We are in the process of rethinking how we do exhibition openings, and I
would like to pick your collective brain for a moment.  Could you please
send me your thoughts on the following questions?  I am particularly
interested in responses from those who have experienced the opening
phenomenon in contemporary art museums/centers, university
museums/galleries, and galleries that deal primarily with local or regional art.

How often do you change temporary exhibitions?

Do you have an opening reception with each change?  If not, how often do you
have openings?

What is the typical attendance for such openings?  Do you consider this low,
high, or satisfactory?  Have you noticed certain factors (such as weather,
timing, nature of the work shown, whether the artist is local or not, etc.)
impacting your attendance, and how?

What measures have you tried to increase attendance at openings, and to what
extent have they been successful?

What day of the week do you have your openings, and what time of day?

Do you coordinate your openings with other happenings in your community, and
how does this affect attendance?

(this is a philosophical question, so get ready)  What do you see as the
purpose for openings?  For example, do you see them as marketing tools for
the artist, for your institution, development opportunities, social
occasions, or some combination?

What do you think is the IDEAL way of operating and conceptualizing openings?



Thanks in advance for your time--you are helping out a whole lot of people
by answering.
You can reply to me privately if it suits you better.

Julia Moore
Director of Exhibitions and Artist Services
Indianapolis Art Center
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