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relevance
connections
support
friends
fans
participation
moments
insight
transformation
vitality
action
loyalty
experiences
impacts
success
engagement
innovation
equity
power
places
social change
revelation
inclusion
passion
meaning
progress
community.
We’re a social research firm for the cultural sector.
We use rigorous research & evaluation methods to shine new light on how people connect to the arts, museums, media, science, stories, ideas, creativity, and community. And how they could connect.
Explore the links below, or scroll down to see what we’re up to lately.
The research has the capacity to be transformational for the O’Keeffe Museum. Slover Linett took the time to listen, understand our needs, and integrate their work with another consultant team… As a result, the staff is eager to develop and implement experimental programs to attract and retain new audiences. Peter and his team are not only experts in audience research; they are experienced, thoughtful, and sophisticated partners who are willing to think with my team.”
Featured Projects
New, free toolkit for DIY audience surveys, with OF/BY/FOR ALL
We're right there with community innovator Nina Simon when she says, "Collecting good demographic data can help you smash stereotypes. It can help you make smarter strategic decisions and better programs." Well, we would believe that — we’re researchers....
READ MOREWhere is Folk Music Heading? A New Survey for Folk Alliance International
Slover Linett has done considerable research on classical music audiences and innovations over the years. But other kinds of music are also vital, evolving art-forms, with their own communities of creators and consumers. So we’ve been delighted...
READ MOREContinuing Our Inquiry with Two Wallace Foundation Arts Grantees About Audiences’ Connection to New, Unfamiliar Works
In 2019, we’ve been working again with Ballet Austin and the Goodman Theatre on related research questions: How do audiences decide to take the leap of attending dance or theater performances that they don’t know much about? Both organizations are...
READ MOREHow Can Science Connect to More Millennials? A Survey for the National Academy of Sciences
In 2018, the National Academy of Sciences closed its science museum in Washington, DC and announced a new program aimed at millennials, LabX. The LabX team engaged Slover Linett to conduct a groundbreaking national study of how science is perceived by...
READ MOREMapping the Future of the Arts at Cornell University
Slover Linett has long worked with museums and arts presenters based on college and university campuses. But until recently we hadn’t helped a major educational institution look at the big picture: What roles can the arts and creativity play in...
READ MORESupporting and studying a learning community of arts organizations in California
We’re excited to be entering the homestretch of one of our most rewarding and complex engagements: an ongoing evaluation and capacity-building project with the James Irvine Foundation and its fifteen grantee-partners in the New California Arts Fund (NCAF)...
READ MORENews & Notes
It shouldn’t still surprise me, but it does. How can the NY Times preview of the Poster Museum in NYC ignore almost every aspect of that new cultural experience except the “what” — the objects that are displayed? Then again, judging from the photos that accompany the article, the museum’s founding curators may share the writer’s assumption…
READ MORE
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of spending a few days in Miami with many of the country’s top theater-makers at the 2019 Theatre Communications Group annual conference. I never cease to be amazed by the work ethic, creativity, and forward-thinking...
READ MORE
I am a member of the National Emerging Museum Professionals Group on Facebook, which keeps me connected to a network of people working throughout the field. A couple of months ago I read a post asking for podcast recommendations and “Working” caught my interest since...
READ MORE
I'm not usually a fan of those big-budget "blockbuster" exhibitions that are mounted by non-museum producers in touristy, non-museum spaces. But I am a huge fan of the musical "Hamilton," Lin-Manuel Miranda's genius rewiring of the American founding story....
READ MORE
I am thrilled to be joining my colleagues and friends from the performing arts world at this year’s Theatre Communications Group national conference in Miami. The themes this year are: Audience & Community Engagement, Well-being & Wellness, and...
READ MORE
Across the U.S., foundations are rethinking how they fund culture and the arts. Some are pulling out. But some are becoming even more creative and collaborative. My team and I are excited about four new studies we've just started, all of them tied to how...
READ MORELatest Tweets
Kudos to our friends at @amnh for another round of self-critique & reappraisal (this time, a problematic statue). But "addressing" the statue & inviting multiple perspectives seems tepid: typical museum neutrality. If we're really going to decolonize...
Angered by This Roosevelt Statue? A Museum Wants Visitors to Weigh In
Conversation about monuments has reached a fever pitch, and the city was split on this one. The American Museum of Natural History is opening an exhib...
www.nytimes.com
"@DesignMuseumChi strives to meet people where they are...we believe that #design is not just a single discipline or process, rather a persistent element present in our everyday environments & experiences."
The runners at our firm love #artrunchicago!
On Art Run: Chicago
The On Art Run returns to Chicago! Join On at the intersection of art and running for a day of charity and celebration at the Design Museum of Chicago...
www.on-running.com
Looking forward to exploring this publication. Cc: @SloverLinett
Data Visualization Society on Twitter
“We're excited to announce that we're partnering with Medium to develop our publication focused on #datavisualization for professionals and the ...
twitter.com
An absolute privilege to be invited to stay overnight in #FraankLloydWright's SunCottage on the campus of #TaliesinWest. I got to sit on the furniture and #explore the nooks and crannies. It is still so alive! Thank you @WrightTaliesin! #WorldHeritageSites @sloverlinett
“The cultural artifacts in a museum cannot have more value than the people who live across the street or down the road.” @PorchiaMuseM on the role of museums & comparing them to more community-centric libraries @SloverLinett #visitorstudies19
Um...Ashley, there's something on your arm...
Many thanks to @FieldMuseum for the hospitality at #FantasticBugEncounters last night!We had a blast & made friends with this sweet American millipede. This exhibit is gorgeous & designed well for adults & kids alike. @SloverLinett, let’s plan a field trip!
I’ve found this resource “Why Am I Always Being Researched?” from @Chicago_Beyond really helpful & thought-provoking: #visitorstudies19 @Visitor_Studies @SloverLinett
Why Am I Always Being Researched?
Why Am I Always Being Researched? A guidebook for community organizations, researchers, and funders to help us get from insufficient understandin...
bit.ly
Great resource for us all! #visitorstudies19 #research #evaltwitter #evaluation #surveys
OFBYFOR ALL on Twitter
“Do you know who’s coming to your programs - and who isn’t? Check out our new free toolkit on RESPECTFUL AUDIENCE SURVEYING. Co-prod...
twitter.com