STREET ARTISTS IN EUROPE - Fondazione Fitzcarraldo

Street Artists in Europe
for friends (37% came with a friends and 36% with several friends whilst only 7% came with
their spouse and 3% with their children). Other available studies corroborate the fact that the
practice of street performances is seen very much as an opportunity to get together. Almost 40%
of respondents attending the Mai des Arts dans la Rue festival that takes place in several villages
in the region of Morlaix in Brittany (France) said that one reason for their outing was ‘meeting
family, friends or acquaintances to enjoy some time together’ 346 . Performances are pretexts for
meeting others, going out, using the public space as a meeting point for exchanges of view and
discussions.
The presence of children varies widely according to the country concerned and the promotional
context. The Eunetstar survey notes that children hardly ever attend festivals. Apart from Namur
and Cognac where 26% and 23% respectively of those questioned said they were accompanied
by children, the figures are very low (8% for Ljubljana, 7% for Ghent, 3% for Oerol and
Poznan). Conversely, the study of audiences at British street festivals showed a greater presence
of children. On average, taking six such festivals, nearly 40% of those questioned were
accompanied by children. Manchester is a particularly telling case: 53.5% of respondents
attending the Xtrax/Decibel Showcase were accompanied by children, as were 58.8% attending
the Garden of Delights festival. The study identifies the conditions for attending shows (free
entry, free movement and free access) as the factors that make street festivals ‘family
friendly’ 347 occasions that allow parents to introduce their children to artistic events.
3.2. Socio-demographic and economic trends
The survey carried out by the Eunetstar network gives a fairly clear picture of the sociodemographic
and socio-economic characteristics and cultural practices of the spectators
questioned. Despite profound differences in terms of demographic composition, basic trends
emerge from the comparison between the nine countries in which the survey was carried out.
The results in fact echo our finding that audiences of live performances in Europe share some
common features, as we said earlier, in that what are called ‘advantaged’ groups appear to be
over-represented. Yet the non-public is certainly present, which shows that street arts manage to
reach the whole spectrum of the population.
3.2.1. Typology
Apart from the Sibiu festival, where men make up the majority, and Namur where the balance is
equal, the audience of street arts festivals tends very much to be women. In Cognac 56% of
those questioned were women. The proportion rises to 61% for Oerol and reaches 63% for
Poznan. That result is consistent with a survey conducted in France and suggests that the
feminisation of cultural practices it revealed is not a purely national phenomenon.
That situation, ‘far from reflecting a secular (or natural…) predilection on the part of women for
what is beautiful and arouses feelings, or an immutable division between gender roles within the
context of leisure activities, is the result of profound social changes (…) since the late 1960s.
346 Enquête sur le public du Mai des Arts dans la rue en Pays de Morlaix, conducted in May 2004. Internal
Document of the Fourneau, Centre national des arts de la rue. Available on request (no page numbers).
347 National Street Arts Audience, op. cit., p. 12.
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PE 375.307