4E Arts Marketing (Part 4 Engagement)

Engagement in arts marketing involves building relationships with the audience through interactive and participatory activities.

Engaging audiences in this way increases the likelihood of them becoming supporters of the organization and promoting its work to others.

An example is the project "The Big Picture" in Birmingham in 2018 that aimed to create the world's largest photo mosaic.

Funded by Arts Council England West Midlands, supported by the BBC, and managed by Audiences Central, the project invited the public to submit photographs representing the area ("Largest Photo Mosaic-World Record Set by The Big Picture" 2008).

The winning photo became the main image, and 112,896 collected photos were combined to create a collage.

Participants received a Guinness Book of Records Certificate, and the project's involvement of Ikon and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery attracted 547,134 attendees.

This project demonstrates how arts and cultural organizations can offer engaging experiences (Walmsley 2011, 14).