NEW research has found almost 50,000 people from underrepresented groups around Coventry participated in cultural activities as a result of the city of culture year, suggesting a higher level of inclusion.
This figure, taken from research conducted by the University of Warwick, also included 10,000 people from underrepresented areas.
The research showed cultural participation such as visits to publicly funded arts, theatre, music or dance events rose significantly in areas such as Canley and Little Heath.
Across the city, there was an increase of 48,000 people watching publicly funded cultural events, with almost 10,000 being in Little Heath and Canley, which had some of the lowest cultural participation rates before the city of culture year.
The research also suggests many different social groups are interested in culture if the events are close by and involve underrepresented communities in their organisation.
And almost half of the tickets issued to postcodes in Coventry were to lower economic groups.
The report has also made several suggestions on how to continue to increase cultural inclusion, including the importance of keeping events local and reasonably priced.
Prof Jonathon Neelands, of the University of Warwick, said: “By focusing on hyper-local offerings, the programme offered local proximity, which is important to people who do not often engage with culture or who are in lower economic groups.
“Offering the potential for a sense of ownership by the kinds of people who are most often missing from cultural spaces also helped boost inclusion across last year’s City of Culture events”.
