Americans are attending fewer concerts, theatre performances, museum exhibitions and other "benchmark" cultural activities, according to a new study from the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts.

The cultural agency released its sixth Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, highlighting the year 2008, on Thursday and reported a notable decline in attendance for nearly all art forms between 2002 and 2008.

According to the report, 34.6 per cent of adult Americans attended at least one "benchmark arts activity" — for instance, attending a jazz concert, taking in a play or visiting an art gallery — in 2008, compared to 39.2 per cent in 2002.

It's the lowest participation rate since the report was first released (in 1982) and also a significant decline from the peak 41 per cent rate in 1992.

Between 2002 — the last time the report was issued — and 2008, audiences fell for everything from moviegoing (60 to 53.3 pe cent) to jazz concerts (10.8 to 87.8 per cent) to museum or gallery vists (26.5 to 22.7 per cent).

Even the most popular leisure activity — going to the movies — saw a decline (60 to 53 per cent).

'A single survey cannot explain all reasons for the nationwide decline. But this report offers many possibilities, not only for locating likely causes, but also for seeing a way forward.'—Sunil Iyengar, NEA director of research and analysis

"The 2008 survey results are, at a glance, disappointing," Sunil Iyengar, the NEA's director of research and analysis, said in a preface to the report.

He suggested several possible factors, for instance, a drastic decline in young adults who reported having had access to music education and a significantly lower arts participation rate in certain segments of the country, possibly suggesting regional disparity in access to the arts.

Still, "a single survey cannot explain all reasons for the nationwide decline. But this report offers many possibilities, not only for locating likely causes, but also for seeing a way forward."

For instance, the reading of literature (defined as plays, poetry, novels and short stories), however, increased from 46.7 to 50.2 per cent.

Also, as part of several new sections added to the 2008 edition questionnaire, the NEA expanded sections pertaining to the internet, including asking participants about reading, dicussing or accessing info about the arts online.

The report subsequently highlights the growing influence of the internet and notes, for instance, more art lovers choosing to read online material or watching concerts and performances broadcast on the web.

Joan Shigekawa, NEA senior deputy chair, is leading a mid-day discussion of the report's findings with representatives from about 40 cultural organizations in a live webcast Thursday.

Established by U.S. Congress in 1965, the National Endowment of the Arts is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government and the largest annual funder of the arts.

The NEA's Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, which saw 18,444 adults from across the country participate for its 2008 edition, is conducted as part of the U.S. Census Bureau's ongoing current population survey.

With files from The Associated Press