a view on amateur arts

Amateur

Arts Forum

A view on amateur arts Forum voor Amateurkunsten

Amateur arts in Flanders

Amateur arts in Flanders Participation in creative activities.

Participation rates per discipline (in %)

Foreword One third of the Flemish population practises a creative hobby in their free time. Among youngsters this number of frequent practitioners even amounts to 65%. Apart from personal development and learning new things, social motives like a cosy atmosphere and spending time with friends play an important role. This is shown by sociological research (2009) conducted by the VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and Ghent University.

About 2,250 people took part in the population survey, offering a representative sample of the population in Flanders and Brussels. In addition, a member survey was conducted amongst some 5,500 members/registered affiliates of the nine amateur art organizations.

The Amateur Arts Forum/Forum voor Amateur-kunsten launches this brochure to present the main results of the population and member surveys into amateur arts in Flanders to an international audience. This way we want to make sure further research into the amateur arts remains a top priority both in Belgium and abroad.

A view on amateur arts: results Respondents of this scientific research study where presented with a list of 58 creative activities. For each art form they were asked whether they had practised it in the six months leading up to the survey.

An estimated 37% of Flemish people between the ages of 14 and 75 practised at least one creative hobby in the past six months. “What is surprising is not the number of amateur artists,”says professor Mark Elchardus, “but the frequency with which they pursue their hobby”. 27% of Flemish people can be considered frequent practitioners. This means that they pursue at least one creative hobby every week or two different disciplines at least several times a month. In comparison, only a minority of the Flemish population (29%) has never practised any kind of art form.

Some art forms are clearly practised more often than others. The top five consists of photography (excluding family and holiday photos), playing an instrument, keeping a diary or writing down short thoughts, drawing and multimedia. Most amateur artists limit their creative activities to one of the following disciplines: photo, film and multimedia, writing, dancing, singing, visual arts, theatre or music. A little less than a quarter of artists pursue two disciplines, eleven per cent combine three and five per cent combine four disciplines.

2

% practitioners

photography (excluding family or holiday photos)

7,4

playing an instrument

6,5

keeping a diary/writing down short thoughts

5,7

drawing

5,5

multimedia (bv. VJing, game design, web design,…)

4,6

film/video (excluding family or holiday videos)

3,5

writing a weblog

3,5

textile arts (weaving, embroidery, etc.)

3,4

writing travel journals

3,2

writing poetry, rhymes or poems

2,9

playing pop or rock music

2,9

writing articles or opinion pieces

2,7

painting

2,7

world dance

2,5

contemporary dance

2,3

playing classical music

2,2

community singing

1,9

DJing or making electronic music

2,0

writing essays

1,9

choral Singing

1,9

acting in theatre plays

1,7

hip hop, streetdance, breakdance

1,4

writing lyrics

1,3

folk dance and historical dance

1,3

graphic arts

1,3

jazz or modern dance

1,3

music production (recording and editing)

1,3

paper art

1,2

music composition

1,2

ballroom dancing

1,2

playing jazz music

1,2

playing music in a brass band

1,2

solo singing

1,1

writing (short) columns

0,9

mixed media

0,9

playing world/folk music

0,8

writing novels or (short) stories for adults

0,7

singing in a band

0,7

ceramics

0,6

calligraphy

0,6

writing novels or (short) stories for children

0,4

writing drama scripts

0,4

classical ballet

0,3

vocal ensemble

0,3

goldsmith art

0,3

musical theatre or musical play

0,3

musical

0,2

rap

0,2

mime theatre or movement theatre

0,2

puppetry, circus

0,2

playing in or directing children’s plays

0,2

cabaret, stand-up comedy

0,2

majorette or baton twirling

0,1

opera or operetta

0,1

musical theatre – singing

< 0,1

3

Amateur arts in Flanders folk singing

< 0,1

glass art

< 0,1

other

0,4

The amateur artist: general profile The practising of amateur arts is clearly related to age.

Frequency of amateur arts participation, by age (in %)

frequently

occasionally

in the past

never

14-17 year

64,3

10,9

8,5

16,3

18-34 year

39,9

7,9

32,4

19,8

35-54 year

23,2

10,9

38,4

27,5

55-65 year

20,8

10,3

33,6

35,3

65+

11,9

7,0

37,4

43,7

Young people are more often involved in amateur arts than older people. More than 65% of youngsters between 14 and 17 years old are frequently involved in amateur arts.

This is only true for 12% of people over 65. The participation rate clearly decreases with age. In addition, over 40% of people older than 65 reported never having been involved in amateur arts, while this is only the case for less than 20% of the current generation of youngsters.

This indicated that the differences between younger and older people are not just related to age but that there is a cohort effect as well. The range of creative activities offered both during and after school today is much wider than, let’s say, twenty years ago and this brings about longterm consequences.

Apart from age, another factor that influences participation in arts is gender. Women participate in amateur arts more often than men and also do so more frequently: 32% of women frequently participate in amateur arts, while this is true for only 24% of men. Women are relatively more active in the visual arts, singing, dancing and writing categories. Among participants in music and photo, film and multimedia, on the other hand, men are in the majority. Theatre attracts about as many men as women.

There seems to be a correlation with level of education as well. Highly educated people are the most creative: 39% of respondents with a higher education degree frequently pursue a creative hobby, while 19% of respondents indicated only having received a secondary education and 14% of respondents who call themselves amateur artists only have a lower secondary education. Also noteworthy is the fact that frequent amateur arts practitioners more often hold leadership positions than people who are not active amateur artists at the moment. But other than that there seems to be no correlation between the frequency of amateur art participation and monthly family income.

Our research showed that, contrary to what is often assumed, people in rural environments participate in amateur art activities just as often as people living in an urban environment. Geographical impact seems thus rather limited.

4

Amateur arts in Flanders Frequency of amateur arts participation according to environment (in %)

urban environment

total

never

rural environment 29,5

26,8

28,9

in the past but not anymore

33,7

34,0

33,8

occasionally

9,8

8,8

9,6

frequently

27,0

30,4

27,8

total

100,0

100,0

100,0

(N)

1529,0

467,0

1996,0

source: Amateur Arts Population Survey

Organizational structures To what extent are amateur arts in Flanders practised in organized structures? In other words, how big is the share of amateur artists that have taken lessons or that have been active in an association as compared to the non-organized field of people who do not convene for lessons or club meetings?

Organization rate per discipline (in %)

organized

general (n=997)

not-organized

35,1

64,9

creative writing (n=186)

8,1

91,9

photo, film and multimedia (n=224)

8,5

91,5

painting (n=229)

19,2

80,8

music (n=236)

30,8

69,2

singing (n=212)

35,4

64,6

sculpture (n=74) 41,8

58,2

dancing (n=158)

61,1

38,9

theatre (n=56)

73,0

27,0

source: Cultural Participation Survey 2003-2004

Our research showed that only 13% of respondents exclusively practised their hobby/hobbies on their own; 54% indicated practising art on their own every once in a while.

The majority (51%), however, regularly practices art in a group setting. This can be an association, a club or a band.

34% turns to friends for their creative hobby.

Also training is part of the organized domain. A quarter of amateur artists, across all disciplines, attended part time arts education as part of their secondary school education (“deeltijds kunstonderwijs”). One fifth registered for workshops, training sessions, courses etc. other than those of a part time arts school’s curriculum. About 7% of amateur artists combined both. amateur arts participation (past and present) according to organizational structure per discipline (in %, only amateur artists) % parttime arts education (dko) % course % club % friends % alone N photo, film and multimedia 11,1 writing

14,6

11,8

19,6

1,1

5,0

3,6

4,7

52,9 226,0 90,9

341,0

dancing

6,7

15,6

54,4

28,9

5,9

167,0

singing

16,0

5,0

56,7

24,9

14,1

333,0

54,7 428,0

visual arts

26,1

15,1

10,4

13,0

theatre

10,6

7,3

52,4

31,6

music

31,6

11,6

29,3

28,4

5

4,8

193,0

42,5 379,0

Amateur arts in Flanders general

25,2

20,2

51,4

34,4

38,4

72,3

53,6 1045,0

source: Amateur Arts Population Survey

A striking detail is that organized structures are more often chosen by female amateur artists than by their male counterparts.

Practising art is clearly not an isolated fact. Not only are amateur arts often organized, they are also strongly embedded in the family context. More than half (57%) of the participating amateur artists who do not live on their own have a close family member who is also an amateur artist.

Visual artists are the exception here. Those who play an instrument mostly do match this trend.

Amateur arts on the family level Culturally active parents encourage their children to become receptive cultural participants. Earlier research also indicated that culturally active people often have a partner who also takes part in cultural activities. Based on these findings research was conducted to see to what extent participation in amateur arts is shared within the household.

Participation in amateur arts – both occasional and frequent – is strongly embedded in the family context. More than half (57%) of responding amateur artists who do not live on their own say that there is at least one other person in their household who takes part in amateur arts. Looking at the different art forms we can say that family members often pursue the same one(s).

Discipline-specific illustration of amateur arts participation in households

➊

➋

➌

dance

39,4

35,9

24,6

theatre

38,5

44,2

17,3

photo, film and multimedia

38,3

30,3

31,3

visual arts

47,2

31,9

20,9

music

33,2

36,9

29,9

singing

40,6

34,4

25,0

writing

44,0

34,0

22,0

➊ No other amateur artists in the household ➋ At least 1 other amateur artist in the household (different art form) ➌ At least 1 other amateur artist in the household (same art form)

As we zoom in on each discipline we notice that 43% of people who pursue dance, theatre, photo, film and multimedia or creative writing do not have a family member who is also an active amateur artist. Also striking in this regard are people who play an instrument: they have a slightly bigger chance to have an amateur artist among their family members. Only a third of amateur artists do not have any family members who take part in a form of amateur arts as well. On the other hand, visual artists caught our attention: in 47% of the cases there is no other amateur artist among their family members.

6

Amateur arts in Flanders Reasons people start out as amateur artists The member survey demonstrates the importance of receptive participation. Many amateur artists first discovered their hobby by taking part in cultural activities.

Almost 60% of respondent members of recognised amateur arts organizations say that they discovered their hobby through performances, concerts or events. In second place comes school with an impressive 43%. This is mainly the case for instrumental and pop music, and to a lesser degree for singing, theatre and visual arts. For writing, photography, film making and jazz/folk/world music, school does not seem such a strong springboard. Thirdly and fourthly, part-time art education and the alternative training scene play an introductory role.

The motives that move people to start practising amateur arts are often of a social nature. Following a friend’s example and/or meeting new people is a main motive (valid for about 40%of respondents). Almost 30% of artists stimulation is from parents and/or school who played an important role. Only a minority does it to “impress people” and/or “because people look up to someone who practises art”.

Whether or not people become amateur artists greatly depends on their childhood. The more people are involved (both actively and receptively) in cultural activities in their younger years, the bigger the chance that they will become amateur artists as well. For people under the age of 18 the role of parents is very important: if they were involved in amateur arts, there is a considerably higher chance that their children will be as well.

Focus on teachers The fact that someone is a teacher is a stronger factor than gender and education. Teachers are twice as likely to pursue a creative hobby than people in other professions.

In comparison: 42% of non-teachers indicated having pursued an artistic hobby in the six months leading up to the survey. For teachers this percentage amounts to an impressive 67%. Furthermore, teachers pursue more different forms of amateur arts than non-teachers.

Among teachers there are proportionally more amateur artists in each of the defined art forms. For example: not even 2% of the active Flemish population is involved in sculpting, modelling, ceramics or pottery; among teachers, on the other hand, this number increases to 8.5%.

Furthermore, the percentage of people who sing or play a musical instrument is about three times higher among teachers than it is among the rest of the active population.

Amateur arts participation: comparison between teachers and non-teachers Practised in the last 6 months – no teacher dancing*

% N 5,4

3013

theatre

2,9

3013

photographic, film, video or computerart

11,6

3008

painting, drawing or graphics

6,1

3012

sculpture, molding, ceramic or pottery

1,8

3012

playing a musicinstrument

7,8

3014

7

Amateur arts in Flanders singing

7,1

3011

creative writing

5,0

3003

creative with textile

8,4

3013

41,6

3016

a form of amateur arts

selection participants participates more than 1 form

45,1

Practised in the last 6 months – teacher

1254

Amateur arts in Flanders Activity 2

%

(N)

1. Because it relaxes me

87,7%

557

2. To learn new things

66,0%

557

3. Because it earns me the recognition of others

32,6%

557

4. Because it calms me down

76,1%

557

5. To spend time with friends

35,4%

557

6. To develop my personality

66,4%

557

%

(N)

7. Because it takes me to another world

31,1%

557

11,9

236

8. Because of the cosy atmosphere

66,2%

557

theatre

6,8

236

9. Because it looks good among friends or acquaintances 14,6%

557

photographic, film, video or computerart

17,4

236

1 0. To meet people who share my interests.

557

painting, drawing or graphics

14,0

236

8,5

236

dancing

sculpture, molding, ceramic or pottery playing a musicinstrument

21,7

235

singing

21,7

235

creative writing

13,7

235

creative with textile

13,2

235

a form of amateur arts

66,9

236

selection participants participates more than 1 form

62,7

158

* such as jazzballet, modern dance, classical dance or folkdance source: Cultural Participation Survey 2003-2004

Amateur art participation: motives and thresholds Amateur artists (registered with one of the recognised amateur arts organizations) spend almost a full working day a week on their artistic activity, i.e. an average of 7.6 hours/week. Visual artists usually invest twice as much time: 14.5 hours a week. Weekdays are more popular as training moments than weekends and school holidays.

Relaxation is most cited as a reason why people practise amateur arts. It was referred to by more than 90% of respondents. Learning new things and/or personal development is an incentive for 84% of people. Mainly musicians (9.5 out of 10) but also dancers, theatre actors and visual artists (9 out of 10) like a challenge. Thirdly, there are the social motives: spending time with friends, enjoying a cosy atmosphere and/or meeting new people who share the same interests.

Reason why people pursue their most commonly and second most commonly practised amateur art form (in %) Activity 1

The birth of their children is not necessarily a reason for amateur artists to give up their hobby. It does cause a decrease in the frequency with which they pursue it. The most cited reasons why people give up the amateur arts are different hobbies and lack of time. The first is mainly cited by men. Thresholds of a more social nature like “not being accepted by friends and family” play only a minimal role.

From the age of 35 onwards the number of frequent practitioners decreases to one in four. Among people older than 55, it is one in five and among people older than 65 is it just lower than 12%. Although seniors have more time at their disposal it occurs only rarely that they use this time to catch up on creativity and cultural training.

Amateur arts presentation To what extent do amateur artist show their work to others? Members of the recognised amateur art organizations were asked whether they had ever presented their creative activities to others.

Across all disciplines it was established that 66% had ever shown his or her creative activities to others. This happens most frequently among visual artists (98%) and photo/film artists. Also a big majority of people active in the fields of pop music and writing choose to display their creative output. For jazz/ folk/world music the proportions are slight lower (76% and 71% respectively). People playing instrumental music, dancers and singers are the least inclined to display their output.

The audience of those who present their work to others mainly consists of family members and other amateur artists. Most amateur artists are the least inclined to show their output to professional artists.

%

(N)

91,4%

1166

2. To learn new things

70,7%

1165

3. Because it earns me the recognition of others

42,2%

1162

close family members

4. Because it calms me down

79,3%

1166

5. To spend time with friends

39,8%

1165

6. To develop my personality

71,1%

1164

7. Because it takes me to another world

34,4%

1164

8. Because of the cosy atmosphere

1. Because it relaxes me

34,4%

presentation of amateur arts output to different target audiences (in %) never

rarely

8,9

50,7

other relatives

22,5

friends or acquaintances

10,2

colleagues other artists (amateurs)

occasionally frequently 15,3

25,1

65,9

8,5

3,2

65,3

15,2

9,3

41,0

47,2

6,6

5,2

16,1

52,4

14,8

16,7

73,9%

1165

other artists (professionals)

39,1

44,9

7,6

8,5

9. Because it looks good among friends or acquaintances 15,5%

1165

unknown audience

24,4

59,8

11,9

3,9

10. To meet people who share my interests.

1165

37,6%

8

9

Amateur arts in Flanders

Amateur arts in Flanders

Internet use among amateur artists The main reasons for internet use in the framework of amateur art participation seem to be research into discipline-related activities on an activity calendar (often cited by, among others, dancers), looking at, listening to or reading about other artists’ work (often cited by visual artists, pop musicians and jazz/folk/world musicians ) and looking up information on techniques (very often cited by pop musicians and visual expression artists).

On average most practitioners (58%) bear the costs of their hobbies themselves. Sometimes (in 31% of all cases) costs are (partly) borne by the association one belongs to.

Costs are also partly covered by government aid or financial support from parents. About 17% of amateur artists manage to some extent to use income generated from their hobby to compensate for expenses. It does have to be noted that this generated income is generally not very high.

Two thirds derive no income from their hobby (dancers and theatre actors, among others). A small group, mainly visual artists and pop musicians, do make money from their hobbies. The biggest income sources are exhibitions and performances. The second biggest is teaching. Relatively little money is earned by the sale of art work or merchandising.

Economic aspects of amateur arts Is it expensive to take part in amateur arts in Flanders or is it possible to make money out of it?

In general it appears that for a vast majority of members of the amateur arts organizations pursuing their hobby is not free of cost. Only 6% do not spend any money on their hobby. About 8% of active members spend less than 50 euros. More than a quarter of respondents (28%) spend between 50 and 249 euros, a little over a third of people (36%) spend between 250 and 999 euros. A big group of respondents (22 %) spends more than 1.000 euros a year on amateur arts. Generally speaking creative writers, singers and theatre actors are those who spend less money on their hobby. Pop-rock musicians, on the other hand, tend to make the biggest investment.

Annual expenses for each discipline (in %)

nothing < 50 50-249 250-999 ≥1000 total

Total (n=3472)

6,2

8,3

27,5

36,1

photo, film & multimedia (n=438) 0,7

3,2

20,3

43,8 32,0 100,0

21,9 100,0

writing (n=295)

21,7

8,5

25,4

36,3

dancing (n=312)

2,2

3,8

30,1

43,6 20,2 100,0

8,1 100,0

singing (n=518)

9,1

15,6

36,5

30,1

visual arts (n=732)

1,6

0,8

11,3

48,2 38,0 100,0

8,7 100,0

theatre (n=346)

5,8

12,7

39,9

25,4 16,2 100,0

music general (n=1052)

6,1

4,8

19,3

39,2 30,7 100,0

pop/rock music (n=138)

2,2

1,4

7,2

38,4 50,7 100,0

jazz/folk/world (n=259)

3,5

0,8

13,9

42,1 39,8 100,0

instrumental (n=529)

6,0

6,6

24,8

39,1 23,4 100,0

The three main expense categories are transport, instruments/material and membership fees. Renting rehearsal space or studios (creation) and renting exhibition rooms or stage equipment (presentation) are generally considered as smaller expenditure items. Of course the impact varies depending on the art discipline.

Annual expenses (in %) nothing

<€50

membership fee

41,2

33,3

€50-249 €250-999 ≥€1000 22,1

7,2

Instruments

39,0

17,2

20,2

3,8

Infrastructure

80,5

6,5

7,5

11,5

Promote

81,4

7,1

7,0

5,7

Transport

30,0

25,1

30,5

11,5

Renting space

87,3

3,1

4,6

3,8

Course or training

63,7

9,1

19,0

7,2

Information/documents 50,6

20,4

21,9

5,7

10

3,0 3,0

annual earnings from amateur arts: total earnings per source of income (in %)

nothing <€50 €50-249 €250-999 ≥€1000 total

teaching

88,0

1,8

2,7

2,6

4,9

100,0

selling works of art

96,8

0,8

1,4

0,6

0,5

100,0

performances, presentation 75,0

5,0

9,2

6,6

4,1

100,0

selling CDs, DVDs, books, etc. 93,2

1,9

2,7

1,3

1,0

100,0

promotion and merchandise 99,1

0,0

0,3

0,3

0,3

100,0

source: Member Survey into Amateur Arts (n=3075)

Perception of amateur arts Respondents of the population survey were asked to indicate what comes to mind when they hear the words “amateur arts”. A majority links the words “amateur arts” to “enthusiasm” (68%) and “creativity” (67%). These results are followed, after a large gap, by the following characteristics (each cited by about 35% of respondents): social, without obligation, commitment and originality. More negative connotations like “boring”, “not serious” and “inferior” were only indicated by a small minority of respondents.

In the member survey respondents were asked about the emotional value of the phrase “amateur arts” in the same way. Just as in the population survey practitioners of the different art forms assess the phrase “amateur arts” very positively. As in the population survey, “enthusiasm” is the most commonly cited association (86%). Secondly, “social” (68%) and “creativity” (59%) score highly across all disciplines. Only a minority of 6% of artists associated amateur arts with the word “expertise”. It has to be noted that results vary according to the different disciplines. Members of Poppunt (pop-rock musicians and DJs), KUNSTWERKT (visual arts) and Creatief Schrijven (writing) expressed a slightly bolder opinion. They more often indicated words like “boring”, “inferior” and “not serious”.

Cumulative participation Amateur artists do not shy away from active commitment. Our research has shown that they have a bigger social network in comparison with the rest of the Flemish population. Additionally, they attach more importance to personal development and generally have stronger self-esteem.

11

Amateur arts in Flanders Does this also mean that they participate more actively in other leisure sectors?

Yes, it does. Compared to people who do not pursue an artistic hobby, amateur artists more often take part in cultural activities and events. The more frequent and recent their experience with amateur arts, the higher the level of receptive cultural participation. For example: going to the cinema, participating in a literary event, attending music performances or festivals, attending (amateur) theatre productions or (choir) concerts, visiting a museum or going to see an exhibition. Among the frequent amateur arts practitioners a little over a quarter can be considered a “hardcore cultural participant”. They participate in about every cultural activity and show a widespread interest in all forms of art and culture. Just 16% of frequent amateur artists only rarely take part in cultural activities. receptive cultural participation: comparison of amateur artists and the rest of the population (in %)

➊

➋

➌

38,5

61,5

54,9

going to a cinema with a limited number of new films 18,4

32,9

27,8

going to a cinema that offers many new films going to a film museum or film festival

1,9

4,3

3,2

attending a literary event

2,8

8,4

5,7

attending a dance performance

6,9

13,7

11,5

attending a ballet, contemporary dance

5,6

11,7

9,4

or ballroom dance performance 17,0

17,0

20,3

attending a big show of a foreign pop/rock musician 10,5

attending a big show of a dutch-speaking artist

13,8

13,9

attending a local performance by a local artist

21,9

34,6

31,8

attending a pop or rock festival

13,9

26,0

21,2

3,0

6,7

5,5

attending amateur theatre

attending an r&b, hiphop or rap performance

22,4

33,1

31,0

attending professional theatre

15,1

27,3

23,4

attending a comedy performance

13,3

18,8

17,4

attending a jazz or blues concert

4,8

9,0

7,4

attending a folk concert or festival

5,0

11,0

8,6 16,6

12,4

16,9

attending an opera performance

going to see a musical

3,0

6,2

4,9

attending a choir performance

7,8

13,4

12,0

attending a classical concert

13,0

26,8

21,0

attending the performance of a brass band

12,0

16,6

16,3

visiting a museum or exhibition

31,4

57,0

47,7

visiting a gallery or attending a vernissage

13,3

24,1

20,3

visiting landmark buildings or monuments

41,3

59,0

56,4

visiting archaeological sites

12,0

21,4

18,5

➊ other people (n= 1310) ➋ amateur artists (n= 766) ➌ receptive participants (n= 1889) source: Population Survey into Amateur Arts

Amateur arts in Flanders Listening to music: amateur artists as compared to the rest of the population (in %) amateur artist?

% no

% yes

listening to instrumental music (n=2076)

28,2

42,3

listening to popular music (n=2076)

81,4

87,5

listening to folk/jazz/world music (n=2075)

54,2

68,8

source: Amateur Arts Population Survey

Additionally, for every non-practitioner who is an active or organizing member of a cultural association there are three amateur artists who are members of such association.

We can therefore say that amateur artists are more socially active than people who do not pursue an artistic hobby.

Finally, we would like to mention that amateur artists more often play sports than respondents who do not have a creative hobby (31% as opposed to 17 %).

Instructing organization and used methods The Flemish amateur arts sector is strongly developed and includes nine nationally recognised amateur arts organizations. They support many thousands of artists and interested members in every sub-discipline.

Vlamo (instrumental music), KUNSTWERKT (visual arts), Creatief Schrijven (writing), Poppunt (pop-rock musicians and DJs), Centrum voor Beeldexpressie (photo, film and multimedia), Muziekmozaïek (folk and jazz music), Koor&Stem (vocal music), Danspunt (dance) and OPENDOEK (theatre) were keen to receive more data about the people they support. The sector therefore decided to commission a large-scale research project: a sociological study that includes both a population and a member survey.

Two universities joined forces to manage this task. Under the leadership of professor Mark Elchardus (VUB) and professor John Lievens (UGent) Dries vanherwegen (UGent), Jessy Siongers (VUB), Wendy Smits (VUB) and Guido Vangoidsenhoven (VUB) successfully conducted the research.

Preparation included the analysis of 2,253 filled-in postal questionnaires. These surveys were sent to a representative sample of the population in Flanders and Brussels. Additional data were collected through 5,533 filled-in internet surveys, conducted amongst members/ registered affiliates of the nine amateur arts organizations. In addition to data from the population and member survey data from earlier surveys, such as the Cultural Participation Survey in Flanders 2003-2004, was used as a foundation for this research.

The complete report of the survey can be consulted free of charge at www.amateurkunsten.be/onderzoek.

Also at home amateur artists are more drawn to cultural products than people who do not participate in amateur arts. Not only do amateur artists read more books or comic books, they also listen to non-popular music more often.

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Amateur arts in Flanders

Amateur arts in Flanders

Content This summary has touched upon some main aspects of this research project. Those interested in the full report can find the table of contents here:

6. Journeys 6.1 Amateur arts through the course of life 6.2 Factors that influence participation in amateur arts 6.3 Thresholds for ex-participants

A view on amateur arts table of contents Foreword Abstract: all hail the amateur artist!

1. Introduction 1.1 About research into amateur arts 1.2 Targets and content

7. Correlates 7.1 Subjective time pressure 7.2 Scope of the social network 7.3 Social support 7.4 Self image 7.5 Personal development

2. Data and methodology 2.1 General 2.2 Determining the sample 2.3 Response rate 2.4 Quality assessment and data input 2.5 Assessment of representativeness 2.6 Secondary analyses 2.7 For correct reading 3. A first glance at the amateur arts in Flanders 3.1 Detailed picture: amateur arts in Flanders 3.2 Amateur arts according to number of practiced disciplines 3.3 Amateur arts according to participation frequency 3.4 Organization rate of the amateur arts domain 3.5 Amateur arts on the family level 4. Profiles 4.1 General profile of the amateur artist according to participation frequency 4.2 Discipline-specific profiles 4.3 Profiles according to organizational structure 4.4 Amateur artists vs. receptive cultural participants 5. Characteristics/modalities of amateur arts participation 5.1 Social context and education 5.2 Reasons people participate/ start participating in amateur arts 5.3 How does one first discover amateur arts?

5.4 The e-amateur: internet use in the framework of amateur arts participation 5.5 Needs of amateur artists 5.6 Amateur artists’ expectations towards amateur arts organizations 5.7 Professionalism 5.8 Economic aspects of amateur arts 5.9 Time devoted to amateur arts, preferred practice moments 5.10 Presentation of amateur arts 5.11 Perception of amateur arts

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8. Attitudes and the amateur arts 8.1 Social integration 8.2 Anomie 8.3 Attitudes and expectations towards cultural policy 9. Cumulative participation 9.1 Receptive cultural participation (outside the home) 9.2 Receptive cultural participation (in private) 9.3 Social participation 9.4 Sports 10. Summarizing comparison between amateur artists and other people Literature Appendix: Focus on teachers

Data update The data presented in this brochure were collected in 2009. More recent participation data can be found in “De anatomie van de amateur: een onderzoek naar de determinanten van actieve cultuurparticipatie” by Dries Vanherwegen in “Participatie in Vlaanderen 2. Eerste analyses van de participatiesurvey 2009”, John Lievens en Hans Waege (red.). This article focuses on a statement of participation in the amateur arts. It shows that mainly the parental factor plays a decisive role. Another important factor is the impact of cultural education in schools.

The results of the next Cultural Participation Survey, a comprehensive and science-based survey into participation in culture and arts, are expected by 2015.

In 2013 the HIVA (the Research Institute for Work and Society associated with KU Leuven) was commissioned by the Flemish government to conduct research into association forms in the amateur arts sector. Results of this research are expected in the autumn of 2013.They will show how and to what extent amateur artists are organized, for example in nonprofits, temporary organizational structures, ad-hoc groups, etc.

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Amateur

Arts

graphic design: www.janenrandoald.be

Forum

Forum voor Amateurkunsten Abrahamstraat 13 9000 Gent T 09 235 40 00 info@amateurkunsten.be www.amateurkunsten.be Centrum voor Beeldexpressie, Creatief Schrijven, Danspunt, Koor&Stem, KunstwerkT, Muziekmoza誰ek, Opendoek, Poppunt, Vlamo

Forum voor Amateurkunsten