By Katherine Schouten & Rachael Wilkinson, October 19, 2012

As part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the arts management program here at CMU, we recently sat down with Douglas McLennan, founder and editor of Arts Journal, to talk about the role of blogs in arts organizations, how Arts Journal got its start, and some of the challenges facing the arts world as it seeks to develop new audiences. McLennan argues that true engagement can only occur when we first meet communities where they are, and that rather than telling our neighbors what they ought to appreciate, we must first listen to the troubles and triumphs that capture their attention. Online technologies have opened the door to a broad array of participation opportunities, from liking a group on Facebook to listening to Bartok on Pandora. The arts world must rethink and revamp its constructs of participation in order to encompass that sophisticated spectrum.

Listen to the interview, or download the transcript, then let us know how your arts organization is changing its approach to audience engagement—or how you think it ought to.