Durham Arts Council

Come face-to-face with the arts in Durham.

A Practical Guide to Audience Development

TODAY'S ARTS MARKET:
THE BIG PICTURE

By Louise Stevens, ArtsMarket, Inc.

7. Outsiders Versus Insiders. Do You Want to be Known as an Arts Patron?

Negative impressions of arts patrons are significant. People keep their arts support pretty private, unless they feel the institution is doing something fundamentally important for the community, something they can get behind. Even donors have difficulty asking others to donate to the arts.

Compounding this, people don't want to self-identify as arts supporters or patrons. They don't want their neighbors to think they are snobs. Is this fallout from the culture wars?

Return to "Big Picture" index.

About
How this initiative might be useful to your arts organization...

The Big Picture
The major factors that are driving consumer behavior in the arts...
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Fundamental Strategies
How to respond to present trends...
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Case Studies
How the six participating organizations changed their habits...
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ArtsMarket Report
Detailed findings of the research itself...
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Customer Service
A diagnostic tool for evaluating customer service...
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Newsletters
Information and progress reports sent during the project...
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African American / Hispanic Markets
Patterns of participation, barriers to attendance and communications preferences...
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Links
Connections to national organizations and resources...
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Funders
This project was funded by...
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