Cultural policy researchers spend efforts and time to analyse diverse issues in both cultural policies and artistic practices, to find out how the state funding could be increased for the sake of the arts, what are alternative financial mechanisms for support, how to measure cultural participation, the impact of the art on the economic development....Conducted marketing surveys in our cultural organisations aim at helping us to better understand the profile of our audiences, their tastes and preferences, to apply innovative tools to attract new audiences, to find ways to increase our visibility and public recognition, to generate more profit and implement peripheral marketing products. As cultural researchers and marketing managers we rarely touch the issues of creativity, innovation and quality in our daily work-we leave these discussions to our colleagues-art critics, curators, journalists, experts. Maybe because the quality of art is one of the most challenging issues, as everyone can have a say on what is good and what is bad-audiences, media, experts, sponsors and funding institutions, decision-makers...
The 2007 experiment of Washing Post still raises an important question about the public recognition versus the masterpiece, the street art and the high quality art; the perceptions of audiences; the quality of the art and the context in which it is performed. To remind you, this was the experiment:: The world famous violinist Joshua Bell played as an incognito musician in busy Washington, D.C. metro stop in a January morning during the rush hour. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. Thousands of people passed by. The experiment aimed to find out how many of them would stop and listen if they heard a concert-quality, top-level professional musician performing, even if he appeared at a subway stop. The lack of recognition and response surprised the researchers and editors at the Washington Post, who, when starting the experiment, had worried about crowd control...But surprisingly, very few people stop to throw money at someone they encounter just as a street musician, even if the seat for the same musician’s concert in a recognised venue was sold on average $100 a seat two days before the experiment....
Here is the full story, which many of you might : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html
In the year of Creativity and Innovation, shall we find ways to recognize the talents, the core creativity, the quality art, irrespectively of policies, funding strategies, economic indicators?
Shall we find more time to discover the beauty around us, to notice the quality of art irrespectively of the context in which it is presented?
Shall we be more proactive and innovative to help the unknown talents from peripheries and small cities to be better recognised and visible?
What kind of educational programs we need to implement as part of our marketing strategies to help audiences seek and understand the quality of art programs and products, and to suggest us a more creative and innovative approach in our arts management practice?
Shall we also consider the quality issue when using diverse online tools and social networking platforms, or we will be just fast and busy as usual, with the excuse that we do not have time for reflection and deeper thinking?
LabforCulture è un'iniziativa di partnership della Fondazione Culturale Europea. LabforCulture desidera ringraziare i propri finanziatori per il loro supporto.