Zócalo Public Square

The abstract, everywhere-and-nowhere space

of the “global art world” actually consists of thousands of local

artists and local arts organizations that are building bridges with

other localities by tapping into common human experiences. How

can local artists and arts organizations, especially those with limited

budgets, create these types of connections with localities

both near and far-flung? This was a crucial question of a keynote speech, “How Do the Arts Appeal to Local Crowds in a Globalized World?” delivered by The Asia Society’s vice president for global arts programming Boon Hui Tan at Zócalo/Irvine Foundation conference, “What Can the World Teach California About Arts Engagement?” on June 25, 2017 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

Arts organizations have crunched much data and spent many fortunes in search of new ways to engage younger people and those who previously did not spend much time at concerts or in galleries. Their cutting-edge strategies are about meeting people where they are, and delivering more of the arts they want. But does the public even know what it wants? Have all the investments in outreach, digital displays and technology produced results? Or are we learning that attracting audiences is itself less a science and more an art? These were some questions posed at a panel discussion, “What Does the Public Want From the Arts?” at a Zócalo /Irvine Foundation conference, “What Can the World Teach California About Arts Engagement?” Speakers on the panel included moderator Chris Jones, the chief theater critic for the Chicago Tribune; Randi Korn, founding director of museum planning specialists Randi Korn & Associates, Mexico City-based performing arts curator and consultant Cristina King Miranda, and Japanese American Cultural and Community Center president Leslie A. Ito.

The abstract, everywhere-and-nowhere space

of the “global art world” actually consists of thousands of local

artists and local arts organizations that are building bridges with

other localities by tapping into common human experiences. How

can local artists and arts organizations, especially those with limited

budgets, create these types of connections with localities

both near and far-flung? This was a crucial question of a keynote speech, “How Do the Arts Appeal to Local Crowds in a Globalized World?” delivered by The Asia Society’s vice president for global arts programming Boon Hui Tan at Zócalo/Irvine Foundation conference, “What Can the World Teach California About Arts Engagement?” on June 25, 2017 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

What is the nature of the relationship between embracing the arts and participating in the life of a community? When and under what circumstances do the arts bind people and places together—and when do they divide us? And what do we need from the arts at a moment when many people are more isolated, and our civic life more polarized? These questions were discussed during a panel, “Does Art Really Make Us Better Citizens?” at a Zócalo/Irvine Foundation conference, “What Can the World Teach California About Arts Engagement?” moderated by Suse Anderson, co-host of Museopunks and Assistant Professor of museum studies at George Washington University. The speakers included Middle East Institute Arts & Culture Program director Lyne Sneige; Arts and Humanities chair of Mexico’s Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Lerma, Luz María Sánchez; global arts consultant Gail Dexter Lord; and cultural historian and chair of Theatre at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Lynne Conner.

Where are the most creative ideas for pulling people into the arts, and into the lives of their nations, their cities and their neighborhoods? Which specific programs have attracted new audiences? Those questions were raised in a panel discussion on “How Is the Art World Innovating to Reach Broader Audiences?” at a Zócalo Public Square Conference titled “What Can the World Teach California About Arts Engagement?” on June 25, 2017 in downtown Los Angeles. Moderator Seth Porges, a technology writer and television personality, led the panel comprising New Orleans-based visual artist Brandan “BMike” Odums; Rosa Ferré, exhibitions chief at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona; and Berlin-based opera director Lydia Steier.

Where are the most creative ideas for pulling people into the arts, and into the lives of their nations, their cities and their neighborhoods? Which specific programs have attracted new audiences? Those questions were raised in a panel discussion on “How Is the Art World Innovating to Reach Broader Audiences?” at a Zócalo Public Square Conference titled “What Can the World Teach California About Arts Engagement?” on June 25, 2017 in downtown Los Angeles. Moderator Seth Porges, a technology writer and television personality, led the panel comprising New Orleans-based visual artist Brandan “BMike” Odums; Rosa Ferré, exhibitions chief at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona; and Berlin-based opera director Lydia Steier.

What is the nature of the relationship between embracing the arts and participating in the life of a community? When and under what circumstances do the arts bind people and places together—and when do they divide us? And what do we need from the arts at a moment when many people are more isolated, and our civic life more polarized? These questions were discussed during a panel, “Does Art Really Make Us Better Citizens?” at a Zócalo/Irvine Foundation conference, “What Can the World Teach California About Arts Engagement?” moderated by Suse Anderson, co-host of Museopunks and Assistant Professor of museum studies at George Washington University. The speakers included Middle East Institute Arts & Culture Program director Lyne Sneige; Arts and Humanities chair of Mexico’s Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Lerma, Luz María Sánchez; global arts consultant Gail Dexter Lord; and cultural historian and chair of Theatre at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Lynne Conner.

Some studies consistently have shown that attendance is declining for “benchmark” arts events, the kind that take place in concert halls and formal theaters and don’t ask audiences to do much more than show up, watch and listen, and applaud on cue. But, at the same time, a profusion of relatively inexpensive DIY digital technology is allowing millions of people to participate in the arts in new ways, by creating and curating their own cultural experiences. Will the net result encourage arts engagement or hinder it in the long run? Those and other questions were taken up by Steven Tepper dean of Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, and the author of Not Here, Not Now, Not That! Protest Over Art and Culture in America, during a Zócalo Public Sauare Conference titled “What Can the World Teach California About Arts Engagement?” on June 25, 2017 in downtown Los Angeles.

Some studies consistently have shown that attendance is declining for “benchmark” arts events, the kind that take place in concert halls and formal theaters and don’t ask audiences to do much more than show up, watch and listen, and applaud on cue. But, at the same time, a profusion of relatively inexpensive DIY digital technology is allowing millions of people to participate in the arts in new ways, by creating and curating their own cultural experiences. Will the net result encourage arts engagement or hinder it in the long run? Those and other questions were taken up by Steven Tepper dean of Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, and the author of Not Here, Not Now, Not That! Protest Over Art and Culture in America, during a Zócalo Public Sauare Conference titled “What Can the World Teach California About Arts Engagement?” on June 25, 2017 in downtown Los Angeles.

Even as digital technology has grown more sophisticated, accessible, and integral to our lives, social inequality has cast a deeper shadow across the United States in recent decades. Getting a quality education has become ever more essential for individual success and fulfillment. But can tech-enhanced education help break down—or perhaps even erase—our widening social divisions? That question was unpacked by a panel at a Zócalo/Arizona State University event titled “Can Digital Learning Dismantle the American Class System?” at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles. Moderator Goldie Blumenstyk, senior writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education, was joined by retired superintendent of the Coachella Valley Unified School District Darryl Adams, college provost at the University of Maryland University College Marie Cini, Arizona State University president Michael Crow, and Google chief education evangelist Jaime Casap to discuss how digital education can create connectivity and opportunities for people across social classes.