Clay Shirky speaks at the Smithsonian (courtesy of taoboy)
After several weeks of doing some online research/surfing/bumming around and asking friends (like the ultra intelligent Kevin Lim), I managed to get a handle (well partially) on what’s happening for social media in the museum world. Here’s what I found after some digging around:
First is the discovery of a blog aggregator for museums around the world called (surprise surprise) Museum Blogs! Believe it or not, there are now some 331 museums blogs (at least those which are captured here) around the world. I am glad to see that our dearly beloved Yesterday.sg is there too! Yay.
There is an underlying tension in the field of cultural management where one has to balance between giving customers what they want and preserving artistic integrity. This is especially prevalent in what we term as the ‘high arts’ like classical music, ballet, theatre and museums.
Against the ever growing competition from lifestyle activities coupled with the ever shrinking discretionary time of today’s consumers, it appears suicidal for art organisations to hold their ground for the sake of their art. Considered by many to be a discretionary expense (compared to purchasing groceries, fuel and homes), cultural activities have never faced such tremendous competition as the present age.
Last week, my family came over to Melbourne during the Easter vacation period and we had a great time discovering different parts of the colourful city together.
We opted for a slightly different itinerary this time around (its the second trip for my family), exploring neighbourhoods that were slightly off the beaten tourist track and enjoying what typical Melburnians would like.
One of the things which truly impressed me about the University of Melbourne was how active its various student organisations are. I do receive daily emails and notices in my student email about various causes to support, talks to attend, concerts to participate in, and groups to join in. Some of the student ECA groups even have job descriptions inked on their websites, complete with the mandatory hours and duties that you need to fulfill.
Whenever I walk around the campus – either en route to the library for studying or the cafeteria for lunch – I notice that there is a constant hive of activity generated by various student clubs, societies and associations. Apparently, there never is a dull moment here. Having gone out of the education system for quite a while, it was interesting to see how various causes were so actively and passionately lobbied by these idealistic youths.
Last Friday, a couple of us decided to walk to campus to check out the night market organised by various student groups. Apparently, this was an annual activity pitched at raising funds for the various societies and clubs.
Melbourne’s Town Hall shakes off its sobriety to host the comedy festival
Humour is huge in Melbourne, especially when the Melbourne International Comedy Festival hits home. Launched in 1987 by Barry Humphries and Peter Cook, this massive celebration of mirth is apparently the largest cultural event in Australia with close to 400,000 attendees each year.
Some of the show venues were huge, like this hall here hosting headlining international acts
Set in 1939, Ron Hutchinson’sMoonlight and Magnolias is a comedic take on what could possibly be the true behind-the-scenes story of the making of Gone With the Wind. The premise goes like this: David O. Selznick has only five days to salvage the production of Margaret Mitchell’s bestselling novel while losing up to $50,000 a day. He enlists script guru Ben Hecht and fast rising director Victor Fleming to accomplish the task, locking them and himself in his office with only peanuts and bananas for sustenance.
Premiering at the Playhouse of the Art Centre, Melbourne Theatre Company’s production is helmed by veteran film director Bruce Beresford of academy award winning Driving Miss Daisy and Black Robe fame. Heavy on laugh-a-minute slapstick with a dash of social satire, Beresford’s tightly directed comedy benefits from the close chemistry and polished performance of the leads.
Playing main protagonist Selznick, Patrick Brammall’s energy and intensity portrays a man on a relentless mission, while Stephen Lovatt exudes the air of machismo characteristic of swaggering director Victor Fleming. Nicholas Hammond shines as cynical and calculating scriptwriter Ben Hecht, while Marg Downey’s portrays Selznick’s unflappable secretary Miss Poppenghul.
Opening on an energetic note, the production delivers memorable wisecracks and sharp repartees sprinkled with occasional physical humour. One could sense Selznick’s increasing desperation as reluctant conspirators Hecht and Fleming start bawling like kindergarten kids, and the cross-gender acting by Brammall and Lovatt scores high on hilarity. Towards the end, a distinct moral undertone could be detected as Hecht starts pontificating about racial rights while Fleming vows never to go back to his chauffeuring days.
Praise must also go to Shaun Gurton for costume and stage design, while Nigel Levings provide his expertise in the lighting design. Their painstaking attention to detail lends an air of authenticity in the recreation of a studio office set in 1930s America.
Being an avid runner, I often jog around the Parkville and Carlton areas near my university campus and chance upon street art along various walls, pavements and fences. Some of the air-brushed displays are aesthetically beautifully and probably the result of considerable and painstaking effort to create enduring works of art. Surprisingly, I don’t see that many acts of graffiti which are overtly anti-establishment or vandalistic in nature (or perhaps I haven’t been to those neighbourhoods yet).
While musing on this phenomenon, I chanced upon this interesting article by Mark Holsworth who reported on how several merchants in the Brunswick suburb of Melbourne (just a stone’s throw away from where I am putting up at Carlton) have engaged street artists to decorate their shopfronts. Holsworth highlighted two examples of this could be done tastefully. The first is a convenience store located at the Lygon/Brunswick area:
Happening over 17 days, the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival comprises some 200 feasting events and activities held over multiple venues both within Melbourne City itself as well as the Victoria region. Attracting about 300,000 guests annually, this annual culinary celebration covers a wide range of gastronomic experiences – from wine tasting, dessert sampling, and talks by celebrity Michelin star-studded chefs, to elaborate breakfasts, lunches, teas and dinners. In a city renowned for its fabulous festivals (I’ve been here three weeks and already experienced three different mega-events!), the Food & Wine is considered by many to be a must-eat experience for conoisseurs of any affiliation.
At the kind invitation of the nice folks from Tourism Victoria, I had the rare privilege of participating in the marquee event of the occasion called the World’s Longest Lunch. With an estimated 160 tables lined up along the Crown Riverside on the Yarra River, the lunch serving more than 1,200 guests was an eating (and drinking) extravaganza of epic proportions! Apparently, the three-hour Italian inspired dining event was fully booked many days before it occurred.
Here’s a pictorial account of my experience this afternoon. Buono appetito!
One of the greatest challenges facing communicators and marketers in the arts is the balance between satisfying artistic input and commercial (or public) interest.
How does one reach out to new customers and audiences without diluting one’s craft? Should we be setting the agenda and pushing the envelope in terms of experimenting with new art forms? Or should we cater to the most mass of markets and stick to what everybody likes to see, hear or experience?
According to some academics, the arts should be kept pure and undiluted from the transgressions of the commercial world. Artists, curators, musicians and dancers should exist in their own little bubble of creative experimentation, oblivious to the grind of dollars and cents while dreaming up that next original work of genius.
The role of marketers would then be that of publicists helping to generate the greatest amount of buzz, media coverage and advertising effectiveness. Visitors and audiences should thus be attracted towards their artistic inspirations in an organic fashion.
This is what has been termed as being “product focused”. Build it and they will come. Or arts for arts sake.
