“The Louvre’s audience-control issues aren’t unique to that institution; at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, you have to work your way up to Rembrandt’s The Night Watch through the crowds of people clustering around … So what’s to be done?”
Category: AUDIENCE
Classical Music Is Thriving In Beijing And Shanghai; In China’s Smaller Cities, Not So Much
“Many second- and third-tier cities, like Wuhan and Xi’an, are struggling to fill their gleaming new theaters and concert halls with quality musicians and audiences. Most of these cities lack regular concert seasons and the funding to bring in distinguished foreign orchestras. In some, once-grand halls are falling apart because of poor upkeep.”
City Of Vancouver Opens Up Cultural Facilities To Homeless Arts Amateurs
“Rent is only one barrier a community group faces to being in a venue. It is actually the easiest barrier to remove. Real progress would be made if we could help arts organizations with these hard costs. Rent is about paying utility bills; these other costs are about paying people.”
This Is What Happened When NPR Tried To Make Audio Go Viral
“The fundamental challenges remain: It’s hard to multitask with spoken-word audio when you’re browsing other things. We still don’t have a true “BuzzFeed for audio” to elevate clips with viral potential. And now silent autoplay videos on Facebook and Twitter are training users to expect an entirely different engagement experience.”
Data: Why Donors Stop Giving To Arts Organizations
“Not being thanked for a previous gift, not being asked to donate again, and lack of communication about the impact of one’s donation all represent massive communication fails. Advances in relationship management technologies are supposed to make communication fails increasingly rare – but, the data suggest that many of us remain our own worst enemies when it comes to retaining donors.”
A Decade Of Dances Gone Viral
“Thanks to social media, short videos of these dances – sometimes incidentally – spread quickly and inspire a rash of copycats. At once silly and profound, these dance phenomena demonstrate the speed at which something can unexpectedly go from being an inside joke among friends (often teen-agers in cities) to a universal dog whistle for joy.” (video)
Americans Say They Love Their Libraries – So Why Are They Using Them Less?
“According to a new Pew Research study, 76 percent of Americans say that libraries well serve the needs of their community. … Yet on the other hand, fewer and fewer Americans are using the institutions every year.” Why? Investment.
Classical Raves Aren’t Good For Classical Or Dance Music, And They Need To Stop (Says Nightclub Critic)
John Thorp: “The current trend for high-concept classical ‘raves’ in prestigious venues feels at odds with dance music’s forward-thinking worldview. … Getting an orchestra to play dance anthems may come off as a gilded seal of prestige or legacy but it drains them of their naive simplicity and euphoria.”
Yes, Yes, Diversity. But Are We Devaluing The Idea?
“Are race, poverty, and Asian-Americanhood equally diverse? What about language spoken, religion, age, sexual orientation, income, and appearance? A danger exists that diversity loses all meaning as it balloons; the term becomes so lax that everything and anything signifies diversity.”
The Web Of Attention: How The Social Internet Is Devouring Itself In Its Pursuit Of Our Time And ‘Mindshare’
“It’s the Faustian bargain we’ve all struck. In exchange for a ‘free’ web, we give you our time. Unfortunately, this structure is unsustainable and is compromising both our experience of the web and the quality of the things we consume.”