Edmonton Cultural Capital Benchmark Study
The City of Edmonton has been named the Cultural Capital of Canada for 2007, and in conjunction with this designation, a range of arts and cultural events and activities are scheduled to occur throughout the year. The City would like to understand the impacts that this title and year of celebration have on citizen perceptions of arts and culture. To achieve this, Leger Marketing was commissioned to conduct market research at various times during 2007. The results of the first phase of the research, conducted in June, 2007, are reported here and represent the benchmark against which the year-end results will be compared.
We are pleased that at this point, after the official announcement but prior to most of the Cultural Capital activities taking place, already over 40% of Edmontonians are aware of our designation and 81% agree that Edmonton is worthy of the title “Cultural Capital of Canada.” Three quarters (74%) of residents believe that Edmonton should aim to be ranked in the top three cities in Canada when it comes to support for arts and culture, says Executive Producer – Edmonton Cultural Capital Program, Linda Huffman.
Edmontonians value arts and culture, as illustrated by the fact that 90% think it is important for Edmonton to have a strong arts and culture community, 89% believe Edmonton is a culturally vibrant city, and half (54%) of those surveyed agree that arts and culture impact our daily lives.
There is an appreciation that arts and culture offer social benefits within the City of Edmonton, peripheral to the personal enjoyment that may be more individually derived. In particular:
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87% believe arts and culture plays a positive role in bringing together Edmonton’s different cultures
86% feel the arts positively contribute to the City of Edmonton’s image
85% agree arts and culture contribute to our quality of life in Edmonton
77% think a strong arts and culture community helps Edmonton attract newcomers.
Edmontonians participate in a breadth of arts and cultural activities, and nearly everyone surveyed (93%) recalls attending at least one arts and cultural activity or event in the past year, with the average attending five different types of events during the last 12 months. Specifically, respondents reported participating in the following categories of activities:
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67% attended a festival
56% enjoyed free public art
56% attended some other type of local performance or activity (i.e. Poetry reading or rock concert)
55% attended live theatre
55% attended a museum
51% attended a multicultural performance or concert
46% visited an art gallery or visual arts display
37% attended a live dance performance
28% participated in a non-traditional arts and cultural event or activity
25% attended a symphony
16% attended an opera.
The 2007 Cultural Capital designation is expected by the survey respondents to have positive impacts for the City and for individuals:
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82% feel it will make Edmonton a more creative community
82% think it will increase tourism to Edmonton
80% believe it will allow art to be created that otherwise wouldn’t be
73% predict it will increase their awareness of arts and culture activities in Edmonton·
63% expect it will increase their participation in Edmonton’s arts and culture activities
62% agree it will broaden the variety of arts and cultural events they attend.
The complete Benchmark Study may be found on the home page of the Edmonton Cultural Capital Program website: www.edmontonculturalcapital.com
Media Contact
Christina Tozer
Telephone: 780-497-2336
ctozer@edmontonculturalcapital.com
This study was produced in partnership with Leger Marketing.
The Edmonton Cultural Capital Program receives support from the Federal Government of Canada, Canadian Heritage, City of Edmonton, Edmonton Arts Council.
Media Sponsors: Edmonton Journal, CBC and Pattison Outdoor.