For artists and arts providers, the need and desire to make, produce, perform, exhibit, present or write art is equaled only by the need and desire to connect that art with an audience.   No artist or arts provider is committed to making work for no one to see. All arts providers want and need people to engage and participate in their artistic process and products in a meaningful way. It follows, then, that the most meaningful relationships artists and arts providers have on every level begin with their audience relationships. It is fair to say that growing a body of work and the resource base and means to support that work is proportionate to the ability to grow the audience. Therefore, key to growing audiences is understanding that increasing and enhancing audience connection must be a whole organizational commitment and process and not an isolated project or activity pursued by marketing or outreach departments alone.

So, what does it mean to increase and enhance arts participation? The desire to build audiences is a given, but increasing numbers alone is not enough. It’s the quality and richness of the experience and the special sense of surprise, discovery and learning that truly engage audiences. When we refer to increasing and enhancing audiences, we mean: deepening involvement by those who already participate in some fashion; broadening involvement to include those who, for whatever reasons, participate minimally or not at all; and diversifying participation. Diversifying means first: diversifying the experiences of those already engaged so they may experience and enjoy a greater range of arts expression and content; and second: diversifying with the hope of becoming as inclusive and representative of a given community’s culture, age, race and ethnicity as appropriate and possible.

We believe that arts participation includes any deliberate, active involvement in art and culture.   This is not only fundamental but a core value and working definition. That is, we believe that any purposeful activity, whether attending a performance or taking a writing class, is arts participation. Each and every point of intersection and connection with the arts has value. Consequently, arts participation should include as many points of entry and connection as possible.