Elizabeth McCloskey Miller
The changing face of cultural participation has been much discussed in recent years. This has been especially true since the publication of the National Endowment for the Arts’ most recent Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, which showed a decline in arts attendance for every category except musical plays.
“Cultural Participation in a 2.0 World” was the topic of EALDC’s Creative Conversation in October. It was clearly a subject that resonated across our local network—the event was one of our most well-attended to date, with a standing room-only crowd.
The attendees at our event debated what kind of cultural participation most appealed to them, with many expressing boredom with the tried-and-true efforts at arts engagement. It was not that post-show talkbacks or program inserts were not appreciated; they just were not enough to make people excited.
Adapting to changes in traditional arts participation is a major issue for arts and culture organizations today. Here in the D.C. area, we have seen some innovative efforts at engaging people in the arts, such as the Hirshhorn Museum’s ARTLAB+ space for teens and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s Connectivity initiative (explained on the HowlRound blog).
How can we, as emerging leaders, better encourage participation in the arts? I would venture to say that we must begin by modeling the behavior we hope to see in others.
I probably see more live performances than the average person my age. But I am embarrassed to admit how often I decline opportunities to attend arts events. Often, at the end of the day, I am tired and not interested in hanging around my own place of work or any other arts institution. Going home and sinking into my couch sounds much more appealing.
But nothing reaffirms my career choice more than a great arts experience. After visiting a particularly compelling museum exhibition or hearing a beautiful orchestral performance, I always tell myself I need to do this more often and bring a friend.
Sometimes this motivates me to engage in more extracurricular arts activities for a while, but I inevitably fall back into my daily routine and away from that commitment.
So I challenge myself and the rest of the Emerging Leader Network to think critically about our own levels of cultural participation.
Are we engaging in arts activities in the same way we hope to see others engage? We can encourage change through leading by example.
Emerging Arts Leaders DC would love to continue the conversation started in this week’s blog salon with those attending Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. We will be hosting dine-arounds after the American University Emerging Arts Leaders Symposium on April 15 and a networking reception after the Nancy Hanks Lecture on April 16. Please come out and join us!
This is something we talk about at work–a lot. A disproportionate percentage of us in the demo within the industry no longer go out and see shows, keep abreast of trends in galleries, and actively participate as artists and audience members. It’s certainly true in every office I’ve participated in; what’s the best way to institutionalize arts participation in the industry as necessary hours of R+D?
Although I love a great symphony concert and a challenging museum show from time to time, I hope these are not the only choices either perceived or in reality. My position as President/CEO of Greater Flint Arts Council requires that I show an active involvement in arts activities around our county. Variety is the key to keeping me out there every week experiencing what the arts have to offer in my community. I may not be able to attend every performance or exhibit or poetry event or book signing or craft show or fashion show. However, if I can visit each of the close to 100 arts producing groups in our county once a year, that is close to 100 events (about two per week on the average). The variety keeps me excited, engaged and in touch. If I involve the rest of our staff, and ask them to represent us, I can have an even broader reach. If you find yourself running home to the couch too often, try something new. Visit the gallery you have never been to (you do like wine, dont you?). Buy tickets to the community theater on the other side of town. Shake it up. Make it a quest…around the art world in eighty days…lol. Oops! I’m off to the Alpha Montessori pre-schoolers annual art show. It is amazing what children ages 18 months to 6 years come up with.
Liz – Your thoughts on arts participation really struck a chord with me as well! I think there’s a lot of opportunity that arts organizations have here as employers – organizing an arts activity for staff is a great way to connect to what we are supporting on a very fundamental level.
As an individual, I also have a hard time motivating myself to get out there and see things. If someone asked me today if I wanted to go see XYZ performance tonight, my answer would likely be no. My couch is much more appealing as well
However, if I make a plan in advance (even a few days or a week in advance), and buy the ticket, then I’ve committed. I need a structure, so as long as I don’t over commit myself to too many shows (time and budget really don’t allow that anyway!), then I’ve so far been able to strike a nice balance.
Liz, thanks for writing this! I can totally relate. Sometimes I feel like my life is so saturated with arts experience and arts talk that I am almost (almost) ungrateful for the opportunities I realdily have to expereince the arts. I know others would jump to have the same problem. But there are times the oppotunities can feel more like obligations. I’m finding it is an issue with several people in the arts. In our heart we want to always be there to show the support, but there has to be a balance.
I’ve discovered that I personally need some more non-arts hobbies and volunteer work in my life. We all need to be challenged: mentally, physically, intellectually and spiritually in order to present our best self in our careers.
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