The role of the arts in leisure, recreation and tourism

Introduction

Arts and culture play important roles in much of our daily lives – eg entertainment, recreation, education and many other reasons. Governments fund arts activities to benefit society through providing access for the local community as well as attracting tourists and investment. Many people engage in arts practice not as a professional career but through different avenues including individual activity at home, performing at school or with local community groups. In addition, the arts is seen as an important part of developing tourism strategies, especially through the creation of festivals. Cultural tourism is a growing area of interest for many as is the sale of arts and cultural products as part of the souvenir market. The following sections highlight a few of these activities.

The Culture Business

According to Bjorkegren (1996) we can think of the business side of the arts as the process in which we exploit the creative output of artists and other creative practitioners. However it is the unpredictability of audiences and their acceptance of new works that makes it difficult to predict what will be a commercial success (even if it has artistic merit and critical acclaim). We need to think about our audiences and what it is that they purchase and ‘consume’. When putting on artistic works we need to think about the consumption of ‘intangible meaning’ rather than a tangible product. To be commercial we need to have that intangible meaning attractive to the widest possible audience base – therefore it needs to be easy to understand.

Works that are potentially commercially viable rely on broad market consumption. A more commercially focussed business will have a strategy that is emergent, based on an idea, which is then tested in the market to see if it is appealing. In this way we see sometimes a ‘scatter-gun’ approach to product development. When a product is accepted by the broad audience word of mouth creates popularity, which in turn creates success. Once a product is successful in the market place, copycats tend to follow very closely (think Hollywood or Broadway). In the commercial strategy, it is the audience that creates the meaning and decides what is shown and what is not (Bjorkegren, 1996).  

In the high arts there are some significant operating differences to commercial arts businesses. In the first instance the meaning of the work is established by the creator (not the audience). Therefore some education is required to be able to interpret and understand the meaning being transferred. The requirement for some type of education immediately narrows the potential audience and creates a more niche product. In these products the value lies in the creator (composer, author, director, choreographer, etc.). High art works have significant cultural value, but due to the limited audience may have a lower commercial value (Bjorkegren 1996).

Producing artistic performances for public consumption brings much uncertainty in the marketplace. The consumption of the arts is dictated by a variety of cultural discourses. Individual choice is based on a number of factors such as aesthetics, cultural norms, knowledge of products, and choice of narratives (to name a few). Bjorkegren (1996) outlines to basic strategies for arts companies to follow – commercial strategy or cultural strategy. Each strategy is outlined below:

Commercial Strategy:

• Art on the market’s terms
• Focus is on the control of supply
• Limited product availability supported by strong marketing
• Expectations of rapid returns on investment

Cultural Strategy:

• Art on the artist’s terms
• Long term investment in many artists and creators
• Focus on broad product offering with the hope that some will succeed
• May require public intervention to support development and sustainability

Arts participation as leisure

So, once we decide on a strategy, how do we know if we have an audience or not? The following is an outline of a recent study undertaken in Australia which demonstrates the level of interest in attending and participating in arts activities.

According to a recent study by the Australia Council, most Australians engage with the arts on some level. The following points are taken from the report More than bums on seats: Australian participation in the arts (Australia Council 2010). (http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/workspace/uploads/files/research/full_report_more_than_bums_on_-54325919b74d6.pdf)

More people created visual arts and crafts (22%) than any other form of art. Nearly one in ten engaged in crafts (like ceramics, jewellery making, sewing, woodcraft) (9%), photography (9%), or painting (8%). Of the people who had creatively or receptively participated in visual arts and crafts, theatre, dance, creative writing or music in the past 12 months, a third (32%) engaged in some form of community art. Those living in rural areas were more likely to attend community arts than others.

Young people displayed higher levels of creative participation than the rest of the population. They were more likely to be creatively engaged in visual arts and crafts, theatre and dance, creative writing and music. This was to some degree a reflection of education; with young students more active in creative participation than young workers. Arts participation levels amongst younger people also appeared to be on the rise, with this group more likely to have increased their involvement in the arts in the last year. With a higher concentration of internet users, young people were engaging with the arts in new and evolving ways.

Following are some ways to think about the arts with a more commercial mindset while still keeping the artistic value as a priority,

Festivals

Festivals are a growing phenomenon in modern economies (Prentice & Andersen 2003). This festivalisation of culture has seen an explosion of arts, cultural and other popular activities condensed into short periods of concentrated effort for maximum impact. In fact as noted by Fjell (2007) festivals in Europe have increased in the last 60 years from around 400 to over 30 000. As such they are significant contributors to the cultural life of many cities (Arcodia & Whitford 2006) and therefore of interest to arts managers and policy developers alike.

It has been noted that cultural festivals are now a significant mainstay on the cultural calendar of modern society (Crespi-Vallbona & Richards 2007). Crespi-Vallbona and Richards (2007) go on to state that festivals take on a variety of roles extending from mechanisms to sustain cultural groups, to mechanisms for assuring the acceptance of a particular cultural discourse to a means of generating local pride, identity and income (2007: 103). However they suggest the cultural content of such festivals is limited and there is a fear that the more traditional culture of these societies is being replaced by a globalised, popular culture. (Crespi- Vallbona & Richards 2007:103).

Festivals provide periods of intense cultural activity and employment for artists along with opportunities for audiences to access a variety of cultural experiences. Research into visitation to the 2009 Hong Kong Arts Festival, for example, found that over 41,000 attended performances during the four-week period of the event. The festival attracted around 4,000 international visitors and over 37,000 local residents to performances of both international and local companies and artists (Boyle and Joham 2009). Around 40% of the performances scheduled were of local or Chinese artists from both the traditional and contemporary arts. Visitors indicated that experiencing Asian culture was an important aspect of their attendance, which was reflected in their responses in visiting museums and local heritage sites (Boyle, Joham, and Abdullah 2012). As well as the significant cultural value the festival brought, it also generated between HK$40 million and HK$110 million in direct economic activity, with the lower figure based only on visitors specific to the festival, while the upper limit included all expenditure attributable by festival attendees (Boyle and Joham 2009). 

Arts Tourism and Tourist Art

Cultural tourism is a growing area. According to the Australia Council:

• Over 50 per cent of all international visitors to Australia participate in at least one cultural or heritage activity during their stay, according to a 2008 survey by Tourism Research Australia.
• Among domestic overnight tourists, 20 per cent participate in two or more cultural or heritage activities during their stay. Among domestic day tourists, the participation rate drops to 8 per cent.
• The most popular cultural or heritage activity for international visitors was visiting a historical or heritage building, with 61 per cent participating. This was followed by visiting museums or art galleries with 57 per cent participating.
• For domestic overnight visitors, visiting museums or art galleries was the most popular activity, with 44 per cent participating. This was followed by visiting a historical or heritage building with 30 per cent participating.
• For day visitors, visiting museums or art galleries was also the most popular activity, with 35 per cent participating; followed by visiting a historical or heritage building with 24 per cent participating.

(http://www.tra.gov.au/documents/Snapshots_2009_Cultural_FINAL.pdf)

In the most recent study undertaken by the Australia Council Over two million international visitors to Australia in 2013–14 were arts tourists, which includes gallery visitors and attendees at festivals or performing arts events. Over the last four years, the number of international tourists to Australia has grown by 13 percent, while the number of international arts tourists has increased 19 percent to 2.4 million in 2013–1417. More than one in four international tourists visited a museum or art gallery in 2013–14, making it the most popular arts tourism activity. This level of engagement is similar to the UK and the USA (26% for Australia, 27% for the UK, 24% for the USA) (Australia Council, 2015).

Many tourists seek out authentic cultural experiences as well as purchasing artistic works as souvenirs. However one major area of concern in the world of tourist art is authenticity. Some authors claim that 90% of art labelled as being of “aboriginal style” is not made by Aboriginal people. Much of what is tagged in this way has been mass produced by white people, produced offshore and with no consent from Aboriginal people for the use of any symbols or patterns. In April 2010 Mayvic Pty Ltd, an Australian households goods wholesaler had to withdraw fridge magnets featuring Aboriginal rock art after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission raised concerns about its authenticity.

Additional Resources

Included with this topic are the following additional resources:

1. Video of an interview with the OzAsia Festival Director, Joseph  Mitchell talking about his approach to running this unique arts festival.
2. Link to the OzAsia website
3. An article on Michael Kaiser discussing his approach to running the Kennedy Arts Centre
4. A presentation by David Fishel on theatre management
5. A link to the OECD report on the Impact of Culture on Tourism 

References

Arcodia, C and Whitford, M. 2006. Festival Attendance and the Development of Social Capital. Journal of Convention and Event Tourism, Vol. 8 (2) p. 1-18

Australia Council for the Arts 2015, Arts Nation: An Overview of Australian Arts, 2015 Edition, Sydney, Australia

Bjorkegren, D 1996. The Culture Business. Routledge, London.

Boyle, S and Joham C, 2009. 2009 Hong Kong Arts Festival Economic Impact Report.

Boyle, S, Joham C and Abdullah, ABM 2012. "The Hong Kong Arts Festival and Cultural Activity Choices". International Review of Business Research Papers Vol. 8, No.4, pp. 131 – 143

 Crespi-Vallbona, M. and Richards, G. 2007. The Meaning of Cultural Festivals: Stakeholder perspectives in Catalunya. International Journal of Cultural Policy, Vol 13(1) p. 103-120.

Fjell, L. 2007. Contemporary Festival: Polyphony of Voices and Some New Agents. Stud. Ethnol. Croat. Vol 19, p. 129-149

Prentice, R and Anderson, V. 2003. Festival as Creative Destination, Annals of Tourism Research, 30:1, pp. 7-30