Forecast & Data Analysis Pop-Ups & Marketing Growth of Biennales

Forecast & Data Analysis

Pop-Ups & Marketing.“Although the idea of a pop-up museum may seem like it is the equivalent of a fast-food experience when a gourmet meal is on offer, the fact is that some people need to try a sample before they will commit to a fine dining experience. If curated successfully, both will complement one another.”

Growth of Biennales .Biennales, and their otherwise timed counterparts, have been on the rise over the past 20 years for various reasons and “ In 2019, about 300 biennales open[ed] globally, each presenting its own view of the world’s most important art.”architecture, and design.”

Pop-Up & Marketing

Museums Outside their Walls: Pop-ups and Other Models as Marketing Museums are experimenting with (and crucially, blurring the lines between) new forms of marketing, outreach, and public programming. Rather than solely focus on traditional advertising like print and online media, to reach a wider audience, many institutions are bringing their collection outside the walls of their museums to better engage with diverse communities. A recent American Association of Museums report claims, in a section called “Takin’ it to the Streets” that museums are, “from pop-up retail spaces and wandering food trucks to mobile museums and outdoor exhibits in unexpected places,” currently looking for ‘new ways to meet their patrons— or encounter new ones—outside the confines of their traditional physical locations.”¹ This curatorial trend represents confluence of different socioeconomic trends:

“a weakened economy that makes it more difficult to attract paying customers yet easier to set up temporary, low-cost, low-risk experiential sites; a general loosening of cultural authority [...] and a revival of localism [...]. It may also be a reaction against a world becoming too global and too plugged-in. Face-to-face and participatory experiences, especially in unexpected places, can serve as a counterweight to digital, virtual experiences.” The museum exhibiting work outside the boundaries of its walls responds to these sorts of trends. One example is a longrunning initiative called Inside|Out, of the Detroit Institute of the Arts. So that art may better “serve as a catalyst for public dialogue and shared cultural experiences,” DIA funds the printing and installation of 80 large scale reproductions of its work in unexpected public spaces.² The pop-up museum “outpost” is another model which has been tested by institutions like the Pompidou Center recently. On some anxieties that these types of temporary, satellite practices cheapen rather than benefit the experience and identity of an institution, Manuel Charr for Museum Next asserts:

“ Although the idea of a pop-up museum may seem like it is the equivalent of a fast-food experience when a gourmet meal is on offer, the fact is that some people need to try a sample before they will commit to a fine dining experience. [...] Importantly, this does not diminish what the Pompidou Centre in Paris offers, nor does it trivialize the experience for visitors to the pop-up version. If curated successfully, both will complement one another .”³ These new models of programming reaching outside of the walls of the institution are a form of public outreach, but in effect function also as marketing. For museums to stay afloat, their

marketing campaigns must be agile and responsive to new trends.This museum forecasts that, in accordance to natural demographic shifts, millennials will continue to grow in percentage of visitors in attendance to cultural visitor-serving organizations while boomers attendance shrinks.⁴ Crucially, while 21.9% of adult millennials visited a cultural organization, they comprise 30.9% of total US cultural visitation.⁵ What does this mean? “Millenials are far more likely to revisit within the year than other generations. They are the most loyal. It proves that millennial ‘intent to visit’ is manifesting itself as actual visits.”⁶Alternate forms of museum marketing, like using unconventional venues, or hosting pop-ups, better reach out to millenials. Referencing a “data-driven model” of market budgeting such as that of Kwasi Hope Agyeman, CEO at Pax Analytics, reveals room, a full 10% of an advertising budget, for innovative new forms of outreach:

Data Driven Model 60% Digital (SEO, ad-buy media agency, social media, web banner ads, etc.) 30% Traditional (Radio, TV, print — highly targeted for senior audiences etc.) 10% “Innovation Fund” (“try something inexpensive and new”)⁷

1 American Association of Museums. “TrendsWatch 2012: Museums and the Pulse of the Future.” https://www.aam-us.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/2012_trendswatch.pdf 2 http://placemaking.mml.org/how-to/dia-inside-out/ 3 Charr, Manuel. “What Can We Learn From Pop-Up Museums?” Museum Next. https://www.museumnext.com/article/what-we-can-learnfrom-pop-up-museums-best-practice-and-ideas-f rom-instagram-friendly-experiences/

Such a fund for “innovation” could be an inexpensive but impactful installation hosted by this museum.

4 Colleen Dinen Scheider. “Real Talk: Why Cultural Organizations Must Better Engage Millennials (DATA).” https://www.colleendilen.com/2016/01/13/real-talkwhy-cultural-organizations-must-better-engag e-millennials-data/ 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 7 Hope Agyeman, Kwasi. “ How to Setup a Museum Marketing Budget.” Museum Tech Trends. https://medium.com/museum-tech-trends/smart-museum-budget-36ade6f10c4b

Growth of Biennales

Biennales, and their otherwise timed counterparts, have been on the rise over the past 20 years for various reasons and “In 2019, about 300 biennales open[ed] globally, each presenting its own view of the world’s most important art.” ⁸ Why this is important is that the very system of art and cultural consumption is being reevaluated by cities and industries across the globe. In an effort to access the financial boosts they offer, cities are investing in these ‘Olympics of art’ to draw steady crowds to their exhibitions. While a contemporary Biennale is generally defined as an “international showcases for contemporary art taking place every two years” they offer much more to both visitors and contributors.⁹ The curator of the 2019 Sao Paulo Biennale describes them as:

“... an independent foundation, to be a platform that actively promotes diversity, freedom and experimentation, while exercising critical thought and producing an alternative reality,” ¹⁰

This provides not only an interesting model to challenge potentially stagnant cultural institutions maintaining their tried and true methods curation and exhibitions, but as Biennales often call upon lesser known artists and designers for their exhibitions, they provide “an important promotional platform for a cooperating nation or a launching pad for an individual’s career.“ ¹¹ As we’ve discussed, we want our partner institutions to rethink how they curate exhibitions in our spaces, and encourage them to utilize New York’s vast resources of upcoming artists and designers to do so. Why we find this recent increase in popularity interesting and relevant, is the possibility that the temporal nature of these events may be what’s driving their success.

There were over 300 art, architecture, culture, and design biennales that opened in 2019, each representing “the worlds most important art.” ¹²

This isn’t to say that before the world’s most important art was going unrecognized, rather, in the contemporary landscape the audience and their interests have increased. As our goal is to provide a swath of samplings of New York’s cultural institutions and what they have to offer, looking at how Bienales have risen in popularity was a natural step. We want our partner institutions to use our space as both a marketing tool as well as a means to showcase their offerings in new ways. As art consumers look to biennales as ways to gauge the current state of the arts globally, we want our visitors to see the current state of NYC’s institutions locally. While our programming is likely to cycle more often than every two years, we think this is appropriate due to the

fast pace of New York both as a whole as well as culturally. Signs that this temporal model has been successful in the recent past can be seen by looking at the oldest, arguably the most well known biennale still happening today. Visitors to the Venice Biennale have been increasing year by year, as the Art and Architecture events swap every year. In its most recent iteration attendance increased by 14 percent for over 260,000 visitors. Notably, almost ¹³half of these visitors were under the age of 26. ¹⁴

What this means is that not only is the popularity of these events growing, but their patrons are potentially going to be returning for the next 50 years as they age.

8 "VENICE 2019: The Rise of the Urban Biennale By Vere van ...." https://pinupmagazine.org/articles/review-2019-venice-artbiennale-may-you-live-in-interesting-times-vere -van-gool . 9 "Art Demystified: What Defines a Biennial? - artnet News." 2 Jun. 2016, https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/art-demystified-biennials-506903 . 10 Ibid. 11 "You say Biennial, I say Biennale: 9 of Today's Most Critical ...." 6 Apr. 2017, https://archinect.com/features/article/150001297/you-saybiennial-i-say-biennale-9-of-today-s-most-critical -architecture-biennials . 12 "VENICE 2019: The Rise of the Urban Biennale By Vere van ...." https://pinupmagazine.org/articles/review-2019-venice-artbiennale-may-you-live-in-interesting-times-vere -van-gool . 13 "Venice Architecture Biennale has record year with boom ... - DW." 1 Dec. 2016, https://www.dw.com/en/venice-architecture-biennale-hasrecord-year-with-boom-in-younger-visitors/a-365 96450 . 14 Ibid.