Arts and Heritage
Access and Availability Survey 2016-17

The Arts and Heritage Access and Availability Survey 2016-17 or the “AHAA study” heard from 2,045 Canadians (aged 16 and older) on their behaviours, attitudes, and values towards an array of issues associated with the arts and heritage. The survey findings reveal that attendance and participation rates are relatively high, and public opinion about the value of arts and culture and the need for government support remains positive, and in some cases, even stronger than in 2012. Some of the findings of the survey are:

• There is widespread attendance at performances and arts events in the past year, with more than eight in ten (87%) Canadians having attended at least one such performance.
• Two-thirds of Canadians engaged in some way with arts and culture in an online environment in the past year, primarily by using social media to learn about/discuss artists/arts, watch pre-recorded performance or learn skills/take lessons.
• Many Canadians (53%) have personally been involved in an arts activity in the past year, such as singing, dancing, visual art or creative writing.

• Overall, Canadians hold positive views about the value of arts and culture for themselves and for society in general. Seven in ten consider the arts of at least moderate importance to their quality of life. There is also widespread agreement (85%) that arts and culture convey a variety of societal benefits.

Conducted by Environics Research in  2016, AHAA is a cyclical publication—undertaken by the Department of Canadian Heritage in partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts.