About

Eskenazi Museum of Art Live! consisted of musical acts, including two jazz bands, food trucks, and artmaking activities that were related to the loan of McArthur Binion artwork. The key audience for this program was the larger Black and African American communities in the Bloomington area. This audience, while not new, is one that has been historically underserved by the museum’s public programming, so this event was designed for the Eskenazi Museum of Art to expand opportunities for meaningful connection.

Intended Outcome

The event intended to engage the local Bloomington community by offering high-quality museum experiences and to increase the number of live performances in the city.

Actual Outcome

​The program was effective as a novel outreach to the Black and African American residents of Bloomington. It was also an opportunity to experiment with an interdisciplinary approach that brought art together with music in a lively community-centered event. ​Eskenazi Museum of Art Live! built on the museum’s commitment to excellence in exhibition-driven programming, as evidenced by every seat being taken for the McArthur Binion-inspired collage activity and high attendance at the exhibition talks by curators of African and contemporary art during the day.

Advice Post Project

The outreach strategy that proved most effective in reaching key audiences was Facebook based on post-engagement figures. An additional key resource to reach the target audience of Black and African American community members was the bands’ appeal to their existing fan bases. In considering programming like this, social media still seems to be a strong outlet for building excitement around live events, and leaning into artists’ existing audiences is a solid way to reach new visitors.