Guest blog by Andrew Palmer
Why did the artist cross the road…? (opinion)
I was asked to submit this blog in response to my scathing call to arms in the comments on Laura Wellington’s blog on the 28th of September. Let me say from the outset that I agree 100% with what Laura wrote, in this piece I will expand on the need to understand your audience.
First, a little about me. I am not an artist, a videographer nor a musician. I can neither play an instrument or draw an apple. I am a business person. My thoughts, feelings and actions are built in logic, not creativity. It’s my experience that all the talent in world gets nowhere without a bit of political and business knowledge. I have not the heart to follow a dream but at least the sense to know what risks to take.
And there in lies our first challenge. A performer may recite Shakespeare but knows very little of balance sheets. If the readers of this blog are to expand culture across this city, beyond the readership of arty magazines, they need to understand their market.
So who is Leeds Culture? Who is ‘our market’? Leeds is a very young city. History books may tell you that it dates back centuries, but the towering modern apartment blocks, new shopping centres and thriving business districts tell a different story. Instead Leeds culture is the universe just after a big bang. All the pieces of a wonderful metropolis fragmented and waiting to be pulled together. Where as you recognise a Manc or a Cockney, you’d be hard pressed to distinguish a Leeds identity. Is it the carnival of Chapeltown? The suits of Park Square?or the numerous housing estates of families from all religions of the world?
And so how can we with our ballet performances and drum & base recitals expect to appeal to these, and indeed draw an audience? You are after-all competing with the internet, mobile phones and empty wallets for attention to build a community of Leeds.
The good news is that people want to listen just as much as artists want to be admired. Only in a world where pop culture is in their pocket, they have lost to mobility to go and find something to listen to. This means the emphasis is on YOU to go and find them.
There have been some great examples recently, The Quarry Hill Festival and the Northern Ballet on Briggate to cite just two. But you don’t need corporate backing or a National Lottery grant to get you started. Be resourceful, be creative (!) get out there and perform. Buskers do it everyday of the week so why can’t you? You know the words of Shakespeare, all the worlds a stage, so why are you suddenly limiting your performance to one?
Live street performances are the most thrilling that you can have and the best way to get your work publicised. You’re not busking, just put up a sign with your website, Facebook or twitter and the audience will enjoy, remember and follow.
If you suffer from agoraphobia, that is no excuse! Organise a poetry slam or recital in your local cafe or school. Either would appreciate the ambience that you provide. They may even reward you with a cup of tea, but the publicity you gain will be worth much more. And remember, every performance is another chance to practice, if your voice can carry to the other end of the street it will have no problem reaching the back of the upper balcony.
Finally, one guiding principal of business and economics is that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and that is true of street art. Yes please check with the council before you erect a bandstand in the Light, but more than that be open to rejection and be prepared to suffer for your art. Get off your ‘artistic high horse’ and appreciate that a bit of x-factor is easier for the masses to relate to, no matter how much it goes against your cultural principals. Sometimes even the English National Ballet have to do a couple of Nutcracker suites so they can afford to do some Gershwin.
So, why did the artist cross the road? To get to their audience!
Do you agree with Andrew? Perhaps you know of interesting and successful examples of building relationships with new audiences and it hasn’t grabbed Andrew’s attention yet. And what is the responsibility of the audience to find out what’s happening? Are all sectors just having conversations with themselves?