BALANCING OPTIMISM AND REALISM.
27/11/2021
The audience, a source of happiness? In the pandemic context thinking about happiness, and the audience as a source of happiness may seem strange.
Most of the art sector lost audiences and revenue streams. Bringing back audiences, developing new ones in current circumstances appears to be a hustle.
The easiest way (and natural way for humans) would be to get back to (the previous) normal. Old problems are domesticated – we got used to them, we tried a few things, some worked, some not. New challenges are scary, but they are unavoidable. We can be witnesses or actors and directors in current radical social transformations.
Despite complexity and discomfort, and all other challenges - it is time to reimagine our audiences and our approach to audiences. It is time to invest in the art of audience development and to engage with the audiences. We need to concentrate on values and missions, rather than tricks. Values built on humanity and creativity. We need to venture out into new territories. We can go there with the joy of new discoveries. We choose optimism, but at the same time we are also aware of reality. Some of you have already experienced it in our work. You know that creating a mix of optimism and realism is difficult but possible.
The easiest way (and natural way for humans) would be to get back to (the previous) normal. Old problems are domesticated – we got used to them, we tried a few things, some worked, some not. New challenges are scary, but they are unavoidable. We can be witnesses or actors and directors in current radical social transformations.
Despite complexity and discomfort, and all other challenges - it is time to reimagine our audiences and our approach to audiences. It is time to invest in the art of audience development and to engage with the audiences. We need to concentrate on values and missions, rather than tricks. Values built on humanity and creativity. We need to venture out into new territories. We can go there with the joy of new discoveries. We choose optimism, but at the same time we are also aware of reality. Some of you have already experienced it in our work. You know that creating a mix of optimism and realism is difficult but possible.
Agnieszka Wlazeł