Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts and Affiliate Organizations
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HIXSON-LIED COLLEGE OF FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS AND AFFILIATE ORGANIZATIONS Reports and Proposals for the Hixson-Lied Advisory Board For Presentation and Discussion at the Spring Meeting of the Advisory Board April 24, 2008 2 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Core Values We value…………….. • The uncompromising pursuit of excellence • A diversity of ideas and people • A learning environment that prepares students for success and leadership in their lives and their careers • Research and creative activity that informs teaching, fosters discovery, and contributes to the economic prosperity and quality of life of Nebraskans • Engagement with academic, business, and civic communities throughout Nebraska and the world • An institutional climate that challenges every member of the University community to advance these core values and that celebrates their successes. 3 Table of Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 5 SECTION ONE: REPORTS Reports: Programs Lied Center for Performing Arts: Value and Impact Study (Final Report) .............................................. 9 Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden “Sheldon Survey” ......................................................................................................................................... 11 Lentz Center for Asian Culture: Installation of New Storage System ...................................................... 13 Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center: “Film and Video Showcase” (Year 1)....................................... 15 Department of Art and Art History: “Visiting Artist/Scholar Program” (Year 1).................................... 17 “Visual Arts Community Service Learning Project” (Year 1) ...... 18 School of Music: Chiara String Quartet Residency (Year 3 Final Report).............................................. 19 Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: 40th Anniversary Celebration (Final Report)..................... 24 Digital Arts Initiative: Technology Equipment Match (1st Year Update)................................................. 26 Reports: Faculty Support Faculty Research/Creative Activity Grants completed since October, 2007............................................ 27 Faculty Research/Creative Activity Grants Awarded in March, 2008...................................................... 30 Faculty Research Travel Grants Completed since October, 2007 ............................................................. 31 Faculty Research Travel Grants Awarded in February, 2008.................................................................... 38 Faculty Development Grants Completed since October, 2007.................................................................. 39 Reports: Student Support Student Presentation of Scholarly/Creative Work ...................................................................................... 41 Hixson-Lied Graduate Fellows: “Reflections” ........................................................................................... 46 Appendix A ................................................................................................................................................... 67 4 Introduction This academic year marks the sixth year of funding from the Hixson-Lied Endowment. Over the past six years, a variety of successful initiatives have been developed to enhance and celebrate the work of our faculty and students. These initiatives include graduate fellowships, faculty and student support for creative and scholarly projects, funding to support student international study, and travel assistance for faculty and students to present their scholarly and creative work, and for faculty to engage in professional development activities and events. Endowment funding has also made possible a number of noteworthy and outstanding projects that have been highly successful, and that have brought national recognition to the College and its affiliate organizations. A full, three-year report on the impact of Endowment funding will be presented to the Board at its upcoming October meeting. This coming fall, the College will begin reviewing and reshaping its strategic goals and priorities to set its course for the next five years. This process will include exploring some new directions for Endowment funding that will mirror those goals and priorities and that will be fashioned to bring increased national recognition to the College and to the accomplishments of its faculty and students. Conversations have already begun along these lines this past year, resulting in several new projects for which funding is being requested in this report. 7 SECTION ONE – REPORTS 8 Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Report on Proposal for Program Enhancement Funding Affiliate Unit: Lied Center for Performing Arts Program Supported: Major University Presenters Value and Impact Study - $25,000 over two years (Final report) The Lied Center and other university performing arts presenters participated in a two-year “Value and Impact Study” commissioned by the Major University Presenters Consortium. The results of this extensive research undertaking were provided to the partners in two parts: “Assessing the Intrinsic Impacts of a Live Performance” (January, 2007), and “A Segmentation Model for Donors to 12 University Presenting Programs” (May, 2007). The completed study was released publically by WolfBrown, a national arts research firm, in January, 2008. The project was conceived to define and measure how audiences are transformed by a live performance. Increasingly, performing arts centers, traditionally a vital component of university life, grapple with decreasing ticket sales, diminished attendance at live events and overall dwindling interest in the performing arts. Because of the traditional difficulty articulating true impact of the arts on audiences and communities, we hoped to gain greater understanding about how values drive participation and a picture of personal benefits and public value of performing arts centers. The results of the study, collected through face-to-face interviews, and pre/post performance surveys provide specific data for the project partners and other presenters. The results are influencing program selection, audience communication strategies and development and donor/supporter cultivation. We seek to learn not only more about what our audiences wants to see or hear, but also about the values affecting their decision making, how they are personally changed and their perception of true benefit of the performing arts in their community and lives. Summary of Results 1. Assessing the Intrinsic Impacts of a Live Performance Part one of this study attempted to define and measure how audiences are transformed by a live performance addressing three hypotheses: 1) that the intrinsic impacts derived from attending a live performance can be measured, 2) that different types of performances create different sets of impacts, and 3) that the audience member’s ‘readiness-to-receive’ the art affects the impacts received. While most findings from this study are intuitive, they have strategic implications for presenters, such as the Lied Center. Specifically: • The data suggest that presenters should focus more on pre-performance engagement strategies to create higher anticipation levels. • Presenters should consider steps to take, in cooperation with artists, to increase the likelihood that audience members will be drawn into the performance. • Efforts should be expanded to provide audience members with context in advance of the performance. • Marketing is strategic in creating anticipation and effective messaging about the possible impacts of the performance. • Aesthetic growth may be achieved by programming new or challenging works for sophisticated audiences or be attracting new/infrequent attendees to programs of works less familiar. 9 • Audiences choose programs that are relevant to their lives, thus artistic curation not only shapes art but also defines constituency. • Presenters should shift focus from measuring satisfaction to measuring intrinsic impacts. 2. A Segmentation Model for Donors to 12 University Presenting Programs The second part of the Values study focused on attitudinal information—values, beliefs, preferences and tastes—that relate to attending and supporting performing arts presentations. For the first time, data collected through the survey was matched to purchase and donation behavior. This resulted in evaluation of a wide range of attitudinal variables based on how they predict donor behavior or purchase preference. The vision behind this part of the study is that presenters are creating the next generation customer database allowing for a higher level of customer relationship management. The idea is to create continuously updating customer information linked to ticketing and donor data. Based on analysis, a five- segment donor model was selected: • Intrinsics—donors who believe in the transformative power of art. • Networkers—socially-oriented donors whose patronage is driven by a desire to gain the esteem of their peers. • Co-Creators—donors who have a desire to commission new work and be part of the evolution of new art forms. • Marquee—donors who want public recognition for their gifts and are most interested in priority seating. • Youth-Focused—donors who are motivated by a desire to expand the arts to children and the disadvantaged. Conclusion