Warning Signs: Audience Trends 1982-2022
Why aren’t we talking about how much arts audiences have declined since the rise of the internet?
Understanding this shift is crucial to navigating today’s cultural landscape. That’s why I spent an entire month crunching the numbers from six editions of the NEA's Survey for Public Participation in the Arts—that’s forty years of data spanning 1982-2022.
I’ve synthesized this data into a 50-page interactive slide deck, which you can use to:
📊 Get the full picture on how audience behaviors have shifted across disciplines
⚖️ See how your organization compares with declines in your sector
📉 Explore the negative substitution rates that forecast a looming tipping point
💥 Catalyze your stakeholders to align around meaningful change
This isn’t just a slide deck—it’s a wake-up call.
If your organization has been losing audiences, but is still collectively clinging to the status quo, use this tool to light a fire under your team.
You won’t find this 40-year overview anywhere else.
What’s inside: View the table of contents
Bring this deck to your next board meeting to showcase industry-wide attendance declines, demographic data, and discipline-specific changes alongside societal factors in the United States.