copyright © 1998-2008
Durham Arts Council, Inc.
120 Morris Street
Durham, NC 27701
919.560.ARTS

TODAY'S ARTS MARKET:
THE BIG PICTURE

By Louise Stevens, ArtsMarket, Inc.

Responding to the Trends

There is no single strategy an arts council can employ to assist all the arts and cultural organizations in its community in responding to these trends. As Michael Moore from Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Fund suggested to the arts councils gathered for the Durham meeting, "modest successes" are often a better goal than sweeping campaigns that are short lived and often do little to change consumer behavior.

Just as research may be the catalyst for new thinking about audience development, sophisticated leadership may be the required catalyst for change within arts organizations. Boards of directors and executive staff need to be at the center of the discussion. A willingness for fundamental organizational change must be a given. Mission statements must address not only the artistry, but the public. The efforts must be sustained, deep within the community, over a long period of time. Organizations need to consider how to affect change in the way people participate, changing their patterns of affiliation, association, interests, and involvement. There are technology impacts and financial impacts. Organizational practices equal participation outcomes. It isn't business as usual.

What can arts councils do to facilitate this process? Investment oriented grant-making designed to foster the fundamental changes needed for real audience development is key. Reinforcing leadership is critical. Helping the strongest most willing arts organizations to go as far as they can, so they serve as models to others, is vital. And, as the Durham Arts Council has done with ADI, encouraging in-depth discussion about the issues, building a willingness to move beyond superficial efforts into substantive change, will stimulate new thinking and new ways of operating. The goal is to witness a growth and change in the audience, as well as a deepened sense of participation and ownership, over the next decade. The research is just beginning.

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