I was having a conversation with my step-daughter, Anya, and I enjoyed hearing what she had to say.  She is a 16-year-old artist in her own right.  She plays guitar, likes to create art, and has been in many a school theater production.  She likes the arts!

Hearing what she had to say about why her age group may not be attending was worth sharing with you.  I asked her to write a blog post to this effect.  Below are her thoughts.  It makes me wonder if you are asking your own children why they may not be attending arts events.

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Hello all!

I’m a sixteen year old teenager (daunting, I know), but many of my friends and I do enjoy supporting the arts. In middle school, I dedicated much of my time to the theater, took an art class, and expanded my guitar skills with classes and small shows.

Sadly, while moving to high school, many of the offered opportunities seemed to disappear. I’m not sure if this is simply because many arts companies and schools don’t offer teenage arts programs or perhaps it is the lack of knowledge of teenage programs on my part.

If you do happen to have an arts program for teenagers, since social media has become such a norm in everyday life for the average teenager, they can be used to reach out to teenagers so we can become more aware.

Another major problem I encounter when discovering free or inexpensive concerts, plays, or musicals, is finding the time to attend. Many teenagers have their time booked balancing volunteering hours, extracurricular activities, schoolwork, and, occasionally, a job. With low pay due to a lack of experience and with barely any time to relax, many teens can not attend showings on short notice. Teens need enough time to plan for a day or night out due to our budget concerns and to squeeze it into our already planned activities.

Another consideration, young teens often enjoy attending events with a few friends, so reaching out to a wide variety of teenagers can be much more effective than simply inviting an individual.

Without school, many teens are looking for engaging activities during the summer, so this is often the ideal time to focus on events for school-aged children.

Many teenagers want to find entertaining activities and are expecting them from the arts, but finding them can be quite a challenge. You can help us to become more aware of your offerings. Creating shows that are easy to attend and that are appealing to teens are key to drawing in a teenage audience.

Anya Quenon

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Cheers to happy and loyal audiences,
Shoshana

Shoshana Fanizza
Chief Audience Builder