{"id":2602,"date":"2018-06-15T12:18:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-15T19:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/?p=2602"},"modified":"2018-06-15T12:18:00","modified_gmt":"2018-06-15T19:18:00","slug":"engagement-is-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/2018\/06\/engagement-is-everything\/","title":{"rendered":"Engagement is Everything"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tina Mion’s Stop-Action Reaction \u2013 Jacqueline Kennedy, King of Hearts. 1997. I was immediately and profoundly moved upon encountering it at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC years ago.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cPerfect moments.\u201d<\/strong> That\u2019s the beautiful insight that David Ira Goldstein, the beloved Artistic Director Emeritus of Arizona Theatre Company shared with me during my tenure as his administrative partner as ATC\u2019s Interim Managing Director.<\/p>\n

When the story is compelling\u2026 when the direction is inspired\u2026 when the actors\u2019 delivery is flawless\u2026 when the set design is beautiful\u2026 when the sound is resonant\u2026 when the house is full… when the audience is generous\u2026 when the stars align\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s (some of) what it takes to lose oneself in a perfect moment of theatre; when distractions fade and you find yourself wholly-immersed in a story, a character, a gesture, a word, a sound, a feeling.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you, but I live for those moments.<\/p>\n

And they\u2019re not confined to the theatre. I\u2019ve had them at concerts. I\u2019ve had the breath knocked out of me by works of art in museum galleries. (Click the link on Tina Mion’s artwork.)\u00a0 \u00a0I\u2019ve been captivated by street performers. I\u2019ll even admit to sobbing at movies, though careful to recognize the difference between having my emotions manipulated versus being deeply engrossed in a character. Remember when the Mets won the World Series in 1986? Yes, that produced such a moment, too. (Sorry Bill Buckner and Red Sox fans.)<\/p>\n

For those who philosophize about the purpose of art, I have no qualm with definitions grounded in the virtues of creative expression, the nature of perception, and the\u00a0pursuit of beauty.<\/p>\n

But for all my intents and purposes, art is about \u201cEngagement.”<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about transporting someone – or many people – into another’s perspective. It\u2019s the ultimate expression of empathy.\u00a0 It’s about delivering an impactful interpretation of a direct experience.\u00a0 As Picasso said, “Art is a lie that tells the truth.”<\/em><\/p>\n

“Engagement” means that an experience has been delivered and an impression has been left behind; not merely the memory of watching an event or activity, but the sense of having experienced it directly.\u00a0 What’s left occupies the most precious of mental space, adjacent to my wedding, the birth of my children, the passing of my Grandfather, the completion of my first marathon.<\/p>\n

Since the launch of this blog in 2011, I\u2019ve focused on \u201caudience development\u2019 as a strategic and tactical extension of an arts & cultural organization\u2019s mission and marketing plan.\u00a0 Previously, I would have said that the primary function of “audience development” is to attract the attendance and revenue of attendees.<\/p>\n

That’s no longer enough.<\/p>\n

Though arts & cultural organizations must surely continue to grow attendance and revenue and serve relevance to the breadth of the communities they serve, there’s an even greater imperative.<\/p>\n

Despite all the wonder and potential of this moment, we live in angry and divisive times.\u00a0 We live in a sense of hyper-awareness, charged by technologies of instant and constant communication.\u00a0 We live in times of rapid change, but with a trajectory that is not always clear.\u00a0 We live in times of suspicion, worry, and fear.\u00a0 We live amidst undeniable and untenable injustice.\u00a0 We live in a time of cynicism and withdrawal.<\/p>\n

In other words, we live in a time when the very qualities of eagerness, openness, and trust necessary to the formation of audiences – <\/em>the same qualities\u00a0necessary to form communities –\u00a0<\/em>is under threat.<\/p>\n

“Audience development” needs to be seen as more than the process of gathering bodies and revenue.\u00a0 It must also be about the fostering of spirit by which people come together.<\/p>\n

“Audience development” can, today, reflect the reality that many other types of entities (i.e. companies, associations, causes, academic institutions, and communities) also aspire to the same eagerness, openness and trust support of their own customers and constituencies.<\/p>\n

To practice “audience development” we must all recognize the responsibility to be worthy of that trust… to take our audiences, customers, and communities on a journey toward something constructive.<\/p>\n

Please take a look at my updated ABOUT AUDIENCE WANTED<\/strong><\/a> post for an even fuller explanation of this aspiration and how I intend to address the topic of “audience development” in this blog going forward.<\/p>\n

As I’ve stated before, non-profit arts & cultural organizations cannot survive if positioned merely as the beneficiary of a community\u2019s attention and generosity.\u00a0 We must assert responsibility to drive the economy, education and inclusive spirit of our communities, and of our nation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Artistry and empathy are among our \u201csuperpowers.\u201d\u00a0 Other kinds of companies and organizations bring their own special powers.<\/p>\n

Our shared responsibility must be to community betterment.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How do we bring people together in these divisive times? How do we instill optimism yet address painful conversations? How do we strengthen patriotism and justice while cultivating compassion and respect? How do we pursue strength without magnifying fear? How do we move forward, without triggering the knee-jerk reactions that prompt retreat?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know the answers to these questions. Do you? Does anybody?<\/p>\n

So, we must keep asking them.<\/p>\n

We must keep offering \u201cperfect moments\u201d that deliver the opportunity to experience \u2013 and appreciate \u2013 the world from the perspective of others. \u201cAudience Development\u201d is no longer just about greater marketing \u2013 it\u2019s about bringing people together toward shared experience and mutual understanding.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about giving space for education, expression, and dialogue.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I say, #EngagementisEverything<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cPerfect moments.\u201d That\u2019s the beautiful insight that David Ira Goldstein, the beloved Artistic Director Emeritus of Arizona Theatre Company shared with me during my tenure as his administrative partner as ATC\u2019s Interim Managing Director. When the story is compelling\u2026 when the direction is inspired\u2026 when the actors\u2019 delivery is flawless\u2026 when the set design is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24,26,23,7,4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2602","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-bright-ideas","7":"category-innovation","8":"category-mission","9":"category-morale","10":"category-strategy","11":"entry","12":"has-post-thumbnail"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2602"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2612,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602\/revisions\/2612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/audience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}