Pittsburgh Study Highlights Data on Arts Audiences, COVID-19 and Returning to the Arts

Pittsburgh – July 7, 2021 – A new report by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council highlights the opportunities and challenges that Pittsburgh's arts industry faces as Pennsylvania begins to reopen. Released today, the report features a summary of data collected from 27 Pittsburgh-area arts organizations and their audiences as part of research firm WolfBrown's COVID-19 Audience Outlook Monitor in partnership with the Arts Council.

Determining how to reopen our arts industry as soon and as safely as possible has been our priority since the pandemic shuttered many arts facilities in March 2020.

The COVID-19 Audience Outlook Monitor is designed to help organizations nationally and internationally understand how and when audiences and visitors will feel safe attending in-person events, among other topics. The new report highlights Pittsburgh data on arts audience attitudes toward health and safety, comfort at live events, engagement in online and virtual programming, attitudes about future attendance and spending, communications preferences and more.

Since September 2020, the survey has been deployed in Pittsburgh six times and a total of 9,457 anonymous responses have been collected. Additional rounds of surveys will be deployed later this year, concluding in September 2021.

"Determining how to reopen our arts industry as soon and as safely as possible has been our priority since the pandemic shuttered many arts facilities in March 2020," said Mitch Swain, CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. "We hope this data can help other organizations make informed and strategic decisions regarding reopening protocols, communications, and virtual and in-person programming."

Audience and Visitor Attitudes About Engaging with Pittsburgh’s Arts Sector During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Pittsburgh-area organizations who have or are currently participating in the Audience Outlook Monitor survey include:

Attack Theatre
August Wilson African American Cultural Center
Bricolage Production Company
Carnegie Museum of Art
Carnegie of Homestead's Music Hall
Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
City of Asylum
Contemporary Craft
Heinz History Center
Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh
Jergels
Kelly Strayhorn Theater
Mattress Factory
MCG Jazz
Mr. Smalls Theatre
New Hazlett Theater
PearlArts Studios | STAYCEE PEARL dance project & Soy Sos
Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media
Pittsburgh CLO
Pittsburgh Glass Center
Pittsburgh Opera
Pittsburgh Public Theater
Point Park University / Pittsburgh Playhouse
Silver Eye Center for Photography
Texture Contemporary Ballet
The Frick Pittsburgh
Touchstone Center for Crafts

You can download the full report here.

The Arts Council is presenting this data during a free virtual Community Learning Webinar in partnership with WolfBrown on Thursday, July 8 from 3 to 4 p.m. While the presentation will be geared toward how arts organization can use this data, anyone is welcome to attend the webinar. Registration for this webinar is available here.

This project is generously supported by the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Henry L. Hillman Foundation. Learn more about the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council's support of the region's arts and culture industry during the pandemic at PittsburghArtsCouncil.org/reopening. To learn more about WolfBrown's Audience Outlook Monitor and other participating cities, visit www.audienceoutlookmonitor.com.

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Category

Cultural Policy

About the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council

The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council champions the arts in Southwestern Pennsylvania, providing financial, professional, and political support for the arts and culture sector. Comprised of more than 600 diverse artists and nonprofit organizations, the Arts Council offers valuable research, legal and business consulting, networking and professional development opportunities so that artists, as well as arts leaders and organizations, can grow their skills and advance their practice. The Arts Council provides grants for artists and arts organizations, leads the region's arts advocacy at the local, state, and national level, and models best practices for accessibility and equity in the arts.

For interviews with the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, image use requests, and any other media questions, please contact Manager of Communications Lisa Cunningham at 412-391-2060, ext. 227 or lcunningham@pittsburghartscouncil.org.