Category: AUDIENCE

An AirBnB For Classical Music That Seems To Be Finding New Audiences

“Groupmuse is something of an Airbnb for classical music concerts, so unsurprisingly, millennials are latching onto this relatively new startup in increasingly large numbers. The company pairs up music lovers with a space to offer—a living room, a backyard or something larger if it’s available—with classical musicians looking to make a few dollars and potentially build their fanbase with people in the area.”

How The San Francisco Symphony Turned An Unglamorous Space Into The Hottest Venue In Town

“Today the hottest ticket in San Francisco classical music is around the corner at SoundBox, a new performance venue, launched by the Symphony in 2014, that has turned a decidedly unglamorous, acoustically dreadful building into a place designed to attract an entirely new audience to the symphony. At SoundBox, the 500-person audience sits on low-slung ottomans and benches—or simply stands. You can get fancy cocktails and snacks like bacon caramel popcorn at the bar, any time. Looking for a printed program? Nope—just look at the SoundBox site on your phone.”

In The New Political Environment, Theatres Are Becoming Town Halls

“Something theatres have always done well is bring people together. Traditionally people gather to see a show and maybe stick around after for a talkback, but increasingly, and especially since the 2016 presidential election and the inauguration of Donald J. Trump, theatres and theatre people have been looking for ways to bring those people together to make a statement, start a discussion, or support a cause independent of a particular theatrical production, with some initiatives being more openly political than others.”

The Political Climate Is Changing Fast, And Museums Have To Make Decisions About How To Respond

One museum covered artwork donated by immigrants; another rehung its collection to emphasize art by those from the countries affected by the travel ban. Museums whose remit is history sent people into the street to collect artifacts from the Women’s March; other museums say it’s up to the artists, not the museums, to respond. Not every museum is focused on action around politics, but every museum is confronting the times in some way.

How To Get Canadians – And The World – To Care About Canadian Art

The head of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television actually returned from a successful U.S. career for the job, so her perspective might seem somewhat U.S.-ian: “The way the Canadian industry is set up right now, we fund people to make work, but we don’t fund people to market work. If people don’t know a film is out there, and you’re not marketing it to them as American companies do, then you won’t get people to see it. It’s not that complicated, actually.”