GREATER LEHIGH VALLEY
ARTS + CULTURE PATRON SURVEY
take part. make an impact.
A Collaborative Regional Research Initiative
We’re launching a community-wide survey to better understand who engages with arts and culture in the Lehigh Valley and how, why, and where that engagement happens.
The Greater Lehigh Valley Arts + Culture Patron Survey initiative will help arts and culture organizations of all sizes deepen their understanding of audiences, identify barriers to access, and develop more inclusive and impactful programming.
We’re calling on organizations across the Lehigh Valley to help us reach as many community members as possible by sharing the survey through your networks and encouraging your audiences to take part. The more people we hear from, the stronger and more representative our findings will be.
Who can participate?
Any organization is welcome to participate:
- Whether or not you host events
- Whether or not you’re an arts organization
- Whether you’re large or small
Participation is completely free. If you’re willing to share the survey with your audiences — online, in person, or in print — we’d love to have you involved.
You don’t need a big budget or a dedicated research team — just a willingness to help share the survey and amplify its reach. Together, we can gather the insights needed to grow and sustain a vibrant cultural community in the Lehigh Valley.
What will I need to do?
Participation is simple and low-lift. Here’s what’s involved:
Familiarize Yourself
We’ll send you background materials so you understand the project goals.Share the Survey
Use your existing channels—like email newsletters, social media, printed programs, or lobby screens—to encourage your community to participate.
We’ll provide ready-to-use graphics, links, QR codes, and sample text.Stay Connected
We’ll keep you in the loop with occasional updates and opportunities to use the findings.
Why is my contribution important?
This is a region-wide effort to better understand arts and culture audiences across the Greater Lehigh Valley—what motivates them to attend, what gets in the way, and what kinds of experiences they’re seeking.
By joining this collaborative research project, your organization will:
Contribute to a shared understanding of audience behaviors, motivations, and barriers across the region
Help identify broader community trends that affect participation in the arts
Gain access to raw survey data, which can be used to inform your own programming, outreach, and planning
Be part of a collective movement to strengthen the local arts ecosystem and make it more inclusive and responsive
Project Timeline
Survey Opens: May 2025
Survey Closes: December 2025
Findings Published: Spring 2026
Organizations can participate at any time during the survey window.
Ready to Join?
Email us at mmikovits@lvaca.org and kepkam@lafayette.edu to sign up as a participating organization or request more information. We can’t wait to hear from you.
FAQs
No. Participation in this project is completely free. We’ll provide everything you need to share the survey with your community, including templates, graphics, and suggested language.
No. We’ve designed this project to be flexible and easy to participate in. You’ll just need to review a few materials and use your existing communication channels to share the survey, like email, social media, or printed programs. We’ll take care of data analysis and reporting.
Yes. Every organization’s participation helps strengthen the impact of this regional research. Even if you reach just a few people, you’ll be contributing to a broader understanding of our community’s engagement with the arts.
Yes. You don’t need to host events to participate. Sharing the survey via email or social media helps ensure we hear from a diverse range of voices across the Lehigh Valley.
Yes, and we encourage it! Community partners from other sectors — including education, business, tourism, and more — play a vital role in promoting arts and culture. The more perspectives we gather, the more meaningful the results. Sharing the survey helps support regional research efforts that benefit the whole Lehigh Valley.
Yes. The survey is anonymous, and no identifying personal information is collected from respondents.
We anticipate publishing results in Spring 2026, after the survey closes at the end of 2025 and the data has been analyzed.
We ask participating organizations to help promote the survey using your available communication tools. This could include:
- Sharing in social media posts, e-newsletters, or your website
- Including the QR code in printed programs or flyers
- Displaying a survey link or graphic on screens at your venue
- Making a brief announcement or “curtain speech” at an event
- Sharing the survey at outreach or tabling events
We’ve created ready-to-use materials to make this easy and are glad to offer more support as needed.
