Alternative Modes of Arts Participation Survey Highlights – Visual Arts

Hong Kong Arts Development Council commissioned a research consultancy to study the public perceptions of and behaviours on alternative modes of arts participation during COVID-19, in particular being the audience via alternative channels such as social media, paid video-on-demand platforms, and TV / radio broadcast. An online survey was conducted in January 2021 on a random sample of 1,500 Hong Kong citizens aged 16-64. Full report of the survey has been published here. The following is a summary of findings on the Visual Arts section.

1	Changes in Overall Participation Incidence
	1.1	Participation in Visual Arts exhibitions dropped from 14% in 2018-2019 to 11% during COVID-19. (See the left of the chart below)
	1.2	Of the 1,500 respondents, 51% had at some point participated in Visual Arts exhibitions as audience. 5% of the respondents were Retaining Participants, who were not influenced by COVID-19 and had participated in all time periods. (See the right of the chart below)
	1.3	Despite 8% of the respondents having lapsed since the COVID-19 outbreak, 4% resumed participation in Visual Arts exhibitions during the epidemic. (See the right of the chart below)
	1.4	During COVID-19, young adults aged 25-34 and married persons having children under the age of 18 were relatively more active in attending Visual Arts exhibitions or participating in other kinds of activities related to Visual Arts.
2	Physical-mode and Alternative-mode Participation and Future Potential
	2.1	The percentage of audience participation in Visual Arts exhibitions via alternative modes grew from 55% in 2018-2019 to 88% during COVID-19. The main channels were social media platforms, followed by designated official websites. (See the right of the chart below)
	2.2	The average number of participation in Visual Arts exhibitions via alternative modes during COVID-19 was slightly lower than that via physical modes before the epidemic. (From the left of the chart below, participation was on average 3 times per year in 2018-2019 and 2.6 times during COVID-19.)
	2.3	During COVID-19, 20% of the audience were willing to pay for alternative-mode Visual Arts exhibitions. (See the left of the chart below)
	2.4	Participation rate in non-local Visual Arts exhibitions during COVID-19 (46%) was higher than that before the epidemic. (See the left of the chart below)
	2.5	59% of all respondents expressed interest in attending Visual Arts exhibitions at post-COVID-19 period, more than triple the actual participation incidence (19%) in Jan 2018 - Jan 2021. Although there was increased interest in both physical- and alternative-mode Visual Arts exhibitions, the growth was more significant for physical-mode participation.
	2.6	Compared to men, women were more interested in attending Visual Arts exhibitions via physical modes at post-COVID-19 period.
3	Potential Participants
	3.1	Nearly 60% of the respondents expressed interest in attending Visual Arts exhibitions at post-COVID-19 period. From the chart below, it could be seen that the sample of potential participants (the right column) and that of participants from Jan 2018 to Jan 2021 (the middle column) were both skewed towards young adults aged 25-34 and married persons having children under the age of 18. They generally had higher educational attainment and household income.
	3.2	Among those potential participants with interest in physical-mode participation, white-collar and blue-collar workers constituted roughly 30% each. On the other hand, potential alternative-mode participants were skewed towards blue-collar workers (38%), and the percentage of those with post-secondary / university education level (52%) was also lower than that among potential physical-mode participants (69%).
	3.3	Potential participants of alternative-mode Visual Arts exhibitions expected to pay at around 80% of the physical ticket price (see the left of the chart below). Working singles were relatively more willing to pay the same price as in physical exhibitions.
	3.4	More than 80% of potential participants at post-COVID-19 period did not attend Visual Arts exhibitions at the moment (i.e. they were Lapsed Participants or Non-participants) primarily because they had not received information on the arts programmes. Among those Lapsed Participants during COVID-19 who expressed interest in physical-mode participation at post-COVID-19 period, 20% did not visit any exhibitions in 2018-2019 due to high ticket price (see the chart below). Therefore, to attract them in attending exhibitions again, more focus on the pricing strategies and marketing approaches would be necessary.
Click here to download the full analysis on the Visual Arts section.