In addition to "The Universe" project I mentioned below, I have also been part of a consortium in Pasadena sponsoring a twice-yearly "ArtNight" event.   The last one involved nine visual and performing arts institutions, in collaboration with the City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs division.  All venues open their doors free of charge on ArtNight, and the city provides several free shuttle buses that ferry visitors around.  The attendance is in the thousands. (http://www.artcenter.edu/artnight)

Also, I created Pasadena CultureNet, (http://www.pasadena-culture.net) a simple online portal to the websites of area cultural institutions, which includes a free subscription-based email list  (like Musuem-L) called "PasCulture" that now has nearly 600 subscribers.  Through "Pasculture," cultural events are broadcast on a daily basis to the entire subscriber audience -- everything from small house concerts to large symphony programs and museum exhibits.

Collaborations such as these have, over the past several years, greatly increased public awareness of the area's cultural attractions and have had the added benefit of evolving a close-knit "cultural leaders" group comprised of staff from the various institutions, that now meets monthly over lunch and programs organized by the city's Cultural Affairs Division.  

All in all, occasional conflicts notwithstanding, these partnership initiatives have proven to be highly productive and successful.

Stephen Nowlin
Director, Williamson Gallery
Art Center College of Design
http://www.artandscience.us

> ----------
> From:         Stephen Nowlin
> Sent:         Friday, May 9, 2003 3:25 PM
> To:   'Museum discussion list'
> Subject:      RE: Cooperative Marketing Partnerships
> 
> Hi, Wesley -
> 
> Check out "The Universe," a collaborative project among 8 cultural institutions in Pasadena, CA, in 2001.  The archive website is at
> 
> http://www.pasadena-universe.org
> 
> This was the second such multi-venue collaboration we've done, and we are planning our third, for Fall 2004.  The response has been tremendous.
> 
> Best,
> Stephen Nowlin
> Director, Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery
> Art Center College of Design
> 
> ----------
> From:         Wesley Creel
> Reply To:     Museum discussion list
> Sent:         Friday, May 9, 2003 2:51 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Cooperative Marketing Partnerships
> 
> Good Afternoon All:
> 1.)  Seven cultural attractions in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A -- art,
> natural history, history museums; plus a theater, zoo, botanic garden --
> are contemplating something like a monthlong cooperative promotional
> campaign.
> 2.)  The main goal is to increase attendance from within their region, but
> also we have some hopes of drawing in more tourists.
> 3.)  Does anyone have examples of successes or failures, articles or other
> relevant experience we could draw on?
> Your thoughts and comments will be appreciated.
> Thanks have a have a great weekend!
> Wesley S. Creel
> Administrator of Programs
> Pink Palace Family of Museums
> Memphis, Tennessee USA
> www.memphismuseums.org
> office telephone: 901.320.6370
> 
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