Arts Funders Forum Virtual Charrette Series #1: Technology
AFF Remake the Model #1 speakers, clockwise: Sean McManus, Holly Shen, Melissa Cowley Wolf, Jennie Lamensdorf, Steve Locke, Patton Hindle.
More than 300 members of the Arts Funders Forum community joined the launch of our virtual charrette series on April 29. Along with Patton Hindle, Head of Arts, Kickstarter, Jennie Lamensdorf, Bay Area Lead, Art Department, Facebook, Steve Locke, visual artist, and Holly Shen, Deputy Director, San Jose Museum of Art, we discussed leveraging technology to drive innovation and reinvention in arts funding.
The full discussion is available on YouTube here.
We are calling this a charrette because by definition, a charrette “aims to resolve problems and map solutions.” Our aim is a series of white board sessions, where this community develops actual solutions to the challenges facing us right now, and determines how we can best implement those solutions. We at AFF have heard the questions that need to be asked, and identified innovators in the cultural sector that can share examples of how things are changing to prompt community discussion.
As AFF co-founder Sean McManus said, “Many of the trends that were underway before the pandemic have now taken on extreme urgency, and we must work collectively to reinvent the models for arts philanthropy that will enable the cultural sector to radically reinvent itself and come out even stronger on the other side.”
AFF is designing the series to address a number of the urgent issues facing the sector, including: ethical philanthropy, the arts and social justice, assessing impact, and driving meaningful partnerships. The series launched with one of the most pertinent topics facing us in this crisis: how to leverage technology to remake models for arts funding that will engage the next generation of philanthropists.
Here are five solution-oriented takeaways from the April 29 event:
Technology is a mechanism for delivering cultural content, but should also support storytelling and education to express the value of the arts to a wider audience — especially during such a critical and captive moment.
Grassroots fundraising via tech platforms will democratize cultural philanthropy in the long term. This is the time to think about cultivating smaller donors who can not only make a significant collective impact in the short term, but also develop into larger donors over time.
Cultural institutions should look to lessons from other industries to inform monetization on digital channels. The media industry's painful transition to paywalls and sustainable business models can provide useful insights.
Creative partnerships are more crucial than ever before. Digital platforms can be leveraged for collaborations to reach a wider audience, and artists and institutions should look to funders and foundations that are focused on social impact broadly to make a case for their value.
Consumers of artistic content and corporations who can afford it, need to step up during this challenging time and support the artists and institutions who are helping communities to heal and thrive during this crisis. Don't wait for government... especially not now.
