2020 has been and will continue to be notable for all but especially artists and arts institutions. Globally we are facing the uncomfortable realities of a pandemic that has brought the arts industries to their knees economically, particularly the performing arts. Demands for racial and social justice come with a reckoning for many arts institutions — for their own participation in the industrial model that creates inequity in hiring, programming, training, even foundation giving.

As a researcher, artist, academic and former managing director, I see 2020 as a year that is offering us, as an industry, a pause to rethink how to do our artistic work in more equitable, inclusive and relevant ways. To create clarity as we re-think institutional systems, it is important to turn to data about our own organizations as well as our audiences in order to become the relevant and vibrant institutions that all communities deserve. In this short article, I will connect information from the recent national survey by LaPlaca Cohen and Slover Linett, “Culture and Community in a Time of Crisis,” and emerging best business practices heralded by McKinsey and Co. as well as other thought leaders in the field.

Every 3 years LaPlaca Cohen publishes “Culture Track,” a survey of audiences in the United States. In a response to the massive digital pivot the arts sector took in March, LaPlaca Cohen and Slover Linett launched a special survey funded by The Wallace Foundation, The Barr Foundation and others that was distributed to audience members of arts institutions, cultural leaders, and a random, statistically relevant sampling of non-attenders. The final participant count was over 124,000 individuals. “Wave 1” findings were encouraging in some regards and sobering in others with respect to audiences. On a positive note, audiences and community members value the arts and believe that the arts can be a tool for healing during and after the pandemic. However, much as Collen Dillenschneider is finding in her “Intent to Visit” study, audiences are putting safety first. Not everyone will return when institutions are legally allowed to re-open. Some may never return in person. Others noted that digital opportunities let them re-engage after becoming home bound for non-covid health reasons. Encouragingly, digital formats also seem to reach those who previously did not attend: those identifying as BIPOC or those more broadly speaking who are in the younger generations (aka under 40). Thus, whatever might be contributing to non-attendance by more diverse audiences seems to be removed for some when allowed a digital entry.

Key findings of the study include:

a) Further data underscoring the fact that the arts and cultural sector has an inclusion problem.

b) 40% of households have had a reduction in income due to the pandemic. This impact is stronger for BIPOC individuals and households and for those under 55 (Gen Z particularly hard hit).
c) Perhaps out of an increased feeling of boredom, disconnection, or worry individuals are investigating organizations that they did not know about or participate with prior to the pandemic.
d) 53% participated in digital arts and culture post-quarantine. For some it helped them feel connected to the outside world, but many others used digital pathways to find activities for their children.

e) Very few are paying for digital experiences.
f) Many participated digitally in institutions or areas they had never participated with before.

The study concludes with 4 noteworthy pieces of advice moving forward:

a) Put Safety First.
b) Lead with Empathy
c) Include the Previously Excluded
d) Build a Digital Bridge to the Future

Putting safety first particularly aligns with Dillenschneider’s findings — there is a subdued intent to return by many previous audience members due to rebounding outbreaks of the Covid-19 virus. But for those who plan to return, safety is their first consideration before re-entering your doors. In fact, they would simply prefer that it be outside and that masks be required. For those who are hesitant to return, the only way to connect will be digitally. This is an opportunity to include the previously excluded, but you must do so with empathy and an emphasis on listening — not telling.

So, how do businesses plan for a future that includes these changes?

For arts institutions that want to adapt to thrive post-pandemic and to address the findings by Culture Track, I would recommend following McKinsey & Company’s work. A recent study “From Surviving to Thriving: Re-imaging the Post-Covid-19 Return,” offers excellent guidelines with a lovely acronym: SHAPE.

• Use a Start-up mindset. This addresses your institution’s agility. Have daily team check-ins, weekly CEO Q&A’s, bi-weekly reviews. Shorter but faster turnarounds are the key.

• Put Humans at the core. This is about staff and artists at institutions. Rethink your operating model so that it serves how people work best — not always what seems to be the “most efficient.” Be open and transparent in communications.

• Accelerate digital, tech and analytics. You’ve expanded digital, now use analytics to be strategic and use what works while pivoting what doesn’t. There are some great tools for tech with suggestions by M+R Strategies.

• Be Purpose-driven with your customer feedback. Companies need to understand what customers value and develop experiences that meet those needs.

• Create an adaptive Ecosystem. A business ecosystem needs to be adaptive such that allows for non-traditional partnerships and other strategies to adapt to changing supply-chains and behaviors.

When combining these business practices with findings from Culture Track, hopefully you can see opportunities and overlaps. To address the digital and social change desired and needed, arts institutions must become more like a start-up. They need to listen to staff, artists and customers and determine what is valued by each. Moving in a more adaptive, agile manner will allow for pivots to new ideas and models that meet the changing social and technical environment that will greet arts managers when a new new-normal is back in 2021 (fingers-crossed).