Launched in May 2020, the Audience Outlook Monitor was established to track audience behaviours and sentiments in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to support decision-making and forward planning across the sector. In subsequent years, it continued to provide insight into the evolving trends shaping audience preferences, decisions and behaviours.
The Audience Outlook Monitor was a valuable tool, providing artists, cultural organisations and the broader arts sector with timely information as changes occurred across the period 2020 to 2023.
With multiple data collection points across each year, nearly 30 snapshot reports and factsheets were published, often accompanied by webinar discussions exploring the results.
In addition, Patternmakers published a dashboard for exploring the results of each phase in detail.
The Audience Outlook Monitor also involved six state and territory partners, and 159 arts and cultural organisations deployed the survey to samples of their databases. The project was an excellent demonstration of industry and government collaboration to provide regular updates and up-to-the-moment insights during a time of great change and challenge for the arts.
Read more about the Audience Outlook Monitor on the Patternmakers website.
2023 Audience Outlook Monitor
2022 Audience Outlook Monitor
2021 Audience Outlook Monitor
2020 Audience Outlook Monitor
Delivery partners
Supporting partners
Participating organisations
ACMI
Adelaide Festival Centre
Adelaide Film Festival
Adelaide Fringe
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
Art Gallery of Ballarat
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art on The Move
Art, Not Apart
arTour
ARTRAGE INC
Arts Centre Melbourne
Arts Margaret River Inc
Artsource
Artspace
Australian Ballet, The
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra
Australian Centre for Contemporary Art
Australian Dance Theatre
Australian Festival of Chamber Music
Australian Museum
Australian Theatre for Young People
Barking Gecko Theatre
Bathurst Regional Council T/A Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre
Belconnen Arts Centre
Bell Shakespeare
Belvoir
Bendigo Venues & Events
Biennale of Sydney
Black Swan State Theatre Company
Brisbane Festival
Brisbane Multicultural Art Centre (BEMAC)
Brisbane Powerhouse
Brisbane Writers Festival
Brown’s Mart Arts Ltd
Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre
Bundaberg Regional Council
Bunjil Place (City of Casey)
Cairns Indigenous Art Fair
Campbelltown Arts Centre
Canberra Glassworks
Canberra Youth Theatre
Centre for Contemporary Photography
Chamber of Arts and Culture WA
Chunky Move
Circa Contemporary Circus
Circus Oz
Colac Otway Performing Arts & Cultural Centre
Country Arts SA
Cube Wodonga, The
Cultural Media
Dancehouse
Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation Ltd
Darwin Entertainment Centre
Design Centre Tasmania
Drum Theatre
Electronic Music Conference (EMC)
Empire Theatres Pty Ltd
Events Centre, Caloundra, The
Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne
Feast Queer Arts and Cultural Festival
Footscray Community Arts Centre
Forge Theatre and Arts Hub
FORM building a state of creativity
Frankston Arts Centre
Fremantle Press Inc
Geelong Arts Centre
Geelong Gallery
Gladstone Entertainment Convention Centre
Glasshouse, The
Goldfields Arts Centre
Hayes Theatre Co
History Trust of South Australia
HOTA, Home of the Arts
HotHouse Theatre
Ian Potter Museum of Art, the University of Melbourne
Information + Cultural Exchange
Ipswich Civic Centre
La Boite Theatre Company
Lighthouse Theatre Warrnambool
Linden New Art Inc
Lismore Regional Gallery
Logan Entertainment Centre – Logan City Council
Mackay Entertainment & Convention Centre
Malthouse Theatre
Melbourne Fringe
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Melbourne International Jazz Festival
Melbourne Recital Centre
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Theatre Company
Merrigong Theatre Company
Mildura Arts Centre
Multicultural Arts Victoria
Museums Victoria
Music Victoria
National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery of Victoria (NGV)
National Museum of Australia
National Portrait Gallery
Nexus Arts
No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability
Opera Australia
Opera Queensland
Orange Civic Theatre
Penrith Performing & Visual Arts
Perth Festival
Perth Theatre Trust
Perth Theatre Trust – Albany Entertainment Centre
Platform Youth Arts
Powerhouse Museum
Propel Youth Arts WA
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art
Queensland Museum Network
Queensland Music Festival
Queensland Performing Arts Centre
Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Queensland Theatre
Real Film Festival
Red Chair Pty Ltd
Royal Historical Society of Victoria
SALA (South Australian Living Artists) Festival
Screenworks
Scribblers Festival
Smith’s Alternative
South Australian Museum
Spare Parts Puppet Theatre
State Library of Queensland
State Library Victoria
State Opera South Australia
State Theatre Company South Australia
SWELL Sculpture Festival
Sydney Dance Company
Sydney Fringe Inc, The
Sydney Opera House
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
Sydney Theatre Company
Sydney Writers’ Festival Ltd
Synergy & Taikoz Ltd
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, The
Theatre North Inc
Theatre Works
TOPOLOGY
Townsville City Council
Townsville City Council Galleries
Tura New Music
Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts
Unconformity, The
Victorian Music Development Office
Victorian Opera
Vitalstatistix
Wangaratta Performing Arts & Convention Centre
West Australian Ballet
West Australian Opera
West Australian Symphony Orchestra
Western Australian Museum
Wheeler Centre, The
Womadelaide foundation Ltd
Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company
Note: not all organisations participated in all phases of the project
Shapeshifting: Audience Trends for Summer and 2023
26 October 2022 – The co-host of this session was Liz Tomkinson, Manager Multi-Year Investment at the Australia Council for the Arts
Live attendance – August 2022 pulse check
24 August 2022 – The co-host of this session was Andy Donovan, Director of Multi-Year Investment at the Australia Council for the Arts
Live Attendance March 2022
23 March 2022 – The co-host of this session was Andy Donovan, Director of Multi-Year Investment at the Australia Council for the Arts
Rebuilding regional audiences
26 October 2021 – The co-host of this session was Scott Howie, General Manager at Regional Arts Australia.
Creative audience engagement at home
5 October 2021 – The co-host of this session was Anne Dunn, Executive Director at Sydney Dance Company.
Audience Outlook Monitor Webinar: July results
27 July 2021 – The co-host of this session was Andy Donovan, Director Multi-Year Funding at the Australia Council for the Arts.
Access and inclusion 2021
29 June -The co-host of this session was Morwenna Collett, arts consultant specialising in diversity, access and inclusion.
Audience Outlook Monitor Webinar: International perspectives with WolfBrown
15 June – The co-hosts of this webinar were Alan Brown and Megan Bander from WolfBrown USA, leaders of the Audience Outlook Monitor internationally.
Digital engagement 2021
25 May – The co-host of this session was Stuart Buchanan, Head of Digital Programming at the Sydney Opera House.
Digital engagement 2021
23 April – The co-host of this session was Matt Morse, Executive Director Strategy and Programs at Creative Partnerships Australia.
Phase 4 Snapshot report
30 March – The co-host of this session was Andy Donovan, Director Multi-Year Investment at the Australia Council for the Arts .
Related Research
