Philly likes to dance, report on cultural engagement reveals

The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance is beginning work on its goal to double cultural participation in the region by the year 2020. The first step, a study on cultural engagement, is being presented today, and the Alliance’s definition of cultural engagement may surprise you.

The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance is beginning work on its goal to double cultural participation in the region by the year 2020. The first step, a study on cultural engagement, has been released, and the Alliance’s definition of cultural engagement may surprise you.

Transcript:
Rather than call people and ask how many times they had been to a theater or orchestra performance in the past year, the new Cultural Engagement Index tracks all kinds of cultural activity, like making up dance steps at home and writing a poem.

Consultants asked questions at public places in every local zip code to compile the study. It turns out that young people, and Latino and African Americans are actually far more active culturally, using this broader definition of culture. Alan Brown was lead author of the study.

Brown: “It’s only by asking hard questions and looking as clearly as possible at the cultural system that we can get creative ideas for example for how to get hundreds of thousands of people dancing, or reading the same book, or writing poems.”

Brown says the next step is determining which cultural activities to engage, and how.

Listen:
Click on the play button below or right click on this link and choose “Save Link As” to download. [audio: arts20090323cei.mp3]