Almost all Australians engage with the arts as attendance hits record high

Australians increasingly recognise the social and personal benefits of creativity, a new report suggests.

Australians increasingly see the arts as a way to connect with culture, community and wellbeing. Source: Getty / Don Arnold

In brief

• Cost pressures remain the biggest barrier to accessing the arts, with many skipping events they wanted to attend.
• Reading levels have steadied, with stronger participation among some communities.

Almost all Australians engage with the arts in some way, according to a new report showing attendance at arts events and festivals has reached its highest level since records began.

Creative Australia's National Arts Participation Survey Results 2025 found 98 per cent of Australians engage with the arts.

They do this through listening to music, reading books, creating art, engaging online or attending live events.

The figure remains broadly in line with 2022 levels, suggesting creativity continues to play a central role in everyday life.

But the strongest shift was in live participation, with findings indicating that Australians are increasingly returning to live cultural experiences.

Arts attendance reaches highest level since 2009

Nearly three in four Australians (74 per cent) attended an arts event or festival in 2025, up from 68 per cent in 2022, marking the highest level recorded in the survey series since it began in 2009.

The report also found attendance increased across all art forms, with music and dance audiences showing the strongest return to pre-pandemic attendance patterns.

Australians also reported feeling more satisfied with how often they engage with live events, while fewer said they wanted to attend more.

Entertainment remained the biggest driver for attendance, followed by opportunities for social connection.

Australians place growing value on creativity

The report found that positive sentiment towards the arts has continued to strengthen, with Australians increasingly recognising the social, economic and personal value it offers.

More than nine in 10 Australians aged 15 and over (93 per cent) reported positive attitudes towards the arts, while 86 per cent said creative engagement has positive impacts on society, the economy and individual wellbeing.

Access for children and young people was ranked as Australia's top priority for public arts investment, overtaking support for free or low-cost events.

The findings also suggest early exposure to the arts shapes participation later in life, with Australians who learned an art form during their school years significantly more likely to engage with creative activities as adults.

Cost pressures remain a barrier

While record attendance figures suggest Australians continue to prioritise arts and cultural experiences despite cost of living pressures, affordability remains a growing challenge.

Cost was identified as the biggest barrier to attending arts events and festivals in 2025, with six in ten Australians saying price affected their ability to participate, up from 55 per cent in 2022.

More than half said there were events they wanted to attend but ultimately did not because of the cost.

The findings point to a tension in Australians' relationship with the arts: while attendance has climbed to record levels, many are becoming more selective about which experiences they can afford.

Reading remains steady, some communities show stronger engagement

After years of decline, the report found reading participation has held steady.

Around 69 per cent of Australians reported reading books, unchanged from 2022 after falling from 72 per cent in 2019.

Some groups reported stronger engagement than the broader population.

Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds were more likely to value arts and culture and more likely to support artistic freedom of expression.

First Nations respondents were also more likely than non-First Nations respondents to read for pleasure.

Almost all gender-diverse respondents reported reading for pleasure (96 per cent), compared with 73 per cent of women and 65 per cent of men.

The report suggests that while the ways Australians engage with creativity continue to evolve, participation in the arts remains widespread across the country.

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