My goodness.  I spent hours going through my tweets and attempting to narrow each category down.  There were so many fabulous audience development tweets, this was not an easy task.  However, I was able to narrow to the best of my ability.  I wanted to use this blog as a place where you could refer back for some of the best ideas of 2009, so I didn’t narrow down to a best 3 or 5.

I can honestly say that I believe what follows were the best  tweets on audience development for 2009.  On Friday, I will announce the winners of each category.

Please do me a favor and post a comment.  What would you would vote for?   These are not easy decisions, especially since I know there was a great deal of heart and soul involved with each idea, discussion, etc.

So without further ado….

Audience Participation
The nominees are:

• Fabulous! @davidsrebnik Vote for your favorite new piece. Last chance today: Digital- Composer-in-Residence http://tinyurl.com/yhyvtyk

• Audience development genius of the day – Audience plays ‘Bingo’ right along with the cast http://bit.ly/1EMb1I

• Audience participation! …Oleanna Will Allow Audiences to “Take a Side” Following Broadway Previews http://bit.ly/16Ibkb

• This could be genus of the day…Tony Winner Jbara Hosts Kids’ Night on Broadway ‘Town Hall Meeting’ Event 9/15 http://bit.ly/pcyct

• Audience development genius of the day: http://www.talklikeshakespeare.org/ – Chicago Shakespeare Theater

• “Confessions of a First-Time Operagoer” host rings up big role http://bit.ly/hLuUQ – Seattle Opera

• How did I miss this link? I’m voting! RT @cincinnatiopera We are at exactly 5,000 Opera Idol votes! http://ow.ly/griC

• SF Ballet Magical Memories Nutcracker Video Contest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks2hD2u9fX0

Best Collaborations
The nominees are:

• Another way to collaborate with your library! … Listen to past City Arts & Lectures programs http://bit.ly/V40LN

• Interesting collaboration! …The Harley-Davidson Museum and MIAD Partner to Retool the Art and Design of Helmets http://bit.ly/1xKAvc

• Collaboration galas – great idea!!! Especially if you have a crosslist of donors. Costs are shared http://bit.ly/MvCYg

• Check out a culture pass at the library – audience development genius of the day: http://tinyurl.com/d8ox4c

• Atlanta Art à la Carte offers family performance discounts http://bit.ly/3dA9iV

Best Festivals
The nominees are:

• When it comes to music, just remember the passion…Columbia University 10-day classical music and opera binge http://bit.ly/1m6rzf

• I call it enthusiasm…Kennedy Center president says ArtPrize has built what non-profit arts needs: Excitement http://bit.ly/4Gb9t

• Still hoping that there will be more of these types of events happening – ‘Culture Olympics’ open in South Korea http://bit.ly/X0irm

Best Use of Going Informal
The nominees are:

• Love it! @palmbeachopera open mojito, prosecco, and wine bar with hor’s doeuvre by a celebrity chef for $25 http://bit.ly/3TXnkr

• New, informal Cleveland Orchestra series packs the house http://bit.ly/kTdPI

• Art gallery, nightclub vibe emerges at theater http://bit.ly/1RgNHM

Best New Programs
The nominees are:

• Been waiting for someone to try this! RT @HouGrandOpera Going to the opera alone? Join the HGO Meet-up group! http://bit.ly/J1Vy8

• Act Theatre goes for ‘Netflix’ payment option http://bit.ly/gjOBm

• Audience Development Genius of the day! “Internship: Summer Family Programs Volunteer Internship” http://bit.ly/btSveA

• In case you missed this…Bringing ‘Nutcracker’ alive for blind people http://bit.ly/8MPvzI

• Audience development genius of the day: http://tinyurl.com/c7qmr7 chip in to pay for tickets

Best Discussions
The nominees are:

• Seems like a reply from Kaiser to last week’s discussion on catch 22…Are We Forgetting the Mission of the Arts? http://bit.ly/5ArH5d

• Does the price of a ticket keep you from attending classical music concerts? http://bit.ly/7UsGRz

• Disability 101 — Our audience: who is listening? http://bit.ly/9pkdbp

• RT @stagedirections Part of a boo-ed speech from @StolenChairTC: “I don’t want to be a charity.” http://bit.ly/1wz44K

• The arts and change, Oregon Ballet Theatre edition http://bit.ly/n9Sto

• Young audiences and the future of fim and tv …Tomorrow’s hit movies won’t rely on stars or studios, film forum told http://bit.ly/am5sN

• The quest to save classical music and opera http://bit.ly/ayuQC

• Very cool conversation – transcript of live discussion for “New Ways for Arts Organizations to Finance Their Operations” http://bit.ly/btxXLm

• He’s not talking about marketing, he’s talking about audience development http://tinyurl.com/d5yfw9

• New Honesty: A symphony telling the public the real facts! …Backstage: Symphony ticket prices in line with other events http://bit.ly/2OngVA

Best “Arts Make a Difference”
The nominees are:

• Proving once again the arts help local economy! Durham’s arts center earns $400K for city in first eight months http://bit.ly/2wXCy8

• Exciting!…Playing For Change & eTown – Live Show: Sunday, Nov 08, 2009,7:30 pm,Location:Paramount Theatre http://bit.ly/2eSbcn

• The arts heal us! RT @lizajlee 17-year old girl recovers from cancer through art as therapy  one example: http://bit.ly/9JF0U5

• Audience Development genius of the day! Like Art? You’ll Love Our Condos…http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/realestate/10posting.html

• RT@cincinnatiopera @EmcArts @spokanesymphony Arts helped save psyche in Great Depression. http://bit.ly/Bjd8x

• Chester school thrives with focus on the arts http://bit.ly/cnVVjD

Best Audience Development Quotes
The nominees are:

• “There is a fundamental change happening in our lives. There’s a sense that we have an old way of defining participating in the arts and that the public is redefining what participation means,” Rosen said. “The challenge for us is to see where the public is and engage with them and adapt.” Jesse Rosen, president and CEO of the League of American Orchestras http://bit.ly/4re6E2

• “The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it.  Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation. ”
  Michelle Obama http://tinyurl.com/qfvhd2

• “It becomes an active listening experience [for the audience] when you’re allowed to stand up or clap your hands,” Music Director Marin Alsop, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra http://bit.ly/5YfguZ

• “We all need the occasional reminder that there is nothing like the power of art to destroy artificial barriers of race and doctrine” ‘Opera Goes to Church’ a moving experience http://bit.ly/4uvL8Y

• Love this quote from the he(art) article: “Art has changed the way I look at things in the world. That change is profound and forever,” Buster Medeiros – Gotta have he(art) A hospital’s painting class places the focus on abilities, not disabilities http://bit.ly/1dK8Xo

• Storytellers enchant audiences http://bit.ly/4wm4rg “The most important part of the story, is the listener’s imagination,” storyteller Beth Horner

• From the Archive: Bronx Street Art “The Bronx may have been burning, and city budgets busted, yet En Foco embraced the idea that the arts were not a luxury, but a necessary part of life — perhaps even more so in tough times. ” http://bit.ly/HaN4j

• “When you look at the realities of audiences, of marketing, of trying to fill a large hall, then it becomes obvious quickly that the best way to reinvest the resources you have is through collaborating with other groups.” Tim Sharp, Artistic Director Tulsa Oratorio Chorus
  http://bit.ly/ZWjf5

• “I filled the house purely based on Facebook,” says da Cunha, one of the founders of Rage Productions.http://tinyurl.com/nk46hc “Mentally, we were all being too lazy. Let’s not market in the traditional way any longer with an advertisement… Students may not get the paper, but they will be on the Internet…We’re mentally starting to seek new ways to get out there because if we continue with the old way of marketing, then we will die,” da Cunha (Rahul da Cunha)

Best Audience Development Studies
The nominees are:

• Engaging Audiences – Wallace Foundation http://bit.ly/16e7S

• Arts Participation 2008: Highlights from a National Survey (June 2009) – NEA http://bit.ly/aEEfly

• State and Regional Differences in Arts Participation: A Geographic Analysis of the 2008 SPPA (December 2009) NEA
  http://bit.ly/8SYh8u
• NYC study links arts, high school graduation http://bit.ly/36xgxP

Cheers to happy and loyal audiences,

Shoshana

Shoshana Fanizza
Audience Development Specialists
https://www.buildmyaudience.com
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“Never treat your audience as customers, always as partners.”
~James Stewart