Introduction and importance of the theme
Visiting and practicing art and culture is an important form of leisure activity for many Dutch people: nine in ten Dutch people visit one or more cultural activities every year and almost two-thirds practice a cultural hobby every year. In addition, there are also people who actively support the cultural sector, for example as volunteers. The importance of art and culture for both individuals and society cannot be underestimated. For example, participating in art and culture contributes to our mental and physical health, is an important source of meaning and personal development, and it brings people together (Gielen et al. 2020; Berkers et al. 2021; Neele 2023). In recent years, the government's cultural policy has been expressly aimed at increasing the accessibility of culture for everyone (Engelshoven 2019; Uslu 2023).
Through the
As with previous VTO publications, we use a well-defined definition of the concept of culture, consisting of art and heritage. Art represents the parts of culture that focus on the artistic dimension: performing arts, visual arts, literature and film and video art. The historical dimension is characteristic of the parts of culture that fall under heritage. This concerns both tangible and intangible heritage.
In 2020 we noted a significant decline in arts and cultural participation as a result of the corona crisis (see
On this page we discuss the results of the most recent measurement of the VTO from 2022. We draw particular attention to the three most recent measurements (2018, 2020 and 2022), so that we have a good picture of the situation before, during and after the corona pandemic. Here we discuss four forms of cultural participation:
- Visit: how is visiting theaters or museums developing? And what proportion of Dutch people visit historical places or archives?
- Consumption: what can we see in the reading behavior of Dutch people? And which media do people prefer to use to listen to music? Or watch movies?
- Practice: how many Dutch people have a cultural hobby?
- Support and support: what is the level of satisfaction with the cultural offering in the living environment? And what share of the population actively supports the cultural field?
Because we look at figures from 2022 and earlier, we get an idea of the situation until just after the corona crisis. Since 2022, the cultural sector has also faced other challenges in terms of cost increases due to inflation and tight labor markets. The effects of these developments on arts and cultural participation will only become clear at the next VTO measurement in 2024.
Visit
Nine in ten Dutch people attend a cultural activity at least once a year. While it was already visible in the figures from trade associations that visit numbers fell sharply during the corona years, we also see a strong decrease in cultural visits across the board in the VTO in 2020. That is not surprising: it was precisely this form of cultural participation that had a negative impact during the corona pandemic. with the most impactful measures. The share of Dutch people who visited culture at least once in a year fell from 90 percent in 2018 to 73 percent in 2020. In 2022 we will see that the share of culture visitors has risen sharply again: 87 percent of Dutch people visited one or more cultural activities . Those who visit culture did so with less regularity in 2022 than in 2018: the average number of visits in 2022 is 16, compared to 18 visits in 2018.
Cultural visit
Share of Dutch people aged 6 years and older who visit forms of culture, art or heritage and the average frequency of visits
VTO 2012 – 2022
Although cultural visits will almost return to pre-corona levels in 2022, there is a clear difference between art and heritage visits. Despite the fact that both forms of cultural visits will increase again after 2020, only the visit figures for heritage appear to have returned to pre-corona pandemic levels. In both 2018 and 2022, around 67 percent of Dutch people visited heritage sites, compared to less than half of the Dutch population in 2020 (49 percent).
The picture for art visits is different: although we see the total number of art visits bouncing back after the dip in the corona years (from 64 percent in 2020 to 82 percent in 2022), this is not yet equal to the pre-corona level. In 2018, 87 percent of Dutch people visited one of the art disciplines. When it comes to art visits, the average visit frequency is relatively high: on average, visitors to the arts make 12 visits per year. The number of visits to the performing arts is the highest (an average of 7 performances per year), although the average before corona was even higher (9 performances per year). We also see a relatively high visit frequency among visitors to visual arts: on average, people visit locations with visual arts 6 times a year.
Performing arts
*** Since 2018, different music genres have been merged into one option for pop music concerts.
For the performing arts, the recovery after the corona pandemic has not yet fully continued: the share of visitors (at least one) to the performing arts fell from 74 percent in 2018 to 47 percent in 2020. In 2022 we will see that more than two-thirds (68 percent) of Dutch people visited the performing arts (still more than 6 percentage points lower than in 2018).
The majority of visits to the performing arts take place in the category of music concerts: 36 percent of Dutch people attended a pop music concert in 2022. In addition, one in five (19 percent) attends theater performances and dance and house parties (18 percent) are attended by a relatively large group of Dutch people.
Within the performing arts, visits to dance or house parties are the only discipline that will return to pre-corona levels in 2022: after halving from 16 percent in 2018 to 8 percent in 2020, 18 percent of Dutch people will visit a dance or house party in 2022. a house party.
There are also disciplines within the performing arts that have not yet recovered after the corona pandemic. For example, we see that classical music and opera have not yet fully bounced back in 18 (2018 percent) after the decline from 8 percent in 2020 to 2022 percent in 12. Figures from Statistics Netherlands (see domain Music) show a similar development: despite the fact that the number of classical music performances organized in 2022 has returned to pre-corona levels, the number of visits is still lagging behind.
Museums & Visual arts
More than half of Dutch people will visit a museum at least once in 2022 (at home or abroad). Compared to corona year 2020, this is an increase of 10 percentage points: from 42 percent to 52 percent. However, the number of museum visits remained the same as in 2020: an average of 3,4 visits per year. If we compare this with 2018, it becomes clear that the most recent figures have not yet returned to the same level: in 2018, the share of visitors to museums was still well higher at 57 percent than in 2022. As in previous years, the average number of visits was also around 4 visits per year.
We see a similar trend in the Museum Association's 2022 figures. The number of domestic visits increased by 57 percent from 11,4 million in 2020 to 17,9 million visits in 2022. In 2018, the number of domestic visits was higher: 21,7 million (Blaker et al. 2023).
VTO 2014 – 2022
If we look specifically at museums for visual arts, we see that almost three in ten Dutch people (28 percent) visited museums for art, media art or design in 2022. We also see that the share of visits to exhibitions for ancient art is comparable to exhibitions for modern art or design: both 20 percent in 2022. In particular, visits to exhibitions of ancient art are not yet at the level of before the corona crisis: in 2018, 28 percent visited exhibitions of ancient art.
Of all Dutch people, half (49 percent) visited locations with visual arts. This not only concerns visits to museums or exhibitions, but almost two in five Dutch people also visit visual art in public places (36 percent).
Movie
Watching a film or documentary in the cinema or art house is a popular form of leisure activity. In 2022, almost three in five Dutch people (57 percent) watched at least one film on the big screen. However, a large proportion (44 percent) of cinema and art house visitors watch more than one film in the cinema or art house: on average, people watch a film in the cinema or art house 4,8 times.
Visit to film
Share of Dutch people aged 6 years and older who visit films or documentaries in a cinema or arthouse and the average visiting frequency of visitors
VTO 2012 – 2022
If we compare these figures with previous years, we see that the share of Dutch people who go to the cinema or art house is not as large as in the situation before corona: in 2018, more than two-thirds of Dutch people (68 percent) watched one or more films or documentaries in a cinema or art house. That is more than 11 percentage points higher than in 2022.
We also see this trend in the NVBF's visitor figures: it number of visits visits to Dutch cinemas and arthouses halved between 2018 (35,7 million visits) and 2020 (16,8 million). In 2022, the number of visits increased to 24,8 million: 69 percent of the total in 2018. More about developments within this sector can be found on the page Audiovisual.
Literature
The library landscape in the Netherlands is rapidly developing. It number of branches shows a decline in the past decade and also in the number of library members a slightly downward trend can be observed. Nevertheless, libraries fulfill a growing social role in many places and the number of activities organized by public libraries has never been so high. In addition, the government is providing a new financial incentive to strengthen libraries (see the domain page Literature).
Visit Letters
Share of Dutch people aged 6 years and older who visit at least one activity in a year and the average visit frequency of visitors
VTO 2012 – 2022
More than a third of Dutch people (34 percent) aged six years and older will visit a library in 2022 and a quarter (24 percent) will do this 3 or more times a year. This is a slight increase compared to 2020, when 31 percent of Dutch people made one or more library visits. In the years before the corona crisis, we saw a slight decrease in the share of library visitors from 43 percent in 2012 to 40 percent in 2018. The question remains whether library visits among Dutch people will resume in the coming years with the additional efforts of the government. a comparable level.
Besides visiting libraries, there are also events such as book presentations, author visits or lectures. Among Dutch people, 6 percent will visit such a literary or reading event in 2022.
Heritage
Heritage includes both movable (archives/museum collections) and immovable (buildings/monuments) heritage, but also intangible heritage in the form of customs or traditions. In 2022, two in three Dutch people (67 percent) visited some form of heritage. Visiting historic towns, villages or buildings is the most popular form of heritage visit (60 percent in 2022). Here too, we saw the share of visitors decrease from 2018 percent to 2020 percent between 60 and 43. In 2022 we will again see a comparable level to 2018, and the average number of visits is higher than before: 4,8 visits to historical places per year, compared to 4,3 in 2018.
Visiting museums for history and archeology (28 percent), after a dip in 2020 (21 percent), is also almost at the level of 2018 (30 percent). In addition, we see that one in five Dutch people (20 percent) will visit a location with archaeological finds in 2022.
Heritage visits also include visiting archives. This concerns a relatively small group: 4 percent of Dutch people visited an archive once or more in 2022.
festivals
The Netherlands has a wide range of festivals. Of all Dutch people, 36 percent will visit one or more festivals in 2022. Pop music festivals (23 percent) and film festivals (12 percent) are particularly popular.
In 2020, many festival organizations were forced to discontinue (a large part of) their activities under the pressure of the corona policy. The number of performances by artists at pop festivals fell by 87 percent. Read more about the impact of the corona crisis on the music sector on the domain page Music. The decline in the number of festival activities was reflected in the share of festival visitors among the Dutch population: from 40 percent in 2018 to 25 percent in 2020.
Consumption
Books
Reading remains a popular form of leisure activity for many people. As of 2012, approximately 80 percent of the Dutch population aged 6 years and older indicate that they have read at least once in the past 12 months. Also reads approx
VTO 2012 – 2022
Music
From 2020, Dutch people have been asked about the ways in which they listen to music. On an annual basis, 88 percent of the Dutch population aged 6 years and older in 2020 and 2022 indicate that they sometimes listen to music, at work, at home or on the road. Radio is the most popular form: 81 percent of the population listened to music via (online) radio in 2022. 63 percent listened to music via streaming services and 42 percent did so via music from their own collection, for example a CD or LP. The (online) radio and streaming services were also used the most on a daily basis. In 2022, 53 percent of Dutch people listened to (online) radio every day and 37 percent used streaming services every day. For radio, this has decreased by 3 percent since 2020, while the daily use of streaming services has increased by 4 percent compared to 2020.
VTO 2022
Movies & Documentaries
In both 2020 and 2022, 89% of the Dutch population watched films, series or documentaries. Most Dutch people aged 6 years and older watched films, series and documentaries on TV in 2022, namely 90 percent. Streaming services were also used the most, by 76 percent of the population in 2022. One in three Dutch people watched films that were offered digitally through art houses or cinemas in the past year (34 percent).
VTO 2022
Games
In 2022, questions about playing games were included for the first time. The figures clearly show the popularity of this form of leisure activity:. More than half 52% of the Dutch population indicates that they have played games on a telephone, tablet, computer or game console in the past 12 months (52 percent). Of these, 21 percent play daily and 15 percent once a week or more. The vast majority of Dutch people mainly game alone: 69 percent in 2022. They also like to play against others via the internet (41 percent of Dutch people who game) and with or against others who are in the same room (36 percent). E-sports were practiced by 4% of Dutch people who play games.
VTO 2022
Practice
Practicing art and culture is an important form of leisure activity for many people: 64 percent of Dutch people aged 6 years and older sometimes practice some form of art or culture, or heritage. The practice of art is done by 55 percent of Dutch people. The 2023 Amateur Art Monitor of the National Knowledge Center for Cultural Education and Amateur Art (LKCA) shows comparable figures: according to this monitor, 55 percent of the Dutch population aged six years and older does something artistic, creative or musical in their spare time (Neele 2023) . What is striking from the VTO figures is that most forms of both art and culture have remained approximately the same over the years since the first measurement in 2012. Of the art forms that people practice themselves, the performing arts are the most popular. Since 2012, around 40 percent of Dutch people have consistently indicated that they practice some form of performing art every year.
VTO 2012 – 2022
Performing arts
Singing is particularly popular within the performing arts: on an annual basis, approximately 30 percent of Dutch people aged 6 years and older do this sometimes, of which 17 percent even practice it weekly. Only in 2020 did the number of Dutch people who sing decrease to 25 percent, possibly because many people practice this in groups and this was often not possible during the corona closures. In addition to singing, playing an instrument is popular. In 2022, one in five Dutch people played an instrument (21 percent), of which 8 percent did so on a weekly basis. Other forms of performing arts, including acting, various forms of dance and cabaret or stand-up comedy, were practiced to a much lesser extent.
VTO 2022
Other forms of art and heritage practice
After the performing arts, activities in the field of visual arts and heritage are the most common forms of leisure activities within art and culture. Since 30, approximately 2012 percent of Dutch people have indicated that they sometimes practice forms of visual art or heritage. Notably, both are practiced on an annual basis, that is, at least once in the past 12 months. Within the visual arts, drawing, painting or graphic imaging is particularly popular: in 2022, 26 percent of Dutch people did this on an annual basis. This is a slight increase compared to 2012: when 23 percent of the population did this on an annual basis.
Media art, such as making films or writing stories, is practiced the least, by about 20 percent of Dutch people. Making films, video art and graphic work was done by 2022 percent of Dutch people in 21, and writing stories, poems and weblogs by 13 percent. Both types of Media Art are mainly practiced on an annual basis.
For heritage, research into historical events or people (21 percent) and research into local or regional history (15 percent) are particularly popular. In both 2020 and 2022, only 1 percent of the Dutch population had participated or contributed to archaeological research.
Practice of art and heritage
Share of the Dutch population aged 6 years and older who practice a hobby in visual arts, media arts or heritage.
VTO 2022
Support & Support
More than half of Dutch people (53 percent) will be satisfied with the cultural offerings in their living environment in 2022, while only 5 percent are dissatisfied with this.
VTO 2022
In addition to visitors and consumers of the art and culture sector, there are also Dutch people who actively support the sector: for example through volunteer work, donations or membership of an association of friends. Giving money is particularly popular: 17 percent of Dutch people indicate that they support art and culture with money. However, we do see that this share has clearly decreased in recent years: from 23 percent in 2012 to 17 percent in 2022. Involvement in cultural institutions through membership of a circle of friends also decreased slightly: from 9 percent in 2012 to 7 percent in 2022. .
Another form of support is performing unpaid work: in 2022, 10 percent of Dutch people supported the arts and culture sector in this way. Despite a slight decrease in volunteer work between 2014 and 2020, volunteer work will be back at the 2022 level in 2012. Dutch people who support the cultural field in this way most often did so within the music field in 2022 (16 percent of Dutch people who do unpaid work ), followed by heritage and ancient art (11 percent) and festivals (10 percent).
What now?
On this theme page we have further mapped out various developments surrounding visiting, practicing and consuming art and culture. In an update of this theme page, which will follow in 2024, we will further explain these developments with attention to personal characteristics. We also compare the findings from this theme page with another important form of leisure activity, namely sports. This report will be released during 2024, in collaboration with the Mulier Institute. How do Dutch people prefer to spend their free time, and what role do sports and art and culture play in this?
Want to know more about the theme of Culture and Participation?
View more data on the theme Culture and Participation in the Dashboard of the Culture Monitor.
An earlier publication with figures on cultural participation from the VTO 2020 can be found in the Annual report 2021.
Want to read more about culture and participation? Then click on the following link for a list of available literature in the Knowledge base of the Boekman Foundation.
Sources
Berkers, PPL, Schaap, JCF, Vandenberg, F., Everts, RA, Swartjes, B., Goossens, DM, Berghman, MJ, & Kimenai, FFP (2021) Music as medicine against social ills?. Sociology Magazine, 29(1), 6-9.
Blaker, N., Veldkamp, J., Beijersbergen, A., Booij, HM, Niessen, K. (2023) Trends in the museum sector: museum figures 2022. Amsterdam: Museum Association, Museana Foundation
Engelshoven, I. van (2019) Principles of cultural policy 2021-2024. The Hague: Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Gielen, P., Elkhuizen, S., van den Hoogen, Q., Lijster, T. & Otte, H. (2020). The value of culture. Groningen: Arts in Society Research Center, University of Groningen.
Goedhart, M., Michael, J. & Verhagen, M. (2020). 'Theme Culture and Participation'. In: Culture Monitor Annual Report 2021. Amsterdam: Boekman Foundation, 143-164.
Goudriaan, R. (et al.) (2021) Unequally affected, unequally supported: effects of the corona crisis in the cultural sector. Amsterdam/Utrecht/The Hague: Boekmanstichting/SiRM/Significant APE.
Neele, A. (2023) Artistic, creative and musical in your spare time: monitor amateur art 2023. Utrecht: National Knowledge Center for Cultural Education and Amateur Art.
Uslu, G. (2023) Basic principles of cultural subsidies 2025-2028. The Hague: Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
Image credit
Oerol 2022 / Photography: Lisa Maatjens