West Midlands

Taking Part 2014/15:

This report provides an overview of the arts and cultural engagement of adults living in the West Midlands.

Data is taken from the Taking Part Survey 2014/15 and makes comparisons with 2010/11 where possible.

All statistically significant differences are noted in the text and on the charts:  a statistically significant difference is a difference which is probably true and not due to chance  a non statistically significant difference is probably not a true difference and is likely to be due to chance

* on the charts indicates a statistically significant difference between 2010/11 and 2014/15.

+ on the charts indicates a statistically significant difference between the region and England overall.

More information about the Taking Part Survey can be found in Appendix A. A Technical Note on the survey is in Appendix B.

Contents The West Midlands Region ...... 4 The adult population in the West Midlands region ...... 5 Creative workforce of the West Midlands region ...... 6 Economic contribution of the West Midlands region ...... 6 Adult engagement in the West Midlands ...... 7 Arts attendance and participation in the West Midlands ...... 12 Arts attendance ...... 12 Arts participation ...... 12 Digital engagement in the West Midlands ...... 15 Attitudes towards the arts in the West Midlands ...... 18 Donations in the West Midlands ...... 21 Appendix 1 - About the Taking Part survey ...... 24 Appendix 2 - Technical note ...... 25

The West Midlands Region

The West Midlands is one of the nine regions of England; it consists of the western part of the Midlands, encompassing the cities of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry, but also covers the predominantly rural shire counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

The 2011 census showed that the population of the West Midlands was 5,602,000.

The adult sample size for Taking Part 2014/15 in the West Midlands region was 1,121 (national sample size 9,817).

The adult population in the West Midlands region

This section outlines the key characteristics of the West Midlands adult population based on their responses to the Taking Part survey 2014/15 demographic questions:

 In the West Midlands region, 49.8 per cent of adults were female and 50.2 per cent of adults were male. In England 48.8 per cent were male and 51.2 per cent female.

 In England 88.8 per cent of the adult population belonged to a white ethnic group and 11.2 per cent another ethnic group. In the West Midlands 88.6 per cent of adults belonged to a white ethnic group and 11.4 per cent another ethnic group.

 In the West Midlands region 32.6 per cent of adults reported that they had a long standing illness or disability. In England 30.5 per cent of adults reported this.

 In the West Midlands 59.0 per cent of the population belonged to an upper-socio economic group and 41.0 per cent a lower socio-economic group. In England 61.6 per cent belonged to an upper and 38.4 per cent a lower socio-economic group.

Figure 1: Age group of adults in the West Midlands – 2014/15

10% 17% 16-24 12% 25-44 45-64 65-74 5 28% 34% 75+ Creative workforce of the West Midlands region

DCMS analysis of the ONS Annual Population Survey showed some key trends for employment in the Creative Economy and Creative Industries1. There were 179,000 jobs in the Creative Economy in the West Midlands in 2014, 6.8% of all jobs in the region. This was an increase from 145,000 jobs in 2011, equating to 5.9% of all jobs in the region.

Using NESTA interactive data visualisations of the UK’s creative economy2, it is possible to explore geographical concentrations of creative economy employment. Concentration is measured by a ‘location quotient’. This is the share of the region's workforce in the Creative Economy divided by the national share. A location quotient greater than 1 indicates that the region has a higher concentration of jobs in the Creative Economy than the UK as a whole. Worcestershire had a location quotient of 1.1 for creative economy employment, meaning it had an above UK average proportion of jobs in the creative economy however most locations in the West Midlands had a location quotient below 1.

Economic contribution of the West Midlands region3

Across England, the arts and culture industry contributes 0.56% of GVA on average. This equates to an estimated £6.5 billion.

Regionally the West Midlands had the seventh highest contribution as a percentage of the area’s GVA (0.39%). This equates to an estimated contribution of £383 million.

1 Department for Media, Culture and Sport (2015) Creative Industries: Focus on Employment 2 Available: http://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/interactive-data-visualisations-uks-creative-economy 3 Cebr report, on behalf of the Arts Council (2015) Contribution of the arts and culture to the national economy. 6

Adult engagement in the West Midlands

Figure 2: Adult engagement with the arts – at least once in the past year

100.0%

90.0% 81.9% 81.1% 83.4% 78.0% 79.3% 79.7% 78.7% 79.3% 76.8% 80.0% 73.7% 74.5% 73.6% 74.0% 75.7% 73.4% 76.2% 70.5% 72.3% 70.0% 71.8% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% North East North West Yorkshire & East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West England Humber * * 2010/11 2014/15

Seven in ten adults in the West Midlands had engaged with the arts at least once in 2014/15.

The proportion of adults in the West Midlands who had engaged in the arts decreased between 2010/11 and 2014/15 – from 75.7 per cent to 70.0 per cent.

Figure 3: Adult engagement with the arts –three or more times in the past year

100.0% 90.0% 80.0% 67.9% 68.6% 70.0% 63.9% 64.7% 65.1% 62.0% 63.0% 62.7% 60.7% 61.2% 61.6% 59.1% 59.0% 59.3% 59.5% 58.1% 56.8% 55.4% 56.7% 60.0% 52.7% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% North East North West Yorkshire & East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West England * Humber 2010/11 2014/15

Over half of the adults in the West Midlands had engaged with the arts three or more times in 2014/15.

The proportion of adults in the West Midlands who had engaged in the arts three or more times was similar in 2010/11 and 2014/15 – 58.1 per cent and 55.4 per cent respectively.

Figure 4: Adult attendance of museums and galleries

100.0% 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 56.5% 57.9% 60.0% 54.4% 53.3% 52.3% 50.0% 52.0% 47.2% 48.9% 47.9% 49.8% 49.0% 49.4% 50.0% 44.3% 44.3% 45.4% 46.4% 39.9% 40.6% 42.5% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% North East North West Yorkshire & East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West England Humber * * * * * 2010/11 2014/15

In 2014/15 over four in ten adults in the West Midlands had visited a museum or gallery at least once in the past 12 months.

The proportion of adults in the West Midlands who had visited a museum or gallery was similar in 2010/11 and 2014/15 – 40.6 per cent and 44.3 per cent respectively.

Figure 5: Adult use of public libraries

100.0% 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 43.1% 42.4% 43.1% 38.8% 40.2% 40.5% 38.8% 39.7% 34.6% 34.0% 35.8% 36.6% 35.0% 34.9% 34.4% 34.5% 40.0% 33.6% 31.0% 31.0% 32.2% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% North East North West Yorkshire & East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West England Humber * * * * 2010/11 2014/15

Around a third of adults in the West Midlands had used a public library at least once in 2014/15.

The proportion of adults in the West Midlands who had used a public library was similar in 2010/11 and 2014/15 – 36.6 per cent to 35.0 per cent respectively.

Figure 6a: Adult engagement in the arts broken down by attendance and participation - 2010/11 100.0%

32.3% 33.8% 32.9% 80.0% 34.8% 35.0% 41.8% 37.9% 41.7% 41.7% 37.4%

9.9% 60.0% 9.0% 9.5% 10.7% 10.5% 8.0% 9.2% 8.7% 9.2% 8.1% 28.2% 40.0% 31.6% 28.1% 28.3% 32.2% 27.5% 29.7% 29.2% 31.0% 29.4% 20.0% 29.5% 27.7% 26.0% 26.6% 25.5% 24.3% 20.3% 18.1% 20.7% 23.8% 0.0% North East North West Yorkshire & East West East of London South East South West England Humber Midlands Midlands England

Figure 6b: Adult engagement in the arts broken down by attendance and participation - 2014/15

100.0%

35.1% 34.6% 34.8% 32.7% 35.3% 80.0% 36.6% 39.3% 43.3% 43.5% 37.6%

8.9% 6.6% 60.0% 10.0% 8.5% 10.8% 10.6% 7.1% 8.8% 10.0% 8.5% 28.3% 30.0% 40.0% 28.6% 34.9% 28.0% 32.1% 32.3% 30.4% 27.7% 31.4% 20.0% 26.3% 26.4% 30.0% 28.2% 22.0% 20.7% * 21.3% 18.9% 16.6% 23.2% 0.0% * North East North West Yorkshire & East West East of London South East South West England Humber Midlands Midlands England

Between 2010/11 and 2014/15 there was an increse in the proportion of adults in the West Midlands who had neither attended nor paricipated in the arts in the past year – from 24.3 per cent to 30.0 per cent.

11 * Arts attendance and participation in the West Midlands

Arts attendance

Compared with adults in England as a whole, in 2014/15 adults in the West Midlands were less likely to have attended:

- An exhibition or collection of art, photography or sculpture – 17.5 per cent in England and 12.2 per cent in the West Midlands

- A public art display or installation – 12.1 per cent in England and 9.4 per cent in the West Midlands

- Opera or operetta - 3.7 per cent in England and 2.0 per cent in the West Midlands

Arts participation

Compared with adults in England as a whole, in 2014/15 adults in the West Midlands were less likely to have:

- Made films or videos as an artistic activity – 2.2 per cent in England and 0.9 per cent in the West Midlands

- Done other dance (not for fitness) – 8.0 per cent in England and 5.2 per cent in the West Midlands

Figure 7: Arts attendance in the West Midlands by artform – 2014/15

3.1% Event which included video or electronic art 2.0% 9.9% Craft exhibition 9.2% 17.5% + Exhibition of art, photography or sculpture 12.2% 3.1% Event connected with books or writing 2.7% 4.1% Culturally specific festival 4.1% 11.3% Carnival 12.3% 4.5% Circus 4.1% 12.1% + Public art display or installation 9.4% 8.5% Street arts 6.9% 20.2% Musical 17.9% 13.0% Pantomime 12.0% 21.8% Play/drama 19.5% 31.9% Other live music event 28.4% 3.7% + Opera/operetta 2.0% 5.2% Jazz performance 4.6% 7.0% Classical music concert 5.6% 4.8% Other live dance event 4.4% 1.9% African people's dance or South Asian and Chinese dance 2.2% 3.0% Contemporary dance 2.5% 4.0% Ballet 3.2%

England West Midlands

Figure 8: Arts participation in the West Midlands by artform – 2014/15

1.2% Learned or practised circus skills 1.0% 0.7% Taken part in street arts 0.6% 1.6% Taken part in a carnival 1.7% 1.8% Been a member of a book club 1.5% 2.8% Written poetry 3.2% 3.0% Written stories or plays 3.0% 4.3% Other crafts (calligraphy, pottery, jewellery making) 5.0% 4.5% Wood crafts 5.3% 13.8% Textile crafts 11.9% 4.7% Used a computer to create original artwork or animation 5.7% 2.2% + Made films or videos as an artistic activity 0.9% 7.7% Photography as an artistic activity 7.3% 12.1% Painting, drawing, printmaking or sculpture 11.7% 8.0% +Other dance (not for fitness) 5.2% 0.3% Ballet 0.3% 2.3% Written music 1.4% 10.7% Played musical instrument for own pleasure 8.6% 3.2% Played musical instrument to an audience 2.0% 4.1% Sang to an audience or rehearsed for performance 3.4% 0.6% Rehearsed or performed in opera or musical theatre 1.1% 1.5% Rehearsed or performed in a play or drama 1.4%

England West Midlands

Digital engagement in the West Midlands

Figure 9: Digital and place based engagement in the arts4

100% 90% 21.6% 20.8% 22.0% 28.9% 80% 2.7% 3.0% 1.2% No engagement 70% 1.2% Digital only 60% 39.3% 36.7% Place based only 50% 53.6% 48.7% Place based and digital 40% 30%

20% 36.4% 39.6% 10% 21.3% 23.3% 0% West Midlands West Midlands England 2010/11 England 2014/15 2010/11 2014/15

22.5 per cent of adults in the West Midlands had visited an arts website in 2014/15.

21.3 per cent of adults in the West Midlands had both engaged with the arts digitally (by visiting an arts website) and had engaged with the arts in a place based way (through attendance or participation) in 2014/15.

4 Wording differences in the question asking about ‘arts’ website before and after July 2011 mean that the results for 2010/11 are not strictly comparable with the results for 2014/15. 15

Figure 10: Digital and place based engagement with museums and galleries

100% 90%

80% 44.5% 50.9% 49.8% 70% 55.7% * 60% 3.4% 50% No engagement 4.8% 3.7% 3.6% Digital only 40% 27.6% 22.9% 25.1% * Place based only 30% 24.5% 20% Place based and digital 10% 21.3% 21.3% 24.5% 16.2% * 0% * West Midlands West Midlands England 2010/11 England 2014/15 2010/11 2014/15

26.1 per cent of adults in the West Midlands had visited a museum or gallery website in 2014/15 – an increase from 19.8 per cent in 2010/11.

Between 2010/11 and 2014/15 there was an increase in the proportion of adults in the West Midlands who had both engaged with museums and galleries digitally (by visiting a museum/gallery website) and made a place based visit – from 16.2 per cent to 21.3 per cent.

Figure 11: Digital and other engagement with libraries

100% 90% 80% 56.6% 70% 60.3% 62.1% * 61.5% 60% 50% No engagement 40% 3.7% Digital only 3.1% 3.0% 4.0% Place based only 30% 27.9% * Place based and digital 20% 29.6% 25.2% 23.8% 10% 7.0% 9.8% 11.8% 10.7% 0% * West Midlands West Midlands England 2010/11 England 2014/15 2010/11 2014/15

12.8 per cent of adults in the West Midlands had visited a library website in 2014/15 – a similar proportion as 2010/11 (10.1 per cent).

9.8 per cent of adults in the West Midlands had visited a library website and had used a library service in 2014/15.

Attitudes towards the arts in the West Midlands

Figure 12: The arts make a difference to the area where I live

100.0% 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 57.1% 60.0% 50.1% 51.5% 48.6% 46.3% 49.1% 48.0% 50.0% 41.5% 43.7% 44.7% 41.4% 42.0%41.1% 39.5% 39.0% 37.5% 37.3% 39.2% 40.0% 35.4% 28.4% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% North East North West Yorkshire & East Midlands West Midlands East of London South East South West England * Humber * * England * * * 2010/11 2014/15 *

Between 2010/11 and 2014/15 there was an increase in the proportion of adults in the West Midlands who agreed with the statement “The arts make a difference to the area where I live” – from 35.4 per cent to 46.3 per cent.

Figure 13: The arts are not really for people like me

100.0% 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 28.0% 26.8% 26.0% 25.7% 30.0% 23.9% 24.5% 24.7% 23.1% 22.8% 22.2% 18.5% 18.2% 19.5% 19.6% 17.3% 18.5% 20.0% 14.7% 14.9% 14.0% 15.5% 10.0% 0.0% North East North West Yorkshire & East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West England Humber * * * 2010/11 2014/15

Between 2010/11 and 2014/15 there was a decrease in the proportion of adults in the West Midlands who agreed with the statement “The arts are not really for people like me” – from 26.0 per cent to 14.7 per cent.

Figure 14: There are lots of opportunities to get involved in the arts if I want

100.0% 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 62.9% 60.3% 59.3% 57.8% 55.2% 55.1% 55.5% 56.1% 57.4% 58.0% 55.7% 56.4% 60.0% 51.5% 52.0% 52.3% 53.8% 54.4% 48.1% 49.4% 48.8% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% North East North West Yorkshire & East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West England Humber * 2010/11 2014/15

In 2014/15 over a half of adults in the West Midlands agreed with the statement “There are lots of opportunities to get involved in the arts if I want” – 52.0 per cent.

Donations in the West Midlands

Figure 15: Donations to the arts

30.0%

25.0%

20.0%

15.0% 10.1% 8.4% 8.8% 10.0% 6.7% 6.8% 7.4% 6.9% 6.2% 6.0% 6.3% 5.6% 5.6% 4.6% 4.8% 4.8% 5.0% 4.6% 3.4% 4.2% 5.0% 2.3%

0.0% North East North West Yorkshire & East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West England Humber

2010/11 2014/15

A minority of adults in the West Midlands had donated to the arts in 2014/15 – 4.6 per cent.

Figure 16: Donations to museums or galleries

30.0%

25.0% 20.9% 20.0% 17.5% 16.8% 17.7% 16.8% 17.5% 16.1% 15.8% 15.6% 15.7% 14.6% 14.4% 14.9% 15.2% 15.0% 13.6% 13.6% 13.9% 10.3% 10.6% 9.3% 10.0%

5.0%

0.0% North East North West Yorkshire & East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West England Humber * 2010/11 2014/15

13.6 per cent of adults in the West Midlands donated to museums or galleries in 2014/15.

Figure 17: Donations to libraries

30.0%

25.0%

20.0%

15.0%

10.0%

5.0% 1.1% 1.3% 1.0% 0.1% 0.4% 0.7% 0.8% 0.0% 0.7% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.9% 0.3% 0.6% 0.6% 0.7% 0.0% 0.6% 0.6% 0.0% North East North West Yorkshire & East Midlands West Midlands East of London South East South West England Humber England

2010/11 2014/15

Only a small minority of adults in the West Midlands had donated to libraries in 2014/15 – 0.5 per cent.

Appendix A - About the Taking Part survey

Taking Part is a major, continuous survey of cultural and sport participation in England, commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in partnership with Arts Council England, Sport England and Historic England.

Every year it collects detailed information from adults (aged 16 and over) in England about their attendance at a wide variety of arts events, museums, galleries, libraries and heritage sites, and about their participation in creative activities and sport in the last 12 months. The survey has been conducted since July 2005 and since 2008 there has also been a child survey.

Findings from Taking Part, including national trends and some regional analysis, are released twice a year by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. An annual report summarises trends over the financial year. All these reports can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-culture-media-sport/series/taking-part

In March 2016 DCMS published a strategy outlining proposed developments to the Taking Part survey over the next five years: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/taking-part-a-strategy-for-the-next-five-years

Appendix B - Technical note

Arts Engagement

‘Engagement’ in the arts is calculated by looking at attendance and/or participation in a range of arts events and activities. Adult ‘engagement’ is calculated by the proportion of adults who engage in the arts at least once in the past 12 months, whether it is through attending arts events, participating in arts activities, or through a mixture of both. This includes any of the following activities or events:

Activities Events Dancing – ballet or other dance (not for fitness) Visual arts exhibition (e.g. paintings, photography or sculpture) Singing – live performance, rehearsal or practice (not karaoke) Craft exhibition (not crafts market) Playing a musical instrument – live performance, rehearsal, Event that includes video or digital art practice or playing for own pleasure Writing music Event connected with books or writing

Theatre – live performance, rehearsal or practice Street arts (art in everyday surroundings such as parks, streets or shopping centre) Opera or musical theatre - live performance, rehearsal or practice Public arts display or installation (an artwork such as a sculpture which is outdoors or in a public place) Carnival (e.g. as a musician, dancer or costume maker) Circus (not animals) Street arts (art in everyday surrounding such as parks, streets, Carnival shopping centre) Circus skills (not animals) – performance, learning or practice Culturally specific festival (e.g. Mela, Baisakhi, Navratri) Visual arts (e.g. painting, drawing, printmaking or sculpture) Theatre (e.g. play, drama, pantomime) Photography (as an artistic activity, not family or holiday snaps) Opera or musical theatre Film or video – making as an artistic activity (not family or Live performances (e.g. classical, jazz or other live musical event but holidays) not karaoke) Digital art – producing original digital artwork or animation with a Live dance event (e.g. ballet, African People’s dance, South Asian, 25 computer Chinese, Contemporary or other live dance event). Craft – any craft activity (e.g. textiles, wood, mental work, pottery, calligraphy) Creative writing – original literature (e.g. stories, poems or plays) Creative writing – original literature (e.g. stories, poems or plays) Book club – being a member of one

Data conventions

The figures in this report are rounded to the nearest decimal place – therefore the totals may not always add up to 100%.

Statistically significant differences on the charts:

* indicates a statistically significant difference between survey years.

+ indicates a statistically significant difference between the region and England overall.

Statistical significance

Significance testing has been used to identify where differences are statistically significant at the 95% level and not due to chance. Only where the differences are significant are they noted in the text and on the charts. A significant increase or decrease at the 95% level means that there is less than a 5% (1 in 20) chance that the difference observed within the sampled respondents is not representative of the population as a whole.

Due to the smaller base sizes for the ‘attitudes towards the arts’ and ‘donations’ questions statistical differences which may be present at a population level may not have been detected.

Weighting

The data are weighted to ensure the representativeness of the Taking Part sample. Weighting is based on mid-2009 population estimates from the Office for National Statistics.