What do openings say about a Museum; 4+1 tips for cultural entrepreneurs
In the course of our Creative Entrepreneurship Challenge -in which we are called to provide our help with ideas in a real-life problem situation of a cultural organization- our team (Christos Daniilidis, Charis Zarbalas, Frossini Drakouli, Danai Lyratzi, Martha Davari)visited Benaki Museum during an exhibition’s opening.
The Benaki Museum ranks among the major institutions that have enriched the material assets of the Greek state. Through its extensive collections that cover several different cultural fields and its more general range of activities serving more than one social need, the Benaki Museum is perhaps the sole instance of a complex structure within the broader network of museum foundations in Greece.
The newest building of the Benaki Institution is located at 138 Pireos Street, one of the central development axes of Athens. With a 8.200m2, it is not just another one of the Benaki Museum buildings. It is more of a cultural hub, a center for the arts that promotes new and alternative ideas.
One of these ideas came to life through the recent exhibition that is being held in the Pireos Building of the Benaki Museum; Room 18 is a programme for the exploration of the architecture of hospitality today with a view to re-thinking and the generation of ideas which will revise the current givens in the tourism sector. The exhibition presented all the entries to the competition, as submitted, and the three prize-winning ones, realised on 1:1 scale.
Openings are a museum’s most glamorous day and a great opportunity to attract a lot of people from different backgrounds to the museum. This means that it is of great importance for this day to run smoothly.
As for this particular opening, I believe it was a success. It that attracted many people, especially young ones, most of them students with a love for culture and architecture. Even though that mostly architecture students came, it still had a diverse crowd, mixing people from all the ages and backgrounds: from undergraduate students and young kids to 30-year-old hipsters and people over 65 that appreciate art and trust the exhibitions that Benaki Museum hosts.
The event had everything: nice exhibits, gift bags, cozy atmosphere and of course wine. Organising an opening though, can be really stressful. So, here are some tips for young cultural entrepreneurs, museum managers or just people in love with museums and exhibitions:
- Communicate your event to the right outlets
You not only want to have a lot of people being aware of your exhibition’s opening, but you also want the right people. This means finding the outlets (Radio and/or TV stations, Influencers, online and/or printed magazines, Facebook Pages etc) that target the group of people you want to attract.
Few steps into succeeding that:
a) Find your audience, the group of people that will find your event interesting.
b) Research what these people are listening to, what are they watching on TV, what do they like on Facebook or/and Instagram.
c) Book these outlets as Communication Sponsors to promote your event
d) Have influencers similar to your audience to come to your event. - Do not focus only on the exhibits
Even though the openings are about showing the actual exhibition and the artists’ work, it is also about people having fun aka telling their friends how much they enjoyed going to your opening.
Therefore, focus on the experience of your attendees.
What will they like? What would make them want to come again? - Put yourself in the situation of the visitor
A great way to find what your attendees would like and how to make their experience better, is to put yourself in their shoes.
Some days before the event, when you both have time to make changes and also can see how the event will be curated, walk through the visitor’s experience. From finding parking space and getting to the venue, to walking through the museum, or even going to the bathroom. This experience will help you understand what your visitors will have to go through when they will visit your museum’s opening. Therefore, you will have knowledge on what to avoid or what to correct - Get Feedback
There are a lot of ways to get feedback for your event:
a) Ask your friends to come to your event and pay attention to everything during the evening. After that, ask them to give you a full, loving feedback about how the event went.
b) Be social and don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to the visitors. Even if you are not familiar with them, it is very important as a museum employee to get to know them, show gratitude for them attending the event and of course get true feedback. - Try to learn from and then avoid your mistakes
Making mistakes is human and understandable. The important part though, is to learn from them and turn them into meaningful actions instead of letting them get you down.
Find your organisation’s weakest spots and turn them into valuable strengths.
