While the conference has become a fond memory, the truly important lessons learned and a new arts community of practice remain. The following are the top 10 ideas that emerged from the NTC14 as applicable to the arts:
Leveraging the Potential of Spatial Data in Artistic Programming
Spatial data--information that relates to or identifies a specific geographic location--are frequently used by the corporate and public sectors to make management decisions, be it to improve shipping logistics or to create a marketing campaign. They can also be an asset for arts organizations seeking to maximize program impact. To better understand how spatial data analysis can help arts organizations, AMTLab presents Using Spatial Data to Advance Programming Missions, the latest white paper in its publication series on management.
Research Update: How to Do an Online Exhibition – Reviewing Award Criteria
If you have an idea about developing an online exhibition for your organization, but aren’t exactly sure how to get from point A to point B, looking at award evaluation criteria is a good place to start. Regardless of whether a project will be designed to win a certain prize, award evaluation criteria provide insight on what is considered by the field to be good practice, and shed insight on the narrative possibilities that are unique to the web.
Present vs. Future Return on CRM Selection: Lessons from the Pallas Theatre Collective
When adopting a CRM system, especially as a young organization, it is often better to enter the process with a view that focuses less on the expectation of immediate business returns and more on making an investment in the future. Indeed, even the implementation of a user-friendly system like Artful.ly or PatronManager will likely involve significant staff-hours to clean data, transfer files, and train users. During a recent series of interviews conducted with nano-nonprofit administrators either on the verge or in the midst of CRM implementation, ensuring that this huge productivity drain is a one-time occurrence and not a recurring nightmare emerged as a common concern.
Increasing Inclusion Through Assistive Technology
As performing arts organizations strive to increase diversity among their audiences, assistive technologies provide an opportunity to create more inclusive environments. But what is assistive technology? How do arts organizations currently use it? What is preventing organizations from providing assistive technologies in their venues? Where can organizations find support? Assistive Technology in Performing Arts Organizations, the latest paper in the AMTLab publication series, addresses these and other questions, and presents findings from a national survey of arts organizations on the use and management of assistive technologies.
MOOCs for Arts Managers
What Are They Thinking? Using Online Assessment Tools to Improve Board Behavior
Many arts organizations want to improve the functionality of their boards. But it is impossible to know areas of board strength and weakness if the experiences and efforts of board members are not understood. Whether feedback is gathered from an online assessment, an electronic survey, or both, the resulting information can be compiled and shared at both the next Board meeting and on the Board portal, potentially sparking a candid and engaged discussion about the optimum path toward improving board engagement, motivation, and performance.
Brave New World: Symphony Orchestras & Online Experiences
Just what is an online audience? How does it differ from an offline audience? How does participating in the arts through electronic media and online channels relate to the attendance of arts events? Moreover, exactly what (and how) are symphony orchestras using these digital technologies to engage with individuals around the world?
Utilize Both Computer Software and Online Technology to Deepen and Grow Board Engagement
It is difficult for board members to connect with the activities of the organization merely by attending quarterly meetings in sterile rooms. How can the passion that brought board members to the organization be reinforced if they are not directly (or even indirectly) experiencing the impact of the organization’s activities? Software specifically designed for board management is a growing market with the potential to address board engagement through unique and pervasive methods.
Technology and Social Media in Crowdsourced Exhibition
In recent years, crowdsourcing has become an increasingly familiar concept implemented by multiple arts organizations to develop and engage audiences. Examples include “Click! A Crowd sourced Exhibition” (Brooklyn Museum, 2008), “Soapbox!” (Museum of Photographic Art, 2013), “Boston Loves Impressionism” (Museum of Fine Art Boston, 2014), and “People Choice”(Gibbes Museum of Art).
What's a MOOC?
AMTLab Reader Poll: Sound Familiar...or All Wrong?
Three questions, three wishes...and a three-way tie. As AMTLab prepares to close its 2014 Reader Poll at the end of the week, we're in a dead heat for the topics of most interest to our readers.
Frustrated by Managing Multiple Social Media Channels? Buffer It!
Creating a Data-Informed Culture: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Leading for the Future
Many arts organizations also want to develop a data-informed culture, but are unsure how to begin. The case of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater demonstrates that by clearly articulating overarching organizational goals, technology and the data that it collects can be leveraged as valuable information to move your arts organization toward success.
Artful.ly Unchained: Have Nano-Nonprofits Found the CRM of Their Dreams?
On October 21st, 2013, Fractured Atlas officially ended the beta phase of their cloud-based CRM solution, Arful.ly. Over 1,400 organizations participated in this five-year process, characterized by what the Fractured Atlas team called “community-driven design.” Harnessing the collective wisdom of organizations and arts professionals, they took suggestions both online and through a number of sessions, soliciting ideas for features to include in the finished version.
Research Update: How to Do an Online Exhibition?
The ArtProject is a collaboration between Google and numerous cultural institutions, with Google providing an enormous amount of technological resources and human expertise behind the project, The WebMuseum, on the other hand, is reminiscent of an DIY era, “No support, no funding, no manpower: the WebMuseum is a collaborative work of its visitors contributing to expand and improve the WebMuseum.” It’s interesting to note that the crowdsourcing component remains a constant, even if the ArtProject tackles it in a much more structured, or even curated, way.
The Magic of Three: AMTLab Reader Poll
CMU School of Music Tries Tweet Seats
On January 26, 2014, Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music offered a little something extra to its audience both in Pittsburgh and afar: tweet seats. Last summer I wrote an article about tweet seats that provides an overview of decisions that need to be made before implementing this heavily debated audience engagement technique. With this advice in mind, the School of Music set out to define how and why tweet seats might be a good idea for live concerts.
LACMA Revives 1967 Art +Technology Initiative
Research update: Social Media Monitoring Software
In the early 2000s, nonprofit organizations asked themselves, “Why should we start using social media?” A decade later, the question now is, “How can we best use social media?” Let’s begin by exploring the ability of social media monitoring software to help carry out the social media efforts of an organization effectively and efficiently.