State of the Arts
NATIONAL SURVEY FEBRUARY – MARCH 2022
This report presents the findings from an online survey of those in the creative sector in Aotearoa, between February-March 2022. This is the second national survey in a series of surveys intended to track the state of the arts sector in Aotearoa. In total there were 707 respondents nationwide.
INFOGRAPHIC
From the national State of the Arts Survey February – March 2022
key themes and findings
From the national State of the Arts Survey February – March 2022
- Creative freelancers dominated the total sample: More respondents reported being a creative freelancer (61%) than any other role in the creative sector. This was followed by unpaid/voluntary creative individuals (25%), and leaders of a creative not-for-profit (17%).
- Visual and performing arts were strongly represented in the total sample: Respondents were active in many creative areas. Visual arts was the most prominent area reported (47%), followed by performing arts (41%) and music (25%).
- Respondents have shifted towards a more pessimistic view about their financial position:
Respondents rated their outlook on whether their creative work would support their financial position in the next 12 months (from 1 meaning very pessimistic to 6 meaning very optimistic). Compared to the September-October survey, pessimism increased from 60% to 68%, and optimism fell from 38% to 29%, indicating a shift towards a pessimistic view. - Fewer respondents expected to either increase their current staff or contractor numbers, compared to the previous survey: The number of respondents who expect to take on new staff or contractors had decreased (from 37% to 24%) and those who expect staff or contractor numbers to stay the same or reduce had increased (from 38% to 46% and 8% to 15% respectively).
- Respondents’ views on achieving their creative goals shifted to become more pessimistic:
Respondents rated their outlook on whether they would achieve their own or their organisations’ creative goals in the next 12 months (from 1 meaning very pessimistic to 6 meaning very optimistic). Compared to the September-October survey, pessimism increased from 44% to 52%, and optimism fell from 54% to 46%, indicating a shift towards a more pessimistic view. - More respondents reported that audience appetite for their creative work had decreased: With 37% reporting audience appetite being less than usual, 23% reporting that it was the same as usual and 25% reporting that it was more. Overall, the average rating was 1.9 out of 3 (from 1 meaning less than usual to 3 meaning more than usual). This is lower than the average rating for September-October.