NINE out of 10 people living in disadvantaged areas did not visit major Dublin arts institutions over a one year period. Going to the cinema and watching films at home are the most popular arts activities for people living on low incomes.
These are among the findings of the report by a joint working group from the Arts Council and the Combat Poverty Agency, Poverty: Access and Participation in the Arts.
The report says access to the arts and culture is a "basic democratic right" and should be available to all. It calls on public art organisations and national cultural institutions to examine how to make their work more attractive, open and available to people living in poverty.
It finds a "lack of clear arts policy" on access to the arts for people living in poverty, but says that this is countered by a trend in art's policy towards greater access for all. The reliance of arts organisations on FAS schemes creates difficulties which need to be addressed, it says.
While access to the arts was of relatively low priority to people living in disadvantaged areas, it was of higher priority than perceived by the arts organisations or policy makers surveyed, the report finds.
Levels of attendance at arts events beyond popular activities such as cinema and traditional music were found to be very low in door to door surveys of people living in disadvantaged areas of Dublin and Sligo.
Five per cent of 85 people surveyed door to door in Dublin had been to an arts event, other than the cinema, six or more times in the previous year. None had been to a classical music concert, 3 per cent had been to a theatre or gallery and 4 per cent to a museum.
Six per cent of 111 people surveyed door to door in Sligo had been to an event, other than a traditional music concert or the cinema, six or more times in the previous year. None had been to a classical music concert, 6 per cent had been to a theatre and 1 per cent to a museum.
About one in 10 people in Dublin and less than one in 10 in Sligo said they had visited six, major Dublin arts institutions over the previous 12 months.
The institutions were the National Museum, the National Gallery, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the National Concert Hall, the Abbey Theatre, and the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, which is not a national institution. The report says it is important to note that the lowest levels of attendance were for the Abbey Theatre and the National Concert Hall which charge admission. The others are free.
The report urges the Arts Council and local authorities to "significantly expand" their community arts programmes in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and local authorities. It also calls on the Department of Social Welfare to include an arts dimension as a way of deepening its impact on disadvantaged communities.
The Department of Education should look at ways of integrating more arts projects into schools in disadvantaged areas and of targeting arts programmes for early school leavers. There is also a need to end discrimination against travellers in access to arts events, it says.