A day-long symposium in Saddler's Wells (that's in London by the by) and I've only now managed to get the laptop working. So... how can you have an interactive, new digital meeting when people don't have places to charge their portable devices?
Then the WiFi wouldn't let me on...but I got over that.
Then there's the problem that some of the seats make Saddler's Wells the RyanAir of theatres... my knees were somewhere near my ears and deep-vein thrombosis began to set in after a few minutes.
But the great and good (or those who wanted a Friday out of the office) in the arts world gathered amongst some of us more on the technology and education side to discuss the issues of how to engage the arts sector in the UK with digital technology.
The actual set-up was quite nice. The panel discussions perhaps not so much... some speakers are better than others... but they had a big screen behind at the back of the stage on which Twitter feeds were broadcast (using the tag: #getambition), a nice lad called Saul was posting stuff from the Internet in real time that illustrated the discussion going on and when the audience asked questions, the camera was turned on them so that we were watching them watching us watching you watching... something they thought about way back when in the 60s on 'That was the week that was'.
Now, there were some lovely examples of artists using digital technology in different ways; either to get funding through the proverbial 'long tail' or to get distribution through the Pirate Bay, or to use Tweets and text sms messages to accompany an electric-cello performance.
All lovely.
There was a comparison by Ekow Eshun, Artistic Director of the ICA, on how free content on the Internet (and the Chris Anderson-coined 'Freemium' model) was similar to the Institute for Contemporary Arts removing entrance costs and allowing free entry to their exhibitions.
So - is free content essentially the same as the 'Freemium' business model?
If so, why not have a theatre performance that is completely free entry to all, but where the performance stops every 15 minutes for a brief advertising message? Will it work? Obviously theatre afficionados like yours truly will pay for the premium version, but maybe it's a way of changing the style of performance.
Dare I say it, a 'paradigm shift'?
But with everyone talking about all this digital stuff... and they even talked about 'Digial Britain' - the report authored by Lord Carter on the future of the UK's digital content, funding and infrastructure... I am still surprised no one talked about communities!
You have regional museums, regional theatres and concert venues, central world-class arts organisations that have all built a following - be it local or global. And yet very few of them seem to be 'leveraging' the community (another word that I dislike using)... apart from Jamie King and his 'Steal this Film' (and 'Steal this Film 2' etc.) system of 'guerilla' film-making.
So what we need for next year... no... what they need for next year.... no... what we need next year...for I am a member of the arts community as a keen user, purchaser and consumer of their produce... is a series of sessions on HOW the community can be engaged.
The have set up a community for those present at the sessions yesterday and today so hopefully the discussions will continue. What we need to see is how the arts organisations, both large and small, can create online social networks (they already have the communities) so that everyone can have a voice... or at least feel they have a voice...
... and yet ... as we speak.. .someone tweeted that the panel looked like they need a group hug. So they had a quick hug and everyone laughed! Moments like that that make live so much better than online... but are they? Wouldn't we get a buzz out of seeing different people make a connection online?
So... what we need are social networks where organisations can encourage fans/communities to donate small amounts (e.g. £5) to aid fund raising, rather than asking for £500 as a minimum amount; what we need are ways in which we, the core users, receive special offers and access to tkt sales before the rest - to make us feel special; what we need are systems of feedback so that occasionally the community decides what exhibition/play/work/concert/film is put on...
This was very difficult in the old days... but surely one of the big changes of the digital world is only the technology ... which has enabled the cultural shift. It has allowed people to do what they want, unconstrained by distance, cost, accessibility, class, gender, race, creed etc. etc.
So... what am I saying? Digital in the arts is not about putting normal content on the Internet... it's about using the technology to do something new. Some get it... some perhaps don't.
No comments:
Post a Comment