IG Kultur Österreich hosted guests from the city of Kolding, Denmark and representatives of three local cultural initiatives for an info workshop on Vienna's cultural scene with particular emphasis on Audience Development. The group from Kolding consisted of 14 representatives from a wide range of cultural sectors, including museum directors, theatre producers, concert organizers, music teachers, culture consultants of the municipality and one student.
We explored issues in Audience Development by presenting four best practice examples of Vienna's vibrant cultural scene.
Ula Schneider and Elisabeth Bernroither kicked off the workshop by introducing their initiatives "Soho in Ottakring" and "Brunnenpassage". Both projects aim to make culture easily accessible for a broader audience. The focus was on how they began and continued to successfully develop greater audience numbers.
Marty Huber elaborated on how the Rosa Lila Villa cultural center for the gay and lesbian community began as a squat for a few homosexual activists and anarchists.
Finally, Gabriele Gerbasits presented the concept as well as the development of the European Theatre Night. She discussed the way in which it has been successfully implemented in Austria and gained a broad audience in numerous European countries. In the subsequent question and answer session Gabriele Gerbasits explained organizational issues and the concept of Audience Development in greater detail.
The participants responded with very positive interest, in particular from those working in the performing arts scene. The workshop managed to provide comprehensive insights to the concept of Audience Development and potentially developed a wider audience for the European Theatre Night itself.
