Engaging the Arts

The environment in which arts organisations function has changed dramatically in the 29 years since the first National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA). Alternatives for arts and entertainment activities have proliferated, and expectations for personalisation and individual control over those experiences have increased. The proliferation of new technologies for interacting with digital content is occurring at a heightened pace, while the nation's demographic characteristics grow increasingly diverse. This book provides an overview of the SPPA, which was first conducted in 1982, and serves as the longest-standing resource for studying U.S. adult levels of arts attendance, personal arts creation and performance, and arts participation through electronic media.