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Engaging Matters

Doug Borwick on vibrant arts and communities

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Two-Phase Engagement

June 20, 2018 by Doug Borwick

Community engagement practitioners are frequently asked to justify their work using traditional arts marketing/development metrics: ticket sales and donations. Don't get ahead of me. This is not a touchy-feely objection to practical outcomes. Ticket sales and donations as well as grants from "unusual suspects" and friendlier public policy for the arts are all results of effective community engagement . . . eventually. However, when anyone in any … [Read more...]

What They Want

March 21, 2018 by Doug Borwick

There is an unfortunate tendency on the part of some in the nonprofit arts industry to believe that it is their responsibility to provide to the public art that they think the public needs. This is usually based on little to no understanding of what those needs might actually be. In addition, when examined a bit, what they are really giving the public is the art that they want to give them. Anyone’s true need has little to do with it. There is a … [Read more...]

Know Your Communities

February 14, 2018 by Doug Borwick

This is part of a series, introduced in Baby Steps, about arts organizations’ initial efforts in community engagement. For details about the premises upon which these posts are based, see below. The essence is that simple, inexpensive initial steps offer the best way to embark upon community engagement. Know Your Communities: Community-Aware Marketing This is a sneaky post. The emphasis of this series is on the small, simple, inexpensive things … [Read more...]

Be What You Are

January 24, 2018 by Doug Borwick

This is part of a series, introduced in Baby Steps, about arts organizations’ initial efforts in community engagement. The premises are twofold. First, since relationship building is the core of community engagement, attempting to do too much too fast (before the relationship is established) will likely not be productive and, in fact, may be counter-productive. Second, there are many things that can be done to support engagement that do not … [Read more...]

External Connections

November 15, 2017 by Doug Borwick

Fundraising, sales, education, and engagement. All are concerned with making connections between an arts organization and individuals (and groups) outside the organization. The first two have long been focused most on people who have historically been supportive of arts of the European aristocratic cultural tradition. The latter two have spent somewhat more time dealing with those who have not. Fundraising and sales are further related in that … [Read more...]

Arts 1.0

August 30, 2017 by Doug Borwick

Web 1.0 was the internet before "talkback." It was static one-directional communication. Whether intentional or not, it was inherently self-centered, presenting the view of the owner of the website. Web 2.0 is the interactive internet where people are invited and encouraged to make their views known. I recently drafted a series of statements in an effort to differentiate among sales, audience development, audience engagement, and community … [Read more...]

Who’da Thunk?

August 2, 2017 by Doug Borwick

I don't like spending money. I'm leery of signing up for ongoing contracts for service unless I really, really have to (want to). So when we bought a new "pre-owned" car that came with a three-month trial subscription to SiriusXM™ satellite radio I was not overwhelmed with joy. But here's what happened. I kinda like the Sixties radio station, the Margaritaville station, the Classic Vinyl station, and my wife loves the Seventies station. When the … [Read more...]

Communities as Data Points?

June 28, 2017 by Doug Borwick

Sometimes a blog post derives from seeing something that only tangentially relates to its point. Such is the case with this one. A while ago I saw an article on the Wallace Foundation's support of a project for Ballet Austin. It is an interesting and valuable marketing study related to audiences, arts industry assumptions about them, and new ways to draw more people into new work based on the research. It is a fascinating report and an important … [Read more...]

Development Terminology

June 14, 2017 by Doug Borwick

Fools rush in . . . . I may just be a glutton for punishment. However, over the (many) years I taught arts management and the many more in which I have engaged with colleagues in discussions of marketing, sales, development, fundraising–you know, the fun part of the arts (!?)–I've been troubled by what has seemed to me to be a fuzziness about the way we use all the terms. While all of this is not directly related to community engagement, the … [Read more...]

Pillow Talk

May 24, 2017 by Doug Borwick

I had planned this post before Trevor O'Donnell wrote this: Is Marketing about the Consumer or the Product? Really I had. We recently bought new pillows. Not expensive ones, mind you. Just basic pillows. The photo accompanying this post is of the bag the pillows came in. Who out there can now write the next few paragraphs for me? What consumes well over the half of available space? You are correct. A picture of someone using (and enjoying–in … [Read more...]

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About Doug Borwick

Doug Borwick is a past President of the Board of the Association of Arts Administration Educators and was for nearly 30 years Director of the Arts Management and Not-for-Profit Management Programs at Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC. He is CEO of Outfitters4, Inc., providing management services to nonprofit organizations and ArtsEngaged providing training and consultation to artists and arts organization to help them more effectively engage with their communities. [Read More …]

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About Engaging Matters

The arts began as collective activity around the campfire, expressions of community. In a very real sense, the community owned that expression. Over time, with increasing specialization of labor, the arts– especially Western “high arts”– became … [Read More...]

Books

Community Engagement: Why and How

Building Communities, Not Audiences: The Future of the Arts in the United States Engage Now! A Guide to Making the Arts Indispensable[Purchase info below] I have to be honest, I haven’t finished it yet because I’m constantly having to digest the ‘YES’ and ‘AMEN’ moments I get from each … [Read More...]

Gard Foundation Calls for Stories

The Robert E. Gard Foundation is dedicated to fostering healthy communities through arts-based development, it is currently seeking stories from communities in which the arts have improved the lives of citizens in remarkable ways. These stories can either be full descriptions (400-900 words) with photos, video, and web links or mini stories (ca. 200 words) […]

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Archives

Recent Comments

  • David Pankratz on Reimagine Yourself: “Hi Doug, Appreciated the library and automotive analogies. Here’s another from the world of public transportation. There’s an ongoing debate…” Feb 17, 11:22
  • Jerry Yoshitomi on Build Back Better: “Doug: Thank you again for this. Again, right on the mark. I’ve heard that rebuilding a house that has been…” Feb 4, 17:10
  • Alan Harrison on Build Back Better: “Excellent. If, in a year, the nation sees the arts as an elitist escape for the privileged – as they…” Feb 3, 03:01
  • Alan Harrison on Matter: “Brilliant once again. I think the issue of inward-facing acclaim (instead of outward-facing impact) being so prevalent among dying arts…” Jan 27, 07:17
  • Jerry Yoshitomi on Connect: “Doug: Thank you again for this. You’re suggesting that we must develop new ‘capacities’ or ‘muscles’ in order to be…” Jan 13, 21:24

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