1 in 5 Parents Have Never Visited an Art or Cultural Institution with Their Child According to Recent Target Survey

1 in 5 Parents Have Never Visited an Art or Cultural Institution with Their Child According to Recent Target Survey

Target Offers Free Fridays at Local Museums and Other Initiatives to Increase Accessibility

MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- One in five parents have never visited an art or cultural institution with their child, according to a recent survey(1) commissioned by Target and conducted by Harris Interactive(R). Parents cited distance (51 percent), time (48 percent) and cost (28 percent) among reasons why they do not attend art and cultural institutions with their children more often, despite their children's involvement in and enjoyment of these activities.

"The fact that parents say their children enjoy art and music or their children dream of growing up to become a professional in the arts field is great news to hear," said Laysha Ward, vice president of community relations, Target. "We have ongoing sponsorships of numerous free-admission events, sponsorships of nationally touring art exhibitions and continue our local support of schools and arts organizations through resources for outreach and education. Our hope is that this helps encourage parents to take their children to a local museum or theater production more often and grow their children's interest in the arts."

Nearly nine in ten parents (87 percent) said their child really enjoys arts and music, and the vast majority (94 percent) said such education is important to a child's intellectual development. And parents are right - research has shown that arts education develops self-esteem, self-expression, cooperation with others, and critical thinking skills vital for today's youth, according to both the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Education.

While the benefits are numerous when it comes to arts and music education, many times school funds and resources for teaching such programs are not. In fact, nearly three in five parents (59 percent) said their child's school's music and art programs were under-funded, and more than one in four (28 percent) said the programs were severely under-funded.

To help bridge the gaps in school arts programs, and to bring art, theater and music to more families around the country, Target helps to fund and develop local and national arts programs that focus on affordability and accessibility. One example of this effort is Target's new Field Trip Grants Program that will launch this fall. The initiative, designed to help teachers bring learning to life for students with access to field trips to museums and other educational venues, will distribute 800 grants up to $1,000 to education professionals throughout the U.S.

In addition, Target offers free admission programs throughout the country to some of the world's leading museums and cultural institutions. In fact, with Target's help, there is a free day every day of the week at museums around the country through a variety of Target sponsorships, including current partnerships such as:

-- The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) New York - Target offers free
admission to guests every Friday at the MoMA. This program, which
launched in December 2005, has already seen record-high participation
numbers. In fact, MoMA experienced its second most attended day in
December 2005, on the second Target-sponsored "Free Friday Night."

-- Chicago Children's Theatre - Target is the Inaugural Season Sponsor
for the Target Family Matinee Series on Sundays. Interested families
can enjoy a variety of performances while saving on tickets with the
2-for-1 tickets. This special deal is available for each of the
Theater's 2006-2007 Inaugural Season productions for Sunday afternoon
performances.

-- California African-American Museum - Historically unable to be open on
Sundays - the Museum is now open one Sunday a month, thanks to Target.
Admission is free. This once-a-month Sunday cultural experience
celebrates the diverse influences and achievements of art and culture
from the African American Diaspora through the eyes and voices of
traditional and contemporary artists, community leaders, cultural
historians, activists, and educators.

"By partnering with Target to offer discounted tickets through our Target Family Time Performances, we've been able to attract many first-time visitors to the theater," said Lisa Schreiner, public relations manager for the Dallas Children's Theater. "We're thrilled that our partnership with Target helps us to reduce obstacles like cost and help new members of the community experience the excitement and fun of children's theater. By taking the family to our theater, and museums and exhibits across the country, parents are helping foster and grow their children's interest in the arts - a gift that will stay with them forever."

Target-sponsored programs listed above are just a few of the many arts and cultural partnerships Target supports. In total, Target donates more than $2 million each week to strengthen families and communities across the nation. A cornerstone of this Target community commitment is the support of visual art, music, dance, theater, film and design programs. These programs range from art exhibitions, film festivals, and music and dance performances to partnerships with local museums, design schools and arts educators, all of which bring great art to communities.

Additional survey findings include:

-- About two-thirds of parents of children in pre-school through high
school (65 percent) cited art and music among their child's favorite
hobbies or activities.
-- About four out of five parents (83 percent) estimate that their
child's school only offers field trips to cultural institutions a few
times per year or less often.

For an executive summary of the Target survey or more information on Target's numerous arts-related programs and partnerships, please call 410.821.8220.

About the Survey

Harris Interactive(R) conducted the telephone survey on behalf of Target between June 1 and June 5, 2006 among a nationwide cross-section of 409 U.S. adults ages 18 and over who are parents or guardians of a child in pre-school through high school. Figures for age, sex, race, and region were weighted where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population. In theory, with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. adult population had been polled with complete accuracy.

About Target

Target gives back more than $2 million each week to strengthen families and communities across the nation, with a focus on education, the arts, social services and other vital community partnerships. Since opening its first store in 1962, Target has partnered with nonprofit organizations to help meet community needs. Each year, Target's nationwide network of team members and retiree volunteers donate over 315,000 hours to more than 7,000 community- based projects. For more information, visit http://target.com/community.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is the 13th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides research-driven insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what could conceivably be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly owned subsidiary Novatris in France and through a global network of independent market research firms. The service bureau, HISB, provides its market research industry clients with mixed-mode data collection, panel development services as well as syndicated and tracking research consultation. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at http://www.harrisinteractive.com/. To become a member of the Harris Poll Online, visit http://www.harrispollonline.com/.

(1) Survey conducted June 1-5, 2006 by telephone among U.S. adults ages 18 and over who are parents or legal guardians of a child in pre-school through high school (n=409).

Source: Target

CONTACT: Elizabeth Bowen, +1-410-821-8220 or +1-443-803-8502, or Aaron
Cohen, +1-202-547-0500, both of Imre Communications; or Target Media
Relations, +1-612-696-3400

Web site: http://target.com/community
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/
http://www.harrispollonline.com/

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