How collaboration makes us all stronger
Most people immediately realize how critical collaboration is in the arts. We’d be nothing without cooperative colleagues working together within an organization to put on the play, the concert, or the exhibit. But what about collaboration with people outside our walls – and I mean beyond a co-production. I’d argue that it’s just as important.
I’m so grateful to be a part of a nationwide network of arts marketers who bounce ideas of each other, share resources, and check in with each other from time to time. In addition to that informal network, I’ve been fortunate to be a part of some local collectives as well.
I was welcomed into the Los Angeles area arts marketing group during stints as interim marketing director at two different Southern California theaters. It was such a positive experience that I started a similar group in Central Massachusetts, where I serve as the fractional marketing director for Music Worcester, a classical music presenter.
These groups have been immensely useful over the years. They’ve made me a better marketer, and they’ve made the organizations I was working with at the time stronger.
But wait, how can we be collaborative with other companies in our area when we’re also competing against each other? After all, we are promoting our events to many of the same potential audience members. We might even have events on the same day. Ultimately, our primary responsibility is to our own organization, but that doesn’t mean that a healthy dose of working together can’t benefit us all.
Here’s why
One or two arts organizations in an area is a novelty. But a healthy arts landscape, made up of a diverse and robust set of options, does so much more. Here’s what a strong arts scene can do:
Attract more great artists, technicians, and administrators to your area because of the professional opportunities
Foster a culture where attending the arts is the norm, not the exception, making it easier for everyone to sell tickets to their events
Attract tourists, providing a boost to even more sectors of the local economy
Welcome the next generation of audiences through field trips and other school programs
Build a case for support from local government, businesses, and foundations
Produce a vibrant community that attracts people who want to live and work in the area
And that’s just a start of a much longer list of advantages to having a thriving arts scene in your community. Working together helps us get there because it makes all of us stronger.
Together, we can pass on our own learnings so that others don’t have to learn the hard way and we can pool resources to get exposure beyond what any of us could do individually. It provides an opportunity to share recommendations on vendors and partners. With each of us sharing information about what’s happening in our own organizations, we can identify local trends, which can point us in the right direction. We come brainstormers, thought partners, and inspiration for each other.
Collaboration can save us time and save us money – two things I know none of us have enough of. Plus, if there is a challenge that no one has figured out an answer to yet, we come away knowing that we’re not alone – and that alone can be immeasurably useful some days.
What’s Next
If you’re an arts marketer in Central Massachusetts, let me know! I’d love to welcome you to our little group. If you’re elsewhere, find or build a community in your area. And if you’d like a quick pick-me-up, check out my love letter to arts marketers from a few Valentines Days ago.