Mr. Chris McLeod


Ms. Linda P. Steele

The Arts in Memphis: Transforming Communities, Defining Brands

Posted by Mr. Chris McLeod, Ms. Linda P. Steele, Apr 17, 2015 1 comment


Mr. Chris McLeod


Ms. Linda P. Steele

When we think of sectors of society that help to solve the challenges of underserved communities, some of the first that come to mind are education, healthcare, and job training. The Arts? Not so much. But the Arts can improve quality of life, transform the human condition, and amplify a voice for a community or neighborhood. When asked about the word "brand," arts groups think of design, color, websites, and logos. Rarely do we think of social change and brand in the Arts. Something is happening in Memphis that is about to change the way we think about the brand of the Arts in our communities.

Below is a conversation between Linda Steele, Chief Engagement and Outreach Officer at ArtsMemphis, and Chris McLeod, an Arts Marketing and Branding expert and member of the ArtsMemphis National Community Engagement Advisory Council, about the arts re-branding revolution that is occurring in Memphis.

LINDA: ArtsMemphis is a local arts agency and United Arts Fund. We are in our second year of facilitating the ArtsMemphis Fellows program, which was designed to build the capacity of arts organizations in arts-based social and community change work. As a grantmaker, we feel that our grants that support community engagement projects have a stronger chance of positive impact, success, and social outcomes when we invest in the capacity to do this work. We believe that The Fellows Program and our grantmaking in this area are accomplishing two objectives:

1) Mobilizing an under-resourced community via the arts.

2) Supporting the case that the arts are relevant, can improve the quality of life, and serve as an instrument for social/community change.

Chris, I know we are accomplishing some revolutionary things in terms of brand here, what do you think? Can you help me understand what we are doing?

CHRIS: Absolutely. Brand is a collection of perceptions in the hearts and minds of customers, which is based on every online and offline point of contact they have with your organization or business. Therefore it’s everything from the cleanliness of your venue, to the ease-of-use of your website. It’s the messages you communicate, and how you deliver them. When it comes to arts organizations specifically, the essence of their brand should be going beyond just selling tickets, to truly meeting the needs of audiences and communities. This way of introducing brand into the arts world is something that has never been done before. ArtsMemphis is teaching arts organizations brand principles and strategies in a way that can change the very way they do business. We have shown them that the power of brand can do three main things for the Arts:

#1. It can align their business operations to not only create a more resonant value proposition to audiences, but also deliver that value proposition in a way that can be an instrument of social change to underserved communities.

#2. Eliminate the perception that arts organizations must see each other as direct competitors, and therefore adversaries.

#3. Foster a community-centric approach where arts organizations now look to create programs and build their business based on who they wish to attract and serve, rather than the thoughts and opinions of arts managers.

What do you think Linda? Have you seen the evidence and/or potential for what the power of brand can do for the Arts in Memphis with regards to underserved communities?

LINDA: Yes, I believe we’re seeing the potential for what the power of brand can do for the Arts here in Memphis. We can see evidence of that in the ETC (Engagement Transforms Communities) grant projects that we funded. These grant recipients (or Senior Fellows) completed the initial Fellows Program in 2014 and submitted a project proposal to us to consider.

A couple of projects that are underway right now located in the historic Orange Mound neighborhood of Memphis, which is celebrating its 125th Anniversary this year: Grantees TheatreMemphis and Blues City Cultural Center are partnering with Orange Mound residents on an intergenerational storytelling project as an intervention for that community's challenge of a disjointed neighborhood with the seniors and youth not communicating with each other. Two other grantees, Prizm Ensemble and Visible Community Music School, are working with Orange Mound Outreach Ministries and helping the neighborhood to develop its own community music and arts school, and to rebuild the neighborhood’s high school band by providing music education in the middle schools. In terms of social change, I can see how the work of these arts groups is serving as a catalyst for community change, mobilization, and revitalization, but how is this work changing the brand of the arts groups involved--especially within underserved communities)? How is it changing (or enhancing) the brand of ArtsMemphis?

CHRIS: The work is doing amazing things for the brands of the arts organizations involved as well as for ArtsMemphis itself as an arts agency and funder. First, these types of initiatives greatly increase the brand equities of entities such as TheatreMemphis, PRIZM Ensemble, and Visible Community School by giving them “social access” in ways that others have not been able to achieve. This access enables them to have deeper conversations and partnerships with their audiences, which ultimately improves the overall quality of the programs and initiatives that are created in the future.

Secondly, these organizations now go from being considered as outside arts providers to side-by-side members of the community who have been accepted and validated by the people themselves. This signifies a paradigm shift from thinking about audiences and communities in terms of “people we sell tickets to”...to “people we serve and empower”. For an organization like ArtsMemphis, this causes an expansion of the definition of the brand to using Arts as a vehicle and mechanism for communities to enact real social change. Linda, what do you think this means for the future of how arts organizations must staff themselves to drive this new paradigm shift? What types of skill sets or knowledge will arts managers/administrators need?

LINDA: I think this work is scalable and can be replicated in other cities. When I think about what we are doing, I compare it to social responsibility in the corporate sector--we are saying that, as arts organizations, our missions aren't simply arts-centric, that arts organizations have a social responsibility to all of our communities as well, not just our audiences. This means that arts managers of the near future will need to acquire the skills of community organizers and community developers in order to do their work. Additionally, we are now asserting that the Arts aren't here just for entertainment and education, although we do this very well. The Arts can truly help to transform the human condition and this work allows us to stand alongside our colleagues in healthcare and social services. The implications of this are tremendous! So what’s the big takeaway for the Arts here? CHRIS: Branding is the ongoing process to realize the limitless potential of arts organizations to remain current, relevant, and resonant to members, subscribers, donors, and communities in how they seek to serve them while ensuring the short-term and long-term success of the business.

Linda Steele oversees community engagement grantmaking and capacity-building initiatives at ArtsMemphis. Since joining the organization, she launched the ArtsMemphis Fellows program designed to build the capacity of Memphis organizations in the field of community engagement and has presented across the country on her work in place-based grantmaking and arts based community engagement. Linda completed her undergraduate work at Amherst College and her graduate work at Harvard University. Prior to ArtsMemphis, Linda worked as an arts consultant based in New York City and began her career at Playhouse Square Center and Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Cleveland, Ohio.

1 responses for The Arts in Memphis: Transforming Communities, Defining Brands

Comments

April 19, 2015 at 11:30 am

Bravo on the work that you are doing through Arts Memphis! I hope to see a similar initiative here in Atlanta, Georgia.

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