Andy’s question of whether or not online art spaces will mark the death of traditional galleries prompted me to explore the statistics on gallery attendance and in turn household expenditure in the arts. A meagre 24.9% of the population visited an art gallery at least once in the 12 months before the 2002 survey, which I feel is a fairly dismal reflection on Australia’s cultural interest and intelligence. Of these 24.9% age and gender statistics were evenly distributed, implying that web applications such as RedBubble and additionally the artist posting works, must cater and appeal to a large cross section. The most interesting note was the rise in attendance at galleries between 1999 and 2002 (even if there were temporary closures in 1999), showing the continued interest of the public in traditional gallery spaces at the same time as the boom in online art.
Statistics on household expenditure in the arts highlighted the public’s priorities and preferences for literature, broadcasting, electronic media and film as opposed to the visual arts. This competition for reinforces the change in focus to the marketing of works for artists, a particularly component for virtual spaces.
[1301.0 - Year Book Australia 2005, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra, viewed 2 April 2009, http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/d2e04b2e8710f3a4ca256f7200832f0e!OpenDocument]
‘The 2002 Survey of Attendance at Selected Cultural Venues and Events showed 24.9% of the population aged 18 years and over (3.6 million people) had visited an art gallery at least once in the previous 12 months (table 12.3). This is higher than the attendance rate of 20.9% (2.9 million people) determined when the survey was run in 1999. The attendance rate at museums (other than art galleries) was 25.0% (3.6 million people) in 2002, compared with 19.6% (2.8 million people) in 1999. This large rise in attendance can be partly explained by the temporary closure of some large museums during the 1999 survey period.’ (ABS, 2002)
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12.3 ATTENDANCE(a) AT MUSEUMS – 2002
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|||
 |
|
Art galleries
|
Museums
|
| Attendance rate(b) |
%
|
%
|
|
|
|
|||
| Males |
22.0
|
24.6
|
|
| Females |
27.7
|
25.4
|
|
| Persons |
24.9
|
25.0
|
|
| Age group (years) | |
|
|
|
18-24 |
23.8
|
22.3
|
|
25-34 |
23.9
|
27.0
|
|
35-44 |
25.8
|
29.1
|
|
45-54 |
27.8
|
25.3
|
|
55-64 |
28.0
|
25.7
|
|
65 and over |
19.7
|
18.3
|
| Birthplace | |
|
|
|
Australia |
24.8
|
24.9
|
|
Main English-speaking countries |
29.0
|
29.6
|
|
Other countries |
22.6
|
22.6
|
|
|
|||
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14.14 EXPENDITURE ON THE ARTS BY HOUSEHOLDS – 2003-04
|
|||
|
|
|
||
|
Average weekly household expenditure
|
Total annual household expenditure
|
|
|
$
|
$m
|
|
|
|
|
||
| Literature |
8.43
|
3 400.2
|
|
| Music |
1.65
|
665.5
|
|
| Performing arts |
1.59
|
641.3
|
|
| Visual arts and crafts |
1.66
|
669.6
|
|
| Broadcasting, electronic media and film |
7.87
|
3 174.3
|
|
| Other arts |
1.86
|
750.2
|
|
| Other culture(a) |
12.94
|
5 219.3
|
|
| Total |
36.00
|
14 520.4
|
|
