Dropping in and dropping out: understanding cultural value from the perspectives of lapsed or partial arts participants

该项目旨在探索“有文化意识的非参与者”(Winzenry，2004；Dobson&Pitts，2012)对艺术和文化价值的态度--这是人口中接受艺术参与，但目前参与度最低的部分。三项相互关联的采访和调查研究将包括以前学习过一种乐器但不再演奏的人，以及那些对一种艺术形式感兴趣但不太可能参加另一种艺术形式的人。对于这一相当大一部分人来说，他们对艺术价值的感知只有一部分转化为行动，使他们成为潜在的丰富的艺术宣传和参与来源，如果能找到进一步激活他们潜在兴趣的方法。这三项研究将进行如下：研究1：阁楼上的小提琴-调查失落的音乐参与本研究将专注于业余音乐家，探索那些不再演奏的人的经历和态度，这些人通常认为时间、家庭和工作的压力导致他们停止参与(Pitts，2005；2012)。这项研究将通过对大约30名音乐团体“逝去的”成员的深入访谈，探索那些不再积极参与的人是如何阐明参与音乐的好处和代价的，并找出导致参与者停止参与的因素。这些发现将为那些在生活中有其他优先事项的人所感知的文化价值提供新的线索，并将有助于提出策略，以留住和重新吸引这些人作为积极参与者。研究2：忠诚度及其局限性-探索跨艺术形式的文化价值这项大规模的问卷研究将通过询问那些参加有限范围的艺术活动的人关于他们所选择的流派的经历以及他们对社会中艺术的更广泛理解，来探索跨流派的文化价值的表达。将在包括独立电影院、剧院、音乐厅和博物馆在内的一系列场所征求观众的意见；每个观众都将被问及他们的出席频率、选择活动的因素、对其他艺术形式的开放程度以及对不太熟悉的艺术的态度。因此，这项研究将突出观众在特定艺术活动中的态度和体验之间的任何差异--从而阐明“文化价值”是艺术参与的普遍现象，还是需要为不同的受众更微妙地定义。研究3：生活和地区的文化价值本研究将回到研究1中使用的深度访谈方法，以便将逝去的艺术参与者和偶尔参加艺术活动的人进行比较，并通过更深入地探索成人生活中参与的态度和模式是如何形成的，来深化研究2的证据。来自研究2的大约30名志愿者将使用生活史方法进行访谈(参见。皮茨，2012)，探讨他们过去的参与程度，以及这如何形成他们对艺术对他们的生活和当地社区的贡献的看法。因此，这项研究为促进和抑制参与艺术的因素以及围绕参与决定的文化价值的表达提供了另一种视角。该项目将产生关于学术兴趣的数据和讨论(将在至少两种不同相关学科的期刊上发表)，并对艺术组织具有实用价值(将通过谢菲尔德表演者和观众研究中心网站-http://www.sparc.dept.shef.ac.uk/).进行报道调查结果将反馈给艺术组织、当地政府和艺术理事会代表，从而在地方、社会规模上实现AHRC议程的目标，并通过对学术辩论的贡献来实现。

This project aims to explore attitudes towards the arts and cultural value amongst 'culturally aware non-attenders' (Winzenried, 2004; Dobson & Pitts, 2012) - the sector of the population who are receptive to arts involvement, but are currently minimally engaged. Three interlinked interview and survey studies will include people who have previously learnt a musical instrument but no longer play, as well as those with an interest in one art form who are unlikely to attend another. For this substantial sector of the population, their perception of the value of the arts is only partially translated into action, making them a potentially rich source of arts advocacy and involvement, if the means can be found to further activate their latent interest.The three studies will take place as follows:Study 1: The violin in the attic - investigating lapsed musical participationThis study will focus on amateur musicians, exploring the experiences and attitudes of those who no longer play, and who commonly cite pressures of time, family, and work as having caused them to cease involvement (Pitts, 2005;2012). Through in-depth interviews with around 30 'lapsed' members of musical groups, this study will explore how the benefits and costs of musical participation are articulated by those who no longer actively participate, and will identify the factors in causing participants to cease their involvement. These findings will shed new light on cultural value as perceived by those who have other priorities in their lives, and will help to propose strategies for retaining and re-engaging such people as active participants.Study 2: Loyalty and its limitations - exploring cultural value across art formsThis large-scale questionnaire study will explore the articulation of cultural value across genres, by questioning those who attend a narrow range of arts events about their experiences of their chosen genre, and their broader understanding of arts in society. Responses will be sought from audiences in a range of venues, including independent cinema, theatre, concert halls and museums; each will be asked about their frequency of attendance, factors in choices of events, openness to other art forms, and attitudes towards less familiar arts. The study will therefore highlight any differences between the attitudes and experiences of audiences at specific arts events - and so shed light on whether 'cultural value' is generic to arts engagement, or needs to be more subtly defined for different audiences.Study 3: Cultural value in lives and localitiesThis study will return to the in-depth interview approach used in Study 1, so allowing for comparisons between lapsed arts participants and occasional arts attenders, as well as deepening the evidence from Study 2 with a closer exploration of how attitudes and patterns of engagement are formed in adult life. Around 30 volunteers from Study 2 will be interviewed using a life history approach (cf. Pitts, 2012) to explore their level of past engagement, and how this has shaped their perceptions of the contribution of the arts to their life and to the local community. This study therefore offers another perspective on the factors that promote and inhibit involvement in the arts, and on the articulation of cultural value that surrounds those participation decisions. The project will generate data and discussion of academic interest (to be published in at least two journals of different related disciplines) and of practical value to arts organisations (to be reported through the Sheffield Performer and Audience Research Centre website - http://www.sparc.dept.shef.ac.uk/). Findings will be reported back to arts organisations, local government and Arts Council representatives, so fulfilling the aims of the AHRC agenda on a local, social scale as well as through contribution to academic debate.