ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the ways in which our interview participants became audience members and arts enthusiasts. We show how formative childhood experiences that are well known to be important in introducing people to the arts often translated into quite different interests in contemporary arts, so showing that there are multiple routes into arts engagement in adulthood. In particular, we show how life transitions (moving cities, having children, retiring) are often moments in which old routines stop and new habits are formed, including participants making a concerted effort to learn about an art form as part of ‘retirement projects’. We also consider the place of the arts amongst other leisure interests, finding that for some of our participants, viewing the world through an aesthetic lens connected the arts with all other activities in their lives.
