Just a quick thought today. I’ve been thinking about how artists and arts organizations undervalue themselves each time they feel funny about asking for support from their patrons. “I don’t want to bother people,” said one of my clients. “I feel strange asking for money,” said another. Asking for support may not be your forte,…
I had a great discussion yesterday with a local grant writer. We were discussing the nature of the arts in today’s world. We both came to the same conclusion that a majority of artists and arts organizations these days might actually be getting in their own way for success. “Why is that? I don’t get…
Next weekend is the start of the Open Studios Tour here in Boulder, CO. In order to prove how well audience development works for artists, I am working with an artist to spread the word about her specific tour. We will be tracking to see how her attendees heard about her studio tour. Most of…
I have lightly touched upon this subject before, but I felt it was good timing for me to approach it again. I was recently contacted by an organization that is in need of filling their seats, “we need butts in seats!” They needed someone who could guarantee butts in seats in order to make…
Collaboration for the arts! I have been seeing more interesting collaborations in our arts world, so I thought I would do a quick top 10 list for ways to collaborate in the arts! Programming collaborations – pretty self explanatory, but I challenge you to come up with new mixtures. Marketing collaborations – this could mean…
So today I have been thinking about photography and how we use photographs in marketing to get an audience. With all the new digital camera technology out there, many of us think we can save a buck and not hire a photographer to take the pictures. This may save money in the short run, but…
I have been thinking about how audience development could be considered a lifestyle change instead of just something simply to do to increase your audience. Audience development is all about relationship building, forming connections, collaborations, community, and care for each other (there’s those 4 c’s again!). Wouldn’t it make sense then to have audience development…
I’ve been waiting until I was inspired by another YouTube before doing part 2. Today, a friend of mine posted this Youtube called Sand Dancer on Facebook. It’s about a sand artist that creates some of the most amazing sand art I have ever seen, and he creates the art for…himself. Lately I have been…
Dear Arts Community, I am straying from my regularly scheduled format to let you know about a great audience development resource. It’s an audience development resource that has been around for almost 2 years, has been in the arts management business for over a decade, and has been in the non-profit trenches for over 15…
I can’t say enough about collaboration. It is not only one of the 4 C’s of audience development, but something that definitely brings new hopes, opportunities, and direction for an artist or arts organization.The last few days I have been writing articles about collaborations. One was about an art gallery that teamed up with a…
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