We lead a workshop entitled Building Public Engagement in the Arts in Fredericton (NB) on March 30, 2009, at the invitation of the Canada Council for the Arts, Heritage Canada, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the New Brunswick Ministry of Culture and the New Brunswick Arts Council. More than 20 arts organizations participated in the day-long workshop. It started off with a presentation of the RAND Model for Building Participation in the Arts and was followed by a practical introduction to identifying potential audience members, reaching out and retaining them, based on 50 Carleton’s Integrated Audience Development strategy . Although most arts organizations recognize that they must get involved in audience development, quite a few of them are torn between that recognition and their daily reality (being overworked and underfunded). We recommended that arts organizations raise the issue with their Board of Directors and members to determine if there were volunteers who could support staff with audience development activities. We also suggested that they start with one activity (ex.: updating an e-mail list). Soon enough, they’ll find out that one activity will inevitably lead to another.       

Denis Bertrand