Scotland’s arts audiences remain reticent, research finds

Demand to attend cultural events and venues remains strong in Scotland, but the creative sectors are likely to recover more slowly than other parts of the economy. Levels of demand will vary between organisations, art forms and the venues in which work is presented, according to new research by Creative Scotland. Their Covid-19 Population Survey will be gathering data from the public between July 2020 and January 2021 to monitor and measure audience interest in returning to arts activities, and how their patterns of cultural consumption are changing. The first wave of research, which was conducted in August before new Covid restrictions were in place in Scotland, took place while Covid spread was relatively limited.

It found the majority of Scotland’s population have missed the opportunity to go to cultural events and venues but willingness to start attending again was lower than for many other leisure pursuits. Only a third of respondents were comfortable attending cultural events in the near future and the majority remained wary. Although more people had taken part in at-home cultural activities during lockdown, there was limited enthusiasm for doing more of this in the future. Nearly a third (31%) agreed that they would and 45% were neutral, but almost a quarter (23%) said they wouldn't. Only 20% said they would be willing to pay for these activities in the future.