I come from an art center in New York some of you may have heard of - Lincoln Center. Occasionally it gets its name in the papers, and often, unfortunately, when there is controversy. When one is engaged in building a project the size of Lincoln Center, there is bound to be controversy. The controversy, the conflict, the differences, the problems, the difficulties, are thoroughly publicized and everyone in the world knows them. What is less known about Lincoln Center is some of the really constructive things that have been going on there, and I'm particularly grateful that I have a chance to speak to you, because the subject of audience building and the audience for the arts, in general, is one on which I think we have made some rather good progress.

First of all, let me explain that in the whole area of audience education, Lincoln Center is really functioning as a center. I sometimes think in attending some of these sessions and others in which the performing arts are discussed that the word center is forgotten - the idea of concerted action, which to me is what a center means. In the area of education, Lincoln Center really is functioning as a center. We have formed a council on educational programs, which is composed of representatives of each of our constituents - the orchestra, the opera, the repertory theatre, Juilliard School, the library, the music theatre, and so forth. This council meets regularly and works very hard, and we have developed a program. We have all decided to join together - the center and its constituents - in developing a major program in the schools. We bring groups of students into the center, we provide ticket opportunities for them, and we also have an extensive touring program. (p. 105-107)

[Presented as part of the panel on Expanding Audiences for the Arts introduced by
 Oliver Rea. Additional presentations are all listed under Expanding Audiences for
 the Arts by Leslie Cheek, Jr.; Bradley G. Morison; Carol Morse; and Rise Stevens.]

I come from an art center in New York some of you may have heard of - Lincoln Center. Occasionally it gets its name in the papers, and often, unfortunately, when there is controversy. When one is engaged in building a project the size of Lincoln Center, there is bound to be controversy. The controversy, the conflict, the differences, the problems, the difficulties, are thoroughly publicized and everyone in the world knows them. What is less known about Lincoln Center is some of the really constructive things that have been going on there, and I'm particularly grateful that I have a chance to speak to you, because the subject of audience building and the audience for the arts, in general, is one on which I think we have made some rather good progress.