Economists Recast the Arts as an Enabler, Not a Cost

Seventy-four percent of Australians attended at least one live arts event or festival in 2025, according to Creative Australia's latest count. Yet the average live performance ticket in the country now costs $117.83. An economics research and advisory firm is trying to change how governments weigh those two facts against each other.

Mandala, an Australian economics research and advisory firm, has released a research paper titled Reimagining the value of the arts, compiled as part of an Economist-in-Residence pro bono collaboration with Melbourne's RISING Festival. The report argues the sector should move beyond its current metrics and measure the arts as a strategic asset that enables wider cultural, economic and social goals.

'Rather than asking what the sector is worth, we should ask how it enables us to reach important national economic and societal goals,' said Amit Singh, Managing Partner of Mandala, in the report.

What does the report propose?

Mandala's argument is direct. Instead of simply quantifying jobs created, wages earned and audience spend, the sector should devise methods to measure outcomes such as the impact of art on wellbeing and mental health, and its contribution to 'shared national goals'.

The approach aligns with other researchers in the arts who have long advocated greater recognition of the arts' instrumental value, including its enabling effects in 'non-arts' areas of the economy such as health and disaster recovery.

For most not-for-profit, government-funded arts organisations, the current reality is different. Many report on return on investment (ROI) and gross value added (GVA) as part of funding agreements with government agencies, and these calculations often sit within their organisational KPIs.

Do politicians still see the arts as an 'elitist hobby'?

The report includes an observation from RISING Artistic Director and CEO Hannah Fox, who says the 'dominant narrative of government' remains that '"regular people" don't care about the arts, because it's [seen as] an elitist hobby for middle-class, inner-city audiences'.

The government's own data tells another story. Creative Australia's figures show 81% of major city dwellers attended a live arts event in 2025, compared with 74% of those living in remote Australia, showing very little difference in engagement based on geography. Both statistics appear in Mandala's report.

The more pressing question, amid a cost-of-living crisis, may be how to support 'regular Australians' to access live arts experiences when most of them are not free.

How affordable are Australian tickets?

Live Performance Australia's latest Attendance and Revenue Report puts the average ticket price for live performance in 2025 at $117.83, up 2.4% from the previous year. The averages by artform:

• Theatre: $88.23
• Circus and physical theatre: $96.32
• Ballet and dance: $109.17
• Musical theatre: $127.15
• Opera: $139.31

Publicly funded performing arts companies do offer discounts for low income audiences, concession holders, students and under 30s. Those cheaper tickets typically start around $45 to $50, which remains a fair cost even for average income earners.

What does Europe's subsidy model show?

In countries where governments subsidise live arts more heavily than Australia, a broader cross-section of people typically attends performances. At Berlin's state-subsidised Schaubühne theatre, average ticket prices sit around €30 (AU$49), with heavily reduced prices of around €9 (AU$15) for students and welfare recipients.

Like many publicly subsidised German theatres, the Schaubühne scales its prices across six categories according to seat view. Its most expensive seats, equivalent to Australia's Premium A Reserve, average €62 (AU$100), while the cheapest, with restricted views, average €9 (AU$15). Similar structures exist in parts of Austria and France.

The case for top-shelf economists demonstrating how the arts enable value across the economy, and by extension deserve cross-departmental public funding, is clear. But the report's own ticket data points to a more basic task: building a roadmap for affordability. That would likely require greater government and other financial support for artists and arts organisations at every level.