Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the usefulness of the “audience exchange” approach for audience development and research, and to highlight the insights offered by peer-to-peer dialogue in understanding experiences of unfamiliar arts.Design/methodology/approachUsing a case study with contemporary arts audiences, and setting this in the wider context of studies with other first-time attenders at a range of arts events, the paper explores the use of the “audience exchange” method, in which facilitated conversations after performance events allow newcomers to reflect upon and deepen their first-time encounters with live arts.FindingsThe study demonstrates the way in which conversations about arts events can enrich audience experience, and shows how participants use exploratory and emotional language to articulate their understanding of unfamiliar arts events. Peer-to-peer learning occurs through these conversations, in ways that could be further supported by arts organisations as a valuable tool for audience development. The audience exchange discussions also reveal the varieties of participation from “drifting” to full attention that are all part of audience engagement.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a small-scale, qualitative study, and the method has potential to be tested in future studies with a greater variety of participants (e.g. younger or more ethnically diverse groups).Practical implicationsUse of the audience exchange for enriching experiences of first-time attendance could be adopted by arts organisations as a regular part of their audience engagement. Greater understanding of how new audience members draw on prior cultural experiences in finding the language to articulate their first impressions of an unfamiliar arts event could be valuable for targeted marketing and increasing accessibility.Originality/valueThe originality of this study lies in its elaboration of the audience exchange method, and its focus on the language and peer-to-peer learning evident in the facilitated post-performance discussions.
Highlights
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the usefulness of the “audience exchange” approach for audience development and research, and to highlight the insights offered by peer-to-peer dialogue in understanding experiences of unfamiliar arts
As arts and cultural organisations in the UK respond to the ever-diminishing support of the state, they will need to think in increasingly creative ways about how they develop relationships with their audiences
Our work in Birmingham strongly suggests the potential for strengthening the relationships between audiences and cultural organisations through the audience exchange approach, creating conditions in which audience members are more likely to become committed participants and “cultural citizens” (Gross and Pitts, 2016), for whom cultural organisations are a site of on-going encounter and conversation
Summary
Beyond the one-way communication of spoken introductions and pre-concert talks, arts organisations have been trialling more interactive audience discussions, providing a setting for feedback from audience members – a practice fairly well-established in theatre (Heim, 2012), but relatively recent in music (Dobson and Sloboda, 2014), and in both cases often associated with new works and experimental programming These interactions place new demands on performers, and Heim notes that “actors are often hesitant to interact with the audience and prefer to preserve the relationship of character-audience rather than create a new relationship of actor-audience”
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