Work in Progress in the Social Studies (WIPSS): 2015/6
Tuesday 17 May
Audiences and the Arts: Strategies on Audience Development at the National Centre for Creativity in Malta
On Tuesday 17 May the WIPSS seminar will host Dr Valerie Visanich, who will give a seminar entitled Audiences and the Arts: Strategies on Audience Development at the National Centre for Creativity in Malta. Dr Visanich writes:
‘The arguments brought forward during this seminar are positioned broadly within a discourse about audiences’ development. There are various structural and cultural conditions in Malta that have direct impact on a person’s engagement, or lack of it, with the arts. The data drawn on for this seminar are taken from a recent study of audiences’ reactions at the Centre for Creativity in Valletta. Results indicate the need for a more nuanced definition of the meaning of audiences and their experiences of engagement. Empirical findings demonstrate two categories of research participants, what I call the insiders - those who said that they were directly active in the Centre, such as artists, staff and regular audience members; and the outsiders - those who felt out of place at the Centre. This research points to three arguments. First, such creative spaces are considered as exclusive and a site of class-based attendance. Secondly, the Centre has been more of a showcase of the arts rather than a space for developing projects that encourage active audience participation. Thirdly, despite the need for a branding strategy to establish a creative identity, it is evident that after a period of fifteen years, the Centre needs to build on its own legacy and go beyond that to continue to evolve.’
Valerie Visanich holds a Ph.D. in Sociology (Loughborough University). She is a resident lecturer at the Department of Sociology, Junior College and at the University of Malta. As Data Scientist in Residence at the St. James Cavalier, Centre for Creativity, Valerie designed and undertook a sociological research project that was used as a guiding frame for rebranding this Centre. She is a board member of the European Sociological Association and coordinator of the 2018 ESA mid-term conference in Malta.
Tuesday 17 May, 18:00-19:00. In the Faculty of Arts Library, on the second floor of Old Humanities Building, at the end of the corridor next to Room 301. The stairs are in the corner of the quadrangle behind the Assembly Hall. Students are encouraged to attend. The public is welcome.
Convenors: Paul Clough, Peter Mayo and Michael Briguglio
