Curatorial Innovation
How the Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester collaborates with a nationally known artist to market and fundraise for a very specific, innovative exhibition to come in October.
Kickstarter campaigns have raised more money for artists in 2012 than the National Endowment for the Arts. As funding for arts projects moves towards crowdsourcing, the needs of artists and museums remain the same. Artists need exhibition space, money to live on, and ways to continue to build their brand by exposing their art. Museums are in serious need of funding sources, have meager marketing budgets, and need a way to show their communities of local patrons and artists how they contribute and support them. Since the mutual goal of the artist and the museum is to stage a successful exhibition, collaborative crowdfunding can help to market and fund an exhibition that engages the audience that both are after: the local art lover.
The Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester (“MAG”) is the one of a handful of museums to collaborate directly with an artist to crowdfund an artist’s exhibition. MAG is bringing in nine of the The Infinity Boxes, a series of ten works of social art created by Matt Elson, for an exhibition starting in October 2014, and partially funding the curatorial expenses of the exhibition with their own crowdfunding campaign Bring the Infinity Boxes to the MAG:
Maria Via, MAG curator states:
“I first learned about The Infinity Boxes
on the web, so it seems fitting that we use the
power of the internet to help raise funding for this endeavor.
We’ll be encouraging exhibition visitors’ to upload their “Infinity Box selfies”
so their experiences at the MAG will live on via
social media sites(see example below #InfinityBoxes).
We’re very excited about bringing this colorful,
interactive experience to Rochester and hope it will fuel
creativity and engagement for people of all ages.”
The campaign accomplishes four objectives for the museum:
1.Marketing the Exhibition. Crowdfunding acts to pre-market the exhibition and engage the museum’s member base. MAG offers different sets of crowdfunding rewards to spur member engagement, like $10 for two exhibition admissions or $50 for an annual membership.
2. Local media coverage. The campaign, managed by BNN Funding, leverages The Breaking News Network (“ BNN”), the most comprehensive local media network supporting social good, covering over 400 cities worldwide. As a community service, the BNN gives the museum a local media voice to expose the campaign locally.
When the Memorial Art Gallery (@magur) tweets Rochester, @ROCify and @rochesternybuzz RTs the tweet to Rochester locals.
3. National branding of museum as an institution that supports artists.When a museum uses its resources to fundraise for its artists, it is a compelling show of support for the artist’s work. The combination of innovation, artistic collaboration and active marketing support associated with collaborative crowdfunding can elevate a museum’s standing with the larger artist community. The BNN recognizes the museum’s innovation and good will nationally by exposing the project to artists across 350 cities.
4. Fundraising. Although the marketing benefits of crowdfunding are powerful for exposure and branding, receiving the check is the cherry on top. Collaborative crowdfunding turns the concepts of marketing on its head by turning it into actual revenue.
