Boston Arts Institutions Applauded For Engaging Young Audiences

By Andrea Shea (@asheaarts)
Jan 31, 2012, 6:04 PM
1 Comments

BOSTON — Two Boston arts organizations are being highlighted in a recent funding and research project by the Wallace Foundation.

That independent organization has a long history of supporting the arts, and has been following four American arts institutions to find out what it takes to nurture the next generation of art lovers.

“Younger audiences are so fickle,” said lead market researcher Bob Harlow.

According to the latest broad survey by the National Endowment for the Arts, attendance numbers at arts organization nationwide are the lowest they’ve been in 30 years. But Harlow said the Boston Lyric Opera and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum are bucking those trends with their strategies.

“These organizations realized a couple of things, you know, that they really needed those younger audiences for the future of arts,” he explained, “and so it was really finding a way to create experiences that would resonate with these audiences.”

The Wallace report cites the Gardner’s “Art After Hours” program that attracted the “elusive” 18-34 year-old demographic by merging art viewing with DJs and cocktails, and the Boston Lyric Opera’s family-friendly “Opera for Young Audiences,” which offers novel introductions to classic performances without watering them down.

Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company and the San Francisco Girls Chorus are also part of foundation’s series of research.

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http://twitter.com/opusaffair Graham Wright

Thank you for covering this issue. I spend most of my time working with 21-34(+) arts audiences. Definite kudos to the Gardner and BLO. Those are great programs.

A couple of quick additions:1. I wouldn’t call younger audiences “fickle.” That’s unfair. They have different priorities and buying habits, but they are every bit as committed to the arts. Wanting to experience a city’s full breadth of arts offerings, rather than having a membership or season tickets to a couple of organizations isn’t “fickle.”2. While the Gardner is definitely the juggernaut in this world, there are a few other new programs around that are quite active and gaining momentum: 35 Below from the Huntington Theatre and H2 from the Handel and Haydn Society both started relatively recently and are doing great work.

I hope you’ll keep up the coverage of outreach to young professionals in the arts.