Study Levels: Undergraduate, Postgraduate
Faculty: Axel Petri-Preis
mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
Faculty contact: petri-preis@mdw.ac.at
Credits: 2 ECTS
Engaging with Audiences and Communities
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Audience and community engagement have become important tasks for musicians in the 21st century. In order to attract diverse audiences and to unfold societal relevance, cultural institutions and musicians have to think of presentation and participation formats that go beyond the classical concert format, with its rigid conventions and exclusion mechanisms. Instead of perpetuating existing power- relations, audience and community engagement seek to develop a transformative power, in order to develop a much more symmetrical understanding of the relationship between the producers and recipients of art.
In this course we will explore ways to engage with audiences and communities and discuss both chances and pitfalls. We will read and reflect on central texts, hear experts from the cultural field talk about their stance on the topic, discuss and critically review international examples and do hands-on exercises.
COURSE OUTCOMES
By the end of this course students will be able to:
- Reflect on their role and social responsibility as musicians in a super-diverse, late-modern society.
- Critically examine existing approaches to audience and community engagement, especially in terms of power relations and the possibilities of immersion and participation.
- Develop ideas on how to integrate participative, inclusive and transcultural aspects into their artistic practice in order to connect with diverse audiences and communities.