They won’t even come when it’s free!
That lament from an arts administrator, with eyes rolled and hands thrown up, demonstrates a profound lack of connection with the subject of the exclamation. It is usually expressed in a “safe space” in an arts organization’s office or conference room. I get the frustration but let’s break it down a bit. First, nothing is ever really “free.” At the least there is opportunity cost: what might someone be doing other than the thing with no financial cost associated? The list of other costless and/or, to the potential attendee, more compelling opportunities is long. In addition, for those unfamiliar with the art form or venue there is also the psychological cost of stepping into the unknown. This is exacerbated where the venue or art form has negative connotations in their minds.
But I would go further and bet that there are a number of things the speaker would not consider doing even if they were free. Try it for yourself. Quick, put together a short list of things you’d pass on even if they were free. We’ll wait.
There are a number of things that many people enjoy that would be for me a kind of torture. Here’s just a tiny representative list:
- Games of almost any kind. I (metaphorically) break out in hives if someone suggests we play charades. (This is why I tend to be the timer, scorekeeper, or judge when my family plays board or other kinds of games. They love me enough to tolerate my near-phobia yet include me nonetheless.)
- Skiing. Almost everyone I know loves to ski or would take advantage of a free opportunity to learn. I am not even remotely interested in participating in something in which becoming cold and wet is a central feature.
- Kickboxing lessons. I have no inherent philosophical problem with the sport. And I fully respect those for whom it is a cherished activity. But it’s not for me.
You get the idea. (Putting this together sobered me to the fact that I could easily make this list go on and on. I’ll probably not pursue that revelation too closely.) The point is that just because something is free does not mean that we should assume everyone wants to do it. The nonprofit arts industry has reputational, relevance, and relationship issues that make a lack of “freeness” only one element in a person’s decision to pass on a giveaway.
Without a doubt, cost can be a reason people choose not to attend arts events. However, it is only one factor among many. Focusing on the price of admission is, frankly, far simpler than addressing other inhibiting factors. But if we are to expand our base, we have to be looking at as many of those stumbling blocks as possible.
If people are not taking advantage of your free offerings, you probably should consider those other issues rather than complain about “them.” (And by the way, don’t get me started on the default to “them” and “they” in talking about people with whom we need to build relationships.)
Engage!
Doug
Photo:
Some rights reserved by Mark Morgan Trinidad B
Well spoken Doug!
Many of the things we tried in the 20th Century did not succeed in engaging and building audiences, so it seems likely repeating such tactics in the 21st is likely to do the same. As you astutely point out, the contents of the event are a major ( perhaps deciding) factor in whether or not “they” will come, despite “our” expectations that just because “we” built it “they” should.
I know people who are deathly afraid of being pulled into the action when they hear of some arts event. Perhaps an assurance that they’re invited as an audience or observer would work in some cases.
Those administrators often forget that just eliminating the entry fee at their door does not make something “free.” There’s transportation/parking cost, meal cost if forced to eat out/nearby (and that’s almost always somewhat higher than “near home” for anyone to whom cost of an event matters in the first place), babysitter cost for those with young children (sorry, I’m not bringing a two-year-old to a glass-sculpture exhibit!), and so on. And for those looking for “date night,” it also assumes complete overlap of interests in the arts… yeah, right. Then, too, there are facilities issues lurking: The poor quality of seating for performance arts drives those of us with back problems and disabilities away, and just imagine being on crutches at a gallery for a moment…
In short, it’s the arrogance of the single/childless artrepreneurs assuming that what is not a challenge for them is not a challenge for anyone else. Again.
Most people I know don’t trust Free. If marketing is a Promise of what the offering is this is what free generally promises-
1. Often overcrowded, especially true of museums, zoos, or concerts done in a park like setting. Often over stressing things like walkways, concessions and bathrooms which turn into scary overflowing trashcans.
2. Or it is the promise of any empty building except for you. It is often done when the offerings truly aren’t worth paying for, and probably not worth the time either for most people. Your local artist often aren’t that good.
3. Not the prime-time experience. It is done to fill slow days, and unsalable showtimes, versus when people want to see it. Free is never Friday Night for concert. It is seldom a weekend nice day.
4. Often overrun with children. Because parents have a hard time justifying the cost of kids and themselves. Interestingly enough, generally with the crowd that the institution already reaches.
5. A different experience. It is often dumb downed or another Souza show at the fourth of July. Or movie music the kids will get. Theater it might be reader’s theater or a dress rehearsal not the full show. It will often attempt to be a “”festival”- yeah that is a different, and most institutions are not festival promoters. They lack that very real skill.
6. It is often lesser in not including Special Exhibits, let alone normally paid add-ons like an IMAX movie.
7. Don’t get me started on free seats at the back. Because everyone knows those are going to sell at your not sold out show.
8. How many times is free, just a sampling as they attempt to sell you the full experience at a different time? IE how much of free is not an offering but advertising.
9. How much of that free event has been sold out to sponsors who are getting that advertising that isn’t part of the normal event?
How many free art experiences have most people been to that are the ones that they connect with compared to the ones they paid for? I honestly doubt Arts professionals prefer free shows or free days.
Free can be a real risk, and people are risk adverse. The people most likely to come to free, are those who have already gone to a paid experience because they trust the organization, and have proof that it could be good. (though still not as good as a paid experience from the same institution- they know they get what they pay for too.) For new people, Free is a scary invitation.
When I try free- For a folk experience (festival) that is proven and has always been free (it isn’t really though= food and concessions aren’t free.)
When it is a part of a series of events and word of mouth says it does not suffer from the above.
It is always free and well regarded. National Gallery in DC, Smithsonian.
Most of the time though, avoid it like the plague.