Latino audiences are the “holy grail” of audience development efforts in Arizona.

The point was researched exhaustively and described compellingly in MPAC’s 2008 study: ARTS, CULTURE AND THE LATINO AUDIENCE: Latino Arts and Culture Participation in the Greater Phoenix Region, which opens with this statement:

THE LATINO ARTS AND CULTURE MARKET IS COMPLEX
It is large, vibrant and full of potential for the arts and cultural organizations of Greater Phoenix. It is also under marketed; the potential is currently not being realized. The research for this study, however, suggests ideas on how to attract and nurture a market that is now 30% of the metropolitan population.

CLICK HERE for the full report: http://www.mpacarts.org/images/stories/PDF/Arts_Culture_and_the_Latino_Audience.pdf  

From a purely marketing perspective, this was (and remains) an incredibly valuable analysis. Yet, the report was written (as marketing analyses usually are) from the perspective that a “market” is a resource that exists to be tapped, mined or exploited. Terms like “full of potential,” “under marketed” and “how to attract and nurture a market” advance the theory that if we could just fashion the right message and deliver it effectively – that the pipeline will flow with audiences and their money.

In the aftermath of the signing of SB1070 by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, this is an opportune time for Arizona arts & cultural leaders to re-visit the study and ask: Are Latinos purely a “market” to be targeted – or should we be aiming for a very different type of relationship.

Instead of asking how to attract Latino audiences to arts and cultural events – this seems like an important time to ask how the arts & cultural community can serve the Latino community. (And, not just the Latino community, but our entire Arizona community.)

My point is simply this: “Audience Development” involves more than elevating the arts and cultural community’s “marketing” presence.

You want to attract new audiences? You want them to feel engaged and passionate about the work you do? Then you have to rise to the occasion with the passions of the audience and the issues of the day. (The Kennedy Center’s Michael Kaiser made similar points when he spoke in Phoenix a several weeks ago.)

For better or for worse, Arizona is the epicenter of the national discussion on immigration.  What can/should the arts and cultural community do?  How’s this for starters:  

• Charge artists, performers and educators to address the topic with the full power of their creativity and imagination,
• Produce & present high-quality and highly-relevant arts and cultural experiences and invest in inviting new audiences and making them feel sincerely welcome,
• Activate theatre spaces, galleries, lecture halls and exhibit spaces – this is the time to bring people together, to learn, talk and share,
• Empower your audiences – the entire reason you have invested in social media technologies (websites, e-mail lists, Facebook, Twitter, newsletters and more) – is to enable you to be agile in communicating with your audience. Use them now!
• Don’t be afraid. Even as staff members, board members, audiences and stakeholders may hold a variety of opinions – remember that our goal need not be to advocate for a particular position (though some certainly may, will & should).  Nor is it the responsibility of the arts & cultural community to negotiate the solution to the problem. But it is VERY MUCH the function of the arts & cultural community to serve as a conduit of our community’s conversation.

Recognition, engagement and involvement by Latino audiences (and all audiences for that matter) is not a marketing function that can be purchased.

Audiences deserve to be earned.  And the time for meaningful “audience development” is right now.

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To respond with your comments, please visit:  http://notes.allianceforaudience.org/