MUSEUMS AND AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Putting audiences at the heart of museums. Sofia Tsilidou NEMO Masterclass Sarajevo, 3 June 2017

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1 MUSEUMS AND AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Putting audiences at the heart of museums Sofia Tsilidou NEMO Masterclass Sarajevo, 3 June 2017

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3 Challenges in the 21st c. Societal changes Digital opportunities Growth of cultural tourism Vast choice of leisure pursuits Democratisation of culture and participation Declining budgets for culture Greater demand for accountability, social relevance, sustainability Interaction, co-creation, participation

4 Museums have been evolving in a changing social, economic and technological environment to become more audience-centred and more involved in audience development activities.

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6 Audience development is a planned process which involves building a relationship between an individual and the arts... (Heather Maitland, 2000) The term Audience Development describes activity which is undertaken specifically to meet the needs of existing and potential audiences, and to help arts organisations to develop on-going relationships with audiences. It can include aspects of marketing, commissioning, programming, education, customer care and distribution. (Arts Council England, 2004) Audience development is a strategic, dynamic and interactive process of making the arts accessible. It aims to engage individuals and communities in experiencing, enjoying, participating in and valuing the arts through various means including arts marketing. (Australia Council, 2005) a planned, organisation-wide approach to extending the range and nature of relationships with the public, it helps a cultural organisation to achieve its mission, balancing social purpose, financial sustainability and creative ambitions" (The Audience Agency, UK) Is the active and deliberate process of creating meaningful, long-term connections between people and an art organisation. Strategic AD goes beyond increasing visitor numbers, aiming to build community ownership, participation, relationship with, and support for the organisation, its programme and its people (Benitta Lipps, 2015).

7 Audience development is a strategic, dynamic and interactive process of making the arts widely accessible. It aims at engaging individuals and communities in experiencing, enjoying, participating in and valuing the arts through various means available today for cultural operators, from digital tools to volunteering, from co-creation to partnerships. Audience development can be understood in various ways, depending on its objectives and target groups: increasing/widening audiences (attracting audiences with the same socio-demographic profile as the current audience); deepening relationship with the audiences (enhancing the experience of the current audiences in relation to a cultural event and/or encouraging them to discover related or even non-related, more complex art forms, thus fostering loyalty and return visits); diversifying audiences (attracting people with a different socio-demographic profile to the current audiences, including people with no previous contact with the arts). (European Commission, 2015)

8 WIDENING Audiences Attracting audiences with the same sociodemographic profile as current audiences DEEPENING Relationships Enhancing the experience of current audiences DIVERSIFYING Audiences Attracting people with a different sociodemographic profile, including people with no previous contact with the arts

9 Types of Audiences (EU Study, 2017) AUDIENCE BY HABIT They usually participate No particular barriers to participation They can be attracted by audience education practices, especially if they know that people similar to them usually participate AUDIENCE BY CHOICE Not used to participate due to their life-style, lack of opportunities or financial resources Not any particular social or cultural disadvantage but they usually do not visit a museum in their free time. AUDIENCE BY SURPRISE Indifferent or even hostile to participation for many reasons, maybe because they feel socially excluded, not enough cultivated or they experience severe barriers to access.

10 WIDENING AUDIENCES

11 Bath Museums Partnership for Audience Development, UK 4 Museum organisations 13 museum venues (incl. big 6 ) Aim: Resilience through increased visitor numbers Target: those who already have an appetite to visit museums Joint approach to audience development, marketing activities, community engagement

12 Joint market research and marketing activities Long-term collaborative working Cooperation with other sectors (accommodation sector, Bath Bus Company, Thermae Bath Spa etc.) Shift of mind set (from competition to collaboration, coherence) Result: Bigger cake for us to share

13 Bath Museums Partnership Pathways to Well-Being Going further and deeper: Supporting people with experience of mental health issues, social isolation and homelessness to engage creatively with Bath Museums

14 DEEPENING RELATIONSHIPS

15 Riverside Museum, Glasgow

16 Museum developed with Audience Audience research, advisory panels (focus groups), front end evaluation used to develop permanent exhibition, services events, programme Appointment of Visitor Studies Curator Glasgow Museums embedded audience research within the organisation

17 DIVERSIFYING AUDIENCES

18 Centre Pompidou Mobile (FR)

19 Modular nomadic structure bringing national art collections to provincial towns ( ) 3 months at each stop Free access Aim: Remove (geographical) barriers to museum visiting Partnership with local institutions (museums, live performance institutions, schools, social inclusion actors )

20 Museum aan de Stroom (MAS), Antwerp (BE) MAS is about citizenship Winner of 2013 Silletto Award (EMF) Community involvement in exhibitions, digital platform, public programming through open calls

21 Museum aan de Stroom (MAS)- MAS in Young Hands You may find a video of the programme here:

22 MAS in Young Hands Group of voluntary young people (16-26 years old) embedded in museum structure Aim: to make the museum a second home for young people living in and around Antwerp Target: young non-attenders Cross-department collaboration: Group members have mentors in different museum departments

23 Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven (NL)

24 Special Guests Programme the programme where the main focus is on the visitor. The Van Abbemuseum is accessible for anyone who is curious, whether you are blind or visually impaired, deaf or aurally impaired. Even if you are confined to bed, the museum will come to you. Unlimited Van Abbe.

25 Museum Visit with Robot Guided tour aided by robot and museum attendant for people who cannot leave home due to physical disabilities

26 Special Guests App Collaboration with Museum of Anatomy and Pathology, Nijmegen Children 5-17 share their stories inspired by collections of both museums

27 Key Features of an Audience-centred Approach

28 1. Vision-led 2. Mission-driven 3. Organisation-wide 4. Research-informed 5. Interactive engagement 6. Measuring impact 7. Partnership/Collaboration 8. Long-term

29 More on audience development? Check NEMO s Reading Corner THANK YOU! Sofia Tsilidou stsilidou@culture.gr