Understanding Arts Attendance
SAA Report: Understanding Arts Attendance 2025
Understanding Arts Attendance in Saskatchewan (2024)
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, arts organizations in Saskatchewan have noticed a troubling trend—audiences aren’t attending events like they used to. To better understand the barriers to attendance and explore potential solutions, the Saskatchewan Arts Alliance (SAA) partnered with Insightrix to survey 350 Saskatchewan residents about their arts participation habits. The report highlights some key challenges:
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, arts organizations in Saskatchewan have noticed a troubling trend—audiences aren’t attending events like they used to. To better understand the barriers to attendance and explore potential solutions, the Saskatchewan Arts Alliance (SAA) partnered with Insightrix to survey 350 Saskatchewan residents about their arts participation habits. The report highlights some key challenges:
- Cost is a major barrier—With rising living expenses and stagnant arts funding, affordability is a concern.
- Word of mouth and social media are the most effective ways to promote events, while email newsletters are less impactful.
- Arts events are seen as special occasions rather than regular outings.
- Most attendees prefer focusing on a single event rather than multiple events in a short period.
- Concerts and festivals draw the most attendance, while spoken word and dance performances struggle to attract audiences.
- Accessibility concerns—including travel distance, disability accommodations, and scheduling conflicts also limit attendance.
- Ticket subsidies and flexible ticket bundles could make arts events more accessible and appealing, with 60% of respondents open to these options.
While no single solution will fully resolve these challenges, SAA is committed to finding ways to support both audiences and arts organizations. This report is an important step toward re-engaging the public with the arts and ensuring the long-term sustainability of Saskatchewan’s arts sector.
