How can personal relationships developed through storytelling help us frame discussions aimed at building stronger, more cohesive communities? This talk explores the role of storytelling as a tool to transform what you do every day into stories that help to strengthen, inspire, and advance your mission and role in building community.
The rise of anti-Asian American violence in the spring of 2021 led to a watershed moment for the Asian American Pacific Islander community, and AAPI musicians, staff, board members and supporters in our field found themselves confronting issues on many fronts. Among those issues is the centering of AAPI voices in programming. In this session, a composer, an academic, and an artistic administrator discussed how these voices can be celebrated with equity and how we can overcome obstacles to achieving that goal.
During the summer of 2020, in the wake of global protests against anti-Black racism, artistic leaders were once again confronted with the realities of racism in our society.
During the pandemic, orchestras forged forward, with creativity and innovation unseen before, to respond artistically to the uncertainty of the pandemic. In this session, we heard from three artistic leaders who rose to the challenge. We investigated the responses their organizations made and how sustainable those responses were in the long term as they balanced a return to the concert hall.
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We’ve learned many things over 2020-2021. From the importance of relationships (organizations that entered into 2020 with higher proportions of active audience members in their databases experienced greater resiliency during COVID) to the power of messaging (donors in 2020 were motivated by community impact stories). As we began to welcome audiences back in our venues, knowing which key performance indicators (KPIs) to follow fueled our success.
The pandemic brought extraordinary challenges and changes for the arts and culture industry. We all learned how to work together remotely during quarantine. Many organizations pivoted from physical to digital audience engagement with livestreams, web series, and archival content. Others reopened with new protocols and digital tools to reduce contact points and create a safer environment for returning audiences.
In 2020, your brand became more important than ever. When the pandemic began, a strong brand was a powerful asset for organizations navigating uncertain waters. Innovations, instead of being one-offs, cohered; brand-driven initiatives did their tactical jobs well—and built brand meaning. How do you proactively build a strong, resonant brand—a brand that not only fosters awareness, engagement, and support, but helps you innovate in a strategic, thoughtful, true-to-you manner?
Moderated by Henry Fogel, a small group of building design professionals discussed solutions regarding the challenges related to social distancing and other effects of the pandemic.