For Immediate Release May 13, 2005

For More Information Contact: Marilyn Yurk, 317-261-3047 myurk@iupui.edu

Most Hoosiers Attend Arts and Cultural Events, but Education, Income, and Location Affect Participation

INDIANAPOLIS - Researchers at the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis found that two-thirds of all Hoosiers attend arts and cultural events, but participation is related to income, education, and proximity to an urban area. The Center released a report this month that examines Hoosiers' attitudes about arts and culture.

Dona Sapp, author of the report, said that the report is encouraging, "The findings demonstrate that Indiana residents truly value arts and cultural amenities.  Indiana participation rates are consistent with national rates, a fact that many people may find surprising.  The study also provides valuable information to arts and cultural organizations and gives a voice to populations who may feel that they are underserved."    

The analysts used data from several sources including the Center's 2003 Indiana Household Survey and a survey conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts. For more in-depth analysis, information from the Indiana Household Survey was correlated with data that allowed analysts to assign survey respondents to socio-economic groups. Survey respondents were asked to exclude attendance at elementary, middle, and high school performances when answering survey questions.

Some of the results of the Center's analysis are:

• Nearly half of Indiana residents say that concerts (25 percent) or plays (24 percent) are the types of arts or cultural event they attend most often. Large percentages also visit museums (16 percent), arts and craft festivals (14 percent), and zoos or botanical gardens (13 percent).

• When respondents were asked where (which city) they had attended events most often, 33 percent had most often attended events in Indianapolis in the preceding 12 months. Other cities were mentioned much less frequently in response to this question-for example, 10 percent said they had attended events in Fort Wayne and 5 percent mentioned Chicago .

• Respondents were also asked which specific arts and culture facility they had attended most often, and the three mentioned most frequently were the Indianapolis Zoo (8 percent), Children's Museum (7 percent), and Murat Centre (6 percent).

• Income and education are key determinants in Indiana arts and cultural participation. Among urban professional couples, 97 percent said they had attended arts and cultural events in the prior 12 months.

• Proximity to an urbanized area is also a key factor in participation. Among rural industrial workers, the percentage who had attended arts and cultural events in the prior 12 months dropped to 51 percent.

• More than one-third (35 percent) of the Hoosiers surveyed said that the availability of arts and cultural events is a problem in their community.

For more information or the complete study, Education, Income, Location Affect Indiana Arts Participation , contact the Center at 261-3000, or visit the Center's Web site (www.urbancenter.iupui.edu). The Center for Urban Policy and the Environment is a nonpartisan applied research organization in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. ###