About a year ago, I offered the idea, to Anne-Marie Nolin, Head of Communications at the Rubin Museum of Art, suggesting that museums with a more targeted curatorial focus band together to promote themselves and encourage New Yorkers and visitors alike to broaden their horizons.  Anne-Marie and her media relations colleague at the Rubin, Alanna Schindewolf, have made this a reality.  The Museum Discovery Pass is now a reality and offers two-for-one admission to seven small, more specialized museums including:

• American Folk Art Museum
• Asia Society Museum
• Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art
• Museum of Chinese in America
• The Noguchi Museum
• Rubin Museum of Art
• The Studio Museum in Harlem  

You can print the wallet-sized pass from each museum’s website (e.g., www.rmanyc.org/visit).  It is also available from NYC & Company’s Information Center at 810 Seventh Avenue at 53^rd Street.  The Museum Discovery Pass is good from March 1 until May 31, 2010, a great time to get out and visit museums representing different international cultures.

Museums & Public Art

• Guggenheim Foundation and Museum
• Whitney Museum of American Art
• International Center of Photography
• Museum of Biblical Art (MoBia)
• Museum of Modern Art
• Rubin Museum of Art
• Neue Galerie
• Museum of Jewish Heritage
• The Jewish Museum
• Newark Museum (New Jersey)
• Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth)
• The Armory Show (NYC)
• NYC Wateralls (Olafur Eliasson)
• Japan Society

Theatre & Performing Arts

• Signature Theatre
• Brooklyn Academy of Music
• Radio City Music Hall
• Disney Theatrical Productions
• Manhattan Theatre Club
• Roundabout Theatre
• Theatre Development Fund
• Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York
• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
• New York City Opera

Festivals

• American Express’ River to River Festival
• Tribeca Film Festival

Parks, Gardens & Zoos

• Prospect Park Alliance
• Queens Botanical Garden
• Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo)

Sightseeing & Attractions

• Gray Line
• Rockefeller Center (Tishman Speyer Properties)
• Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center)
• World Financial Center (Brookfield Properties)
• Premier Exhibitions, Inc. touring exhibitions including Bodies, Titanic and Dialog in the Dark

Local Development  and Tourism Agencies

• Alliance for Downtown New York
• Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone
• Kissimmee Convention & Visitors Bureau
• NYC & Company
• Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting
• NYC Economic Development Corporation
• Lincoln Square Business Improvement District
• Metrotech Business Improvement District

Entertainment and Education

• 92nd Street Y
• Jewish Community Center
• JCP of Downtown New York
• MSG – NY Knicks/NY Rangers
• College Board
• Alliance Française (FIAF)
• Westchester Family Magazine

Prospect Park Alliance, for whom the study was conducted in conjuntion with City of New York Parks & Recreation, reported that a prior study between April 1997 and April 1998 reported approximately 5.6 million visitors to the Park.  In 1987, the estimated count was 4.1 million. 

ARA staff counted visitors entering the Park from dawn to dusk in three seasons (Peak – June, July, August, September; Shoulder – April, May, October, November; and Off-Peak – December, January, February, March).  The final report was submitted and accepted by the Alliance in November 2009.

George Wachtel

This is good news for arts marketers who convened this past weekend in Providence, RI for a conference.  With the Guggenheim Foundation and Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth, TX), ARA presented a panel on Expanding Audience in Challenging Economic Times.  Email us at info@audinenceresearch.com if you would like PowerPoint copies of the presentation.

George Wachtel

There were three pieces on the program - a new work, "Expo," written for the occasion by the Philharmonic's composer in residence, Magnus Lindberg, an early vocal work by Messiaen, "Poems Pour Mi," and Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique."  For starters, Anthony Tommasini of the NY Times found "Expo" to be "urgent and inventive."  But Mark Swed of the LA Times "wondered if many found this music to take home with them." Regarding the Messiaen, Mr. Tommasini declared that "Ms. Fleming is perfect for this demanding work, and she sang it splendidly.  [She] shaped each phrase with sensitivity to the words and a keen feeling for nuance and color.”  But Anne Midgette of the Post said “it felt too big for the soprano Renée Fleming, who emoted with a will, perhaps too much.  The songs didn’t sit in a part of Fleming’s voice that helped set off either them or her to absolutely best advantage.” 

Things really got interesting in the Berlioz.  Tommasini described Gilbert’s account of the Symphonie Fantastique as “rhythmically exacting and coolly incisive, providing a context that allowed the wildness of this radical 1830 symphony to come through.”  He added that it was “refreshing to hear this staple conducted with such attentiveness to detail and textural clarity.”  The “Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath” had “plenty of heat and power.”  Midgette, however, was crestfallen and really disappointed stating: “I felt I was hearing notes, executed carefully, or not so carefully …. but whether it was actually moving was another matter.”  Somewhere in between again was Swed, who thought Gilbert was relatively “carefree” in the Berlioz and showed “expressive freedom.” 

I listened carefully to this performance, especially the Berlioz.  I could hear the exacting rhythms Tommasini praised as well as why Midgette did not feel moved.  It was all in there, as was my chance to hear a fresh approach.  My own favorite conductor in this symphony is Colin Davis who provides an emotional roller-coaster ride without ever falling off the tracks. But would I want to hear each performance exactly the same?  My advice is, go listen.  Every time I hear a piece live, I find something new that makes re-listening to my recordings more exciting.  Critics should advise and inform rather than burden us with personal taste.

 George Wachtel

In 1996, The President’s Committee on the Art and Humanities commissioned me to conduct a study of the interplay of non-profit and commercial theatre.  The resulting paper, “The Relationship Among National Endowment for the Arts Funding, the Not-for-Profit Theatre and Broadway with Regard to New Play Production,” is represented in the Committee’s Report to the President, “Creative America.”  The report, published in 1997, stated that “over the past twenty years, 44 percent of the new plays produced on Broadway originated in the non-profit sector.”  It continued by pointing out that “the peak period of play production in the non-profit sector coincided with the high point of grantmaking activity by the National Endowment to regional theatres.”

Rocco  has the opportunity to restore the NEA in a way that will encourage artists and reward Americans on many levels.  When President Kennedy spoke in 1963 in honor of poet Robert Frost, who had died earlier that year, he stated that “art establishes the basic human truth which must serve as the touchstone of our judgment. If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.”  He concluded: “ I look forward to an America that will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft.  And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well.”

I wish this honest, intelligent, and bold leader all the best.

George Wachtel

George A. Wachtel

An arts advocate, George contributed research for the President’s (Clinton) Committee on Arts and Humanities, and has testified in both Houses of Congress.  A frequent speaker at industry conferences, he led or participated on panels at the 2009 Council of Jewish Museums Conference, 2008 American Association of Museums conference, 2007 National Arts Marketing Conference, and 2006 National Arts Reach Marketing Conference.  George has guest lectured at Brooklyn College, City College of New York, Columbia University Graduate School of the Arts and Teacher’s College, and New York University Graduate Arts Program.  He is a member of the American Association of Museums and Government Affairs Professionals.

Aline Chatmajian | Principal
Ms. Chatmajian brings experience as an economic analyst and market segmentation specialist to ARA. She holds a BA from Fordham University and a master’s degree in economics from NYU. Prior to joining ARA, Ms. Chatmajian was a consultant at Monitor Company, a strategic management-consulting firm for Fortune 200 companies. At ARA, Ms. Chatmajian has worked extensively on several museum expansion projects including The Museum of Modern Art, The Newark Museum Signature Project, Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.  She has been extensively involved in the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan through our relationship with the Alliance for Downtown New York on residential, retail, and commercial tenants and hotel studies.  Ms. Chatmajian is conversant in French, Armenian, and Arabic.

Thomas J. Spitznas | Chief Economist

An expert in micro, regional, industry, fiscal, and economic impact analysis, Mr. Spitznas was a member of the Economic Advisory Board of the New York City Council Finance Division, Advisory Committee to the Regional Economic Forecast of the Port Authority of NY & NJ, the Economists’ Forum of the NYU Real Estate Institute, and the Board of the New York Area Data Council.  He was also a member of the American Economic Association, and the New York State Network for Economic Research.  Mr. Spitznas headed Chemical Bank’s (now JP Morgan Chase) Regional Economics Unit.  For ARA, he has conducted economic impact analyses for the Museum of Modern Art, the New York Nightlife Association, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, New Haven Arts Council, Tribeca Film Festival, Newark Museum, and Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo).

Barbara O’Connor | Qualitative Specialist
Ms. O’Connor is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with an M.B.A from Northeastern University.  She conducted ARA’s focus groups for the Guggenheim, MoMA, The Newark Museum, Kimbell Art Museum, The Museum of Jewish Heritage, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Intrepid Sea Air Museum, Rubin Museum of Art, Manhattan Theatre Club and the 92nd Street Y.  Barbara has also conducted focus groups and IDIs (individual depth interviews) for ARA’s tourism clients such as the Empire State Building Observatory and Disney Theatrical Productions.  Barbara is Chairperson of the Northeast Chapter of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association.

Elizabeth Maas | Data Processing
Ms. Maas holds a BS degree from Polytechnic University in Life Sciences and has completed graduate work in statistics. She worked with Mr. Wachtel at the League of American Theatres and Producers before joining him at ARA. Ms. Maas is responsible for all data entry and programming for online surveys.

Photo: ndesh

The area where ARA first developed its extremely high standards for reducing non-response rate, our audience surveys and visitor intercepts present a near census level portrait of visitor geography, demographics, sources of information, media habits, and motivations for visiting.  Combining active collection with appropriate incentives, and careful sampling procedures, ARA has achieved very high responses rates in theatres, museums, festivals and other attractions.