Donna Walker-Kuhne conducts workshops, keynotes and lectures about cultural engagement and community engagement.
Walker-Kuhne’s journey to creating a new audience begins with communication and ends with commitment. In her popular workshops, conducted in cities throughout the U.S. and abroad, she describes how even limited staff resources can be mustered in a concerted effort to promote diversity. Volunteer ambassadors and advisory councils can be empowered to advocate an institution or event. Activating social media, mobile platforms and digital marketing helps to spread the word.
While ticket sales are the principal metric for determining return on investment, Walker-Kuhne explains that success also translates into attracting new multicultural patrons of the arts, positive buzz in the vicinity, and group outings planned around theatergoing, such as dining out. Creating a climate of diversity can be accomplished by even the smallest of organizations, with minimal budgets, as long as visionary leadership is coupled with smart translators.
Workshops
Donna Walker-Kuhne conducts a variety of workshops all geared to present pertinent strategies, research and action steps towards developing a community engagement plan. They are usually 3 hours in length but can be modified when required. A sample of two of the most popular workshops are listed below.
Workshop 1: Community Engagement and Digital Media
This dynamic workshop will present strategy and theory for developing new audiences utilizing digital platforms and community engagement tactics. Topics include developing a strategic plan for digital marketing, organizational capacity and developing infrastructure, building bridges between digital programming and audiences, holistic approaches to bringing targeted aspects of creative experiences for audiences in the digital world. We will discuss and provide case studies that illuminate how the digital world can be an effective tool for communicating art products to new and current audiences. Seminars will include demonstration of various campaigns to encourage ticket buyers and participation. Seminars will also include developing video content and storytelling as a means of communicating and sustaining interest in audiences and the public.
Workshop 2: Building A Culture of Diversity
This workshop will present tangible strategies on ways to build and expand multicultural audiences for the arts. The format includes an overview on national trends on engaging diverse communities, and an Overview of Engaging Diverse Communities including the following topics: Impact of Immigration, Target Demographics, Generational Marketing, Ten Tools for Building Communities, Social Media and the impact of press, publicity and advertising on multicultural audiences. Participants will break up into small groups and prepare a draft of an outline that maps tactics to engage a diverse audience. They will present outcomes and conclude with a summary of the discussion and action steps moving forward.
Workshop 3: Audience Development Workshop
This interactive workshop will highlight trends in diversity, examine case studies of successful efforts to engage under-represented communities, build diverse audiences, and explore marketing tools and strategies essential to success. Participants will have the opportunity to draft their own strategic marketing outlines and share them for feedback and analysis.
Keynotes
Keynote addresses are usually 45 minutes to one hour in length, including Q&A.
The content provides a sophisticated strategic overview of the global and national efforts, challenges and opportunities for engaging diverse audiences. Addresses are tailored to the specific needs and interests of the constituents in the audience.
The presentation will highlight the national and international trends in cultural diversity as well as examine the challenges in engaging, marketing and sustaining relationships with targeted communities. Case studies will be shared to illustrate leadership, effective campaigns for growing cultural participation and measurements of success.
Lectures
Are offered on specific topics which can include:
- The top 10 Tools for Building Audiences
- Specific strategies for developing dance, theater or classical music audiences
- Specific strategies on staff development for creating a culture of diversity
Please visit the contact page to discuss our services.