Row X blog by Hannah Grannemann When arts organizations went into shutdown in 2020 and 2021, they asked audiences, donors, staffs, and their communities to continue supporting them even when they weren’t producing and open to the public because they were working hard during the shutdowns to improve themselves in myriad ways, including building new audiences. They weren’t going to let a good crisis go to waste, they said. In other words, they were going to “build back better”. I’m … [Read more...] about Are the arts “building back better” with new audiences?
Engagement
“I don’t get it.” Or, The Mystery of the Orange Statues
Clicking through Facebook last month, I saw a photo of bright orange statues on a lush green lawn. 120 orange statues of women in STEM fields were going to be exhibited in the Smithsonian Gardens during March for Women’s History Month, an AP story by Ashraf Khalil read. My analytical mind kicked in and thoughts tumbled. First: “Why are they orange?” Second: “Is there a reason?” Then: “Surely there’s a reason. Bright orange wouldn’t have been chosen without a reason. Was it a … [Read more...] about “I don’t get it.” Or, The Mystery of the Orange Statues