s Facilitating critical thinking and dialogue about theater, as Steppenwolf has done on its website and in post-show discussions s Providing interactive and educational programs to introduce new audiences to the arts, like the Boston Lyric
Opera’s preview program, which gives children (and many adults) a first-time glimpse into the workings of xii xiii tion tirelessly provided invaluable strategic guidance and insight from the project’s beginnings to its final conclusions.
We offer our sincere thanks to the staffs and boards of the four organizations we studied. Their candor will, we trust, pay important dividends in the form of additional knowledge about what works and what does not in engaging audiences. We were fortunate to have liaisons at each of the four organizations who helped us work through the details and dedicated much of their own time to ensuring that the case studies were as informative as possible. These include Peggy Burchenal and Julie Crites at the Gardner Museum, Melanie Smith and Polly Springhorn of the San Francisco Girls Chorus, Judith McMichael and Julie
House of Boston Lyric Opera, and Linda Garrison of Steppenwolf
Theatre Company. As we sought to formulate the key questions and identify critical learnings from the cases, we were also fortunate to have extensive feedback on strategic direction and conclusions from several leading arts practitioners, including
Jim Hirsch of the Chicago Sinfonietta, Molly Smith of Arena
Stage, Kelly Tweeddale of Seattle Opera, Laura Sweet of the Ordway
Center for the Performing Arts, Bonnie Pitman of the Dallas
Museum of Art, and Stephanie Hughley of the New Jersey Performing
Arts Center. Finally, Sandra Radoff and Mari Henninger provided important technical assistance as we examined the data the organizations collected. Of course, the final responsibility for the questions posed and conclusions drawn rests with us.
Bob Harlow tion’s mission, when that mission is clear and supported throughout the organization, develop in an environment in which they can thrive. At the same time, these programs are better able to provide the rich experiences audiences are looking for, because they draw on and offer to the public those things about which organizations care most.4 The Gardner
Museum and Steppenwolf Theatre Company in particular built rich programs around their unique missions and philosophies about experiencing art. As a result, their programs have connected audiences more deeply with their art, and have attracted new audiences in large numbers.
Finally, we hope these case studies inspire. These programs demonstrate what is possible with strategic thinking and solid implementation. They prove that arts organizations don’t have to be victims of a trend, but instead can be masters of their destinies, contributing to a vigorous, thriving, and viable artistic community. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A great many individuals and organizations assisted us in our research, and we want to give them our heartfelt thanks.
First, this work would not have been possible without the generous support of The Wallace Foundation. We would also like to express our appreciation for their guidance and support to The
Wallace Foundation staff members Lucas Held and Pamela Mendels, as well as former staff members Catherine Fukushima, Rory
McPherson, and Mary Trudel. Ann Stone of The Wallace Founda-
4. B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, “Museums and Authenticity,” Museum News
86 (2007): 76-80, http://www.aam-us.org/pubs/mn/authenticity.cfm. Pine and Gilmore suggest that in a world of increasing competition for leisure time, people are looking for strong experiences. They suggest that arts organizations can render such strong experiences if they stay true to themselves and express a strong identity outward.