Appendix 8: Engagement with culture among equality groups
The main source of statistical information is the Continuous Household Survey. It is used by the NI Statistics and Research Agency to produce official statistics for the Department for Communities (DfC)Footnote thirty-five. Its figures relate to the whole of NI.
Thrive, the audience development agency, carried out Belfast-specific research in 2016/17. It also looked in more detail at different types of culture (such as popular and cultural film, music, heritage and outdoor events).
Religious belief
According to DfC in 2020/21, people from the two main religions, Catholic and Protestant, were equally as likely (86 per cent) to engage with culture (including arts, libraries, museums, PRONI and places of historic interest). 89 per cent of people of other or no religion engaged in culture, although the margin of error in the statistics means the difference may not be significant.
Ethnic group
There is currently no regularly published local government or NI data relating to the ethnic background of those engaging in culture and arts.
In GB, research has found that people from White or Mixed ethnic backgrounds are more likely to engage with the arts than people from Black or Asian minoritized ethnic (BAME) backgroundsFootnote thirty-six.
People from minoritized ethnic groups can face multiple social, economic and cultural barriers to sports, arts and other cultural engagement. These barriers to participation may include communications and language; perceived irrelevance of arts to own culture; money; lack of transport; and lack of time and timings of events.
Diversity means that people see others “like them” involved in culture and have their culture and experience reflected back in activity that is relevant and authentic. In 2020/21 the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) reported that 5 per cent of the workforce of their core-funded clients were from a minoritized ethnic background, while 24 per cent of core-funded activity specifically targeted minoritized ethnic groupsFootnote thirty-seven.
Age
People tend to engage less with culture and arts as they get older, and those aged 65 and over are least likely to engage. The decline continues as people reach 75 and older. A lot of research identifies older people as the demographic group where there is greatest inequality and that is most difficult to engage. However, there are also differential impacts depending on type of culture and activity (sports, arts, heritage, participation, attendance, and so on).
Thrive’s 2016/17 audience baseline found that older people are more likely to watch a cultural film (arthouse, documentary or foreign language), participate in museums and heritage activity, attend literature events and use public archives than other ages.
It also identified that there is a likely correlation with marital status: that is, older, single people are less likely to engage with culture.
Having someone to go with may also be a barrier: the Age-friendly Belfast Plan 2018–21 found that one in five older people in Belfast do not have any close friends. This is higher for men (22 per cent compared to 16 per cent for women) and for those in the oldest age group.
Among other age groups, Thrive’s research showed that cost is the main barrier for both 16- to 24-year-olds and 45- to 54-year-olds. Twenty-five- to 34-years-olds are time-poor because of their social lives, but 35- to 44-year-olds are time-poor because of family and work.
Research in England has found that outdoor arts audiences tend to be representative of the demographics of the public in their area.Footnote thirty-eight However, thrive found that this is not the case in NI where outdoor audiences tend to skew younger. There may be practical and societal barriers such as ableism – 1 in every 2 people aged over 65 in Belfast has a disability or long-term health condition – and lack of transport or seating. This means that there is an opportunity to learn from the diversity of outdoor events in GB.
Marital status
According to DfC, in 2020/21 married or cohabiting and single people (88 per cent) were more likely than separated or divorced and widowed people (82 per cent and 71 per cent respectively) to engage with culture. Barriers to engagement may include cost and lack of people to go with.
As outlined above, thrive’s 2016/17 audience baseline indicates there is a likely correlation between age, marital status and cultural engagement.
Sexuality
ACNI’s Annual Funding Survey 2020/21 reports that 22 per cent of core-funded activity specifically targets LGBTQ+ communities.Footnote thirty-nine However, there is little information on rates of cultural attendance and participation among this community. Barriers to participation may include services designed on the assumption that the users are heterosexual and events and activities that are not reflective of their culture.
Men and women generally
Women are historically more likely to engage in culture than men, although the gap appears to be closing: according to DfC in 2020/21, 88 per cent of women in NI engaged with culture compared to 85 per cent of men (the difference is not statistically significant).
There are also differences depending on type of culture and activity (sports, arts, heritage, participation, attendance, and so on). However, there were few areas that thrive found to be a little more popular with men. These included certain types of music (techno/electronic, jazz/Blues and folk/trad/world music), comedy and public archives.
There are also differences according to multiple identities: for example, young men are harder to engage than young women or men generally; they are much less likely to participate in activities such as reading; but they are much more likely to engage in some digital culture such as playing computer games.
Disabled people
According to DfC, in 2019/20 disabled people were less likely to engage in arts than people without disabilities (77 per cent compared to 90 per cent) or to visit a place of historic interest (47 per cent compared to 62 per cent).
Thrive found the difference greatest in these activities.
- Watching a mainstream film on general released in a cinema or venue.
- Attending big outdoor event.
- Visiting a museum or historical exhibition.
- Attending rock, pop or country music.
- Visiting a National Trust property.
- Reading books or eBooks.
- Watching a mainstream film on general release: at home or in private.
- Visiting any other historic site (castle, ruin, historic church or cathedral).
- Watching a documentary, foreign language or arthouse film: at home or in private.
- Attending a play or drama.
According to the ACNI, disabled audiences are more likely to feel uncomfortable or out of place (10 per cent compared to 2 per cent compared to the general population), lack transport (11 per cent compared to 3 per cent) and have access to the facilities they need at an activity (4 per cent compared to 0.3 per cent).Footnote forty
People with dependants
Historically, people with dependants have been more likely to engage with culture, which may reflect the volume and variety of programming aimed at children and families. However, this gap appears to be closing: in 2020/21, DfC reported that 89 per cent of people with dependants engaged in culture compared to 85 per cent of people without dependants (the difference is not statistically significant).
There may be differential impacts for different groups with dependants, such as lone parents. It is also likely that people with caring responsibilities for older people and disabled people face additional barriers including transport, cost, time and need for respite care.
Participation in consultation and engagement
Evidence from recent Belfast City Council surveys suggests that younger people tend to be less involved in council consultation and engagement. For example, 2 per cent of respondents to a 2019 council survey were under 24 compared to 61 per cent who were aged 25 to 59.
Younger people are also less likely to feel that they are able to influence public policy. According to the 2020 Belfast residents’ survey, 47.5 per cent of young people aged 16 to 24 agreed that “I am able to have a say on how services are run, what the priorities are or where investment is needed” compared to 59.5 per cent for the whole population across all ages.
According to the council’s Equality Consultative Forum, people with caring responsibilities may find it difficult to take part in engagement opportunities, and the council’s Putting You First customer service strategy notes that people with dependants may prefer to carry out business digitally due to demands on their time.
However, digital solutions do not work for everyone: according to Age-friendly Belfast, 51 per cent of people aged 65 and over in Belfast have never accessed the internet.
Putting You First: Transforming Customer Experiences also notes increasing challenges serving all customers due to language barriers and cultural differences.
Footnotes
Footnote thirty-five: www.communities-ni.gov.uk/topics/dfc-statistics-and-research
Footnote thirty-six: See, for example, www.gov.uk/government/statistics/taking-part-201920-arts/arts-taking-part-survey-201920
Footnote thirty-seven: http://artscouncil-ni.org/research-and-development/research-publications
Footnote thirty-eight: The Audiences Agency, “Outdoor Arts Audience Report: What Audience Finder says about audiences for the Outdoor Arts”, 2018
Footnote thirty-nine: http://artscouncil-ni.org/research-and-development/research-publications
Footnote forty: www.artscouncil-ni.org/images/uploads/publications-documents/ACNI-Annual-Progress-Report-Disability-Action-Plan-2017-18.pdf
