A Nordic Conference on Extending Audience Engagement and Artistic Partnerships

In this first conference of a series of Nordic Conferences Audiences Norway invites artists, artistic directors, curators, producers, learning managers, communication managers, cultural architects and strategists to join forces and investigate how new forms of collaboration and new partnerships can lead to increased participation and engagement in the arts.

The conference series is supported by Nordic Culture Point and is a collaboration between Bergen International Festival (NO), SNYK (DK), RANK (SE), KOP (Network for Art and Audiences in Sweden), Culture for All (FI), Visit Reykjavik (IS), Center for Art and Interculture (DK), Audience Europe Network’s programme “Extending the Margins” and Audiences Norway.

The main days of the conference are Tuesday 31 May and Wednesday 1 June but delegates can enjoy a packed Monday 30 May with a drop in concert, a city walk in the afternoon, welcome reception and a possibility to enjoy the programme of Bergen International Festival in the evening. The Festival Lounge at Logen Bar is open for those who want to keep mingling.

Tuesday 31 May 2011 starts at 09.30 and the plenary session before lunch will seek to set the agenda and wider context for Arts and Audiences in the Nordic countries.  After lunch, speakers of a broad spectrum will be invited to reflect on the three main focuses of the conference that will be divided into three In-depth sections:

In-depth: New ways of engagement

Prompted by dramatic changes and challenges in society, particularly politically and technologically, this section will invite specialists in different forms for engagement to share insights and ideas. The specialists will be artists, directors and communicators from the fields of social media, PR and learning.

In-depth: Visual art and contemporary music

This year’s conference has chosen the two art forms visual art and contemporary music as a special topic. From an artistic point of view there are great possibilities in bridging new/experimental music and sound art, installation and multimedia art where sound is the main element. From an audience development perspective it is strongly believed that new artistic partnerships have a potential of increasing audience engagement and may attract new audiences. This section will investigate and inspire these possibilities by inviting artists, curators and producers to discuss and present opportunities for future local, national and international partnerships.

In-depth: The arts of leadership

In its broadest sense audience development is about organisational development. To meet the challenges of rapid changes, organisational structures and the quest for constant relevance, what arts of leadership do we need in our cultural organisations?  This section will present perspectives that apply to both small and large-scale organisations. Leading practitioners and academics combined with current theory and best practise will seek to pose important questions and suggest possible strategies.

Wednesday 1 June 2011 also starts at 09.30. Building on the three sections from the day before the day will start with a short summary in plenary. You will then be invited to select a breakout session inspired by the over all topic of the conference Arts and Audiences. The programme will be finished at 12.00 with a plenary closing session. Lunch is optional. At 14.00 there will be possibility for a boat trip for those who want to stay for the evening’s performances.