{"id":1398,"date":"2012-03-31T07:57:03","date_gmt":"2012-03-31T11:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=1398"},"modified":"2012-03-31T08:05:48","modified_gmt":"2012-03-31T12:05:48","slug":"more-or-different","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/03\/more-or-different\/","title":{"rendered":"More or Different?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have now officially been posting long enough that I can’t really remember which topics I have beaten to death and which I have not.A recent ArtsBlog post, Is There a Point of Diminishing Returns for the Arts?<\/a> by Michael R. Gagliardo, has energized me enough to take the risk that even though I may have been down this road before, I’m going again.<\/p>\n

The issue Mr. Gagliardo raises is the industry’s need to reach more people. He begins by saying:<\/p>\n

In the arts world, we find ourselves constantly searching for ways to engage the community. Every day we think about how we draw in more constituents: bigger audiences, more donors, a larger base of support, etc. And often the answer seems obvious\u2014offer more. . . .
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the old question of quantity versus quality. Sometimes it seems like the only way to bring new audiences to the table is to offer more\u2014more concerts, more exhibits, more performances, more, more, more. <\/em><\/p>\n

Are we really bringing a new crowd to the work that we hold so dear? Or are we simply \u201cwatering down\u201d the arts in an attempt to make them \u201cuser friendly?\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I know I’ve ranted about the quality vs. community argument before. I guess my real response to this argument is that the assumption needs examination, and perhaps not in the way you might imagine. The post suggests that Sibelius (as an example) is not “for all.” In other words, offering music by Romantic era nationalist composers is not the way to expand our reach. In an ideal world, I’d like to argue against that point. But as much as I resist reality, I know I don’t live in an ideal world. It’s true, performing the music of Sibelius (or Smetana or Grieg or the Russian Five) or any\u00a0 “classical” composer will not by itself lead to sustainable income streams as we move forward<\/p>\n

So far, I’m pretty much in agreement with the diagnosis. However, the common response, reflected in this post, is that the only alternative is “watering down” programming or\u00a0 “selling out.”Let me be clear that I am not, here, ranting against Mr. Gagliardo or any of my friends and colleagues that see things this way. This is a fairly typical view of the situation, one that often seems like the only option.<\/p>\n

What I’d like to offer (again) is an alternative view. I agree that we need to do other things, but it’s the nature of those things that is at issue. I’d like to suggest doing “different.” Out of dialogue with communities, arts organizations can construct programming options that have depth of content and high quality and<\/em> are meaningful to those not currently part of the arts world. It requires arts organizations and artists to think differently and to do different things. It is also, as I have acknowledged frequently here, very <\/em>time consuming. But in the end, it’s my conviction that there’s not an alternative.<\/p>\n

This is such an important issue that I’ll continue on the topic in my next post. In the meantime,<\/p>\n

Engage!<\/p>\n

Doug<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

I have now officially been posting long enough that I can’t really remember which topics I have beaten to death and which I have not.A recent ArtsBlog post, Is There a Point of Diminishing Returns for the Arts? by Michael R. Gagliardo, has energized me enough to take the risk that even though I may […]<\/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":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-overview","7":"category-principles","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-my","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4356,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/11\/learn-unlearn\/","url_meta":{"origin":1398,"position":0},"title":"Learn-Unlearn","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"November 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Community engagement is a long-term revenue strategy and should be an area of investment.","rel":"","context":"In "Customer-Client-Collaborator Series"","block_context":{"text":"Customer-Client-Collaborator Series","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/customer-client-collaborator-series\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Learn-Unlearn-e1447782603146.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1919,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/08\/things-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":1398,"position":1},"title":"Things Change","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"August 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I have always been a sucker for revelations about how social, cultural, and technological change has impacted arts experiences. I was blown away when (many, many years ago) I heard a presentation at the College Music Society's annual conference highlighting the fact that before the 20th Century, the loudest thing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/BaseballHawker.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3061,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/09\/in-the-vineyards-of-diversity\/","url_meta":{"origin":1398,"position":2},"title":"In the Vineyards of Diversity","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In July, Barry Hessenius posted an Interview with Aaron Dworkin, on Barry's Blog. 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