In 2020, we’ve been given the opportunity to disrupt the model and start over, and find models that not only serve our organizations but put the needs of our audiences front and center.

It may not be easy, but it’s amazing what people—namely you—are achieving from home right now. Regardless of the medium, we are working every day to help organizations navigate these turbulent times, and come out stronger on the other side.

For those of us who work in the arts, I’d guess that a large percentage of us hold our work as a large part of our identity. When it comes to our audience members, regardless of how often they come, their participation is likely a considerable part of theirs.

As cultural organizations move through this period of closed venues and a slow return to business as usual, what will be the new lines by which you will ‘value’ and therefore segment and communicate to your audience?

The most resilient and effective organizations are led by those with an understanding of systems thinking and organizational behavior, all with the goal of supporting a team to continue learning, adapting, and delivering.

Tom O’Connor Consulting Group stands in solidarity with all members of the BIPOC community in affirming that Black Lives Matter. Black Suffering Matters. And Black Art Matters.

There’s been much made of the fact that this time is giving our earth a moment of rest and regeneration. And it seems that it’s a moment for us to do that too. If we can lift our heads above the day to day struggle to adjust, we might be able to accept that this time we’ve been given as a gift. A gift that allows us time to stop, reflect, rethink and retool.

Our entire world is in the midst of a profound traumatic experience. A return to any semblance of normalcy (and relevance) for the arts and culture fields will require facing and integrating that trauma head-on.

In the span of a month, the definition of what the marketing team does at this organization has completely changed. Sound familiar? When the whole system transforms on us in an instant, it takes a moment to step back and see the path forward. We can’t always do this on our own.

For the past two months, in every conversation I’ve had with industry colleagues, their primary focus has been on delivering a digital program while their venues or events are shuttered. The question is: what happens when the web becomes your venue, and the only place that your organization currently operates?

When it comes to recruiting senior marketing roles at arts organizations, I encounter two extremes of thought. I take issue with both of these positions for the same reason that I take issue with all false choices.