totaled about 18 million people in

2002. 

The relative number of people publicly displaying

their painting, drawing, sculpture or printmaking was

about the same in 1992 and 2002. In 2002, 1.6 percent

of survey respondents said that they participated in

these types of activities in the prior 12 months and had

publicly displayed their work. 

Young adults are the most likely to paint or draw.

Beyond this age-related difference, painting, drawing,

sculpture and printmaking involve people across different demographic groups.

Pottery, ceramics, jewelry, leatherwork and metalwork. The relative number of adults making pottery,

Figure 6. Ratio of Personal Participation of Adults with at Least a College

Degree Compared With Adults with a High School Education, 2002*

* Rate of participation of survey respondents with college and graduate level degrees divided

by the rate of participation of respondents for whom a high school degree was the highest

level of education completed. A “2” means that highly educated adults are twice as likely to

participate as adults with a high school education.

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

36

National Endowment for the Arts

Table 17.

Demographic Distribution of U.S. Adults Personally Participating 

in the Arts at least Once in the 12-Month period ending august 2002

U.S. Adult Population Choir/ Musical Act in

Millions Percent Jazz Classical Opera Chorale Play Plays

GENDER

Male 98.7 47.9% 65.1% 40.0% 37.4% 38.2% 37.6% 44.3% 

Female 107.2 52.1 34.9 60.0 62.6 61.8 62.4 55.7

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

RACE AND ETHNICITY

Hispanic 22.7 11.0 4.6 4.4 6.7 6.6 3.8 10.4

White* 150.1 72.9 83.0 87.1 80.8 68.1 87.4 68.4 

African American* 23.7 11.5 10.8 2.4 6.2 22.0 6.6 17.6 

Other* 9.5 4.6 1.6 6.0 6.4 3.4 2.2 3.6

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

AGE

18-24 26.8 13.0 18.7 17.9 12.6 13.4 14.0 27.4

25-34 36.9 17.9 15.8 14.0 14.6 14.8 15.9 17.5 

35-44 44.2 21.5 24.5 21.3 18.3 21.6 19.4 26.3

45-54 39.0 18.9 28.2 26.5 23.2 20.1 22.0 15.4

55-64 25.9 12.6 7.2 10.6 14.9 14.7 13.9 8.3

65-74 17.6 8.5 3.2 6.7 9.5 9.6 7.7 3.9

75 and over 15.5 7.5 2.5 3.0 6.9 5.8 7.0 1.2

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

EDUCATION

Grade School 11.6 5.6 0.5 0.2 0.9 1.3 0.6 0.1

Some High School 20.1 9.8 1.9 1.5 2.1 5.3 2.1 6.6

High School Graduate 63.8 31.0 10.2 10.4 16.9 22.4 16.7 18.1 

Some College 56.9 27.6 37.3 27.6 31.2 34.7 32.3 35.3

College Graduate 36.1 17.5 30.1 35.0 25.2 23.5 27.1 29.5

Graduate School 17.4 8.5 19.8 25.3 23.7 12.8 21.2 10.3

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

INCOME

Less than $10K 14.4 7.0 3.2 6.2 3.9 5.4 4.2 2.9 

$10K to $20K 22.7 11.0 8.1 5.5 10.3 12.3 6.8 8.4

$20K to $30K 25.0 12.1 6.8 4.0 4.0 11.3 6.7 11.1 

$30K to $40K 24.2 11.8 13.5 16.0 9.0 14.9 13.8 17.5

$40K to $50K 17.6 8.5 10.2 14.9 10.1 10.6 13.3 16.4 

$50K to $75K 34.7 16.9 21.1 25.0 19.8 21.8 20.3 20.7 

$75K and over 45.8 22.2 37.1 31.4 42.9 23.7 35.0 23.1

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Note: Percentages may not equal 100 due to rounding.

* Not including Hispanics.

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

37

National Endowment for the Arts

Other Music Purchased

Ballet Dance Composition Painting Writing Photography Pottery Sewing Own Art Art Recently

14.1% 38.3% 72.9% 35.7% 39.5% 45.0% 34.2% 7.1% 44.7% 45.0%

85.9 61.7 27.1 64.3 60.5 55.0 65.8 92.9 55.3 55.0

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

6.6 11.2 3.0 8.7 6.3 6.5 8.2 8.6 4.0 5.1

76.5 72.7 78.0 79.9 78.2 81.2 80.6 80.3 87.3 85.4

13.1 9.7 14.6 7.4 12.1 7.6 6.9 6.8 5.3 6.4

3.7 6.4 4.4 3.9 3.4 4.7 4.3 4.3 3.4 3.1

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

41.0 19.0 31.8 23.3 23.3 14.6 17.6 8.5 6.4 8.9

12.6 19.4 25.3 21.3 20.2 19.3 20.3 14.6 14.3 19.0

26.4 20.1 21.3 20.1 20.4 26.2 22.9 20.4 23.2 24.5

9.2 19.1 14.8 18.0 18.2 19.9 20.7 22.0 25.4 24.0

6.7 10.4 5.0 9.9 8.9 11.5 10.2 15.1 16.0 14.2

0.4 7.6 1.4 4.7 5.0 6.0 5.7 11.0 8.9 7.2

3.8 4.5 0.3 2.7 3.9 2.5 2.6 8.5 5.8 2.2

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

n/a 0.9 1.5 1.1 0.8 0.8 1.3 4.2 0.8 0.6

5.8 8.2 4.7 5.9 3.9 3.9 5.6 6.8 2.4 1.9

15.2 21.1 19.5 22.6 18.0 21.9 27.6 29.0 16.3 12.9

37.7 37.6 36.8 37.3 35.8 32.3 36.3 31.7 31.1 29.9

21.2 20.5 24.4 22.3 26.2 26.3 20.2 19.0 29.7 31.5

20.3 11.6 13.2 10.8 15.2 14.8 8.9 9.3 19.8 23.2

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

15.7 5.9 9.8 6.5 8.5 4.4 7.3 7.5 2.9 2.3

n/a 9.5 11.4 9.9 9.5 7.4 9.6 13.2 5.8 4.2

19.8 15.0 9.7 11.4 10.6 7.8 10.9 13.2 7.3 6.5

4.8 14.6 15.1 14.4 13.8 11.6 12.8 13.4 11.7 10.5

12.4 9.8 10.1 10.2 9.9 11.3 9.2 10.4 9.3 7.5

14.6 21.1 19.6 18.0 18.4 21.3 21.7 19.4 22.0 22.9

32.7 24.1 24.2 29.6 29.2 36.2 28.5 23.0 41.0 46.0

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

38

National Endowment for the Arts

ceramics or jewelry, or doing any leatherwork or metalwork showed a statistically significant decline between

1992 and 2002. In 2002, 6.9 percent of adults surveyed

had participated in these activities in the past 12

months, down from 8.4 percent in 1992. 

The decline in participation in this form of visual

arts was steepest for people publicly displaying 

their work. In 1992, 1.7 percent of adults had made pottery or other items in this group of visual arts within 

the past 12 months and had publicly displayed it. 

Table 18.

Rates at Which U.S. Adults Personally Participate in the Arts 

by Demographic Group, 2002

(Percentage Participating at Least Once in the 12-month period ending august 2002)

Choir/ Musical Act in

Jazz Classical Opera Chorale Play Plays Ballet 

ALL ADULTS 1.3% 1.8% 0.7% 4.8% 2.4% 1.4% 0.3%

GENDER

Male 1.8 1.5 0.6 3.8 1.8 1.3 0.1

Female 0.9 2.1 0.9 5.7 2.8 1.5 0.6

RACE AND ETHNICITY

Hispanic 0.5 0.7 0.4 2.9 0.8 1.3 0.2

White* 1.5 2.1 0.8 4.5 2.8 1.3 0.4

African American* 1.2 0.4 0.4 9.1 1.4 2.2 0.4

Other* 0.5 2.3 1.0 3.5 1.1 1.1 0.3

AGE

18-24 1.9 2.5 0.7 4.9 2.5 3.0 1.1

25-34 1.2 1.4 0.6 3.9 2.1 1.4 0.2

35-44 1.5 1.8 0.6 4.8 2.1 1.7 0.4

45-54 2.0 2.5 0.9 5.1 2.7 1.1 0.2

55-64 0.8 1.5 0.9 5.6 2.6 0.9 0.2

65-74 0.5 1.4 0.8 5.3 2.1 0.6 0.0

75 and over 0.4 0.7 0.7 3.7 2.2 0.2 0.2

EDUCATION

Grade School 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.1 0.2 0.0 0.0

Some High School 0.3 0.3 0.2 2.6 0.5 1.0 0.2

High School Graduate 0.4 0.6 0.4 3.4 1.3 0.8 0.2

Some College 1.8 1.8 0.8 6.0 2.8 1.8 0.5

College Graduate 2.3 3.6 1.0 6.4 3.7 2.4 0.4

Graduate School 3.1 5.4 2.0 7.3 5.9 1.7 0.8

INCOME

Less than $10K 0.6 1.5 0.4 3.3 1.3 0.5 0.7

$10K to $20K 0.9 0.8 0.6 4.8 1.3 0.9 0.0

$20K to $30K 0.7 0.5 0.2 4.0 1.2 1.1 0.5

$30K to $40K 1.4 1.9 0.5 5.5 2.5 1.9 0.1

$40K to $50K 1.5 2.9 0.8 5.3 3.3 2.4 0.5

$50K to $75K 1.5 2.5 0.8 5.6 2.6 1.5 0.3

$75K and over 2.0 2.4 1.3 4.6 3.4 1.3 0.5

2 “Other dance” refers to dance other than ballet, including modern, folk and tap.

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

39

National Endowment for the Arts

By 2002, this percentage had fallen to 1.1 percent 

of adults (a statistically significant decrease).

Women are more likely to make pottery and other

items than men, and younger age groups are more likely to participate in these activities than older age

groups. There are no income-related differences. Those

with some college education are the most likely to 

make pottery and other items. Whites are slightly more

likely than other ethnicities and races to make these

items.

Other Music Purchased Art

Dance Composition Painting Writing Photography Pottery Sewing Own Art Recently

4.2% 2.3% 8.6% 7.0% 11.5% 6.9% 16.0% 19.3% 29.5%

3.3 3.6 6.4 5.8 10.8 4.9 2.4 18.0 29.7

4.9 1.2 10.6 8.2 12.1 8.7 28.5 20.5 29.3

4.2 0.6 6.8 4.0 6.7 5.1 12.5 7.0 37.5

4.1 2.5 9.4 7.6 12.8 7.6 17.6 23.1 28.9

3.5 3.0 5.6 7.4 7.6 4.1 9.4 8.8 35.9

5.8 2.3 7.4 5.3 11.9 6.5 14.9 14.5 26.3

6.0 5.7 15.4 12.7 12.9 9.3 10.4 9.4 41.0

4.5 3.3 10.2 7.9 12.3 7.8 13.0 15.3 39.1

3.9 2.3 8.1 6.7 14.1 7.4 15.3 20.9 31.2

4.2 1.8 8.2 6.8 12.1 7.5 18.6 25.8 27.9

3.4 0.9 6.7 5.0 10.5 5.6 19.1 24.5 26.1

3.7 0.4 4.8 4.1 8.1 4.6 20.5 20.1 23.7

2.5 0.1 3.1 3.7 3.8 2.4 18.0 14.8 11.4

0.7 0.6 1.7 1.0 1.7 1.6 12.0 2.6 22.8

3.5 1.1 5.2 2.8 4.7 3.9 11.1 4.7 24.1

2.8 1.5 6.3 4.1 8.1 6.1 15.0 10.1 23.2

5.7 3.1 11.6 9.1 13.4 9.0 18.3 21.6 28.3

4.9 3.3 11.0 10.6 17.3 8.0 17.4 32.8 31.4

5.7 3.7 11.0 12.7 20.1 7.3 17.6 45.3 34.4

3.1 3.0 7.3 7.8 6.7 6.6 15.7 7.4 23.4

3.2 2.2 7.1 5.5 7.1 5.5 17.5 9.3 21.6

4.5 1.7 7.4 5.6 6.8 5.7 15.9 10.6 26.5

4.6 2.8 9.7 7.6 10.5 6.9 16.8 17.6 26.9

4.2 2.5 9.4 7.4 13.8 6.8 17.8 19.0 24.1

4.6 2.5 8.4 7.0 13.3 8.1 16.9 23.0 31.0

4.0 2.4 0.6 8.5 17.2 8.1 15.2 32.7 33.6
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

40

National Endowment for the Arts

Owning Art 

The SPPA surveys ask people whether they own any

original pieces of art, such as paintings, drawings,

sculpture, prints or lithographs. In 2002, 19 percent of

adults reported owning original art. This translates into

about 40 million adults owning original art. The proportion of adults owning original art declined slightly

from 1992, when 22 percent said they did (see 

Table 15). 

As in 1992, of the adults who said that they owned

original art in 2002, almost one-third had purchased or

otherwise acquired original art during the past 12

months. About 6 percent of adults said that they had

purchased original art in 2002; 7 percent did in 1992. 

There are dramatic demographic differences between

those reporting they own art and those who do not. About

one-third of respondents in households making more 

than $75,000 per year report owning original art. People

ages 45 to 64 are more likely to own original art than other

age groups.

Literature

When asked whether they did any creative writing such

as stories, poems or plays during the last 12 months

(excluding work or school), 7 percent of adults surveyed

in 2002 said “yes.” This adds up to about 14 million people participating in creative writing in 2002. Participation

in creative writing showed little change from 1992, as

Table 15 examines. 

Those who had been involved in creative writing 

were asked if any of their works had been published.

About one in seven said “yes.” Overall participation in

creative writing where the work is published was about 1

percent of adults in 2002, relatively unchanged over the

past 10 years. 

Younger respondents with more formal education

were the most likely to report writing creative pieces

during the previous 12 months.

Arts Classes

Lifetime participation. The SPPA asks respondents

whether they had ever taken lessons or classes in a number of different art forms. These results pertain to lifetime participation, not what respondents did in 2002. 

In the 2002 SPPA, about one-third of adults said that

they had taken lessons or classes in music (voice training

or playing an instrument) at some point in their lives. Onethird of respondents said that they had taken a music class

at some point in their lives. This percentage drops to about

16 to 18 percent of adults for art appreciation classes,

visual arts classes and music appreciation classes. Fewer

adults had taken classes in creative writing, modern or

other dance, acting or theater, or ballet. Table 19 shows

these results.

Since 1982, the share of adults who have taken arts

classes at any time in their lives has been declining.

Problems with respondents’ recall may partially explain

this decline. People tend to take classes and lessons

Table 19.

U.S. Adults taking an arts 

lesson or class At Any Time in

Their Lives: 1982, 1992, 2002

Lifetime Participation

1982 1992 2002

TYPE OF CLASS/LESSON

Music 47.0% 40.0% 33.9%

Music appreciation 20.0 18.0 16.1

Ballet 7.0 7.0 6.4

Modern/other dance NA 16.0 11.4

Acting/theater 9.0 7.0 7.0

Visual arts 24.0 18.0 16.5

Art appreciation 20.0 23.0 18.3

Creative writing 18.0 16.0 13.1

Source: 1982, 1992, and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts.

Table 20.

U.S. Adults taking an arts 

lesson or class in the 12-month

period ending august 2002

Percent

TYPE OF CLASS/LESSON

Music 1.4

Music appreciation 0.6

Ballet 0.1

Modern/other dance 0.7

Acting/theater 0.5

Visual arts 1.7

Art appreciation 1.0

Creative writing 1.0

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

41

National Endowment for the Arts

when they are young. As the population ages, as it did

in 1992 and 2002, more SPPA respondents may simply

not remember taking art classes, causing the reported

share taking classes at any time to decline.

Participation in past year. The 2002 SPPA asked

respondents who said they had taken a specific type of

class at some point in their lives whether they had taken

that type of class in the past 12 months. 

As shown in Table 20, more adults took a visual arts

or music class in 2002 than other types of lessons and

classes. In 2002, 1.7 percent of adults took a visual arts

class. About 1.4 percent of adults took a music lesson

or class. 

About 1 percent of respondents said that they had

taken a class in art appreciation or art history in 2002.

An equal number of adults took a creative writing class.

Fewer adults took a modern or other type of dance class

(0.7 percent), a music appreciation class (0.6 percent)

or acting or theater class (0.5 percent). Very few survey

respondents said that they had taken a ballet class in

the past 12 months.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

43

National Endowment for the Arts

T

he 2002 SPPA asked two series of questions about preferences for attending different arts events and preferences for

types of music. Survey results for these

questions give further insight into the

level of interest or demand for different art forms. To

understand arts participation in the context of overall

leisure, the 2002 SPPA asked about other leisure activities as well.

Arts Preferences

In order to learn more about their preferences for

attending arts events, respondents were read a list of

activities and asked, “If you could go to any of these

events as often as you wanted, which ones would you

go to more often than you do now?”

Respondents could identify any, all or none of the

arts activities mentioned as activities they would like to

go to more often, or none of them.

Desire to attend more. Visiting an art museum or

gallery was cited by 37 percent of adults as an arts

activity they wanted to go to more often. This was also

the leading response in 1992, as shown in Table 21.

After the list of activities was read and answered,

the respondent was asked which of the events he or she

would like to do most. Again, more respondents

answered they would most like to visit an art museum

than any other arts activity. 

As shown in Table 22, 23 percent of adults

answered that they would most like to visit an art museum, while attending a musical was the next most common response. Jazz was the third most commonly cited

activity. About 12 percent of adults responded there

was “no one thing” they wanted to do most.

Demographic differences. Men chose art museums and jazz performances more often than women as

the event they would most like to attend more often.

Women’s number one choice was attending a musical. 

About 43 percent of African Americans chose

attending a jazz performance more frequently. This is a

significantly higher percentage than the 14 percent of

whites and 15 percent of Hispanics choosing jazz. For

non-African Americans, visiting an art museum was the

number one choice.

People ages 65 and older most frequently chose

musicals as the event they would like to see most, while

CHAPTER 6

ARTS preferences and

leisure participation

Table 21.

U.S. Adults’ Preferences for

Attending Additional Arts

Events: 1982, 1992, 2002

Desire to Attend More

Arts Performances

1982 1992 2002

TYPE OF EVENT

Jazz 18.0% 25.0% 24.3%

Classical music 18.0 25.0 22.7

Opera 7.0 11.0 11.5

Musicals 33.0 36.0 29.8

Plays 25.0 34.0 27.1

Ballet 12.0 18.0 13.8

Other dance NA 24.0 20.4

Art museums 31.0 38.0 37.3

Source: 1982, 1992, and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

44

National Endowment for the Arts

other age groups chose visiting an art museum.

As the level of formal education increases, a higher

percentage of respondents indicate they would prefer 

to see a musical over other art forms. For those with 

a college degree and higher, about 20 percent said 

they would most like to see a musical. This is about

equal to the number of people with a college education

choosing to visit an art museum as their preferred 

activity.

Music Preferences

Since 1982, SPPAs have asked people whether or not

they liked certain types of music and what type of music

was their favorite. Even though the categories of music

have been expanded and refined in the last 20 years,

the types of music that people say they like and that are

chosen as respondents’ favorite style of music have not

changed much.

Music people like. Table 23 presents the percentage of people responding that they liked each specified

type of music. Almost one-half of adults like to listen to

classic rock or oldies. Four in ten people like countrywestern. 

Blues/R&B, mood/easy listening, jazz, classical/

chamber music and hymns/gospel music are each

“liked” by more than one-quarter of U.S. adults. The

2002 SPPA divided the rock music category into

“rock/heavy metal” and “classic rock/oldies.” About

one-quarter of U.S. adults said that they liked

rock/heavy metal. 

As types of music researched in the SPPA have

expanded, the number of adults saying that they liked

any particular form of music has declined. Only the

percentage of respondents reporting they like to listen

to rap music increased from 1992 to 2002 (from 12 to

17 percent). 

Music people like best. After being reminded of

the types of music they said they liked, SPPA respondents were asked which type they liked best (Table 24).

Table 22.

Type of Arts Event U.S. Adults

Would Prefer to Attend Most,

2002

Type of Arts Event Preferred “Most” Percent

Art Museum/Gallery 23%

Musical 18

Jazz 17

No one thing 12

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.

Table 23.

Types of Music liked by U.S.

Adults: 1982, 1992, 2002

Percent of Adult Population 

Liking Each Type of Music

1982 1992 2002

TYPE OF MUSIC

Classic Rock/Oldies NA% NA% 48.3%

Country-Western 58.0 52.0 40.4

Blues/R&B NA 40.0 29.9

Mood/Easy 48.0 49.0 29.1

Jazz 26.0 34.0 27.5

Classical/chamber 28.0 33.0 27.4

Hymns/Gospel 36.0 38.0 27.4

Rock/Heavy Metal NA NA 23.6

Big Band 33.0 35.0 23.4

Bluegrass 25.0 29.0 20.2

Latin/Salsa NA 20.0 20.0

Ethnic/National NA 22.0 17.2

Rap NA 12.0 17.1

Electronic NA NA 16.8

Show tunes/operettas 23.0 28.0 16.7

Reggae NA 19.0 15.7

Folk (Contemporary) 25.0 23.0 14.8

New Age NA 15.0 12.3

Parade/March NA 18.0 11.8

Opera 10.0 12.0 10.2

Choral Glee Club NA 14.0 9.4

Soul 26.0 24.0 NA

Rock 35.0 44.0 NA

Note: “NA” indicates, “Not Asked.”

Source: 1982, 1992, and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts.

Table 24.

type of Music U.S. Adults Liked

Best, 2002

Type of Music Liked Best Percent

Classic Rock/Oldies 16%

Country 15

No one specific type 14

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

45

National Endowment for the Arts

The favorite was classic rock/oldies, selected by 16 percent of survey respondents, followed by country music

(15 percent). For 14 percent of respondents, no one specific type of music was liked best

From Table 25 it is clear that the types of preferred

music picked have remained fairly consistent in the last

twenty years. Although the order changed slightly in

2002 when classic rock/oldies moved into first place,

the same types of music appeared in the top five for

1992 and 2002.

Demographic differences. Demographic differences in preferences for different types of music are as

pronounced as for participation in performing and 

visual arts. 

Women showed more of a preference for mood/easy

listening music and hymns, while

men preferred classic rock and

rock/heavy metal music. 

Whites tend to prefer classic rock

music and country music, while

African Americans more often prefer

hymns, jazz and rap music. Hispanic

respondents said that they preferred

Latin music far more frequently than

other types of music. People of races

and/or ethnicities other than white,

Hispanic or African American (largely Asian

Americans and Native Americans) tend to prefer classical and ethnic music.

Younger respondents (18 to 24 years old) are more

likely to prefer rap, reggae and rock/heavy metal than

other age groups.

Other Leisure Activities

Placing arts attendance in context with participation in

other activities is an important step in interpreting the

changes in arts’ participation levels. Table 26 displays

results from 1982, 1992 and 2002 SPPA questions on

non-arts activities. 

Participation rates. More people go to the movies

than any other leisure activity studied in the SPPA.

About six in ten people went to the movies in 2002, a

rate that has held steady since 1982. Over one-half of

respondents said that they participated in an exercise

program in 2002. Nearly one-half of adults participate

in gardening for pleasure. Attendance at any one of the

benchmark arts events had about the same participation in 2002 as making repairs or improvements to one’s

home or going to an amusement or theme park. Going

to the arts involved more adults than going to sporting

events (not including youth sports).

Fewer respondents said that they played sports, visited amusement parks and gardened in the 2002 SPPA

than in 1992.

The average number of hours that SPPA respondents report watching television has not changed significantly since 1982.

Demographic differences. The demographic

profiles of those participating in these non-arts activities are somewhat similar to those participating in the

arts (See tables 27 and 28). People with higher incomes

Table 25.

U.S. Adults’ Music Preferences: 1982, 1992, 2002

Music Preference Rankings––Top 5 Music Types

1982 1992 2002

1. Country-Western Country-Western Classic Rock/Oldies

2. Mood/Easy Mood/Easy Country-Western

3. Hymns/Gospel Rock Blues/R&B

4. Rock Blues/R&B Mood/Easy

5. Big Band Hymns/Gospel Hymns/Gospel

Source: 1982, 1992, and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts.

Table 26.

Participation in Other Leisure

Activities: 1982, 1992, 2002

Percent of Adults 

Participating

1982 1992 2002

TYPE OF ACTIVITY

Movies 63.0% 59.0% 60.0%

Exercise 51.0 60.0 55.1

Gardening 60.0 55.0 47.3

Home improvements 60.0 48.0 42.4

Amusement parks 49.0 50.0 41.7

Benchmark arts events 39.0 41.0 39.0

Sporting events 48.0 37.0 35.0

Outdoor activities 36.0 34.0 30.9

Active sports 39.0 39.0 30.4

Volunteer/charity 28.0 33.0 29.0

TV hours per day 3.0 3.0 2.9

Source: 1982, 1992, and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

46

National Endowment for the Arts

Table 27.

Demographic Distribution of Adults Participating in Other Leisure

Activities at Least Once in the 12-Month period ending august 2002

Home U.S. Adult Population Sports Amusement Exercise Playing Outdoor Charity Improvement/

Millions Percent Movies Events Park Program Sports Activities Work Repair Gardening

GENDER

Male 98.7 47.9% 47.4% 56.5% 46.4% 47.8% 61.0% 53.2% 42.2% 52.2% 37.6%

Female 107.2 52.1 52.6 43.5 53.6 52.2 39.0 46.8 57.8 47.8 62.4

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

RACE AND ETHNICITY

Hispanic 22.7 11.0 9.6 8.3 10.3 8.0 8.1 5.3 5.8 7.3 8.1

White* 150.1 72.9 76.5 79.9 74.8 78.2 79.1 88.1 81.6 82.0 80.5

African American* 23.7 11.5 9.4 8.9 10.1 9.6 8.7 3.1 9.0 7.1 7.4

Other* 9.5 4.6 4.5 2.9 4.8 4.2 4.1 3.5 3.5 3.7 4.0

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

AGE

18-24 26.8 13.0 17.9 17.1 17.9 14.5 21.1 15.8 11.3 6.5 5.7

25-34 36.9 17.9 22.0 21.4 24.2 19.6 23.4 22.5 16.1 17.4 15.7

35-44 44.2 21.5 24.2 25.7 27.3 23.1 25.7 27.0 24.5 26.7 23.4

45-54 39.0 18.9 19.0 19.4 16.8 20.1 17.8 20.2 21.8 24.5 22.1

55-64 25.9 12.6 9.8 9.2 8.2 11.1 6.6 8.9 12.2 13.3 15.1

65-74 17.6 8.5 4.6 4.8 3.8 7.3 3.9 4.2 8.5 7.8 10.4

75 and over 15.5 7.5 2.4 2.4 1.7 4.3 1.5 1.4 5.5 3.9 7.6

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

EDUCATION

Grade School 11.6 5.6 1.8 1.5 2.3 2.2 1.3 1.1 1.6 2.6 3.9

Some High School 20.1 9.8 6.4 4.9 7.2 5.8 5.5 4.9 4.2 5.7 6.4

High School Graduate 63.8 31.0 26.7 25.0 28.2 25.7 23.1 25.0 21.6 26.0 28.7

Some College 56.9 27.6 31.7 31.5 32.4 31.2 32.0 32.3 31.4 30.3 29.0

College Graduate 36.1 17.5 22.5 25.5 21.0 23.2 26.0 24.4 25.7 23.1 20.7

Graduate School 17.4 8.5 10.9 11.6 8.9 11.9 12.1 12.4 15.5 12.3 11.3

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

INCOME

Less than $10K 14.4 7.0 4.9 3.6 5.5 5.1 3.7 3.7 4.3 3.5 5.2

$10K to $20K 22.7 11.0 8.5 6.9 8.8 9.2 7.3 6.8 7.8 6.7 10.0

$20K to $30K 25.0 12.1 10.7 8.8 11.0 10.9 9.3 9.1 9.5 8.9 11.6

$30K to $40K 24.2 11.8 12.3 10.9 12.0 12.4 11.1 12.3 12.0 12.6 12.7

$40K to $50K 17.6 8.5 9.9 9.3 9.5 9.4 9.0 10.2 9.4 10.2 9.8

$50K to $75K 34.7 16.9 21.4 23.6 22.1 21.1 21.7 22.7 22.4 23.2 21.4

$75K and over 45.8 22.2 32.2 36.9 31.1 31.9 37.9 35.2 34.5 34.9 29.1

Total 205.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

*Not including Hispanics.

Note: Totals may not equal 100.0 percent due to rounding.

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

47

National Endowment for the Arts

and more advanced formal education are also more

likely to participate in non-arts leisure activities.

However, the influence of education on the participation rates of non-arts leisure activities is much smaller

than for the arts. The greatest effects of education

appear to be on the likelihood of volunteering or doing

charity work — college graduates are more than twice

as likely as those with high school degrees to say that

they are involved in these activities. 

Men are more likely than women to attend sporting

Table 28.

percentage of U.S. Adults Who participated at Least Once in the 

12-Month period ending august 2002

Home

Sports Amusement Exercise Playing Outdoor Charity Improvement/

Movies Events Park Program Sports Activities Work Repair Gardening

ALL ADULTS 60.0% 35.0% 41.7% 55.1% 30.4% 30.9% 29.0% 42.4% 47.3%

GENDER

Male 59.5 41.4 40.4 55.0 38.8 34.3 25.6 46.3 37.1

Female 60.5 29.2 42.9 55.1 22.7 27.7 32.1 38.9 56.7

RACE AND ETHNICITY

Hispanic 52.5 26.4 38.9 40.1 22.3 14.9 15.3 28.0 34.8

White* 63.0 38.4 42.8 59.1 33.0 37.3 32.5 47.7 52.3

African American* 49.2 27.0 36.6 46.1 23.1 8.2 22.7 26.3 30.3

Other* 58.1 22.3 43.9 50.4 26.9 23.9 22.5 33.8 41.3

AGE

18-24 82.8 46.0 57.6 61.3 49.4 37.7 25.3 21.1 20.7

25-34 73.3 41.8 56.2 60.2 39.6 38.8 26.0 41.1 41.4

35-44 68.0 42.2 53.3 59.5 36.6 39.0 33.2 53.0 51.

45-54 60.4 35.8 37.1 58.6 28.6 33.0 33.4 54.9 55.4

55-64 46.6 25.5 27.1 48.4 16.0 21.7 28.1 44.8 56.6

65-74 32.2 19.7 18.4 47.0 13.7 14.9 28.8 38.4 57.2

75 and over 19.5 11.1 9.6 31.3 6.0 5.8 21.3 22.1 47.9

EDUCATION

Grade School 19.5 9.4 17.2 21.0 6.9 6.0 8.2 19.5 32.5

Some High School 39.4 17.4 30.6 32.7 17.2 15.7 12.5 24.9 31.2

High School Graduate 51.7 28.3 37.9 45.6 22.6 24.8 20.2 35.6 43.8

Some College 68.7 39.9 48.9 62.3 35.2 36.1 33.1 46.5 49.6

College Graduate 77.1 51.0 50.1 73.2 45.2 43.0 42.6 56.0 56.1

Graduate School 77.5 48.3 44.0 77.3 43.6 45.3 53.1 61.6 63.3

INCOME

Less than $10K 38.7 16.5 30.4 36.5 15.0 15.2 16.2 19.7 32.2

$10K to $20K 41.8 20.1 30.7 42.0 18.5 17.4 18.8 23.5 38.8

$20K to $30K 48.3 23.0 34.7 45.2 21.4 21.2 20.7 28.4 40.9

$30K to $40K 57.5 30.0 39.3 53.3 26.6 29.8 27.4 42.0 46.6

$40K to $50K 63.1 34.8 42.6 55.0 29.3 33.7 29.1 46.0 49.1

$50K to $75K 69.3 44.8 50.2 63.0 36.0 38.2 35.3 53.6 54.4

$75K and over 79.4 53.3 54.0 72.5 48.0 45.3 41.5 61.2 56.3

*Not including Hispanics.

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

48

National Endowment for the Arts

events, play sports, participate in outdoor activities and

do home improvement or repair projects. Women are

more likely to garden and do charity work.

Non-Hispanic whites are generally more likely to

participate in all leisure activities surveyed than other

ethnicities or races. African Americans have a particularly low rate of participating in outdoor activities (e.g.,

camping and hiking) compared with other ethnicities

and races.

Younger respondents are more likely to go to the

movies, sporting events and amusement parks than

older respondents. Young adults are more likely to play

sports. Older respondents are more likely to garden.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

49

National Endowment for the Arts

Arts attendance and media participation

vary by region of the United States. The

following results tabulate attendance by

home address of the respondent.

Therefore, if a resident from Colorado

attended the ballet in New York City, that attendance is

counted in the Mountain Region. Only 2002 results are

analyzed, as the 1992 SPPA did not detail geographic

results and data in the 1997 SPPA are not directly comparable to the 2002 survey.

Attendance

Residents of some regions of the United States are more

likely to go to arts activities than found for the country

as a whole. 

Residents of the Mountain and Pacific regions had

the highest reported attendance rate for “benchmark”

arts activities. About 47 percent of Mountain Region

residents and 45 percent of Pacific Region residents

reporting that they went to a jazz, classical music,

opera, musical or non-musical play, ballet, or art museum between September 2001 and August 2002. Arts

attendance of residents of the East South Central and

the West South Central regions lagged other parts of the

country. 

Table 29 shows attendance at benchmark activities

by region. It also presents reported attendance rates for

each art form studied in the SPPA.

Figure 7 shows the United States broken into

regions, including how those regions rate in attending

specific arts events. 

The following discussion examines each region in

order of reported benchmark attendance. Note that, in

most cases, there is not a statistically significant difference in attendance rates between the “first place”

region and “second” or “third place” region. 

Mountain Region. The Mountain Region is comprised of Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming,

Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. For the specific

types of art attendance, the Mountain Region ranked

first in the percentage of adults reporting that they:

• Attend jazz performances;

• Attend classical music performances;

• Attend opera performances;

• Attend other dance performances (not including

ballet);

• Visit art museums or galleries; 

• Visit historic sites; and 

• Read literature.

Pacific Region. The Pacific Region includes

California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii.

Residents of this region had the highest rates of attending art festivals and fairs. They had the second highest

rate of attending benchmark arts activities. 

New England. New England residents (Maine, New

Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and

Connecticut) had the highest rate of attending nonmusical plays and ballet. 

Middle Atlantic Region. The Middle Atlantic

Region, including New York, New Jersey and

Pennsylvania, ranked first in attendance of musical

plays and second for non-musical plays. Residents of

CHAPTER 7

regional differences 

in arts participation
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

50

National Endowment for the Arts

the region were fourth in attending benchmark arts

activities. 

West North Central Region. Seven Midwestern and

Great Plains states comprise the West North Central

Region (North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa,

Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri). Residents of this

region had relatively high rates of attending art and craft

fairs and festivals and historic sites. West North Central

residents reported the lowest rate of attending ballet. 

East North Central Region. Residents of the

Midwestern states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana,

Michigan and Ohio reported attendance of arts activities very close to national averages. Opera was an

exception, with residents reporting the lowest rates of

opera attendance of any region except for the East

South Central region.

South Atlantic Region. The South Atlantic Region

encompasses each state from Maryland to Florida,

including Delaware and West Virginia. South Atlantic

residents attend arts activities at lower rates than the

rest of the country. 

Table 29.

Percentage of U.S. Adults Participating in the Arts at Least Once in

the 12-Month period ending August 2002 by Region

East East West West

All New Middle South South North South North

Adults England Atlantic Atlantic Central Central Central Central Mountain Pacific

PERFORMING ARTS

MUSIC

Jazz* 10.8% 11.4% 11.1% 10.3% 8.3% 10.4% 9.0% 9.9% 13.2% 12.7%

Classical music* 11.6 14.9 10.6 9.7 11.1 12.2 9.5 10.4 16.0 13.1

Opera* 3.2 3.8 4.2 3.1 1.4 1.8 2.0 2.3 6.1 4.1

PLAYS

Musical plays* 17.1 19.0 22.0 15.0 14.3 18.0 12.3 18.3 19.5 16.8

Non-musical plays* 12.3 15.7 13.9 10.2 8.8 13.5 9.5 12.6 13.6 13.9

DANCE

Ballet* 3.9 5.1 4.0 3.8 4.7 3.4 3.0 1.8 4.9 4.6

Other dance1 6.3 7.2 5.3 5.7 5.5 6.6 4.1 6.2 9.4 8.1

VISUAL ARTS

Art museums/galleries* 26.5 30.6 26.8 23.9 19.7 24.2 22.5 27.8 33.7 32.1

Art/craft fairs and festivals 33.4 34.5 33.2 30.1 27.9 36.1 28.1 36.4 36.4 37.4

HISTORIC SITES

Parks/historic buildings/

neighborhoods 31.6 34.2 33.9 28.2 29.8 29.4 26.6 35.1 36.5 35.3

LITERATURE

Plays/poetry/novels/

short stories 46.7 50.0 49.7 43.3 40.9 45.5 40.9 49.9 53.4 50.4

ANY BENCHMARK 

ACTIVITY 39.4 42.7 41.9 35.8 30.4 39.3 33.0 40.4 46.8 45.0

* Denotes “benchmark” art activity. 1 “Other dance” refers to dance other than ballet, including modern, folk and tap. 

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

51

National Endowment for the Arts

West South Central Region. Residents from two

regions in the South — the West South Central and East

South Central regions — attended arts events in lower

numbers than residents in other regions of the United

States. The West South Central Region includes Texas,

Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Residents of this

region reported the lowest rates of attendance for 

classical music, musical plays and other dance. They

were the least likely to go to a historic site or to read 

literature. 

East South Central Region. Kentucky, Tennessee,

Alabama and Mississippi are the states in the East

South Central Region. About 30 percent of adults in

this region attended one or more benchmark arts activities in 2002 compared with a national average of 39

percent. The East South Central had the lowest reported attendance of jazz, opera, non-musical plays, art

museums and art festivals. 

Media Participation

Residents of the Pacific Region have the highest rates

of media participation in the arts for nearly all forms of

art studied in the SPPA. For example, residents of

Pacific states are more likely to listen to jazz or opera on

the radio or watch musicals on television than other

parts of the country. Residents of Mountain states and

New England are also more likely to watch or listen to

different types of performing arts than other parts of the

country. 

Residents of the East South Central and West South

Central regions reported relatively low rates of media

participation for most art forms. 

Table 30 provides detail for media participation for

all regions.

Trips Taken for Art

In 2002, a question new to the SPPA asked if the

respondent had taken a trip that included attending a

Figure 7. Key Findings for Study Area Regions, 2002

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

52

National Endowment for the Arts

Table 30.

percentage of U.S. Adults Who Watched or Listened to the Arts 

in the 12-Month period ending august 2002 by region

East East West West

All New Middle South South North South North

Adults England Atlantic Atlantic Central Central Central Central Mountain Pacific

PERFORMING ARTS

MUSIC

Jazz

TV/VCR/DVD 16.4% 18.6% 16.1% 16.5% 15.3% 15.8% 14.1% 12.1% 17.3% 20.1%

Radio 23.5 23.9 22.2 22.6 18.4 23.4 20.0 22.2 27.4 29.0

Audio recordings 17.2 18.9 16.6 17.4 13.3 16.3 14.1 14.6 20.3 21.4

Classical music

TV/VCR/DVD 18.1 20.2 21.7 15.9 15.2 18.3 13.5 16.3 19.4 21.1

Radio 23.9 29.0 25.8 20.0 17.1 22.7 22.0 24.8 29.7 27.8

Audio recordings 19.3 22.1 22.5 15.9 13.5 18.2 15.7 18.7 25.5 23.3

Opera

TV/VCR/DVD 5.8 5.9 6.8 4.9 3.7 5.5 5.4 4.0 5.9 7.8

Radio 5.7 7.0 7.0 4.6 4.2 5.3 5.2 4.0 5.2 7.8

Audio recordings 5.5 6.5 6.1 4.1 5.1 5.3 3.5 4.8 7.2 7.8

Internet, exploring opera 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.5 0.3 0.8 1.9 1.1 2.1 1.4

Internet, exploring all 

types of music 13.1 15.9 13.1 12.2 10.5 11.9 13.0 14.4 15.0 14.2

PLAYS

Musicals

TV/VCR/DVD 11.7 11.3 13.2 9.7 10.2 12.7 8.9 11.6 13.6 13.7

Radio 2.4 2.5 3.1 1.6 1.6 2.7 2.0 1.3 2.3 3.4

Audio recordings 4.3 4.7 6.5 2.9 2.7 4.4 2.3 4.2 5.2 5.2

Non-musical plays

TV/VCR/DVD 9.4 10.7 12.1 9.1 6.3 9.3 7.3 7.8 9.1 10.7

Radio 2.1 2.5 1.8 1.5 2.1 2.1 1.8 1.9 1.9 3.1

Internet, exploring all 

types of theater 4.1 6.3 4.6 3.8 2.5 3.5 4.0 2.8 4.7 4.8

DANCE, INCLUDING BALLET

TV/VCR/DVD 12.6 12.1 13.2 10.9 10.2 13.3 10.6 11.3 13.8 15.9

Internet, exploring dance 2.0 2.9 1.8 2.1 0.8 1.4 2.4 2.1 2.9 2.2

VISUAL ARTS

TV/VCR/DVD 25.0 23.4 23.8 22.4 22.7 23.1 23.6 25.3 30.1 30.9

Internet, exploring 

visual arts 5.9 6.7 5.2 5.9 4.1 5.2 6.0 5.8 8.1 6.5

LITERATURE

Listen to poetry or novels 12.4 12.2 12.5 11.3 9.1 12.7 10.0 12.0 16.5 14.8

Internet, exploring novels, 

poetry or plays 9.2 9.8 8.6 8.5 8.2 9.5 9.5 8.6 10.9 9.9

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

53

National Endowment for the Arts

performing arts event or visiting an art museum.

Although it is not known if the respondent traveled out

of their home state, these responses may provide insight

into the prevalence of traveling to attend an art event.

Only people who went to at least one arts event are

included in the data. 

Among the people who attended an arts event in

2002:

• 57 percent took a trip where they attended a performing arts event or visited an art museum;

• 47 percent took a trip more than one hour from

home where they went to an event or an art museum;

• 43 percent took a trip of more than 50 miles from

home where they went to an arts event or an art

museum; and

• 37 percent of arts attenders took an overnight trip

where they attended an arts event or went to an art

museum.

Table 31 displays the results of all respondents.

Arts attenders from the East North Central Region

are the least likely to travel to view an arts performance

or museum. Only 51 percent of respondents who had

attended a performance or visited an art museum took

a trip that included the arts. 

People from New England who go to the arts are the

most likely to take a trip that includes the arts. Among

arts attenders in New England, 63 percent took at least

one trip including the arts in the twelve months ending

August 2002.

Table 31.

Trips to Performing Arts Events Among 

Arts Attenders,* 2002

Trips More Trips 50+ 

Than One Hour Miles Overnight

Number of Trips Any Trip From Home From Home Trips

None 43.3 % 52.6 % 57.4 % 62.8 %

1-2 37.4 34.8 31.9 28.3

3+ 19.3 12.6 10.7 8.8

Total 100.0 % 100.0 % 100.0 % 100.0 %

*People who attended at least one arts event.

Source: 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

55

National Endowment for the Arts

Art Museums and Galleries

Art museums and galleries are attended by more adults

than any benchmark arts activity. The percentage of

people reporting that they would like to visit art museums more is also the highest of any art form. Attendance

rates for art museums or galleries remained steady

between 1992 and 2002. Watching programs on artists

declined significantly between 1992 and 2002.

Women are slightly more likely to visit art museums

and galleries, as are people ages 45 to 54. 

Worthwhile Facts

• More than half of U.S. adults with a graduate level

degree visited an art museum or art gallery in 2002.

This is unique among benchmark arts participation

— more people in this demographic group visited

than did not visit in 2002.

• Art museum attendance rates jumped from 30 percent for adults in households making $50K to $75K

to 45 percent for adults in households earning more

than $75K. 

• One-third of adults 45 to 54 visited an art museum

or gallery in 2002. Attendance drops sharply for

adults older than 75 years.

• Survey respondents selecting “other race,” which

includes Asians and Native Americans, are the most

likely to have visited an art museum. Non-Hispanic

whites are second.

• Crossover of art museum attendance and attendance

at other art activities is extremely high. At least 50

percent of attenders at jazz, classical music, opera,

ballet, other dance, art festivals and historic sites

also visited an art museum in 2002.

• Approximately 71 percent of adults who purchased

original art within the last year also visited an art

museum or gallery in 2002.

• Residents of the Mountain Region are most likely to

go to art museums and galleries.

Ballet and Dance

About 8 million adults (4 percent) went to ballet performances in 2002. Ballet attendance rates have

remained steady since 1982. Attendance is second lowest among benchmark activities, exceeding only opera.

Watching ballet on television, video or DVD declined

from 1992 to 2002. 

Women are more likely to attend, watch or perform

ballet. Additionally, education is an important predictor

of ballet participation.

Worthwhile Facts

• Adults ages 35 to 54 are the most likely to attend a

ballet performance; young adults perform ballet at

much higher rates than other age groups.

• Opera has the most crossover with ballet. People

CHAPTER 8

summary results for

benchmark activities

Table 32.

key facts for Art Museums 

and Galleries

Percent of U.S. Adults

1982 1992 2002

Visit a museum or gallery 22% 27% 27%

Watch on TV, Video or DVD 23 34 25

Like to go to more often 31 38 37

More than one-quarter of adults went to art museums

or art galleries in 2002.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

56

National Endowment for the Arts

attending “other dance,” including modern, folk and

tap, are also more likely to attend ballet.

• The highest ballet crossover from non-arts leisure

activities comes from people who volunteer.

Approximately 8 percent of volunteers attended a

ballet performance in 2002.

• Nearly half of those performing ballet also attended

a ballet performance in 2002. 

• Women are more than 12 times more likely than

men to have taken a ballet class at some point in

their lives.

• Young adults explore dance (including ballet as well

as other types of dance) on the Internet more often

than other age groups.

• New England residents are most likely to have gone

to the ballet in 2002.

Classical Music

The percentage of adults attending a classical music

performance remained at about 12 to 13 percent of the

adult population from 1982 to 2002. People watching

performances via television, video or DVD dropped significantly between 1992 and 2002. The share of adults

listening on the radio and to classical music recordings

also dropped between 1992 and 2002, as did the percentage of adults responding that they like classical

music. 

As with other forms of art, education is an important

factor in describing the classical music audience. The

attendance rate for adults with a high school degree is

around 5 percent, regardless of income, while about 25

percent of adults with at least a college degree attended

a performance in 2002. College graduates are three

times more likely than high school graduates to listen to

classical music on the radio.

Worthwhile Facts

• Women are more likely to watch classical music performances on TV, VCR or DVD, as well as more

likely to listen to classical music on the radio and

via recordings. Women are slightly more likely to

attend performances.

• While 45- to 64-year-olds are the most likely to

attend performances, older adults are more likely to

watch via television, VCR and DVD.

• Adults attending a ballet or opera performance are

much more likely to attend a classical music performance.

• Nearly one in every four people who volunteer in

their free time attended a classical music performance in 2002.

• Almost 30 percent of those who have taken a music

appreciation class in their lifetime attended a classical music performance in 2002. About 20 percent

of those taking music lessons to play an instrument

attended a 2002 performance.

• Though women perform classical music at slightly

higher rates than men, men perform more in public.

• Mountain Region residents are most likely to attend

a classical music performance.

Jazz

One-quarter of adults listen to jazz on the radio, about

twice the number that go to jazz performances. All forms

of media participation in jazz declined between 1992

and 2002. A small number of adults report that they perform jazz. 

The live audience for jazz performances is balanced

Table 33.

key facts for Ballet and Dance

Percent of U.S. Adults

1982 1992 2002

Attend a performance (ballet) 4% 5% 4%

Watch on TV, Video or DVD* –– 20 13

Like to go to more often (ballet) 12 18 14

*All types of dance.

Four percent of adults went to a ballet performance 

in 2002.

Table 34.

key facts for classical music

Percent of U.S. Adults

1982 1992 2002

Attend a performance 13% 13% 12%

Watch on TV, Video or DVD 25 26 18

Listen to on the radio 20 31 24

Listen to recordings 22 24 19

Perform –– 4 2

Like to listen to classical music 28 33 27

Like to go to more often 18 25 23

About one-quarter of adults listen to classical music on

the radio.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

57

National Endowment for the Arts

between men and women, but more women than men

listen to jazz or watch jazz on television. Unlike other

types of performing arts studied in the SPPA, a higher

percentage of African Americans attend jazz performances than any other racial or ethnic group.

Worthwhile Facts

• Adults ages 25 to 54 are more likely to go to jazz

performances than older people.

• Compared with people with only a high school

degree, college graduates are more than twice as

likely to attend a jazz performance and three times

as likely to perform jazz. However, college graduates

are only slightly more likely to watch jazz on television or prefer jazz music.

• People who go to opera or ballet often go to jazz performances. More than four in ten adults who said

they attended an opera or ballet performance in the

past twelve months also went to a jazz performance.

There is also high crossover with classical music

performances.

• Writers are also jazz participants. Over one-quarter

of people who say they have written poems, novels

or plays in the last twelve months also attended a

jazz performance in the past year.

• People who attend sporting events are more likely

than others to go to jazz performances.

• Although low-income men do not attend, watch or

listen to jazz as much as higher income men, they

have relatively high participation in performing jazz. 

• Two-thirds of people who go to jazz performances

listen to jazz on the radio.

• Residents of Mountain and Pacific states are most

likely to go to jazz performances. 

Musical Plays

In 2002, more people reported attending a musical play

than any other type of performing arts. Attendance rates

for musicals were stable from 1982 to 2002, but media

participation declined since 1992. The percentage

reporting they like to listen to show tunes or operettas

also decreased from 1992 to 2002. 

As with other art forms, highly educated adults are

much more likely to attend musicals. 

Worthwhile Facts

• The audience for musicals is more than 60 percent

female. The only other performing art with a more

female-dominated audience is ballet (68 percent

female).

• There is a large jump in all forms of participation in

musicals for individuals with more formal education.

• Non-Hispanic whites attend musicals at a much

higher rate than other ethnicities or races.

• There is very high crossover for attenders of ballet

and opera with musicals. Over 60 percent of opera

attenders also attended a musical in 2002. 

• About 44 percent of those viewing a musical on television also attended a performance of a musical.

This is the highest watching/attending crossover of

any of the performing arts.

• Residents of the Middle Atlantic Region, which

includes New York City, are the most likely to go to

a musical. 

Table 35.

key facts for jazz

Percent of U.S. Adults

1982 1992 2002

Attend a performance 10% 11% 11%

Watch on TV, Video or DVD 18 22 16

Listen to on the radio 18 28 24

Listen to recordings 20 21 17

Perform –– 2 1

Like to listen to jazz music 26 34 28

Like to go to more often 18 25 24

About one-quarter of adults listen to jazz on the radio.

Table 36.

key facts for musicals

Percent of U.S. Adults

1982 1992 2002

Attend a performance 19% 17% 17%

Watch on TV, Video or DVD 21 17 12

Listen to on the radio 4 4 2

Listen to recordings 9 6 4

Perform –– 4 2

Like to listen to 

show tunes/operettas 23 28 17

Like to go to more often 33 36 30

One in six adults saw a musical in 2002.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

58

National Endowment for the Arts

Non-Musical Plays

Attendance at plays has ranged from 12 to 14 percent

of the adult population since 1982. The percentage of

adults viewing plays on television, VCR or DVD

declined from 26 to 9 percent of the population between

1982 and 2002. Nearly 4 percent of adults reported that

they read a play in 2002.

People with more formal education, and with higher

incomes, are more likely to attend non-musical plays. 

Worthwhile Facts

• About 27 percent of adults report they would like to

attend a play more often, the second highest rate of

any of the benchmark performing arts (behind musicals at 30 percent). 

• Over 30 percent of writers also attended a play in

2002.

• About one in every four people who volunteer in

their leisure time attended a play in 2002.

• More people attend non-musical plays than watch

them at home. Among performing arts, this is true

only for plays and musicals. The reverse is true for

other benchmark performing arts.

• Adults who are 45 to 54 years old are the most likely to attend a play. As with other arts, the prime

audience for watching plays at home is older (65 to

74 years old). 

• New England residents attend plays more frequently than adults in other regions.

Opera

Opera attendance has remained steady at about 3 percent of the adult population since 1982. Participation

through the media has dropped. People reporting

watching opera on television dropped from 12 to 6 percent of the adult population from 1992 to 2002. The

number of adults listening on the radio also dropped

since 1992. 

The relationship between formal education and participation is more pronounced for opera than for other art

forms. One percent of adults without any college education attended opera in 2002, while 11 percent of adults

with advance degrees said that they attended an opera. 

Worthwhile Facts

• Compared with other art forms, relatively more people attending, listening or watching opera are 65 to

74 years old.

• Participation in all opera activities is more common

among non-Hispanic whites than among Hispanics

and African Americans.

• People with advanced degrees are much more likely to participate in opera than people with college

degrees.

• Those who attend ballet performances have high

crossover with those attending opera. Crossover is

also high for attenders of classical music performances.

• A greater share of Mountain Region residents report

going to opera than any other region.

Table 37.

key facts for PLAYS

Percent of U.S. Adults

1982 1992 2002

Attend a performance 12% 14% 12%

Watch on TV, Video or DVD 26 18 9

Listen to on the radio 4 3 2

Perform –– 2 1

Like to read plays –– –– 4

Like to go to more often 25 34 27

About 12 percent of adults attended a non-musical

play in 2002.

Table 38.

key facts for opera

Percent of U.S. Adults

1982 1992 2002

Attend a performance 3% 3% 3%

Watch on TV, Video or DVD 12 12 6

Listen to on the radio 7 9 6

Listen to recordings 876

Perform –– 1 1

Like to listen to opera 10 12 10

Like to go to more often 7 11 12

Opera has the lowest rate of attendance among the

benchmark arts activities.
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

59

National Endowment for the Arts

I

n 1982, the National Endowment for the Arts

(NEA) initiated the Survey of Public

Participation in the Arts (SPPA) to examine the

public’s involvement in a variety of arts and art

forms. The survey examines general participation in the performing arts, visual arts, historic site visits, music and literature. 

1982 and 1985 Surveys of Public

Participation in the Arts

The U.S. Census Bureau administered the first SPPA

in conjunction with the 1982 National Crime Survey,

which surveyed over 72,000 individuals. More than

17,000 respondents over 18 years of age were interviewed for the SPPA.

The survey concentrated primarily on live arts participation, consisting of ten questions. The survey asked

the live arts questions of all survey respondents. On a

rotating basis, it asked questions pertaining to arts education, non-arts leisure activities, arts facilities, music

preferences, arts creation and other participation,

media engagement and barriers to attending live performances categories. As a result, the sample sizes for

the latter questions were smaller than for the live arts

category. Approximately 25 percent of the interviews

were completed by phone. 

In 1985, the NEA sponsored a second SPPA

through the U.S. Census Bureau as part of the newly

named National Crime Victimization Survey. It was

nearly identical to the 1982 survey. 

1992 Survey of Public

Participation in the Arts

The third SPPA, conducted in 1992, surveyed 12,736

individuals over 18 years of age and followed the same

format as previous surveys. However, questions about

arts education, non-arts leisure activities, etc. were

asked in the last 6 months of the year, thereby providing a larger sample size for these questions than in the

1982 survey. Additionally, the NEA refined the survey

instrument by adding, omitting and modifying various

questions and sections. For example, the arts education

category included new questions about the location of

arts education and if survey respondents had taken arts

education lessons in the last year. The survey dropped

questions about craftwork lessons. Some questions concerning live attendance, recreation lifestyle, music

preferences, arts creation and media participation were

also modified. 

1997 Survey of Public

Participation in the Arts

From June to October of 1997, the NEA conducted a

fourth edition of the SPPA. This survey was not administered through the U.S. Census Bureau’s National

Crime Victimization Survey. Instead, the NEA retained

Westat Corporation of Rockville, Maryland, a private

research firm, to conduct a stand-alone telephone survey. Using a random-digit dial telephone survey plan,

over 12,000 individuals over 18 years of age were interviewed. The survey instrument included a number of

questions not asked on prior SPPA surveys. Due to the

considerable differences in survey methodologies, the

1997 telephone survey produced results that are not

APPENDIX A

survey of public participation in the arts, 

background and methodology
2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

60

National Endowment for the Arts

comparable to previous or subsequent surveys. The

1997 survey can only be analyzed as a stand-alone,

point-in-time survey, and not in an SPPA historical

analysis. 

2002 Survey of Public

Participation in the Arts

In 2002, the NEA sponsored its fifth and most recent

SPPA. For the first time, the 2002 SPPA was implemented as a supplement to the U.S. Census Bureau’s

Current Population Survey (CPS), a research instrument issued monthly to approximately 60,000 households throughout the nation for use by the U.S. Bureau

of Labor Statistics. The U.S. Census Bureau weighted

each survey record so that the survey sample would

reflect the nation’s estimated demographic and geographic profile. 

A total of 17,135 respondents in the August 2002

CPS participated in the 2002 SPPA. Respondents were

asked all of the 2002 SPPA questions, resulting in an

overall sample size applicable to the entire survey. 

In general, the 2002 survey instrument followed that

used in the 1992 SPPA, only incorporating slight modifications. For instance, the media engagement category added a video discs (DVD) option to questions about

watching arts programs via television. The music preferences category added and omitted various music categories, and two new sections were added to the end of

the survey. The first new section asked about trips away

from home to attend arts events or art museums, and the

second new section asked the individual’s frequency of

reading about, discussing, or accessing information

about the arts via the Internet. 
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T

he basic CPS collects primarily labor

force data about the civilian non-institutional population. Interviewers ask questions concerning labor force participation

about each member 15 and over in every

sample household.

The present monthly CPS sample was selected from

the 1990 Decennial Census files with coverage in all 50

states and the District of Columbia. The sample is continually updated to account for new residential construction. To obtain the sample, the United States was

divided into 2,007 geographic areas. In most states, a

geographic area consisted of a county or several contiguous counties. In some areas of New England and

Hawaii, minor civil divisions are used instead of counties. These 2,007 geographic areas were then grouped

into 754 strata, and one geographic area was selected

from each stratum.

About 60,000 occupied households are eligible for

interview every month out of the 754 strata.

Interviewers are unable to obtain interviews at about

4,500 of these units. This occurs when the occupants

are not found at home after repeated calls or are

unavailable for some other reason.

Each month’s sample is composed of eight rotation

groups that rotate on a schedule of four months in sample, eight months out, and four months back again.

August 2002, Survey of Public

Participation in the Arts (SPPA)

Supplement

In addition to the basic CPS, interviewers asked supplementary questions on public participation in the

arts. Households in the outgoing rotation groups are

eligible sample households for the supplement; therefore only 25 percent of the basic CPS households were

sampled. The SPPA supplement attempted to obtain

self-responses from household members ages 18 and

over. Proxy responses were allowed if attempts for a

self-response were unsuccessful.

The supplement contained questions about the

household member’s participation in various artistic

activities from August 1, 2001 to August 1, 2002. It

asked about the type of artistic activity, the frequency of

participation, training and exposure, music preferences, length of travel for trips to artistic events, schoolage socializations, and computer usage related to artistic information. Interviews were conducted during the

period of August 18-24, 2002.

APPENDIX b

data collection
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T

he tests for statistical significance conducted in this study used standard statistical methods for calculating standard

errors and conducting difference of proportions tests or other hypothesis tests. 

As the SPPA data were not collected using a simple

random sample, and were weighted to represent the

U.S. adult population, the standard errors were adjusted for the design effect. The following describes the

design effect figure used in the 2002 SPPA Summary

Report analysis.

The “design effect” measures the increase in variance in a sample due to the sample design and performance. It is calculated using a complex formula that

includes the CPS replicate weights, or is derived with

knowledge of the primary sampling units used in collecting the data. The Demographic Statistical Methods

Division (DSMD) of the U.S. Census Bureau calculated

the design effect to be used in the analysis of 2002

SPPA data. 

DSMD computed an average design effect of 2.8 for

the 2002 SPPA. The comparable design effect for 1992

was 4.75.

This 2002 SPPA report reflects the use of 4.75 as

the design effect for 1992 data, and 2.8 as the design

effect for 2002 data in all statistical significance testing.

Please see Technical Paper 63RV, found at:

www.bls.census.gov/cps/tp/tp63.htm, for more information on the calculation of the design effect for the 2002

SPPA.

Readers can obtain the Census Bureau’s Source

and Accuracy Statement for the CPS and SPPA supplement by contacting the NEA Research Division at

202-682-5424.

APPENDIX c

standard errors, hypothesis testing 

and design effect
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National Endowment for the Arts

The following is a reader-friendly interpretation of the

2002 SPPA. 

This month we are asking some additional questions

about leisure activities in which each household member participated. 

The Bureau of the Census is collecting this information for the National Endowment for the Arts. The survey is authorized by Title 20, United States Code, section 954 and Title 13, United States Code, section 8.

Participation in this interview is voluntary and there are

no penalties for not answering some or all of the questions. 

The information you give is important and it will

help us better understand the characteristics of people

who participate in the arts and those that do not. It also

provides information about the factors that may influence your decision to participate.

The following questions are about your activities

during the last 12 months between August 1, 2001 and

August 1, 2002. Unless otherwise indicated, the answer

format for questions is assumed to be yes/no. 

Participation via Attendance

1. With the exception of elementary or high school

performances, did you go to a live jazz performance during the last 12 months? If yes, how many

times did you do this during the last 12 months? 

2. [With the exception of elementary or high school

performances] Did you go to a live classical music

performance such as symphony, chamber, or

choral music during the last 12 months? If yes,

how many times did you do this during the last 12

months? 

3. [With the exception of elementary or high school

performances] Did you go to a live opera during

the last 12 months? If yes, how many times did

you do this during the last 12 months? 

4. [With the exception of elementary or high school

performances] Did you go to a live musical stage

play or an operetta during the last 12 months? If

yes, how many times did you do this during the

last 12 months? 

5. [With the exception of elementary or high school

performances] Did you go to a live performance or

a nonmusical stage play during the last 12

months? If yes, how many times did you do this

during the last 12 months? 

6. [With the exception of elementary or high school

performances] Did you go to a live ballet performance during the last 12 months? If yes, how many

times did you do this during the last 12 months? 

7. [With the exception of elementary or high school

performances] Did you go to a live dance performance other than ballet, such as modern, folk, or tap

during the last 12 months? If yes, how many times

did you do this during the last 12 months? 

8. [During the last 12 months] Did you visit an art

museum or gallery? If yes, how many times did

you do this during the last 12 months? 

9. [During the last 12 months] Did you visit an art

fair or festival, or a craft fair or festival? If yes, how

many times did you do this during the last 12

months? 

10. [During the last 12 months] Did you visit an historic park or monument, or tour buildings or

neighborhoods for their historic or design value? If

yes, how many times did you do this during the

last 12 months? 

APPENDIX d

2002 survey of public participation 

in the arts (SPPA)
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11. With the exception of books required for work or

school, did you read any books during the last 12

months? If yes, how many did you read during the

last 12 months? 

12. [During the last 12 months] Did you read any:

a. Plays? 

b. Poetry?

c. Novels or short stories?

Participation via MEDIA 

1. [During the last 12 months] Did you listen to a reading of poetry, either live or recorded?

2. [During the last 12 months] Did you listen to a reading of novels or books, either live or recorded?

3. [During the last 12 months] Did you watch a jazz performance on television, a video (VCR) tape, or a video

(DVD) disc? If yes, how many did you watch on television, a video (VCR) tape, or a video (DVD) disc?

4. [During the last 12 months] Did you listen to jazz:

a. On the radio?

b. On records, tapes, or compact discs?

5a. [During the last 12 months] Did you watch a classical music performance on television, a video

(VCR) tape, or a video (DVD) disc? If yes, how

many did you watch on television, a video (VCR)

tape, or a video (DVD) disc?

5b. [During the last 12 months] Did you listen to classical music:

a. On the radio?

b. On records, tapes, or compact discs?

6a. [During the last 12 months] Did you watch an

opera on television, a video (VCR) tape, or a video

(DVD) disc? If yes, how many did you watch on

television, a video (VCR) tape, or a video (DVD)

disc?

6b. [During the last 12 months] Did you listen to opera

music:

a. On the radio?

b. On records, tapes, or compact discs? 

7. With the exception of movies, did you watch a

musical stage play or an operetta on television, a

video (VCR) tape, or a video (DVD) disc during

the last 12 months? If yes, how many did you

watch on television, a video (VCR) tape, or a video

(DVD) disc?

8a. With the exception of movies, situation comedies,

or TV series, did you watch a nonmusical stage

play on television, a video (VCR) tape, or a video

(DVD) disc during the last 12 months? If yes, how

many did you watch on television, a video (VCR)

tape, or a video (DVD) disc?

8b. [During the last 12 months] Did you listen to a

radio performance of a nonmusical stage play? 

i. With the exception of music videos, did you watch

on television, a video (VCR) tape, or a video

(DVD) disc dance, such as ballet, modern, folk, or

tap during the last 12 months? If yes, how many

did you watch on television, a video (VCR) tape,

or a video (DVD) disc?

ii. [During the last 12 months] Did you watch a program about artists, art works, or art museums on

television, a video (VCR) tape, or a video (DVD)

disc? If yes, how many did you watch on television, a video (VCR) tape, or a video (DVD) disc?

LEISURE Activities

The following activities are about your participation in

other leisure activities. 

1a. Approximately how many hours of television do

you watch on an average day?

1b. During the last 12 months, did you go out to the

movies?

1c. With the exception of youth sports, did you go to

any amateur or professional sports events during

the last 12 months?

1d. During the last 12 months, did you go to an

amusement or theme park, a carnival, or a similar

place of entertainment?

1e. During the last 12 months, did you jog, lift

weights, walk, or participate in any other exercise

program?

1f. During the last 12 months, did you participate in

any sports activity, such` as softball, basketball,

golf, bowling, skiing, or tennis?

1g. Did you participate in any outdoor activities, such

as camping, hiking, or canoeing during the last 12

months?
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1h. Did you do volunteer or charity work during the

last 12 months?

1i. Did you make repairs or improvements on your

own home during the last 12 months?

1j. Did you work with indoor plants or do any gardening for pleasure during the last 12 months?

2. [During the last 12 months] Did you work with

pottery, ceramics, jewelry, or do any leatherwork

or metalwork? If yes, what type?

3. [During the last 12 months] Did you do any weaving, crocheting, quilting, needlepoint, or sewing?

If yes, what type?

4. [During the last 12 months] Did you make photographs, movies, or videotapes as an artistic activity? If yes, what type?

5. [During the last 12 months] Did you do any painting, drawing, sculpture, or printmaking activities?

If yes, what type?

6a. With the exception of work or school, did you do

any creative writing such as stories, poems, or

plays during the last 12 months? 

6b. Were any of your writings published?

7a. Did you write or compose any music during the

last 12 months?

7b. Was your musical composition played in a public

performance or rehearsed for a public performance?

8a. Do you own any original pieces of art, such as

paintings, drawings, sculpture, prints, or lithographs?

8b. Did you purchase or acquire any of these pieces

during the last 12 months?

9a. During the last 12 months, did you perform or

rehearse any jazz music?

9b. Did you play any jazz in a public performance or

rehearse for a public performance?

10a. During the last 12 months, did you perform or

rehearse any classical music?

10b. Did you play classical music in a public performance or rehearse for a public performance?

11a. During the last 12 months, did you sing any music

from an opera?

11b. Did you sing in a public opera performance or

rehearse for a public performance?

12a. During the last 12 months, did you sing music

from a musical play or operetta?

12b. Did you sing in a public performance of a musical

play or operetta or rehearse for a public performance?

12c. During the last 12 months, did you sing in a public performance with a chorale, choir, or glee club

or other type of vocal group, or rehearse for a public performance?

13. [During the last 12 months] Did you act in a public performance of a nonmusical play or rehearse

for a public performance?

14a. [During the last 12 months] Did you dance any

ballet?

14b. Did you dance ballet in a public performance or

rehearse for a public performance?

15a. [During the last 12 months] Did you do any dancing other than ballet such as modern, folk, or tap?

15b. Did you dance modern, folk, or tap in a public

performance?

Preferences

For the questions below, please select all that apply.

1a. The following is a list of events that some people

like to attend. If you could go to any of these

events as often as you wanted, which ones would

you go to more often that you do now? Please

select one or more of the following categories.

(1) Jazz and music performances

(2) Classical music performances

(3) Operas

(4) Musical plays or operettas

(5) Nonmusical plays

(6) Ballet performances

(7) Dance performances other than ballet

(8) Art museums or galleries

(9) All

(10) None of these
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National Endowment for the Arts

1b. Of the events mentioned above, which of these

would you like to do most?

2a. The following is a list of some types of music.

Which of these types of music do you like to listen

to? Please select one or more of the following categories. 

(1) Classical/Chamber music

(2) Opera

(3) Operetta/Broadway musicals/Show tunes

(4) Jazz

(5) Reggae

(6) Rap/Hip-hop

(7) Dance music/Electronica

(8) Blues/Rhythm and blues

(9) Latin/Spanish/Salsa

(10) Big band/Swing

(11) Parade/Marching band

(12) Country and western

(13) Bluegrass

(14) Classical rock/Oldies

(15) The music of a particular Ethnic/National 

tradition

(16) Contemporary folk music

(17) Mood/Easy listening

(18) New age/World music

(19) Choral/Glee club

(20) Hymns/Gospel

(21) Rock/Heavy metal

(22) All

(23) None/Don’t like to listen to music

2b. Of the music types mentioned above that you said

you liked, which do you like best?

Arts LEARNING

1. Have you ever taken lessons or classes in music

— either voice training or playing an instrument?

a. Did you take these lessons or classes when you

were:

i. Less than 12 years old?

ii. 12-17 years old?

iii. 18-24 years old?

iv. 25 or older?

b. [If taken prior to 18 years old] Were the lessons or

classes offered by the elementary or high school

you were attending or did you take these lessons

elsewhere?

i. Elementary or high school

ii. Elsewhere

iii. Both

c. Did you take any of these lessons or classes in the

past year?

2. [Have you ever taken lessons or classes] in visual

arts such as sculpture, painting, printmaking,

photography, or filmmaking?

a. Did you take these lessons or classes when you

were:

i. Less than 12 years old?

ii. 12-17 years old?

iii. 18-24 years old?

iv. 25 or older?

b. [If taken prior to 18 years old] Were the lessons or

classes offered by the elementary or high school

you were attending or did you take these lessons

elsewhere?

i. Elementary or high school

ii. Elsewhere

iii. Both

c. Did you take any of these lessons or classes in the

past year?

3. [Have you ever taken lessons or classes] in acting

or theater? 

a. Did you take these lessons or classes when you

were:

i. Less than 12 years old?

ii. 12-17 years old?

iii. 18-24 years old?

iv. 25 or older?

b. [If taken prior to 18 years old] Were the lessons or

classes offered by the elementary or high school

you were attending or did you take these lessons

elsewhere?

i. Elementary or high school

ii. Elsewhere

iii. Both

c. Did you take any of these lessons or classes in the

past year?

4. [Have you ever taken lessons or classes] in ballet?

a. Did you take these lessons or classes when you

were:

i. Less than 12 years old?
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National Endowment for the Arts

ii. 12-17 years old?

iii. 18-24 years old?

iv. 25 or older?

b. [If taken prior to 18 years old] Were the lessons or

classes offered by the elementary or high school

you were attending or did you take these lessons

elsewhere?

i. Elementary or high school

ii. Elsewhere

iii. Both

c. Did you take any of these lessons or classes in the

past year?

5. [Have you ever taken lessons or classes] in dance,

other than ballet such as modern, folk or tap? 

a. Did you take these lessons or classes when you

were:

i. Less than 12 years old?

ii. 12-17 years old?

iii. 18-24 years old?

iv. 25 or older?

b. [If taken prior to 18 years old] Were the lessons or

classes offered by the elementary or high school

you were attending or did you take these lessons

elsewhere?

i. Elementary or high school

ii. Elsewhere

iii. Both

c. Did you take any of these lessons or classes in the

past year?

6. [Have you ever taken lessons or classes] in creative writing?

a. Did you take these lessons or classes when you

were:\

i. Less than 12 years old?

ii. 12-17 years old?

iii. 18-24 years old?

iv. 25 or older?

b. [If taken prior to 18 years old] Were the lessons or

classes offered by the elementary or high school

you were attending or did you take these lessons

elsewhere?

i. Elementary or high school

ii. Elsewhere

iii. Both

c. Did you take any of these lessons or classes in the

past year?

7. [Have you ever taken lessons or classes] in art

appreciation or art history?

a. Did you take these lessons or classes when you

were:

i. Less than 12 years old?

ii. 12-17 years old?

iii. 18-24 years old?

iv. 25 or older?

b. [If taken prior to 18 years old] Were the lessons or

classes offered by the elementary or high school

you were attending or did you take these lessons

elsewhere?

i. Elementary or high school

ii. Elsewhere

iii. Both

c. Did you take any of these lessons or classes in the

past year?

8. [Have you ever taken a class] in music appreciation?

a. Did you take these lessons or classes when you

were:

i. Less than 12 years old?

ii. 12-17 years old?

iii. 18-24 years old?

iv. 25 or older?

b. [If taken prior to 18 years old] Were the lessons or

classes offered by the elementary or high school

you were attending or did you take these lessons

elsewhere?

i. Elementary or high school

ii. Elsewhere

iii. Both

c. Did you take any of these lessons or classes in the

past year?

9a. What is the highest grade [or year) of regular

school your Father completed?

(1) Less than 1st grade

(2) 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th grade

(3) 5th or 6th grade

(4) 7th or 8th grade

(5) 9th grade
National Endowment for the Arts

(6) 10th grade

(7) 11th grade

(8) 12th grade, no diploma

(9) High School graduate – high school diploma

or the equivalent (For example: GED)

(10) Some college but no degree

(11) Associate degree in college – Occupational/vocational program

(12) Associate degree in college – Academic program

(13) Bachelor’s degree (For example: BA, AB, BS)

(14) Master’s degree (For example: MA, MS,

MEng, MEd, MSW, MBA)

(15) Professional School Degree (For example:

MD, DDS, DVM, LLB, JD)

(16) Doctorate Degree (For example: PhD, EdD)

9b. What is the highest grade [or year) of regular

school your Mother completed? 

(1) Less than 1st grade

(2) 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th grade

(3) 5th or 6th grade

(4) 7th or 8th grade

(5) 9th grade

(6) 10th grade

(7) 11th grade

(8) 12th grade, no diploma

(9) High School graduate – high school diploma

or the equivalent (For example: GED)

(10) Some college but no degree

(11) Associate degree in college – Occupational/vocational program

(12) Associate degree in college – Academic program

(13) Bachelor’s degree (For example: BA, AB, BS)

(14) Master’s degree (For example: MA, MS,

MEng, MEd, MSW, MBA)

(15) Professional School Degree (For example:

MD, DDS, DVM, LLB, JD)

(16) Doctorate Degree (For example: PhD, EdD)

Travel/Trips

Earlier in the supplement, you were asked about trips

taken in the last 12 months that included attending at

least one performing arts event (classical music or jazz

concert, musical or stage play, dance or opera performance) or visiting art museums or galleries. 

Sometimes you may take trips that include attending a performing arts event or visiting an art museum

where you are away from home for one or several nights

or return home in one day.

1. In total, how may trips did you take that included

attending a performing arts event or visiting an art

museum in the last 12 months? If yes:

a. How many of these trips were one hour or more

away from home?

b. How many were 50 miles or more, one way, away

from home?

Internet

1a. Do you use the Internet?

1b. Do you use the Internet to learn about, listen to, or

discuss topics related to:

a. Any kind of music?

b. Dance?

c. Theater?

d. Opera?

1c. Do you use the Internet to learn about, view, or

discuss topics related to the visual arts – painting,

sculpture, or so on?

1d. Do you use the Internet to learn about, read, or

discuss topics related to literature – novels, poetry, or plays?

1e. In a typical week, about how many total minutes

or hours do you use the Internet to explore (i.e.

visit websites or interact on chat rooms, Usenet

groups, discussion forums, bulletin boards, etc.)

these topics (music, the visual arts, dance, theater,

opera, literature or related topics)? Exclude e-mail

or downloads of large music, video, or data files. 

2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

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National Endowment for the Arts

Notes

Note # 8. Studies of the Arts Public: A Status Report

(March 1984)

Note # 12. Audience Crossover: Media Participation

and Attending Live Events (June 1985)

Note # 14. Age, Desire, and Barriers to Increase

Attendance at Performing Arts Events and Art

Museums (February 1986)

Note # 16. Public Participation in the Arts by Urban

and Rural Residence (May 1986)

Note # 18. Population Location and the Barriers of

‘Art Form Not Available’ and ‘Too Far To Go’

(September 1986)

Note # 27. Public Participation in the Arts: 1982 and

1985 Compared (December 1987)

Note # 50. Public Participation in the Arts: 1982 and

1992 (October 1993)

Note # 51. Demographic Differences in Arts

Attendance: 1982-1992 (February 1994)

Note # 52. Demographic Differences in Arts

Participation Via Broadcast and Recorded Media:

1982-1992 (February 1994)

Note # 55. Public Participation in the Arts in Regional

and Metropolitan Areas, 1982-1992 

(June 1995)

Note #70. Survey of Public Participation in the Arts:

Half of U.S. Adults Attended Arts Performances or

Exhibitions, 1997 (September 1998)

Note #71. Demographic Characteristics of Arts

Attendance: 1997 (January 1999)

Note #72. Arts Participation by Region, State, and

Metropolitan Area (January 1999)

Note #81. 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the

Arts (July 2003)

Note #82. Demographic Characteristics of Arts

Attendance, 2002 (July 2003)

Reports

Report # 21. Socialization and Participation in the

Arts

Report # 22. Who Reads Literature: The Future of the

United States As a Nation of Readers

Report # 23. The Audience for American Art

Museums

Report # 24. Expanding the Audience for the

Performing Arts

Report # 25. Race, Ethnicity, and Arts Participation

Report # 26. Summary Report: 12 Local Surveys of

Public Participation in the Arts

Report # 27. Arts Participation in America: 1982-

1992

APPENDIX E

research division reports and 

notes of related interest
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Report # 30. A Practical Guide to Arts Participation

Research

Report # 31. Jazz in America: Who’s Listening

Report # 32. American Participation in Opera and

Musical Theater 1992

Report # 33. Turning On and Tuning In: Public

Participation in the Arts Via Media in the United

States

Report # 34. Age and Arts Participation with a Focus

on the Baby Boom Cohort

Report # 35. American Participation in Theater

Report # 36. Effects of Arts Education on

Participation in the Arts

Report # 39. 1997 Survey of Public Participation in

the Arts: Summary Report 

Report #41. The Geography of Participation in the

Arts and Culture

Report #42. Age and Arts Participation: 1982-1997

Further information on these Research Notes and

Reports can be found on the National Endowment for

the Arts web site:

Notes — www.arts.gov/pub/ResearchNotes.html

Reports — www.arts.gov/pub/ResearchReports.html

For a broader overview of arts participation literature,

see: Guide to the Literature on Participation in the Arts 

(McCarthy, et. al., www.rand.org/publications/

DRU/DRU2308)