Niels Righolt at Arts & Audiences. Foto: Åke Sandström
Lisa Baxter of The Experience Business reflects on the recent Arts and Audiences 2012 Conference in Sweden which explored ‘Inclusion and Diversity’.
“I was fortunate to have contributed to Audiences Norway’s annual conference in Stockholm a couple of weeks ago. This was my 4th Scandinavia conference in a year. Each time I attend one there I’m deeply impressed and inspired by the depth of engagement with the underpinning issues, the intellectual generosity of spirit that fuels richly rewarding conversations, and the fantastic hospitality and sense of camaraderie they provide.
So, whilst they are still fresh in my mind, I want to create a compendium of high points which have been fuelling my thoughts in the week since the Arts and Audiences 2012 Conference.”
“INCLUSION & DIVERSITY was the over-arching theme of the conference, and throughout the whole event there was a rich seam of debate that raised too many interesting points to mention in this blog. Here’s a snapshot of the questions that caught my attention:
How can arts institutions navigate the apparent polarity between creating an environment for art and creating one for audiences? What is the democratic responsibility of our arts institutions?
Do we need to rethink our mission statements in order to be more audience-centric?
How can we arrive at common goals that bring together artistic freedom/artistic quality with a focus on the audience and their experience?
Should artists have the liberty to express whatever they want or should they be burdened with the issue of ‘access for all’?
In what ways can we create new platforms through which we can engage with audiences in a way that creates value for them?
Are our arts institutions temples, and if so, is this a good or a bad thing?
In what ways might we address the mismatch between funded diversity projects and what ‘diversity’ really means in today’s cosmopolitan society?
So – rich food for thought there.
If any of these little snippets have piqued your curiosity, please do take a look at the Arts and Audiences website for details and video footage from the conference: artsandaudiences.com ”
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To read Lisa’s High Points, click here.
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