In the Netherlands, one of the monitors regarding cultural participation is a nationally representative survey that is carried out every two years since 2012 (de Vrijetijdsomnibus, or VTO). The goal of this survey is to measure participation in both sports and culture. The fieldwork is undertaken by the Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, CBS) and the analysis for the data related to culture is carried out by the Boekman Foundation since 2018. The sample consists of people 6 years and older that are living in the Netherlands. Each year approximately 3000 respondents fill out the questionnaire, leading up to a total of 18702 respondents in the period of 2012-2022.
Findings show that nine out of ten people in the Netherlands visited at least one cultural activity in 2022. More so than more active forms of participation, which we will further describe below, visiting culture was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The percentage of Dutch people that visited culture decreased for all cultural forms, and in 2022 has only bounced back for a few forms (including for example visiting dance and house parties). Moreover, visiting culture is not equally divided across the population., Culture is mostly visited by younger people, those with higher educational levels and higher household income.
In the Netherlands, 64% of the population is actively engaged in cultural activities. The performing arts are the most popular, with 39,7% of the Dutch population participating in 2022. This is followed by the visual arts (29,3%), heritage (28,2%) and media art (20,5%) (table 4) Especially kids and youngsters (below 19 years old) are culturally active. Additionally, women and those with a higher educational degree participate more in cultural hobbies
Table 4: Percentage of the Dutch population (6 years and older) that participated or attended a cultural activity at least once in the last 12 months in the Netherlands
|
Activities heavily subsidised by the state |
2018 |
2020 |
2022 |
|
Theatre performance |
25 |
13 |
19 |
|
Opera performances & concerts of classical music |
18 |
8 |
12 |
|
Classical ballet & modern dance |
9 |
4 |
6 |
|
Libraries |
40 |
31 |
34 |
|
Museums |
57 |
42 |
52 |
|
Monuments* |
60 |
43 |
60 |
|
Cultural centres |
– |
– |
– |
|
Activities without large public subsidies |
|||
|
Cinema |
68 |
46 |
57 |
|
Concerts of popular music |
42 |
20 |
36 |
|
To read books not related to the profession or studies |
80 |
79 |
78 |
|
In paper format (Usually use) |
77 |
75 |
73 |
|
As ebook (Usually use) |
27 |
28 |
28 |
|
Audiobooks |
– |
– |
15 |
|
To listen to music |
|
88 |
88 |
|
Radio |
|
88 |
87 |
|
Streaming |
|
64 |
68 |
|
Own collection (CD/Vinyl etc.) |
|
52 |
45 |
|
To watch television (Usually watch)** |
|
89 |
89 |
|
TV |
– |
91 |
90 |
|
Streaming |
|
73 |
76 |
|
Digital offer |
|
30 |
34 |
|
To play games (Usually play) |
|
|
52 |
|
To use computer for entertainment or leisure (Usually use) |
– |
– |
– |
|
Internet for entertainment or leisure (Usually use) |
– |
– |
– |
Notes: *Historical city, village or building
Table 5: People who have carried out artistic activities in the Netherlands in the last 12 months by type of activity, in % of total population (6 years and older), period 2018-2022
|
|
2018 |
2020 |
2022 |
|
Writing |
15 |
12 |
13 |
|
Painting or drawing |
23 |
23 |
26 |
|
Other visual arts |
12 |
12 |
12 |
|
Making films, videos, digital design |
23 |
20 |
21 |
|
Theatre |
7 |
5 |
6 |
|
Classical ballet and modern dance |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
Folk dance, ballroom and other types of dance |
6 |
6 |
6 |
|
Playing an instrument |
20 |
20 |
21 |
|
Singing |
27 |
25 |
29 |
Source: Swartjes, B and T. de Hoog (2024). Cultuur en Participatie. See: https://www.cultuurmonitor.nl/thema/cultuur-en-participatie/.
Comments are closed.