This report synthesizes findings across several modes of arts participation (attending the visual and performing arts, reading literature, creating/performing art, using digital media to consume art, and learning within the arts) to show how many American adults--and from which backgrounds--have engaged in art throughout the decade of 2002 to 2012. Based on the NEA's Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA), conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau.

Supplemental materials

More information on the Current Population Survey are at the Census Bureau’s website, including additional technical documents and the record layout of the main CPS.

• Arts Data Profile # 5: States of Engagement: Arts Participation by U.S. Geography
• How a Nation Engages with Art: Highlights from the 2012 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA).
• From Surveys to Solutions: Engaging Audiences in the Arts: A January 12, 2015 NEA/California Arts Council event at which Chairman Chu announced of three new NEA research reports, including this publication, exploring who participates in the arts and why, as well as the arts as an economic engine. The announcement was followed by a panel discussion about how this new information can enable arts organizations to effectively understand their audiences and develop strategies to engage them.
• SPPA Challenge Winners - winning submissions to the NEA SPPA Interactive Data Challenge.
• The 2012 survey instrument.
• A data user's guide, with information on the survey design and the procedures for properly using the raw data file (e.g., choosing weights, performing multi-variable analyses from different modules, computing standard errors, and comparing results with those of prior surveys) as well as the source and accuracy statement.
• The raw data file for the 2012 SPPA in one of three data formats: SPSS, SAS, STATA.
• The replicate weights data file for the 2012 SPPA in one of three data formats: SPSS, SAS, or STATA.
• A new combined data file that aggregates data from SPPA surveys from 1982 through 2012 is now available. This data file can be downloaded from our web site in one of three data formats: SPSS, SAS, or STATA. The accompanying data dictionary for the SPSS, SAS, or STATA combined files is also available.
• More information on the Current Population Survey are at the Census Bureau’s website, including additional technical documents and the record layout of the main CPS
• Previous waves of the SPPA (1982, 1985, 1997, 2002, and 2008) are available on the National Archive of Data on Arts and Culture (NADAC) as part of the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan. For each of the SPPA waves, NADAC provides free downloads and technical documentation and codebooks. Data analysis tools and quick tables are currently available for the 2012 SPPA, and will be available for prior waves of the survey in the coming months of 2015
• More information on the Current Population Survey are at the Census Bureau’s website, including additional technical documents and the record layout of the main CPS.

For further information, please contact the NEA Office of Research & Analysis at (202) 682-5424 or research@arts.gov