Increasing Virtual Audiences during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Somewhat early on in the Covid-19 Pandemic, I was asked to participate in panel hosted by the American Art Museum Curators Association as a Digital Strategy consultant based in Canada. This blog post features my reflections and key takeaways from the experience.
As panellists representing our perspectives, we all felt it was important to acknowledge the fear and empathy surrounding us at the beginning of the pandemic. Many expressed concern for the current global situation, but also felt it was important for our art museums to offer hope and a safe place during this time in history.
Panelists
As one of the panellists asked to participate, I spoke about my experiences conducting virtual art tours for the McMichael Canadian Art Collection‘s featuring Indigenous Visual Artists based in Canada.
Dupé O. Ajayi, Intersectional Marketing Strategist of the Shed in NYNY spoke about what it felt like when her gallery was so close to the USNS Comfort ship moored to the pier.
Annie Fletcher, Director, The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), spoke about emergency plans to use her facility and grounds that would have changed the way the public perceived her space. She was grateful that those plans did not happen, but hearing her talk about this, brought us all back to the fearful times of March and April 2020.
Rounding out the panel, we were able to hear the fundraising perspective from Heather Sherwin, Director of Development at Chrysler Museum of Art. Heather was able to talk about the up and downstream implications for revenue development of creating new digital content during the COVID-19 restrictions.
When Doug Hegley, the moderator was asked by one of the attendees to talk about his role as the Chief Digital Officer for the Minneapolis Institute of Art, he quickly changed hats to give us his perspective on the role.
I spoke about an upcoming workshop proposal working with a non-profit organizations team to update their digital tool kits, so they could improve their roles as content creators within their organization.
Many of the panellists discussed how the pandemic restrictions were allowing them to re-think their online offerings and the museum’s digital strategy.
To learn more about blending on-site with online programming at your art gallery or museum you can use this link to book a 30-minute free online meeting to explore your next project.