The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance works to compile, analyze, and publicize up-to-date research on arts and culture. We bring together research that has been done by organizations, universities, foundations, and think-tanks in the Philadelphia area, nationally, and internationally. In addition, we conduct our own research regarding arts and culture in the Philadelphia area.

Here are some important recent findings on arts and culture:

• Tremendous growth of arts and culture non-profits in Southeast Pennsylvania.
• Students who receive arts education do better on the SATs.
• Attendance at arts and cultural organizations is higher than attendance for most professional sports teams

For more detailed information about the information presented here, or for other research inquiries, please contact Nicholas Crosson, Research Coordinator, 215-557-7811, ext.14.

Tremendous growth of arts and culture non-profits in Southeast Pennsylvania

There has been an explosion of these new arts and cultural organizations across Southeast Pennsylvania over the last decade. In the five counties of the region, the number of arts and culture organizations has almost doubled in just ten years, from 523 organizations in 1995 to 999 organizations at the end of 2004:

While the growth in the number of organizations and their financial size is significant, the breadth of this growth is also worth noting. This growth is happening everywhere – in all the disciplines and in all the geographic areas that the Cultural Alliance has investigated. There is quite simply a whole lot going on in terms of arts and culture in the region.

Source: compiled by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance using data from the National Center for Charitable Statistics

Students who receive arts education do better on the SATs

Recent research by the College Board has confirmed earlier findings that:

Arts Education Equals Higher Scores on the SATs.
High school students who receive arts education outperform students who do not.

More Arts Education Means Better Scores.
Additionally, the amount of arts education a student receives is positively correlated with higher SAT scores.

Source: The College Board, Profile of College-Bound Seniors: National Report for 2004.Virtually identical data collected and published in 2001 and 2002 reports. Charts produced by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

Attendance at arts and cultural organizations is higher than attendance for most professional sports teams
Philadelphians Love BOTH the Arts & Sports

• The Philadelphia Museum of Art has higher annual attendance than the Eagles.
• Attendance at the Philadelphia Zoo is higher than for most pro sports teams in Philadelphia.

Approximately two-thirds of the residents of the Greater Philadelphia area regularly attend arts and cultural events. 65% of adult Philadelphia residents and 75% of adult residents surveyed in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties reported attending at least one arts or cultural event by a non-profit organization within the year preceding the survey. The survey was conducted in 2002 for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the findings were consistent with a similar previous study. Based on the area’s population, this would mean that approximately 2 million adults in the area attended at least one arts and cultural event in that year.

The most popular events were plays, dance, and theatre performances – attended by 49% of Philadelphia residents and 59% of residents of surrounding counties. Approximately 46% of Philadelphia residents and 50% of residents went to an art museum in 2002, the second most popular reported cultural activity.

A previous study by the Knight Foundation found that fewer residents attended sporting events (44%) than arts and cultural events within a year of being surveyed, and about the same percentage (68%) reporting attending a movie as attending an arts and cultural event.

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