27 Jan 2026
Audience engagement is vital for the arts, creativity and ngā toi Māori to thrive. That’s why Creative New Zealand invests in the Audience Atlas research, to get insights and data on cultural engagement, spending, and audience segmentation in New Zealand's arts and culture sector.
The headlines from the 2025 research show the annual arts spend is $3.3 billion, with over 4.04 million New Zealanders engaging with the arts in the past three years. But the research also identifies 1.6 million ‘missed’ arts engagement opportunities.
David Pannett, Senior Manager Strategy and Engagement says the research findings are a starting point for action on those opportunities.
“We’re excited to have project lead Andrew McIntyre presenting a free webinar on the 2025 findings. He’ll focus on what the research tells us about audiences in Aotearoa and how to use these insights to develop strategies and grow audiences.”
Andrew McIntyre is Director and co-founder at Morris Hargreaves McIntyre. He led development of Culture Segments that are integral to the Audience Atlas research methodology and are now used in 15 countries.
“Culture segments show what motivates audiences and what they prefer, understanding these motivations and preferences can help arts organisations tailor engagement strategies to meet audience needs,” David says.
“The research also suggests there are 1.2 million potential donors waiting to be activated. If Andrew doesn’t speak to how to activate them in his presentation, I’m sure he’ll get asked about it in question time!”
The Audience Atlas webinar
When: Tuesday 24 February
Time: 9.30am - 11.00am NZST
Register for the webinar on Zoom
It will be co-hosted by Aroha Rangi, Co-Manager Policy and Performance at Creative New Zealand. NZSL interpretation will be included and the webinar will be recorded.
The Audience Atlas Aotearoa New Zealand research report in available now, with accessible versions and sector specific reports to be added soon.
Read the full Audience Atlas Aotearoa report on our website
CATEGORIES: Events, Research Latest news and blog
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