Abstract

This study traces the evolution of arts participation in the United States over the past two decades, focusing on the transformation from exclusive highbrow elitism to more inclusive and culturally diverse patterns of engagement. Drawing on the sociological concept of "cultural omnivorousness," the paper examines how Americans increasingly consume a wide range of artistic genres—spanning classical, popular, folk, and multicultural forms—thereby challenging traditional distinctions between elite and mass culture. Historically, arts participation in the U.S. was seen as a marker of social status and cultural capital, with elite groups favoring canonical art forms such as opera, symphony, and ballet. This “exclusive elitism” reinforced social hierarchies and cultural boundaries, limiting access and recognition for non-Western or popular cultural expressions. However, beginning in the late 20th century, a shift emerged: individuals with high cultural capital began engaging with a broader spectrum of artistic experiences, including jazz, hip-hop, world music, and street art. This behavior, termed omnivorousness, signaled a new form of distinction—not through exclusion, but through eclectic and diverse tastes. The paper uses empirical data from national surveys and arts participation studies conducted between the early 1990s and the 2010s to document this trend. It identifies a clear movement toward more inclusive patterns, in which educated and socioeconomically advantaged individuals still dominate arts participation, but their preferences are no longer limited to traditional highbrow forms. This inclusivity, however, is not purely democratic or egalitarian—it still reflects and reproduces underlying social inequalities, albeit in more subtle ways. Three categories of arts participants are proposed: exclusive elitists (those who participate only in traditional, high-status art forms), inclusive elitists or omnivores (those who engage with both highbrow and popular or diverse cultural forms), and cultural integrators (those whose participation reflects not only variety but also deep engagement with non-dominant cultural traditions and communities). The rise of omnivorousness suggests a cultural shift from hierarchy to heterogeneity in taste, but the extent to which this shift reflects genuine democratization remains contested. The study also explores how race, ethnicity, age, and immigration status affect participation patterns. For example, communities of color often express artistic engagement in culturally specific and informal ways that traditional surveys may undercount or misclassify. As such, the paper critiques the dominant frameworks used to measure arts participation, arguing for more inclusive and culturally sensitive metrics. In conclusion, this twenty-year retrospective reveals that while arts participation in the U.S. has become more varied and culturally inclusive, it continues to reflect broader structural inequalities. The concept of the “inclusive elitist” or “omnivore” is emblematic of changing tastes among the cultural elite, but it does not necessarily signal equal access or recognition for all cultural expressions. True cultural democracy in the arts requires not just broader participation, but also institutional change in funding, representation, and valuation of diverse artistic voices.