At the top of the webinar, Nik Nanos presented the latest findings from the Arts Response Tracking Survey (ARTS), focusing on audience engagement and attendance this past summer, followed by a panel of arts leaders sharing insights from their own work in the sector.

We explored Canadians’ views on free admission, shared responsibility for arts funding, motivators for attendance, and the role of cultural experiences in fostering belonging. We also considered the impacts of the Canada Strong Pass and the influence of “social organizers”—those who take the lead in bringing friends and family together to attend arts and cultural events.

Speakers:

• Teresa Cotroneo, Executive Director, Folkorama Festival
• Stephanie Fortin, Director, Commercial Operations, Canadian Museum of History and Canadian War Museum
• Renaud Legoux, Professor, Department of Marketing, HEC Montréal
• Nik Nanos, Chief Data Scientist and Founder, Nanos Research

Download the September 2025 edition of the Arts Response Tracking Survey

Access previous editions of ARTS 

Associated links and resources:

• Arts Across Ontario Report
• About the Canada Strong Pass
• Canadian War Museum
• Canadian Museum of History
• Celebrate Everything – Lead with Diversity
• Folklorama Festival
• Synapse-C – Data analytics and resource marketing

What is ARTS? 

ARTS is a partnership between Business / Arts, the National Arts Centre, and Nanos Research that conducts quarterly surveys of over 1000 Canadian culture-goers. Since its launch in May 2020, ARTS has offered valuable insights into audience behaviours and trends. With each quarter touching on a specific topic area, winter focuses on marketing, spring on sales, summer on public perceptions and engagement, and fall on fundraising. Read more.

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