Arts groups must innovate to get people off the couch

Stories about the pandemic economic recovery may no longer be front-page news, but as the leader of a regional performing arts organization, Tacoma Arts Live, and someone who has successfully navigated previous downturns, I am here to tell you, this one is different. It’s not just me, but economic studies, including work by Seattle-based ArtsFund, have sounded the alarm.

Pre-pandemic, the economic impact of all arts and culture nationally measured at 4% of GDP (by the way, that’s a huge number, bigger than sports, automotive or aerospace.) Today, ticket sales are stuck at 20%-35% below pre-pandemic levels, except for major artists such as Dave Chappelle, Elton John, Taylor Swift and a shortlist of others. This means that for most events, organizations are losing tens of thousands of dollars on a single performance. Thus, the fiscal crisis affecting the performing arts is just beginning.

Every arts organization in the world is asking the same question right now: “What is it going to take to get people off the couch?” Too many patrons are choosing to stream their entertainment. Our relationships with our audience have changed. In the pre-pandemic landscape, our largest audience segment, the baby boomers, could be consistently counted on to attend two to four events a month. Today, we are lucky to see them once every 60 days.

From Seattle to Kirkland, Bellingham to Tacoma, performing arts organizations are stunned by the accelerated behavior change between baby boomers and subsequent generations. Past program choices are not adequately energizing younger audiences. They want the experience to be new and different, on their feet, immersed in the experience and socially connected. Sitting in a seat, staring in one direction doesn’t cut it.

The pandemic demands transformation and signals an opportunity to innovate and shatter stagnant assumptions. Edgy and challenging work may rankle traditionalists, so we must find ways to be “both/and,” retaining current relationships while urgently cultivating new ones. Because we will always celebrate the beauty and mystery of the arts, we hope to solve this cultivation paradox.

We must engage our patrons by offering new lines of business. In Tacoma, we will leverage our new home, the Tacoma Armory, as a venue of great innovation. We will commission global artists to create new immersive exhibits exploring the intersections between art, science and the environment. We will book tours of cutting-edge music from around the world. We will regionally produce bold, new theater works and find smart methods to refresh existing plays. We will meet our audiences in their neighborhoods by touring inspired theater throughout the region. Our education team, already reaching more than 50,000 people annually, will broaden our highly regarded Social Emotional Learning program and continue commissioning new plays that teach important civil rights stories. We will launch a new small business accelerator to support the “gig economy” of arts workers.

In Tacoma, we will strive for a greater purpose — helping audiences build deeper relationships through empathy and understanding, finding joy and immersing in the ecstatic buzz of great artistry. These are the benefits the arts provide and will help overcome our region’s mental health crisis rooted in isolation. If we are to deliver these benefits, increased philanthropic, governmental and business investment will be needed.

Tacoma Arts Live is invigorated by the challenges ahead, and, to be honest, a little intimidated, too. Nonetheless, we must forge ahead with the hope that the path we blaze will benefit all in the performing arts sector at a time when the entire field must transform to thrive.