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Australia: Australia Council for the Arts, Connecting:// arts audiences online. Sydney, Australia
2010.
Accessed at:
http://connectarts.australiacouncil.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Connecting_arts-audiencesonline1.pdf
This study investigates how arts organizations can use the internet to build audience engagement
and drive up attendance. It also tries to explain the role of different online channels in a vast media
environment and see where the priorities might lie.
Based on the results of several studies conducted between September and December 2010,
including data analysis and literature review, 12 focus group discussions with arts attendees and
an online survey of 2,683 arts attendees, the report starts by introducing the audience journey – a
model of the journey that a person takes when they attend an arts event. During the surveys each
person was asked to consider one type of arts event they attended in the past year, and to tell how
they used the internet as well as traditional (offline) channels. The six stages of the journey are:
awareness, research, booking, preparation, at the event, after the event.
Considering the results obtained the report refers the opportunities for arts organizations to build
their online presence:
� Get audiences’ attention using a mix of old and new media
� Build word of mouth using social media to fuel online conversations about art events
� Engage with the audience in a conversation, avoiding unilateral approaches where
communication is only about sending messages.
� Enrich the audience’s experience with tools like Video content as a way of tease or to
relive an event.
� Connect the dots Multiple platforms mean that arts organizations have more opportunities
to connect with audiences, but a well-integrated strategy is key to holding an audience’s
attention.
� Make it easy using the internet to facilitate things like booking tickets, and finding practical
information before they attend.
Know your audience in order to tailor messages and platforms to suit their needs.
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United States: Brown, Alan S. (2004). The Values Study: Rediscovering the Meaning and
Value of Arts Participation. Hartford, CT: Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.
Accessed at:
http://www.wolfbrown.com/images/articles/ValuesStudyReportComplete.pdf
This study results from a survey carried out by 20 Connecticut arts organizations whose main
purpose was to understand why people participate in cultural activities, to describe the
multidimensional aspects of creativity and the complex set of values surrounding artistic
engagement. It points out the ways in which the arts inspire citizens, attract visitors and enliven
communities.
The final report is divided into three main parts:
Part 1 – Overview of the Values Study is a general description of the methodology used and the
process lessons. It also presents a new framework used to map an individual’s arts activities
according to five modes of arts participation based on levels of creative control: inventive,
interpretative, curatorial, observational and ambient participation. There is also a synthesis of the
meanings and values identified as surrounding arts participation: cognitive, aesthetic, physical,
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