What could arts organizations do better to get you in the door?
Posted at 5:00 AM on December 7, 2011
by Eric Ringham
(33 Comments)
Filed under: Culture, Economy
Some prominent Twin Cities arts organizations are suffering persistent fiscal problems -- the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra and Penumbra Theatre, to name three. Today's Question: What could arts organizations do better to get you in the door?
Comments (33)
CarlS, Thanks for acknowledging my personal reasons as valid. I really wasn't trying to be provocative. I work full-time outside the home, am required to volunteer a certain number of hours at my child's school, and I also enjoy volunteering with my church. I try to keep up with an exercise routine, to cook meals rather than eat out and to keep (with help from the spouse) our house looking somewhat reasonable. Until recently, I would say I averaged less than two hours of television a week, watched as movies, but last month discovered a show available for streaming on Netflix that my child and I enjoy, so I'm watching closer to 10 hours a week now (eek!); I've sacrificed reading time for that. So, yes, I do have a downtime activity, but again, it's a lot easier to pick up a book (or, now, stream a movie) than to pick up my weary body and go downtown for a show. And a performance is a good chunk of time. Go to a MN Opera performance (something I've done once or twice a year over the past few years) or a Guthrie production (which I do maybe once a year) or a ballet at the Northrup (once every couple of years), and I'm easily going to be away from home for more than three hours, including driving to and from the venue, finding parking, not waiting until the last minute to show up, plus the performance AND intermission. I'll get back home after 10 p.m., so if I'm out on a worknight, I'll be short on sleep the next day. I agree that the arts just aren't popular with a lot of people, but with a lot of the folks I hang out with, they really are. But the folks I hang out with are raising families, so time- and budget-wise, the arts end up pretty low on the totem pole. It's just the sad truth of modern life.
It's too bad that many of these answers turned political. If all of these people had answered the question that was actually asked (what can arts organizations do vs. what can the government do), then maybe some of our local organizations could have picked up on some tips to help improve an experience for its patrons. I think it is valid to comment that you just don't have money for it (indicating ticket prices are too high), but you seriously cannot tell me that the President and/or government spending doesn't allow you to walk to your nearest theater/stage/gallery and take in some fine art.
Wow KimMN you take conservatism to a new extreme. Congrats I guess.
Not sure if there is a physical or virtual "cheap seats" ticket office for MN arts...but there should be. No point in letting empty seats go to waste. Raise a little extra money and get more people addicted.
If the federal government Progressives that enjoy paying for killing unborn babies was spent for the Arts instead, the arts could use that $323 million each year that is wasted on Planned Parenthood's abortions. Then add in the Medicaid payments for abortion funding and the arts could be paid for in total and tickets for events would be free, celebrating what LIFE creates_ i.e., the Arts. :)
As a artist, I can say getting word out a event is occuring is hard.
Heck as a artist I am also last to know of a event, and yet I SHOULD be in the know.
Everyone can help the arts, it is not the limit of the Rich handing out money like handing money to a begger....
And honestly I feel better selling a piece to a average main-street joe, verses being patron-ed by someone being compensated with more money then is really reasonable.
But back to the question....
There is NO one site to help organize...
Be nice if there was a site like 'artmn.org' or similar, and list everything in local and beyond....
News outlets also could help by alerting weeks and months in advance something is happening, and push it.
I am afraid to attend an Ordway production these days since my president says Americans are lazy and that the rich don't pay their Fair share ( however, even though he is a millionair, he has yet to say how much taxes are one's fair share to pay. He is all up for a million dollar tax payer funded 17 days vacation In Hawaii while the rest of America struggles to make ends meet.) He tells Congress to stay in session over the holidays to work deals while he skips the mainland for golf?
At least the Arts are who they are..in contrast our President makes me feel guilty for the Christmas tickets we bought for a special play. The biggest phoney elected that fooled half of America has done nothing for supporting the arts.
Ultimately, it's a losing battle for arts organizations to rely solely on the "business model" to be self-sustaining without some form of government or high-level philanthropic support. I'm not an arts historian, but it seems to me that at least as far back as the di Medicis, the arts have depended on that support.
Do you really want a culture in which all art has mass appeal? How bland would that would be? Arts organizations need to stop expecting to bring everyone in and instead keep focusing on government and philanthropic support.
When I lived in New York and had no money, we would go to listen to the NY Philharmonic practice. It cost $2.00 and was pretty much like a real concert except you didn't have to dress up. Don't know if SPCO does this. Also went to this thing called Joy of Singing, which was like American Idol for opera singers. I don't really like opera, but the lady that ran the thing was a hoot. It was like Billy Cristol instead of Simon Cowle. That was free, but I would have paid.
I wonder if some of the responses (David or KN) are meant to be provocative. Not enough free time? Seriously, you've got to be kidding. The average American now watches about 30 hours of TV and spends 18 hours online per week. Given the popularity of reality TV and any myriad number of mindless internet distractions its hard to believe most of that is quality time. 'KN' gave some solid personal reasons, but the average American can't use 'not enough time' as an excuse.
It would take only about 2% of that time to attend a classical concert or a play once a month. If the issue is cost, then there is a case. But considering the cost of a ticket to a professional sports game, which is more, its not a prohibitive reason.
The real reason is of course popularity with the general public, not time or money. Making excuses otherwise sounds like repressed guilt for not being cultured enough to care. And I'm not dissing that; if you don't like the classical arts that's your business. Just don't brush the topic aside with the standard 'there's never enough the time'.
Janna it is just that attitude, "reduce the junk mail cluttering my mail boxes", that is bankrupting the USPS. We need to lobby more companies to increase their promotional mail so that I continue to receive Saturday deliveries of Capital One offers :-)
Arts organizations should occasionally advertise on bus stops and billboards. That's a much better way to reach out than filling up email inboxes and actual mailboxes with letters and blurbs. The MN Orchestra (who faces a huge deficit) fills my USPS mailbox with stuff at least weekly, it seems. After a while, I just stop looking at it. Maybe save some money on paper and postage and stop sending so frequently! Maybe then I'd stop and look.
They could lower the price of tickets but since heating and electric rates are still going up and gasoline to fuel the cars to get the events has doubled in the past three years, I suppose there is not much the arts can do to get more viewers except to remove those in power that wanted to see fuel and "electricity rates sky rocket"..and who exactly was it who said that in the campaign in 2008? It is funny that those the arts support in office are the same ones that are killing their art business.
It's a combo formula of the time/cost/proximity, or TCP.
Time:
When is the event? What date/time?
Are you available?
Cost:
How much does it cost?
How much is it worth to you? Is it a good value?
Proximity:
Is it near or far? Is it easily accessible? Parking, driving, etc.
Time is most important followed closely by cost.
Is, rather. Not I'd.
As somebody who works in the arts, I've noticed that those people who don't go stuff, probably just won't (and that's just fine). Cheap theater exists, cheap concerts exist, and there are many free galleries. Minnesota has tons of very talented people doing very diverse art, thought provoking art.
You just have to look for it! You'll be surprised at how good some of the small stuff I'd!
Start with accessible pricing and then create vitality in the lobby before and after shows. Have a full bar and let people drink in the theater.
And offering a quality show doesn't hurt.
I love taking the time to compose a comment on here only to see it get mangled by how your "blogging software" reads punctuation.
Art is for the limp wristed crowd… right now they are busy protesting Wall Street.
Or, maybe people are spending their hard earned dollars on preparing for the impending doom our leaders have sold us to.
Have a nice day:-)
∑
DTOM
I know at least some of the organizations specifically mentioned have made an effort to be more appealing to a younger/hipper/modern/
I reject the idea that anything the Free Market won't do is not worth doing. Take moon shots and symphony orchestras, for instance. The fact that government funding has occasionally gone to some really dumb "art" does not mean all government funding of the arts is bad. (Just like, the fact that some corporate CEOs are crooks doesn't mean they all are).
FYI, kimMN, the American middle class was never more robust than when the New Deal policies (which I know you consider to be "socialism" but are really not) had taken full effect. It was when Conservatives started dismantling those programs in the 80s that the middle class began to wane.
Ticket prices have become out of reach for many. I bigger issue is just finding the time to go. Life is busy and only so much fits in a day.
Phillip is right about money being limited. Time is also a problem. When you have dual-income families, "free" time goes to chores and errands more often than not. Frankly, it is cheaper AND takes less time to run to a movie at the neighborhood theater than to drive to a performing arts venue and take in a performance. It's even cheaper and easier to watch a movie at home. I'm not sure how to solve this problem. It would require a complete restructing of society. I have noticed that some operas and ballets are now being shown at movie theaters as special events. That may be the future of the performing arts. I feel bad about that, because I love the arts, but love doesn't help arts organizations' bottom lines.
If the arts need more money to sustain itself, then one to ask, how_ did they get into this situation of being underfunded? How much do Unions play a part in their balance sheet?
Maybe the arts should stop supporting the class warfare tactics especially since it is the well off that often pay for their performances?
Liberals make up only about 20% of the electorate, publicly promoting those class warfare views won’t help at the ticket box. Under the current administration where charitable tax deductions are seen as a negative in order to let government control the "giving"and thus control the definition of what is Art..do we really want politicians deciding for us on what is art? I don't think so since I can not find ONE country where socialism methods ever actually grew a Middle class; the very middle class that should enjoy and help sustain the arts.
The arts organizations could do better by not acting partisan in their support of any political party and by not being hypocritical. Many arts lovers simply will not give their support by donations when the system ridicules a religion, especially the Christian dominant religion in America. We all can recall the tax payer stimulus funded support for the gallery that portrayed photographs of crucifixes submerged in urine and portraying Jesus prone covered in feces. That is not art. It is political propaganda to diminish Christianity and tax payers shouldn't pay for that.
The arts should stand on their own merit and function within a solid business model instead of expecting government handouts to prop up their concerts. Maybe they can petition Obama to ensure charitable contributions are not going to be removed? Obama has said he wants to see tax deductions for charity removed in order to move more tax dollars into the general revenue, in order to help pay for his massive increase of the national deficit that has yielded no sustainable gains in the economy.
Make more exhibits and performances kid-focused and family friendly! As in they are FOR the kids. Or have on site art-focused kids room with supervision while parents look at or listen to the adult-centric art.
At the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra they often have excellent preconcert lectures, which they don’t advertise very well. But the bar setup at the SPCO is slow and limited. Serve some good stuff and don’t make me wait.
And I can see it getting even tougher if tax deductible donations are no longer tax deductible as there is talk of at the federal level for both corporations and individuals.
I don't know short of some novel outreach campaign to attract a larger and newer audience. I'm confident though that somehow they will survive. Through all the mind numbing slop that pop culture churns out the fine arts continue to persevere.
But if the issue is money, maybe they should shamelessly pester the state legislature for funds and make false threats to leave the state.
Art is always last on the list of things to spend money on. I have to work a full-time job in order to pay the bills, because selling my artwork wouldn't even come close. The above mentioned organizations are simply running into this fact: people have to spend their money on the essentials (food, clothing, etc.).
They could hire and pay for a babysitter and make all tickets $5. (Or wait until my kids are older and I'm making more money. )
that's really hard to answer. I'm not a dedicated patron of their services/offerings - but I intangibly value having such organizations present. I guess that I don't like planning my social and entertainment life nine-months ahead. If they had really low overhead facilities - where I could go see small pieces (not the full blown production) for roughly the same cost as a movie - that would be a start. No fancy giant orchestra hall, no giant professional stage, maybe no character costumes or formal dress on the part of performers. Coordinate with other enterprises like public radio or private radio to create "asymetric events" like a "flash-mob concert" in empty mall store space - folks could hear it, but step into the store space for a better listen. Penumbra's actors could do an arc of pieces, with just actors and some simple lighting or music and with a simple narrative thread to .... establish a Facebook site where folks could get a 2-4 hour lead on the flash event .. be small .. be agile... learn how to "attack" the consumer palate instead of serving giant buffets waiting for the everyone to come to you. How about working with the 1st Avenue, the Turf Club, to put on shows by brand new - "nobody knows the composers" shows - before a regular rock show - become viral in your approach to distribution. Tweet the events, tweet the staff who are doing it. quit being battle ships and chess pieces in set battles. Have some fun with it.
Pander?
| December 2011 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
Master Archive
Recent Entries
- Have changes to the airline passenger experience affected your willingness to fly?
- Should marijuana be available for medical use in Minnesota?
- Do the struggles of Minnesota's business icons signal trouble for the state's economy?
- Do you know whether insurance would cover your losses in a major storm?
- What kind of recycling program would you be likely to use the most?
- Would you support paying people for organ or tissue donations?
- Have personal relationships in the workplace ever presented a problem for you?
- Do you think Facebook is a passing fad?
- Will you be less likely to visit the Minnesota Zoo without its dolphins?
- Should authorities in the Twin Cities change the way they warn people about tornadoes?
Public Insight Network
The Public Insight Network draws upon your experiences to help shape our coverage.More
Categories
Services
In The Spotlight
-
Sound Learning
Looking for ways to ensure your students are doing quality research from credible sources? Sound Learning is a launching point to Minnesota Public Radio's content on the Web. -
The Current Music Blog
Your daily note for good music, news and pop culture. With attempted jokes.
- Become a Member
- Member Connect Accounts
- Leadership Circle
- Sustaining Members
- Member Discounts
- Become a Sponsor
- Tax Information
- Planned Giving
- Vehicle Donation
- Donate Stock