2025 Artist & Attendee
Survey Report
Over the summer, CreativeHub 1352 conducted two surveys – one of our program and events attendees (52 respondents), and one of locally-based artists (47 respondents). Both surveys were self-administered online, and we thank everyone who took the time to complete the surveys. The results we have collected are now being used to validate or modify our programming plans for 2026.
We wanted to share with you these results, as they give a view into not just what people are looking for from us as an organization, but also what our community is looking for in the way of arts and culture programming, as well as support to artists to undertake community-based artistic initiatives. Furthermore, it also sheds light on the common desire to utilize the Small Arms Inspection Building as a community gather space.
How well do people know us?
When we asked people how long they had known about CreativeHub 1352, 58% said they had known about us for 3 years or more. It is great to know that we have so many longer-term patrons and program participants, and that people continue to stay engaged with us year-on-year. While we do strive to bring more folks to the Small Arms Inspection Building for the first time, we are glad to see so many folks return for events and programs, once they know what is going on there.
For What are we best known for?
By far, we are best known for our markets, like the Lakeview Farmers Market, with 92% of respondents identifying the Market as what they are most familiar with, followed closely by the wintertime Festival of Trees at 81%, and our bi-weekly Artisan Market (conducted with the Farmers Market) at 71%. Familiarity with our arts and culture-based programs and events was lower, with 35% familiar with the InSitu Multi-Arts Festival (happening next in Feb-Mar 2026), 31% with our Summer Arts Mississauga artistic workshop series, and 25% with the upcoming Lakeshore Arts Trail. We also saw lower awareness of our historic/heritage programs and events (27% awareness) and our environmental programs (13% awareness). While we are thrilled with the attendance at our markets, we do see the task to also raise awareness of our other programming, to ensure people know the breadth of programming offered outside of our markets. The Small Arms Inspection Building and the Arsenal Lands have historic and environmental significance, and the onus is on us to ensure people are also aware of the diverse heritage and environmental programs and events we also undertake.
Why do people attend our events and programs?
While it won’t be surprising that 85% of respondents said that they attended our events and programs due to their interest in the topic or type of event, 64% said that they attended due to the proximity of the location, and 44% noted the Small Arms Inspection Building as a community gathering space. With placemaking being a key part of our mission, we’re glad to see the engagement with the Lakeview and surrounding communities, and that so many folks also see the Small Arms Inspection Building as their community gathering space. We do have room to grow that, however, and will continue to create awareness of the accessibility of our programs and events, as only 33% of respondents noted the accessibility of the site, and 27% mentioned the cost (we endeavor to have our programs free or pay-what-you-can when possible).
What are people looking for from CreativeHub 1352?
From our attendee survey, we heard that people want more live music and performance-based events, more culturally-diverse and indigenous programming, and more food- and drink-based events. When it comes to the format of our programs, people are looking for more weekend and evening workshops, adult art classes and drop-in studio time, as well as family-friendly and intergenerational activities.
Are we accessible?
We endeavor to make all our events and programs accessible, and we were pleased to hear that 96% of respondents found them to be accessible. Areas of improvement for ourselves are the timing of programs; areas where we can work with the City of Mississauga include parking availability, signage, and physical site navigation at the Small Arms Inspection Building.
Switching gears to the artists survey, we wanted to find out from local artists whether they felt they had the resources they needed to engage in community-based artistic initiatives, and how CreativeHub 1352 could help to fill those resource gaps.
Do artists feel they have access to the resources necessary for community-based artistic initiatives?
77% of artist respondents felt that they did not have access to adequate resources, with the most common resource gaps being affordable creative/work space, networking opportunities, financial support or grant access, promotional support, storage and specialized equipment.
Do artists have community opportunities to improve their artistic skills or hone their craft?
57% of artists responded that they have opportunities at the community level.
What types of opportunities would you like CreativeHub 1352 to offer?
The most frequently requested opportunities were dedicated creative/work space; opportunities to teach, mentor or lead workshops; artist showcases; community-based art installations; professional development and grant-writing help; studio tours, gallery shows, and critique sessions; and residency or incubation-style programs.
How accessible are our opportunities for artists, and what barriers do you face?
While 83% of artist respondents felt our opportunities for artists were accessible, 53% did note that they faced barriers to participating in them. The main barriers faced were the distance or transportation limitations; a lack of information or unclear communications; scheduling or timing conflicts; accessibility of the space or facilities; and limitations specific to their medium (e.g. ceramic or digital artists). Artists also expressed an interest in pursuing partnerships or co-submitting proposals, and asked for more multidisciplinary and more frequent programming.
All of this input from artists will help us to focus our efforts on improving our communication of opportunities for artists, to increase the number and type of opportunities, and to work with artists to overcome barriers to working with us, as well as finding ways to more generally support artists in their pursuit of viable careers in the arts.
Who responded to our survey?
There was about an 80/20 split between people from Mississauga (notably Lakeview, Port Credit and Clarkson) and nearby municipalities (Toronto and Oakville) who responded to our survey. Around a quarter of responded self-identified as belonging to an equity-deserving group, namely a person of colour, a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, person with disabilities, or newcomers.
Once again, we’d like to thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey. It’s now up to us to integrate this data and feedback into our plans for 2026 to realize our mission to foster creativity and connection through placemaking, environmental and heritage stewardship, and arts programming. The best way to keep up to date with our future programming is to subscribe to our newsletter: