Feel The Loathe

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and just knew the person you were talking too didn't like you?

It may not have been the words they said, it was just a feeling you had.  And most of them time, your feelings turned out to be accurate.

People can sense when they are not wanted.

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In the arts, many of us claim to want more or different audiences then what we are getting.

We want diversity in our audience . . . we REALLY, REALLY, want a younger audience.

That's what we all say.

But then we look deeply inside some of those organization's, the truth is revealed:

We want their money.

But we don't really want them.

Why?

Because these different audiences are . . . different.

Different tastes.  Different standards.

And to adjust to those different things would require change on our parts, which isn't something we generally like to do.

But here's the thing . .  . those folks can tell when we don't really want them.

They can feel it. 

Which is often why they stay away.

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We talk so much about the impact of social media and other technology on the arts, but we often overlook one HUGE impact . . .

Social media reveals us.

It makes it harder and harder for us to conceal our true intentions.

Which is why I think a key requirement to building a strong arts organization in the 21st century is, love.

Not just love of the art.

Not just love of your fellow artists.

But love of people.  Those weird, complex, confusing people out there that you need to give your work the strongest platform possible.

You have to high a pretty high regard for them, even when they are driving you freakin' insane with the choices they make.

Because if you don't really care for them . . .

If you are creating work for them with a sneer on your face, or one eye on their wallet the whole time . . . they can tell.

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Perhaps you disagree with that.

You are thinking about all those big organizations that blatantly pander to the lowest common level and seem to do do just fine.

Yeah, if you have a lot of money, people and history you can get away with a lot for a while.

But you don't really have all that do you?

Me neither.

So your path, our path, to the top has to be a bit different.

There has to be some love there.

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Yvonne]

«In the arts, many of us claim to want more or different audiences then what we are getting. We want diversity in our audience . . . we REALLY, REALLY, want a younger audience. That's what we all say.»

There's another side to this. Often with all the talk about going after younger audiences, I'll hear arts managers talking about the existing (mostly older) audience as if they're an impediment: not cool enough, frightening the youngsters away, spoiling our image. Let that attitude emerge too obviously in the frantic drive for younger audiences and you get a second group that doesn't feel wanted!

[Cole Matson]

Amen. As arts administrators, we run a business. And business isn't propaganda. Business is service.