programming Marketing and promotion are key components to increasing arts and culture engagement over the next ten years. But, as arts expert Diane Ragsdale says: “to solve the mystery of why 30-year-olds won’t buy tickets to the symphony, we’re going to need to put more on the autopsy table than the season brochure.”* In other words, relying solely on new marketing strategies will only get you so far. There is still the foundational question of how the arts and culture product will have to change in order to attract and engage larger audiences.
* “ Surviving the Culture Change,” Keynote Address, Australia Arts Marketing Summit, Melbourne, Australia, July 2008. Diane Ragsdale is a Program Officer for the Performing Arts at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Arden Theatre Co. – Mark Garvin
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