Pop Art

An article in the New York Times today claims that the number of arts festivals happening nationwide over there has reached a record high of about 3000, drawing audiences of around 130 million.

I roughly estimate those attendances as being about 45% of the USA's population, although it doesn't account for the fact that obviously a much smaller arts-going population must be attending multiple events to give that sort of box office estimate.
And also, that's still only 1 festival every 96,000 head of population.

I wonder what percentage of our population attends arts events? How many festivals do we have in Australia, compared to our population?

And I wonder what sort of similar comparison could be made with the people who attend our traditional form of culture - sporting events?

Is it possible to increase the general status of arts events in Australia? Are we hindered or helped by our smaller population?

Food for thought.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/30/arts/30SUMM.html?pagewanted=1&todaysheadlines

Cheers,
Craig

[%sig%]

Salutations Al

Thanks for joining the discussion on the site. I find it a great forum to hear very differing viewpoints, and yours is also welcome. However, I do beg to differ on the subject of the skill levels of our local theatrical scene. With all due respect, maybe you need to extend the repertoire of theatre that you see. I certainly see some shoddy work, but most of what I see has been produced by people who are dedicated, skillful and extremely entertaining. As an actor/producer I can vouch for the fact that we put in countless hours of work to get up a new show, and our input is nowhere near recompensed by the meagre living we can make from it. If you want to see new stuff go to the Blue Room; a new show just about every two weeks which are mostly original works, sometimes bizarre but certainly unique and generally of high calibre especially considering they are in their infancy.

Back on the subject of the dress code for theatre, IÂ’m reluctant to lump all of the theatre audiences into one broad category. After all, we wouldnÂ’t presume that someone who goes to hear the Symphony Orchestra will be the same person who attends the local Beap Generation electronic arts scene! I know the importance of marketing a play to the correct audience, and so it also makes sense that the composition of the audience will determine their expectations of what is acceptable/desirable to wear.

As an example, if I were attending a huge costly spectacle type of show at His MajestyÂ’s or The Burswood I would dress differently than if I were attending a play at The Blue Room. In the same way I presume I will see a lavish set at the big theatres although the distance of my seat from the stage means I will see less of the actorÂ’s face. At the Blue Room I happily forgo a fancy set for the intimacy and immediacy of the theatre experience, also knowing the ticket price is less, and that I can rock up in jeans.

Tina

Re: Pop Art

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