2022 Cultural Consumption Barometer highlights decline in public theater attendance, cinema movie watching

The "2022 Cultural Consumption Barometer. Cultural Participation and Democratic Perspectives" released by the National Cultural Research and Training Institute on Sunday, during the 33rd National Theater Festival, indicates among others a decline in participation in theater performances and movie watching at the cinema compared to 2019.The 18th edition of the study assesses the changes in cultural consumption practices, with emphasis on its particularities among the youth, and looks for the first time in Romania at the relationship between culture and democracy.The data provided confirms the trends identified during the pandemic, namely the predominant orientation of cultural consumption towards the online environment and non-public space, noting that the pandemic has left a lasting mark on cultural consumption in the public space, the only increase recorded being the 14 percentage point rise in visits to historical monuments or archaeological sites, at least once a year (59 percent of respondents in 2022, compared to 45 percent in 2019).The decline in various public cultural consumption activities were as follows: theater attendance - from 29 percent in 2019 to 20 percent in 2022; movie watching at cinemas - from 35 percent in 2019 to 26 percent in 2022; book reading / borrowing in libraries - from 28 percent in 2019 to 17 percent in 2022; visits to museums, exhibitions or art galleries - from 38 percent in 2019 to 30 percent in 2022.Another highlighted aspect is that, beyond the background of the pandemic, the decreases in public cultural consumption levels are also explained by the rise in barriers to cultural consumption, which is visible for all categories of consumers."The barriers identified as being on the rise in recent years and which gained ground after the pandemic are culture reception barriers, and the solutions to remove them include increasing the interest in culture and the understanding of cultural products and artistic creations through a sustained education of children and youth, but adults as well," the document states.The study dedicates extensive chapters to cultural activities in non-public space, activities on the internet, as well as the connection between cultural consumption practices and democratic participation.The 2022 Cultural Consumption Barometer is available in digital format on the website www.culturadata.ro.