Hong Kong's artistic quest to build a good audience relationship

As part of a co-ordinated, three-pronged approach to strengthen arts and cultural development - and to underline the importance of community engagement and participation - the chief executive's policy address focused, in part, on building an audience.

However, there is perhaps no such thing as an audience - only audiences. Each is different. Each organisation has to find its own approach to developing its audience.

Yet a co-ordinated approach is necessary if we are to develop audiences for the West Kowloon Cultural District, and we must recognise the commonalities in embracing the broad themes of audience development. This often requires looking at a range of variables, from programming, ticket pricing and customer care, to barriers to attendance, and audience values and motivation. But there are also opportunities for fresh partnerships, to focus on new, younger and more diverse audiences.

Any committed approach will invariably involve producing distinctive programmes, and ensuring that new audiences return again and again.

The American Symphony Orchestra, for example, has constructed a thematically organised series of concept programmes that relate music to trends in the visual arts or to broader historical contexts. Performances take place 'in concert' with exhibitions in museums, art galleries and libraries.

Audience-building is like any kind of artistic quest, it is about a sense of discovery, and producing attractive and adventurous programmes.