At last month’s Delaware Arts Summit, Randy Cohen of Americans for the Arts urged local arts groups to increase their community engagement efforts to develop new audiences.
At least one First State organization took notice.
The Delaware Art Museum has announced it will launch a new programming series next year and they’re looking to the community to help develop the agenda.
On Wednesday, the museum is hosting an Open House for their “Connected” series. Proposed events can include all types of creative activities. The short list could include dance and theater performances, mixed and new media, tours and talks, music, and cinema but all ideas are welcome.
Spokesperson Jessica Jenkins says a recent hip hop festival which tied into the museum’s “Dream Streets” exhibition is a good example of programming designed to attract a new audience.
The event drew approximately 2000 people to the museum.
“We had a really engaging diverse crowd and a lot of people that showed up to this free event for the first time,” she says. “We had a lot of people in the galleries; a lot of people looking at the show and a lot of positive feedback, so this is one of the reasons why we are beginning with the “Connected” series because we want to continue that trend and that connectivity to the community.”
Jenkins adds museum officials understand the need to broaden their scope.
“As a 103 year-old art organization it takes us some thinking outside of the box in order to make sure that we are relevant to today’s society,” she says. “We are tasked in our push to think of new programming, new events and new exhibitions and now we’re just bringing people into that fold who are in our surrounding community.”
The Delaware Art Museum will host an Open House Wednesday at 5:30 pm where people can brainstorm, network, and propose ideas for the 2016 program launch.
This piece is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
