From the Field

Does Distance Affect Attendance?

In a new report from the Wallace Foundation, Proximity and Performing Arts Attendance, researchers examined if an audience member’s distance from a performing arts venue affects whether or not they will attend a live event. To do so, the research team lead three major data collection efforts between 2015 and 2022 from 25 performing arts organizations: conducting 301 interviews with arts leaders and staff, compiling data from organizational ticket bases for a subset of 15 organizations, and collecting data for those 15 organizations from online audience surveys in 2015 and 2019.

The researchers found that, in general, attendance is lower for audiences farther away from a venue. These findings were consistent across demographics; for example, organizations in a wide variety of locales, from sparsely to densely populated, largely depend on audiences in closer geographical proximity. However, the researchers identified several caveats. For instance, they found audience members were more willing to travel to see productions by larger organizations than smaller ones. Audiences also were more willing to travel to see more popular productions.

Changes in State Education Leadership

The Education Commission of the States (ECS) recently released an infographic illustrating changes to education leadership at the state level as a result of 2025 state level elections. The infographic also displays information about upcoming 2026 elections, showing the potential for significant changes in leadership and education policy, including arts education policy. This accompanies an ECS analysis of the 2025 elections and a forecast of the 2026 elections, which examines the ramifications of the elections on education policy in greater detail.

National Snapshot of U.S. Museums

The American Alliance of Museums published its annual report on the state of museums in the United States. Surveying 511 museum directors representing a range of geography, size and discipline, the report documents the latest trends in attendance, finances and museum services across the field. While the field overall reached 95% of its prepandemic attendance in 2025, nearly 29% of museums reported decreased attendance in 2025 due to weakened travel and tourism activity and economic uncertainty. In addition, museums were significantly affected by federal actions this year, with 34% of museums reporting they had government grants or contracts canceled. Only 8% of museums reported that their lost federal funding has been fully replaced by foundations, sponsors or donors.

In response to these trends, most of the surveyed museum directors (86%) plan to implement new strategies to diversify revenue streams. Common strategies highlighted in the survey include adopting or amplifying efforts to seek corporate sponsorships or brand partnerships (55%), creating or revamping the membership department (46%), and establishing or expanding facility rentals or private event hosting (43%).