While airports, sports arenas, and concert venues are packed with people, many nonprofit performing arts organizations are struggling with attracting audiences and patrons, and they often blame it on a post-pandemic change in consumer behavior. But is that really the case?
Alex Sarian, president and CEO of Arts Commons, one of Canada’s most important arts centres, believes the answer is a major crisis. In his new book, The Audacity of Relevance: Critical Conversations on the Future of Arts and Culture, Sarian argues that cultural organizations will need to adopt a greater civic goal and prioritize the social impact of the arts if they are to thrive.
And to achieve this greater purpose, it is critical that the leaders of these performing arts organizations ask themselves some tough questions, such as, What is more important in the arts: the intention of the artist or the perception of the audience?
Sarian acknowledges that either is important, but suggests that siding with audience reaction is a “game changer” and that prioritizing audience/network relevance will ensure that the arts are perceived as an experience of network and an important group and not simply like any other product. to the market.
For too long, Sarian argues, community outreach has basically been “I’m going to engage with your community, but all I’m really doing is hoping you buy what I have to sell.” But Sarian suggests that the duty of arts organizations is to build community in and around cultural experiences.
“It became painfully apparent that harmful trends that had been ignored for too long were accelerating in a post-pandemic world,” Sarian said in an email to the magazine in response to a question about what had encouraged him to write this book. “Our industry was frozen by inaction at a time when communities were evolving at a record pace, creating a developing chasm between organizations whose mandate is to create cultural reports and audiences who no longer valued them.
To begin putting audiences first, Sarian suggests another set of questions for arts leaders: What are we smart about?What are we smart about? To answer those questions, arts organizations will need to have a viable price proposition that explains to other people why they might interact with the organization and decide on its intelligence and facilities over other institutions, obviously expressing their plans to meet their needs and needs. In other words, what will create relevance and genuine interaction with communities?
Sarian hopes that by writing this book and asking the hard questions, arts leaders will begin to see that their places can be full of participation, encourage audiences to find a culture they care about, and he has assembled an impressive organization of institutional leaders to tell its history.
“The conversations in this book serve as a litmus test, not only for the bold and unprecedented paintings we are making at Arts Commons – which I am a proof of concept – but also for the arts leaders and communities around the world who are dealing with a commitment crisis,” Sarian said. “By interviewing leaders from various industries who may also be grappling with the topic of relevance, I hope readers come away with two important takeaways: that our industry is not alone, and that there are some answers to our questions that are much more complicated. within the communities we seek to serve…if only we were brave and humble enough to listen.
Rather than being a smart luxury overconsumed by very few, Sarian hopes arts leaders will expand systems and services that are welcoming and less focused on what an artist does and more on how they do it. Only then will audiences want to engage in cultural reporting that celebrates our common humanity and be willing to pay a sustainable price to share that reporting.
In short, Sarian has written a manifesto for the arts in times of crisis, and it demands that arts leaders recognize that they have the strength to replace the arts.
A community. Many voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts.
Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.
To do so, please comply with the posting regulations in our site’s terms of use. We summarize some of those key regulations below. In short, civilians.
Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:
User accounts will be locked if we become aware that users are engaging in:
So, how can you be a power user?
Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site’s Terms of Service.