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What do the arts do?

Anyone who has worked on an arts project, been inspired by a play, sung a song at the top of their voice in the car (and been caught at the traffic lights), volunteered at a festival or been lost in a good book knows what the arts can do.

We all know personally the arts make us feel good and collectively that has an impact on community. Yet describing these feelings or providing a value statement or evidence to a potential investor can be difficult. How do you place a value on how you feel?

In 2013, Australia Council for the Arts and Arts Queensland surveyed 1115 Queenslanders regarding how they engaged in the arts, as well as their opinions and beliefs about the art.

As part of the survey, participants were read a list of statements regarding attitudes to the arts and asked to rate how strongly they agreed or disagreed with each statement. Participants were also asked to indicate how big an impact they thought the arts had on a diverse range of topics including child development, ability to express ourselves and community pride and identity.

This is what the survey found:

Arts impact on our happiness and wellbeing
Almost nine in 10 Queenslanders (85 per cent) agree that the arts make for a richer and more meaningful life, an increase from 77 per cent in 2009.

Queenslanders also believe the arts can have a positive effect on health and wellbeing. Over half agree that the arts can help us deal with stress, anxiety or depression and that they can have an impact on our sense of wellbeing and happiness.

Arts impact personal development
Two-thirds of Queenslanders believe the arts impact on child development. This corresponds with the fact that 90 per cent of Queenslanders agree the arts should be an important part of the education of every Australian.

Arts help us be creative
The arts are also important in helping us be creative and expressing ourselves. Six in 10 Queenslanders believe that the arts can have a big impact on our ability to express ourselves. Five in 10 believe that the arts can impact our ability to think creatively and develop new ideas.

Arts make us feel proud
Ninety per cent of Queenslanders agreed they feel proud when Australian artists do well overseas. Almost one in two Queenslanders think that the arts have a big impact on expressing and shaping Australian identity and positively impact on community pride and identity.

Arts play a role in shaping society
Ninety per cent of Queenslanders agree that artists make an important contribution to Australian society. Six in 10 believe the arts reflect the diversity of culture in Australia.

The Arts in Daily Life  research was commissioned in partnership with the Australia Council for the Arts.

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Queenslanders are actively participating in the artsparticipation statistics from the Arts in Daily Life: Queenslanders and the Arts survey