See this photo of our Maryland Theatre. How old must you be to ride this ride? Is the rising average age of an audience-member something to worry about? Or is it just how things are? For years now ArtsJournal.com has been touching on the matter occasionally. RAND has produced some dandy reports on this and other arts topics. This weekend, the topic surfaced in the pages of our own Hagerstown Sunday Herald-Mail. I tend to think that for arts presenters in general, and museums and symphonies in particular, it’s generally true that they’ll keep audiences up until they’re in their early 20s, then they won’t see them again until they’re about 47 or 48. But they will come back. However, this only will be true if the museum and symphony continue to focus on achieving the highest possible artistic merit in their products. Each symphony season, each exhibition, must aim high. Fancy marketing won’t save them over time. Obviously I agree that employing new media (hence this blog, and our occasional podcast) is affordable and effective, but ultimately it’s the art that counts. What do you think?
