Audiences have become the epicentre of the stage system in the same way as creation and production three decades ago. There are three reasons to back up this assertion:

• Audiences constitute the stage reality.
• Audiences are the main justification for the allocation of public fundsto developing the sector.
• Audiences are the main sustainability factor of the performing arts as a productive sector.

Although during recent years, thinking on audiences has been present in many sector meetings and forums, Escenium 2010 is aimed at collectively defining a general action framework for the sector to create and develop audiences.

This reflection will be organised based on three starting situations:

• Current audiences, audiences who take part in the stage offer occasionally or regularly, in order to promote greater participation, a more proactive attitude and greater regularity.
• Audiences with latent demand that, despite their interest, do not take part in stage activities due to consumption obstacles or circumstantial factors, in order to make winning and developing new audiences easier.
• Audiences with inexistent demand due to the lack of satisfactory stage experiences in their primary socialisation or subsequent development, with the aim of forming values and tastes that awake interest for the performing arts.

Escenium 2010, as a debating forum::

• It will be based on analysing statistical data, studies, models and good practices.
• It will promote the generation and transfer of knowledgeby means of debates between the experts and attendants.
• Collective reflection is designed to identify challenges and define sector strategies that will allow us to face the future with guarantees of success.

List of topics

The forum will be coordinated in four central themes based on these starting situations:

• Audience winning and development
  We would like to deal with, from the marketing perspective, the strategies that allow for developing current audiences and winning new audiences.
• Creating demand
  We would like to deal with educational and communication strategies that make it possible to increase the personal and context value of the performing arts, and that make positive stage experiences easier that allow for creating interest for the performing arts.
• Audience knowledge
  We want to provide methodological elements that help the stage agents to know their audiences better, as an essential basis for developing demand creation and development strategies.
• Demand creation and development policies
  We want to reflect on the need for changing from offer-based policies to demand based-policies, analysing the instruments and measures that promote favourable practices in the creation and development of audiences.

The central themes are coordinated by a nationally and internationally prestigious team of experts: François Colbert, Lucina Jiménez, Alberto Fernández Torres and Manuel Cuadrado..

 

Collectively building a discourse and action framework is carried out in the preliminary workshops and in the interactive format of the forum sessions.

• The preliminary workshops, which will be held in Madrid in November and December, bring together groups of experts to analyse the contributions from the main studies on audiences on an international level, define the state of the matter of each central theme and point out the main challenges for the future.
• The forum sessions bring together the most relevant experts to hold a collective debate, starting from the proposals prepared in the workshops, and allow for defining an action framework for the years to come.

Format

Opening ceremony Opening round table		Audience winning and development Demand creation Audience knowledge Demand creation and development policies		Presentation of provisional conclusions Closing ceremony

Timetables

Wednesday 10-02-2010

9:00 – Pass and document pick up

9:15 – Start of the workshop

9:30 – Opening session

9:40 – Slide show

10:00 – Opening ceremony with representatives from the City Council of Bilbao, Regional Government of Vizcaya, Basque Government and La Red.

10:20 – Presentation of the congress programme

10:30 – Opening round table: Performing arts market trends in Spain and abroad.

Coordinator: Alicia Roldán, Vice President of the Spanish Network of Publicly Owned Theatres, Auditoriums, Circuits and Festivals.

Presenter: Anna Villarroya, lecturer from the UB and author of the report on Spanish cultural policies in the Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe.

With the participation of the following experts, among others:

François Colbert (Expert on Arts and Culture Marketing)

Lucina Jiménez (Anthropologist and consultant on cultural policies)

Mary Ann DeVlieg (Secretary General of the IETM, international performing arts network).

Manuel Cuadrado (Researcher and lecturer on markets in the UV)

Emilio Sagi (Artistic Director of the Arriaga Theatre of Bilbao)

Alberto Fernández Torres (Expert in communication and performing arts).

13:00 – End of morning session

Break and workshop

16:00 – Thematic session 1: Audience winning and development

Coordinator: François Colbert (Expert on Arts and Culture Marketing)

Presenter: Alba Colombo (UOC Cultural Management Postgraduate Course Coordinator)

Moderator: Ana López (Escenium 2010 Technical Commission).

16:00 – Presentation of the members of the table

16:05 – Presentation of the central centre by the coordinator

16:50 – Experience 1: El Club Tr3sC, by Miquel Curanta (Director of the Club Tr3sC on cultural consumption).

17:05 – Experience 2: Chapí de Villena Theatre, presented by Paco Flor (Director)

17:20 – Communication 1: Analysis of current audiences: profiles, habits and interests, by Rubén Gutiérrez (Study Coordinator of the Autor Foundation).

17:35 – Communication 2: Self-managed ticketing systems as instruments for winning and developing audiences, presented by Roger Tomlinson (Marketing consultant and expert on audience marketing and development).

17:50 – Communication 3: Identification and winning of young audiences,presented by Franky Devos (Expert on cultural communication and young audiences).

18:05 – Short break

18:20 – Discussion among the members of the table: François Colbert, Miquel Curanta, Paco Flor, Rubén Gutiérrez, Roger Tomlinson and Franky Devos.

19:00 – Open debate with the audience

19:30 – End of afternoon session

20:00 – End of the workshop

 

Thursday 11-02-2010

9:00 – Start of the workshop

9:00 – Thematic session 2: Demand creation

Coordinator: Alberto Fernández Torres (Expert on performing arts and communication).

Presenter: Robert Muro (Produces and expert in performing arts communication)

Moderator: Carlos Morán (Escenium 2010 Technical Commission).

09:30 – Presentation of the members of the table

09:35 – Presentation of the central centre by the coordinator

10:20 – Experience 1: Manresa Kursaal Theatre (presented by Joan Morros Coordinator of the El Galliner cultural association).

10:35 – Experience 2: Audience creation experiences in the Children’s sphere, by Pilar López (Member of the Management Board of the FAETEDA and Chairwoman of Te-Veo)

10:50 –Communication 1: Educational strategies for the creation of interest and audience forming, presented by Joan Oller (President of the APGCC and Director of the Auditori de Barcelona).

11:05 – Communication 2:The creation of context value via the media, presented by Xabier Landabidea (University of Deusto, expert on the media)

11:20 – Short break

11:40 –Discussion among the members of the table: Alberto Fernández Torres, Joan Morros, Pilar López, Joan Oller and Xabier Landabidea.

12:30 – Open debate with the audience

13:00 – End of morning session

Break and workshop

16:00 – Thematic session 3: Audience knowledge

Coordinator: Manuel Cuadrado (Researcher and lecturer on markets in the UV)

Presenter: Patxi Azpillaga (Professor from the UPV and expert on cultural management).

Moderator: José Luís Melendo (Escenium 2010 Technical Commission).

16:00 – Presentation of the members of the table

16:10 – Presentation of the central centre by the coordinator

16:50 – Experience 1: Abierto al Público (La Red) (Open to the Public (The Network)), presented by Fernando Sáenz de Ugarte and José Luis Rivero.

17:05 – Experience 2: Audiences London, presented by Vivienne Moore (Trustee and Founding President of Audiences London).

17:20 – Communication 1: Analysis of the behaviour of art consumers, by Victoria Ateca (Professor and Researcher of UPV/EHU and expert in culture economy).

17:35 – Communication 2: Study of audiences and non-audiences, presented by Pilar Granados (Researcher specialised in marketing)

17:50 – Communication 3: Comparative analysis of ticketing systems in audience management, presented by Judit Segura (Manager of Espectáculos de Atrápalo).

18:05 – Short break

18:20 – Debate among the members of the table: Manuel Cuadrado, José Luis Rivero, Fernando Sáenz de Ugarte, Vivienne Moore, Victoria Ateca, Pilar Granados and Judit Segura.

19:00 – Open debate with the audience

19:30 – End of afternoon session

20:00 – End of the workshop

 

Friday 12-02-2010

9:00 – Start of the workshop

9:30 – Thematic session 4: Demand creation and development policies

Coordinator: Lucina Jiménez (Anthropologist and consultant on cultural policies)

Presenter: Roberto San Salvador (Vice-Chancellor of the University of Deusto)

Moderator: Ramón López Barranco (Escenium 2010 Technical Commission).

09:30 – Presentation of the members of the table

09:35 – Presentation of the central centre by the coordinator

10:20 – Experience 1: The Audience Plan (Basque Government), presented by Pello Gutiérrez (Consultant from the Department of Culture of the Basque Government).

10:35 – Communication 1: The impact of the digital revolution and the global market, by: Jordi Sellas (Specialist in digital development and communication).

10:50 – Communication 2: Role of creators, producers and exhibitors in audience development, presented by: Cesc Casadesús (Director of the Mercat de les Flors and specialist in cultural management).

11:05 – Communication 3:The participation of audiences in programme management, presented by Iñaki López Aguileta (Specialist in cultural policies)

11:20 – Short break

11:40 – Debate among the members of the table: Lucina Jiménez, Pello Gutiérrez, Jordi Sellas, Cesc Casadesús and Iñaki López Aguileta.

12:20 – Open debate with the audience

12:40 – End of morning session

12:45 – End of the workshop

13:00 – Closing session

13:10 – Presentation of provisional conclusions, by the Commissioner

13:30 – Institutional closing ceremony

14:00 – End of the congress