Museums Today: Building Audiences for Sustainability

National statistics have long shown stagnant or declining attendance in museum and performing-arts spaces, and the COVID-19 pandemic intensified challenges around audience engagement and financial sustainability. This presentation shares insights from the University of Texas at Austin’s study on the audience-building efforts of 25 large nonprofit performing arts organizations, part of The Wallace Foundation’s Building Audiences for Sustainability initiative. While no simple solutions emerged, the study offers valuable insights into effective and ineffective strategies, noting that audience growth does not always happen on the organization’s terms.  

About Francie Ostrower 

Francie Ostrower, Ph.D., is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin in the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the College of Fine Arts. She also serves as the director of the Portfolio Program in Arts and Cultural Management and Entrepreneurship and is a senior fellow at the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service. She is principal investigator of the multi-year Building Audiences for Sustainability: Research and Evaluation study, commissioned and funded by The Wallace Foundation. Dr. Ostrower has authored numerous publications on philanthropy, nonprofit governance and arts participation.