• Home
  • About
    • Chloe Veltman
    • lies like truth
    • Contact
  • AJBlogs
  • ArtsJournal

lies like truth

Chloe Veltman: how culture will save the world

The Formula

August 3, 2012 by Chloe Veltman

As I wandered around The Phillips Collection‘s monthly evening “party”, it struck me, as it so often does at these things, that the formula is getting tired.

The milling around, the live band / DJ, the cash bar, the weeknight social hours, the food trucks…all draw hordes of people in. Last night’s event was sold out.

But at the end of the day, very little sets these museum shindigs apart from each other except the art. And therein lies the problem.

The events should be a way to draw in new people and get them hooked on the collections and special exhibitions. The Phillips Collection is extraordinary in this regard. Few small museums offer such a wealth of masters. Everywhere I looked, the walls were plastered with iconic Monets, Braques, Modiglianis, Calders and Degases.

But I walked around observing people, as I do when I go to similar events at the various museums in the Bay Area, New York, London, Chicago and elsewhere, I noticed that barely anyone was actually looking at the art.

There’s nothing wrong with museums being social spaces, of course. It’s just that people can socialize in any bar or club. It’s not everywhere that you can engage with artistic endeavor of the highest caliber. That’s what museums and galleries are for.

At some point in the not too distant future, I expect visitors will start to get a bit bored with the evening hours “party” formula that’s become part and parcel of nearly every urban art museum’s offerings for the past ten years or so in the States and Europe. Events like Phillips at 5 may cease to be sold out.

That might not be a bad thing. At least it’ll force the museums to become more creative about how to get people to actually engage with the art.

Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Reddit
Reddit
Email this to someone
email

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Comments

  1. Nina Simon says

    August 6, 2012 at 4:57 pm

    Hi Chloe,
    As a museum director and long-time attendee to various kinds of museum events, I completely agree with you. I think there’s a HUGE missed opportunity at these types of evening events to really engage people with the work.

    Fortunately, there are several museums where that really happens:
    –the Denver Art Museum’s Untitled program: http://collective.denverartmuseum.org/
    –the Dallas Museum of Art’s Late Nights: http://www.dm-art.org/Events/LateNights/index.htm
    –and our little museum in Santa Cruz, with 3rd Fridays: http://www.flickr.com/photos/santacruzmah/collections/72157628324709593/

    I think what distinguishes these programs is:
    –they invite and attract a wide diversity of ages instead of branding themselves as singles scenes
    –they offer and focus on activities that invite visitors to engage more deeply with the collection and or exhibition themes
    –less live music, fewer signature drinks, fewer dance floors

    I’m not sure if there’s a terrific late night museum event in DC, but I can promise you that around the country, museum professionals are thinking seriously about this issue.

    • Chloe Veltman says

      August 6, 2012 at 5:02 pm

      Thanks Nina for your comments. I’ll try to make it to Santa Cruz at some point when I’m back on the west coast and pay your event a visit!
      C

Chloe Veltman

...is the Senior Arts Editor at KQED (www.kqed.org), one of the U.S.'s most prominent public media organizations. Chloe returns to the Bay Area following two years as Arts Editor at Colorado Public Radio (www.cpr.org), where she was tapped to launch and lead the state-wide public media organization's first ever multimedia culture bureau. A former John S. Knight Journalism Fellow (2011-2012) and Humanities Center Fellow (2012-2013) at Stanford University, Chloe has contributed reporting and criticism to The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, BBC Classical Music Magazine, American Theatre Magazine, WQXR and many other media outlets. Chloe was also the host and executive producer of VoiceBox, a syndicated, weekly public radio and podcast series all about the art of the human voice (www.voicebox-media.org), which ran for four years between 2009 and 2013. Her study about the evolution of singing culture in the U.S. is forthcoming from Oxford University Press. Check out Chloe's website at www.chloeveltman.com and connect with her on Twitter via @chloeveltman. [Read More …]

lies like truth

These days, it's becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between fact and fantasy. As Alan Bennett's doollally headmaster in Forty Years On astutely puts it, "What is truth and what is fable? Where is Ruth and where is Mabel?" It is one of the main tasks of this blog to celebrate the confusion through thinking about art and perhaps, on occasion, attempt to unpick the knot. [Read More...]

Archives

Recent Comments

  • william osborne on When A Critic Abstains from Coverage for Ethnicity Reasons: “Several years ago you wrote a blog about African-American science fiction that was very informative. Until then I hadn’t realized…” Jun 29, 22:30
  • Kerri Hoffman on Thoughts on Public Media’s Potential Role in Podcasting: “Thanks for writing - I don't think we have enough of these conversations. As distributors to public…” May 31, 12:59
  • william osborne on What do cactuses sound like?: “I've heard that orchestra musicians have to deal with a lot of pricks...” May 18, 00:36
  • swiss on What do cactuses sound like?: “pretty sure Renga is not about vacuous nothingness...quite the contrary” May 17, 19:43
  • Ken on Thoughts as I start a new professional chapter: “Welcome back to the Bay Area Chloe! We are lucky to have you.” May 13, 16:57

Blogroll

  • About Last Night
  • Artful Manager
  • Audience Wanted
  • Bitter Lemons
  • blog riley
  • Clyde Fitch Report
  • Cool As Hell Theatre
  • Cultural Weekly
  • Dewey 21C
  • diacritical
  • Did He Like It?
  • Engaging Matters
  • Guardian Theatre Blog
  • Independent Theater Bloggers Association
  • Josh Kornbluth
  • Jumper
  • Lies Like Truth
  • Life's a Pitch
  • Mind the Gap
  • New Beans
  • Oakland Theater Examiner
  • Producer's Perspective
  • Real Clear Arts
  • San Francisco Classical Voice
  • Speaker
  • State of the Art
  • Straight Up
  • Superfluities
  • Texas, a Concept
  • Theater Dogs
  • Theatre Bay Area's Chatterbox
  • Theatreforte
  • Thompson's Bank of Communicable Desire
Return to top of page

an ArtsJournal blog

This blog published under a Creative Commons license

Copyright © 2018 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in