The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Fewer people are going to movies, theater and museums, NEA study shows

Surveys show declining in-person attendance but robust digital engagement

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Visitors walk through the Kogod Courtyard between the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery in D.C. in 2021. (Allison Shelley for The Washington Post)
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Research released Wednesday by the National Endowment for the Arts found that significantly fewer American adults are attending cultural activities such as classical music concerts, theater productions and movies than they did before the coronavirus pandemic.

Just 48 percent of adults reported attending at least one arts event from July 2021 to July 2022, according to the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, which has been administered by the Census Bureau roughly every five years since 1982. That number represents a six-point drop from the most recent survey in 2017, amplifying alarm bells that the arts community is struggling to regain its pre-shutdown audience.