The digital revolution has forever altered the way in which we communicate. For thousands of years we relied on our culture's story-tellers to pass down the important lessons and narratives that make us who we are. For much of our history, these stories have taken the form of theatre, music, dance, opera, cinema and the visual arts. Today, our artists continue to pass down the details and nuances of our collective culture, but, as we all must adapt, so too do Cincinnati's venerated arts organizations.
Critics and hand-wringers worry that our fine arts are dying as entertainment and information blur lines and become more and more immediate. Others look to our ever-diminishing support of the arts and humanities in our early education and secondary school systems and worry we are propagating an entire generation of youth with zero exposure to art forms that carry little weight on achievement tests.
The Cincinnati arts community, however, is keeping pace with many of our small, medium, and large arts organizations readily embracing new technology as a way to expand and develop audiences. Social networking is regularly employed to spread the news on upcoming events as well as connecting arts patrons to each other. Viral videos on YouTube have already been adopted by Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Opera and Know Theatre of Cincinnati as a way to provide insight and information for their patrons even before they set foot inside their spaces.
"It used to be about money, but now I think it's about time," says Jason Bruffy, Artistic Director of Know Theatre of Cincinnati talking about barriers to going to the theatre as he prepares for the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. "It takes a lot to convince someone to leave what's familiar – to turn off the TV or the computer - and take a chance on something new. You can either complain how the digital revolution is stealing your audience, or you can use it to steal it back."
Audience development will be the topic taking center stage on May 6, as the Graduate Program in Arts Administration at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and the Arts & Culture Partnership of the Fine Arts Fund (FAF) will host a community conversation with Diane Ragsdale of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Ragsdale will share her thoughts about building strong community through the arts by "surviving culture change," followed by a panel discussion by area arts and technology experts.
"Audience development is about brokering a relationship between people and art, and between people and people," she says. "And in order to do that job well, arts organizations need to be open to the ways that art and artists are changing, and the ways that society is changing, and be willing to change accordingly."
While many people assume that the goal for an arts organization's survival is ticket sales, Ragsdale notes that's not the whole picture.
Complementing Ragsdale's talk, two local leaders will provide additional perspectives on the topic and engage in a dialogue with the audience. Panelists are Evans Mirageas, artistic director of Cincinnati Opera, and Pete Blackshaw, local digital entrepreneur and executive vice president of Nielsen Online, with the Fine Arts Fund's Margy Waller moderating the discussion.
Admission is free and open to the public, though seating is limited and reservations are necessary. Please click
here to make your reservation.
Writer: Jeff Syroney
Source: University of Cincinnati, College Conservatory of Music
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