Building Arts Audiences

AAAE is pleased to partner with The Wallace Foundation to enrich arts administration education with relevant and impactful resources on strategies for building, diversifying, retaining and engaging audiences for the arts.

In April, 2015, The Foundation announced a six-year, $52-million initiative aimed at developing practical insights into how arts organizations can successfully expand their audiences.

Reports

Data and Deliberation: How Some Arts Organizations are Using Data to Understand Their Audiences

An evaluation from the Building Audiences for Sustainability initiative examines the rewards and challenges of using data and market research to help buck the trend of declining arts audiences.

Published: June 2020 / Author: Francie Ostrower, PhD /Publishing Organization: The University of Texas at Austin

Th e Alchemy of High-Performing Arts Organizations

Financial success for arts organizations begins with artistic excellence and cultural relevance, suggest interviews with leaders of 20 high-performing organizations. Though the study was undertaken prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is shared with the hope that the past experiences of these organizations may inform thinking about strategies for recovery. Read the full press release here.

Published: August 2020/ Co-Authors: SMU DataArts Director Zannie Voss, Ph.D. and Research Director Glenn Voss, Ph.D.

The Alchemy of High Performing Organizations

Facing the current context of a pandemic and an urgent, national discussion of systemic racism, what lessons can arts and cultural organizations draw from the past as they look forward? Join Dr. Zannie Voss, director of SMU DataArts, to discuss a new study of 20 non-profit arts organizations that attained organizational health after facing earlier crises. The study identifies the strategies and outcomes described by these organizations that were linked to high performance and financial health.

Join Dr. Zannie for a follow up discussion and Q&A

Discussion Guides

Global Arts Live Tests New Format, New Name to Draw New Audiences
A tool for arts administrators and practitioners seeking to learn about Global Arts Live's experiences in audience building and adapt them to their own context.

COVID-19 Resources

Engaging Audiences in the Age of Social Distancing
Arts organizations who participated in Wallace’s Building Audiences for Sustainability move further into digital presentation and experimentation.

Navigating COVID-19 for Nonprofits: From Financial Triage to Scenario Planning
Nonprofit financial experts from Fiscal Management Associates review key areas nonprofits should consider focusing on and provide tools to help weather the current economic crisis.