{"id":4492,"date":"2016-04-06T02:00:38","date_gmt":"2016-04-06T06:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=4492"},"modified":"2016-04-06T02:48:14","modified_gmt":"2016-04-06T06:48:14","slug":"relationship-maintenance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2016\/04\/relationship-maintenance\/","title":{"rendered":"Relationship Maintenance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Couple1\"The arts industry is event-oriented, if not event-obsessed. Our principal contribution to public life is in the presentation of events. On the very deepest level we are \u201cdo-ers.\u201d There is an inbred impatience with anything that delays doing. <\/em>This is why, when discussing the process of building relationships with communities, a common question is how to \u201cexit\u201d the relationship when the event is over. (Insert my scream of pain here.) To be clear, in community engagement there should be no thought of or desire to “exit” a relationship. That question reflects both our focus on events and a profound lack of understanding of the fact that relationship building (and maintenance<\/em><\/strong>) is central to community engagement.<\/p>\n

What follows is an outline of relationship building and maintenance centered on an event. It\u2019s not the beginning of the process because it assumes that a relationship already exists. For it, I\u2019m indebted to Howard Jang, former Executive Director of the Arts Club Theatre Company in Vancouver. He once presented me an outline of relationship building and maintenance centered on an event: Anticipation-Event-Memory.<\/p>\n

Anticipation
\n<\/em>It is every marketer’s dream to create word-of-mouth enthusiasm for events they promote. There is even a relatively recent term, supported by social media, for describing the ideal\u2013FOMO<\/a>: fear of missing out. If real pre-transactional relationships (the relationship precedes development and sale of the event) exist, the community will likely be primed for talking about it among its members. If anticipatory activities are included in the planning, this natural tendency will be reinforced. If community members hold and participate in discussions of the interests that the work addresses, these can raise the visibility of the event and increase anticipation of it.<\/p>\n

Event
\n<\/em>The event is the part we \u201cget.\u201d So long as it is planned with the community, addresses that community\u2019s interests, and is attractive to it, the production of the event is all that\u2019s necessary for the core of this process.<\/p>\n

Memory
\n<\/em>Metaphorically \u201cducking out the door\u201d on communities after an event is over gives an unfortunate impression of lack of interest in a community. I joke that we live in danger of a earning a reputation for one night stands. Every arts professional and many avocational artists want to get on to the next thing (or simply disengage for a while to recover) once a project is complete. While this is understandable, it is devastating to relationships. A community that has been lobbied heavily to engage with an arts organization will be confused if not offended if their new partner vanishes after an event.<\/p>\n

Here are just a few possibilities to consider by way of example:<\/p>\n