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NEW BUSINNEW BUSINESS PRACTICES IN CULTURE FOR AFTER THE CONTAINMENT COVID-19 AND BEYOND

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the ArtExpert team has mobilized to support cities, cultural organizations and their managers. This newsletter aims to give a voice to cultural experts to act as a support for innovative management practices.

THREE TRENDS FOR REVIVING CULTURE IN THE AFTERMATH OF COVID19

By André Courchesne, PhD, Chaire de gestion des arts, Carmelle et Rémi Marcoux, HÉC Montréal

First Trend: Participating

  • More and more Quebecers want to participate actively in the cultural life of their city.
  • Although they enjoy being spectators of the performing arts or fervent visitors of exhibitions, they want to participate and create.
  • According to the last most recent survey on Cultural Practices survey in Quebec, attendance at museums and libraries is on the rise.
  • What is more surprising is the number of people who practice the arts as amateurs.

SECOND TREND: LIVING UNIQUES EXPERIENCES

  • We know how Quebecois enjoy celebrations and events. The success of festivals and cultural events is speaking by itself of the enthusiasm of Quebecois to live unique experiences with artists and their work.
  • With the number of changes in consumption behaviour brought by the digital age, one might have feared a decline of interest for live events.
  • In fact, even if young people’s cultural practices are strongly oriented towards what is available on the web,
  • what is less known is that high cultural consumption on the web is linked to a greater intensity and diversity of cultural experiences.
  • Far from replacing cultural activities, it appears that the Internet accentuates the desire to live unique cultural experiences

THIRD TREND: STANDING OUT THROUGH CULTURE

  • The desire of citizens to participate directly to the arts and of tourists to live unique experiences has led several cities to stand out through their cultural activities, not only for the benefit of their own citizens, but also by considering the economic and tourist benefits.
  • By giving themselves a cultural branding, cities succeed in attracting tourism and businesses who seek a rich and original cultural life.
  • Culture becomes a way to stand out in originality by creating fruitful partnerships between the public and the private sector.

BE READY

  • Take advantage of this moment to update your cultural policy
  • Consult your people in a variety of ways, on chat plateforms for instance
  • Use digital means
  • Don’t hesitate to imagine virtual experiences to keep a dialogue with your communities
  • Rethink your campaign messages to reflect people’s context and mindset after COVID-19
  • Keep an open dialogue with your institutional partners in your territory. Imagine digital activations.