Cultural practices in France in 2018

Scientific managers: Aurélien DJAKOUANE and Emmanuel NEGRIER.

The growth in festival-going is one of the most notable results of the latest French cultural practices survey. 19% of French people over the age of 15 say they have attended a festival in the last twelve months. This compares with 16% in 2008, and 8% in 1973. We can therefore safely assume that festivals are a relevant space for observing contemporary transformations in the relationship to culture, and perhaps even participating in them. Indeed, the very singularity of the festival experience (short duration, intensive participation, multiple offerings, aesthetic experience and
social) is at odds with the more conventional dimension of cultural season attendance. What's more, the diversity of festivals attracts audiences from a wide range of social backgrounds, and favors a variety of participation trajectories: intense or intermittent, with family or friends, etc.

The aim of this research project is to explore the sociography of festival audiences and participation from three angles. Firstly, it will describe the sociological profile of festival-goers, its evolution over the years, and compare it with other outing practices and the modalities themselves of festival participation (social and geographical context, practical modalities). The prism proposed is that of a comparison within the performing arts in all its diversity (mainly theater, dance, music, circus arts and street arts). The second perspective of this research looks at festival practice as a space for transforming the relationship to culture. Here, we address the question of the value of the festival experience itself, and how it evolves in the time and space of festival-goers' "careers". Finally, the third perspective
focuses more specifically on describing the extension of the field of negotiation in the contemporary manufacture of cultural tastes, and the role that digital technology now plays in the festival regime. These three perspectives unfold in a constant back-and-forth between the PCF survey and our own quantitative and qualitative, local and global surveys of festival audiences.

In a context marked by the cancellation of almost all festivals in 2020, these questions take on a particular meaning. We're betting that answering them will shed light on the French people's attachment to these cultural venues, and on some of the transformations in their relationship with culture.

Amount: €39,800

Duration: from 10/16/2020 to 10/15/2022