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Alberta Online Encyclopedia

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The Surveys

Based on the extensive research and the work undertaken in establishing definitions of cultural practitioners and organizations, the Heritage Community Foundation believes that the individual and organizational surveys are state of the art. For the first time, the City of Edmonton and the cultural community have both quantitative and qualitative data to assist in cultural planning and development.

While there have been economic impact studies, there has been no comprehensive surveying of individuals or organizations in the areas of arts, heritage, and culture in the City of Edmonton. Thus, a keystone of the cultural inventory process was the development of such surveys to create baseline information for future data gathering and comparisons. Unless this was done, any planning would be based on anecdotal evidence as has been the case in the past. In order to develop the best possible survey instruments, Heritage Community Foundation staff consulted extensively with John Mahon, Executive Director, Edmonton Arts Council, Arts Council staff, the Cultural Planning Committee and representatives of the arts and heritage subsectors of the cultural sector. In addition, a thorough review was undertaken of other survey instruments developed and implemented in other jurisdictions as is noted in previous sections of this report.

In developing the surveys, significant work had to be done to define the sector and this is noted in previous sections. Who is included determines the nature of the data gathered. To begin with, as was logical for the Edmonton Arts Council that commissioned the research, the focus was on artists and arts organizations. But as has been already noted, the Canada's Cultural Capitals funding encompasses a broader definition of culture and cultural activities. Extensive research supported the need to use an embracing definition of culture that includes both arts and heritage as well as a range of other cultural organizations. This is unique to this study and gives the Edmonton surveys the required breadth for contemporary creative and culturally vital cities.

Based on the extensive research and the work undertaken in establishing definitions of cultural practitioners and organizations, the Heritage Community Foundation believes that the individual and organizational surveys are state of the art. For the first time, the City of Edmonton and the cultural community have both quantitative and qualitative data to assist in cultural planning and development.

Methodology

Target Sample

Male and female Edmontonians who were of legal age (minimum 18 years of age) or older (there was no maximum age limit) as of 9 July 2007, and active professional or amateur cultural practitioners were the target sample for the individual respondent survey.

Cultural practitioners were defined as individuals who are professional and amateur artists and/or arts support workers and/or heritage workers. The respondents defined themselves as professional or amateur artists and/or arts support workers and/or heritage workers based on the provided Edmonton Arts Council (EAC) definition of a professional artist and/or arts support worker and the Heritage Community Foundation (HCF) working definition (created specifically for the survey) of a professional heritage worker.

The EAC defines a professional artist as a person who has completed training or an apprenticeship or is self-taught in an arts discipline and has produced a body of work in an arts discipline, and who:

  • is dedicated to the professional practice of their art, as evidenced by a significant investment of time and resources, or
  • receives payment for their artistic work, or
  • has received public exposure, through professional showings, screenings, publication, or performances where selection was carried out by an objective, arms-length body such as a jury or publisher, or
  • has peer recognition through critical reviews or membership in professional associations.

The EAC recognizes professional arts support workers as workers who are paid for their services and who are active in the arts sector as:

  • event producers
  • production workers
  • marketers
  • administrators of festival events and organizations
  • educators and scholars

The HCF working definition of a professional practitioner within the heritage cultural sector is:

  • An individual who is a paid employee in the heritage sector accomplishing some or all of the following functions:
    • Administration
    • Research
    • Conservation
    • Exhibition
    • Public programming
    • Education
    • Marketing
    • Interpretation

The survey asked cultural practitioners to provide some personal and professional information, as well as opinion feedback dealing with needs and satisfaction assessment pertaining to their respective cultural activities.

Officially recognized cultural organizations and branch locations of cultural organizations of all stripe and size located in Edmonton were the target sample for the organizational questionnaire.

For purposes of the Cultural Inventory and the survey, cultural organizations are organizations which, by their activities, produce, support and stimulate the production of art and heritage, and safeguard artistic and heritage product and resources as part of their operational mandate. Such organizations combine to represent a wide cross-section of the public, non-profit, for-profit and private sectors and include some or all of the following sampling:

  • Live performance showcasing organizations
    1. Theaters
    2. Ballets and other dance organizations and venues
    3. Symphonies and other musical and concert organizations and venues
    4. Performance festivals
  • Other than live performance showcasing organizations
    1. Movie Theaters
    2. Television broadcasters
    3. Radio broadcasters
  • Art and heritage research, custodial, display and programming organizations
    1. Museums (private and public)
    2. Galleries (private and public)
    3. Libraries and Archives
    4. Publishers
  • Administrative and financial support organizations
    1. Public grant, and other financial support, offering organizations
    2. Private grant, and other financial support, offering organizations
    3. Foundations and other not for profit organizations
  • Art and heritage educational organizations
    1. Private and public primary and secondary (i.e., K to 12) schools
    2. Private and public colleges and universities
    3. Private and public community based formal and informal education offering organizations.

The organizational questionnaire focused on gathering primarily quantitative data about the organizations surveyed, but it did include an opinion feedback component as well. Some individuals, by virtue of being individual cultural practitioners as well as in a position to officially speak on behalf of an organization, were, if they so chose to do, free to complete both the questionnaires. Undoubtedly, many did.

Sampling Strategy

While it was hoped that as many respondents as possible would complete the applicable questionnaires, there was no predetermined number of respondents targeted. Since this was a voluntary participation targeted demographic (i.e., not employing random sampling principles) survey, it was thought unnecessary to predetermine a specific number of respondents. However, during the preliminary survey construction phase, it was determined (based on EAC and HCF internal estimates of the overall number of individual cultural practitioners and recognized cultural organizations operating in Edmonton) that, for the individual respondent questionnaire, 400 to 500 respondents would be sufficient, while 70 to 100 respondents would be sufficient for the organizational questionnaire. The final number of individual and organizational respondents, respectively, was 471 and 88. The data collection period was 9 July 2007 to 30 September 2007.

It need be clearly understood here that, from its very conception, this endeavor was not meant to be irrefutably evidentiary in nature; rather, it was meant to be an inferential snapshot of the state of affairs, and the perception of the state of those affairs, within Edmonton's cultural community. This is a baseline survey aimed at generating further interest, debate, and research.

Questionnaire Administration

The administration methods for the questionnaires were two-fold:

  • Hard copy mailout version
  • Online version

The online questionnaires were the central data gathering method in this survey. This is so because the online version offered a number of advantages to the respondent as well as from the data analysis standpoint. Because the online questionnaire was easy to use and had automatic skip logic built into the system, the respondent was able to complete it quickly and avoid the sometimes intimidating process of manually navigating through a questionnaire booklet. From the data analysis perspective, the online questionnaire allowed for instant ongoing summary data analysis and eliminated some of the need for manual data entry.

However, the individual respondent questionnaire was also available in a hard copy format. To that end, questionnaire booklets were made available for pickup through the EAC office as well as through a mailout. The decision to make the hard-copy version of the questionnaire available to only the individual respondents was motivated by the admittedly subjective assumption that there would be a proportionally higher number of potential individual respondents, as compared to the organizational respondents, who might appreciate the "pen to paper" method, regardless of the level of their computer literacy. The mailout distribution process involved mailing out the questionnaire booklets to 298 potential respondents. The addresses for this mail-out were provided by the EAC. The EAC and the HCF promoted the survey through engaging the media, networking with stakeholders in the cultural community, and through word of mouth.

Question Types

Both questionnaires employed two kinds of questions:

  • closed-ended questions
  • open-ended questions

The closed-ended questions essentially required the respondent to select an answer(s) from a provided list of choices. Some closed-ended questions asked for a single choice only, while others allowed for multiple choices. Some of the closed-ended questions did, however, provide the option of a written response by asking for additional comments or providing the "other" option.

Some closed-ended response questions used in both questionnaires also employed scales. A number of seven-point scales were used to measure the respondents' perceptions of certain issues. The scale themes used were:

  • Satisfaction (1 = dissatisfied and 7 = satisfied)
  • Importance (1 = unimportant and 7 = very important)
  • Agreement (1 = disagree and 7 = agree)

The open-ended questions asked the respondent to provide a longer written response. This might still have involved the respondent having to pick an answer such as "yes" or "no," but with the added requirement of providing reasons for their choice of answer.

Survey Indices

The individual respondent questionnaire consists of 9 thematic subsections:

  • Professional Background Information
  • Area of Professional Activity
  • Employment Status
  • Income Information
  • Experience Information
  • Education and Training Information
  • Opinion Feedback Information
  • Satisfaction with Work as a Cultural Practitioner Information
  • Demographic Information

The organizational questionnaire consists of 11 thematic subsections:

  • Organizational Background Information
  • Formal Organizational Mandate Information
  • Area of Cultural Activity Information
  • History and Location Information
  • Organizational Facilities in Edmonton Information
  • Human Resources Information
  • Relationship with the Educational Sector Information
  • Financial-Operational Information
  • Perception of Importance of Specific Cultural Activities Information
  • Opinion on Specific Issues Information
  • Demographic Information

Summary Findings

What do the surveys tell us? Based on the information gathered in both the individual and organizational surveys, it can be concluded that the majority of respondents view Edmonton positively. This applied to both the city's cultural assets and other amenities. Having said this, most of the respondents expressed considerable concern about the future. The City is in a period of intense change spurred by economic development and attendant population growth. Many respondents provided extensive input through the "opinion" questions and expressed fears about Edmonton's cultural assets (human and other), and about Edmonton's future—a future which is generally seen as somewhat uncertain and not all that bright.

Individual Respondent Questionnaire

The survey provided the opportunity for respondents to identify their area of practice. Based on this segmentation, these were the findings:

  • The greater majority of respondents (in excess of three-quarters) identified themselves, within the boundaries of provided definitions, as professional artists and/or arts support workers
  • Just under one-third identified themselves as professional heritage workers
  • A relatively small fraction of the respondents identified themselves as amateur artists and/or arts support workers and/or heritage workers.

Thus, it can be concluded that the greater majority of the information gathered is representative of Edmonton's arts subsector of the cultural sector.

Among the professional and amateur artist and arts support workers surveyed, the highest levels of representation were from the disciplinary fields of music, theatre, and visual arts. The most represented disciplinary fields among the heritage workers were: working with/in archives, working with/in museums (human and natural history) and working with/in interpretive organizations/sites.

A minority of the respondents (just over 40%) indicated that they practice their professional cultural activity as employees of others rather than being self employed. The most prolific employers of cultural practitioners in Edmonton are in the nonprofit sector, the educational sector and the government sector.

While an overwhelming majority of respondents (nearly 90%) indicated that their professional cultural practice generates income for them, most reported that income to be less than 50% of their total household income. In fact, nearly half of the respondents indicated their annual income generated by their professional cultural activity to be under $20,000, while nearly two-thirds reported it to be under $40,000. Moreover, a majority of respondents (nearly 55%) indicated that, apart from their professional cultural practice, they maintain other employment (anything from business, IT, and medicine to retail, service industries, and general labour).

Slightly over three-quarters of the respondents have worked as cultural practitioners in Edmonton for the past 10 years (25.6 being the average number of years the respondents have been professional cultural practitioners in general). Of those professional cultural practitioners who moved to Edmonton within the last 10 years, only one-third did so in order to practice their cultural activity. Apart from other Canadian and North American locations, respondents came to Edmonton from locations in Asia, Australia, and Europe.

An overwhelming majority of the respondents (nearly 90%) have completed some kind of formal post-secondary education (from college/technical institute certificates/diplomas to post-doctoral studies). Nearly three-quarters of them indicated that their formal education is directly relevant to their professional cultural practice as well as being the most important part of their development as a cultural practitioner. Of the respondents who do not consider their formal education as the most important part of their development as a cultural practitioner, nearly two-thirds indicated that self education and influence of peers and colleagues were of greater importance.

Most of the respondents (a small majority) indicated that they received their formal education, which is most relevant to their cultural practice, in Edmonton. Of those respondents who were educated outside Edmonton, apart from other Canadian and North American locations, they acquired their education in locations in Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Europe, and South America.

Over three-quarters of respondents consider the Edmonton region to be a good place to be a cultural practitioner in general. Some of the most prevalent reasons in support of this assertion include the perception of the Edmonton region as:

  • a nurturing and supportive community
  • having an active and vibrant arts scene and
  • providing a great deal of quality opportunities for cultural practice

This positive perception of the Edmonton region is reiterated in even stronger terms when dealing with the respondents' perception of the region as a place to live. An overwhelming majority of respondents (in excess of 85%) consider the Edmonton region a good place to live in general. Some of the most prevalent reasons in support of this assertion include the perception of the region as having an active and vibrant arts and culture scene and not being too large or too small.

Interestingly, when dealing with the issue of specific fields of cultural practice, the positive perception of the Edmonton region diminished somewhat. Just over two-thirds of respondents consider the Edmonton region to be a good place to be a cultural practitioner in their specific field of practice. Some of the most prevalent reasons in support of this assertion include the perception of the Edmonton region as having an active and vibrant music and theatre scene and a large quality talent base.

The following quotations are examples of the positive perception of Edmonton:

Local experience has taught me that Edmontonians are willing to keep an open mind about art in general. The more I travel the world, the more I appreciate what a GREAT part of the world we are blessed to live in. Edmonton is a beautiful city that is establishing a fine reputation for being accepting and appreciative of our own cultural diversity. I am proud to be from Edmonton, where we truly appreciate Art, Culture, History and Heritage. Also, this question is being asked at a time when the Edmonton region is experiencing an economic boom, which provides a good environment for financial support of the Arts. So my answer is "Yes"; I believe that the Edmonton region is a good place to be a cultural practitioner.

I work in the theatre and we have a great community of artists. We have two excellent training programs and incredible senior artists, who remain in Edmonton and create art. Also there is a considerable sharing of resources between individuals and companies. Also, the private companies in this city (sound, lights etc.) are very supportive of artists.

Edmonton has a strong cultural community; however, a lot of this city's strong points are hidden. One has to live here for a number of years to discover what is available.

Some of the most prevalent reasons given supporting the perception of the Edmonton region as not being a good place to be a cultural practitioner (in general, as well as in specific fields of practice) or a good place to live include the perception of the region as:

  • Not being able to provide adequate employment to professional cultural practitioners
  • Lacking in provincial funding and support and
  • Having too high a cost of living and level of homelessness.

The following quotations are some examples of the negative perception of Edmonton:

As a woman, in Edmonton, work is scant, to say the least. Opportunities as a theatre-employed actress are dwindling. Work is so scant because companies don't take risks in hiring new talent. Companies take fewer risks in the plays they produce as well—they are trying to please an older, conservative audience base and they pick plays that are "safe" to produce; and by safe I mean: financially sound, boring, tired, old and predictable works. Because of all of the aforementioned factors, many new actors like myself seek independent opportunities. We self-produce. However, because unemployment is increasing and funding is decreasing, it is harder and harder to produce work. Renting any theatre space in this city is no longer feasible without government funding or sponsorship. Even if you get sponsorship, competition for those few rental spaces is through the roof, as more and more new practitioners turn to self-production. And even when you do produce, the reviews lately in the (alternative) papers are amateurish and immaturely written and unfounded. Audience members are not as supportive of independent productions, as the talent is lesser known. Independent productions offer experience to actors/writers/directors, which is valuable, but they rarely pay the bills. Increasingly, it seems that the impact of such independent productions is non-existent. Where is the interest, from the theatre community and also from the community at large? The extent of cultural ignorance that prevails in this city—and also this province—is appalling. From the government, to the cultural reviewers and down to members of the established theatre companies themselves. Also to be included are the numerous farmers, blue-collar workers and conservative octogenarians who believe that culture is unimportant and serves the community no positive purpose.

Edmonton is an isolated backwater with delusions of grandeur (particularly where culture is concerned). The establishment and the public at large here are more interested in cultivating the appearance of a truly cultural community, for the sake of that appearance alone, rather than actually cultivating real culture. The cultural community itself has to take some of the responsibility for this. It is understood that one has to often compromise in order to eat, but the "artists" of this "city" seem to be so willing to sell their souls for the sake of a few shekels, that they collectively have forsaken most of their artistic credibility. Blatant kitsch is the order of the day here, and lamentably it is hailed as something of true artistic/cultural value.

It used to be that one could rent spaces to do theatre in cheaply but increasingly it is clear those days are over—we do not have affordable places to produce theatre where audiences will come to see it. And we do not have the funding to pay for the spaces that are available. All of this means I wonder why I'm here and not somewhere with more opportunity if I have to pay like I was in Vancouver or Toronto to produce here.

In spite of the generally positive perception of the Edmonton region by most of the respondents, nearly three-quarters of them, indicated that they do indeed have some specific concerns about the future of their area of cultural practice in the region. Some of the most prevalent reasons behind their concerns include:

  • The fear that eventually funding for arts and culture (speaking generally as well as with specific reference to the provincial government) will continue declining rather than increasing and
  • The already much too high cost of living will continue to increase.

The following quotations are some examples of the concerns expressed by the respondents, in their own words:

Financial support seems to be waning along with a de-emphasis on the viability and necessity of cultural activity—cultural activity is always seen as icing instead of integral—it is not valued in society the way it needs to be.

I've found it very hard to get grant money from the province—I realize that's not an Edmonton issue strictly—but I've had better luck with the Canada Council than with the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. I wish there was more grant money available.

The soaring cost of housing is becoming a growing concern for artist and arts organizations. It is difficult enough to find affordable housing, let alone affordable studio space.

Nearly one in three of the respondents expressed their intention to leave the Edmonton region in the near future for the following reasons:

  • High cost of living
  • Lack of employment opportunities for cultural practitioners and
  • A perception that Edmonton's cultural offerings are limited compared to other locations in the country

The following quotations are some examples of reasons given by the respondents as to why they are considering leaving the Edmonton region:

With cost of living expenses as high as they are in Edmonton and wages not rising commensurately, there is little advantage to an artist remaining in Edmonton. The primary advantage of this city was it was relatively cheap to live in.

I would rather go to a place that feels richer in culture e.g. Montreal, Toronto, Kelowna, Winnipeg. If I am going to live where I can't afford it, I would rather be somewhere where at least my spirit is being fed.

Its cultural offerings are limited compared to larger cities in the country and on the continent, i.e. Toronto, New York.

Overall, in excess of three-quarters of the respondents indicated some level of satisfaction with their work as a cultural practitioner.

Demographically speaking, the survey revealed the following:

  • Women comprised the majority of the respondents (at 59.3%)
  • The average age among the respondents was 49.7 years (with the youngest respondents being 18 and the oldest being 84)
  • The average respondent household consists of 2 adults and 2.5 dependent minors and
  • The majority of those households (nearly two-thirds) are located in Wards 1, 4, and 6
  • A fraction of the respondents (9.6%) indicated that their work as cultural practitioners is directly related to a distinct cultural tradition, the most prevalent of those being Chinese and Ukrainian
  • Nearly three-quarters of the respondents indicated that their work as cultural practitioners takes place in Wards 1, 4, and 6 (with 40.9% of the respondents working in Ward 4 alone).

Organizational Questionnaire

Over three-quarters of the respondents indicated that the primary purpose of their respective organization is in the area of the arts. Of those, the largest single group, at over 30%, identified music as their primary field of disciplinary focus. In the heritage field, artifact storage and preservation was the largest single identified primary field of focus. Thus, much as was the case with the individual respondent questionnaire, the greater majority of information gathered in this questionnaire reflects the arts subsector perspective.

In excess of 85% of respondents indicated that their respective organizations were originally founded in Edmonton, with just over 50% of the organizations operating only in Edmonton. The average reported year for the respective organizations' startup of operations in Edmonton was 1975–76.

About one-quarter of the respondents indicated that their respective organizations own facilities, which are used as the exclusive or primary production or public presentation space for organizational operations in Edmonton. Over 90% of the respondents indicated that they long-term lease their organizational facilities, while just over 40% indicated that they rent their organizational facilities. In all cases (owned, leased and/or rented), the greater majority of the organizational facilities are located in Ward 4.

Other significant organizational findings include:

  • Just over one-quarter of the respondents (representing the single-largest response group dealing with this issue) indicated that their respective organization's total annual operating budget for the past fiscal year was under $50,000
  • A quarter of the respondents (representing the second single-largest response group dealing with this issue) indicated that their respective organization's total annual operating budget for the past year was between $100,000 and $249,999
  • Just under 20% of respondents (representing the third single-largest response group dealing with this issue) indicated that their respective organization's total annual operating budget for the past year was between $1,000,000 and $4,999,999.
  • Over two-thirds of the respondents indicated that their respective organizations consider their Edmonton operations to be in a financially stable situation for the next 3 to 5 years.

With respect to staff, the following were the findings:

  • 13.3 is the reported average number of permanent, fulltime, paid staff employed (with just over two-thirds of the organizations employing only between zero and two permanent full-time paid staff)
  • 10.7 is the reported average number of permanent, part-time, paid staff employed and (with just over three-quarters of the organizations employing only between zero and two permanent part-time paid staff)
  • 23.8 is the reported average number of temporary/contract paid staff, who are not professional arts or heritage practitioners (with just over two-thirds of the organizations employing only between zero and two permanent temporary/contract paid staff)

Interestingly, 50.9 is the reported average number of professional arts and/or heritage practitioners contracted annually by the responding organizations (with just over half of the organizations contracting only between zero and four professional arts and/or heritage practitioners). This means, as expected, that only the largest organizations can afford specialized staff while smaller organizations rely on 1 or 2 staff and a range of volunteers.

Even though the data clearly indicate that volunteers are a very important part of the overall operational activities of the surveyed organizations, the findings reveal:

  • More than two-thirds of responding organizations indicated that they do not have a formal volunteer recruitment program
  • In excess of 80% of respondents indicated that their respective organizations do not have a paid volunteer coordinator and
  • Nearly two-thirds of respondents indicated that their respective organizations expect volunteers to be readily available to them in the future

While undoubtedly this attitude reflects the now famously indomitable spirit of volunteering in Edmonton, there is also a hint of taking things for granted. The reported average number of volunteers used annually by the responding organizations is 136.6 with just over half of the organizations employing between zero and twenty-five active volunteers.

Just short of two-thirds of the respondents indicated that their respective organizations are allied/affiliated with formal educational programs/institutions in Edmonton, and just over 50% of the organizations indicated that they produce special educational events open only to K to 12 students, as direct participants and/or patrons.

Perhaps the single, most significant finding of the individual questionnaire is that nearly one in three (27.4%) of the respondents expressed their intention to leave Edmonton in the near future. This, some might argue, is an indication of a potential crisis facing Edmonton's cultural sector. Perhaps the single most-significant finding of the organizational questionnaire is that a majority (68.2%) of the respondents indicated that their respective organizations consider their Edmonton operations to be in a financially stable situation for the next three to five years. This would appear to indicate that organizations' assets are being well managed. Whether this is enough to allay the fears of practitioners remains to be seen.


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