University of Michigan

Advancing Arts, Culture and Community

A view from The UMS Lobby

The “UMS Lobby” gives visitors a unique new way to connect with the arts and its U-M fans.

By opening its new “Lobby”, the University Musical Society is drawing more fans to the performing arts.

The “UMS Lobby” came online in February, incorporating the latest in social networking to connect UMS fans to each other and to the organization’s extraordinary offerings.  “The Lobby” enables visitors to review comments on recent performances, take part in discussions and go behind the scenes with featured artists. In the first nine weeks since it debuted, “The Lobby” has attracted 7,222 visitors.

“The “UMS Lobby” is a place where people meet, exchange ideas, and build relationships – a bridge between daily life and the special places we devote to artistic experiences,” said Ken Fischer, UMS president. “It’s is a virtual space, accessible year-round, where UMS will offer multiple streams of activity to engage anyone interested in art and ideas, or in UMS specifically.”

The “UMS Lobby” features:

• a digitized, historical archive offering access to UMS’s rich, 131-year history, including easy opportunities for visitors to share their observations and memories; [note: this feature is in the process of being developed and should be available later this summer/early fall]
• a multimedia blog with articles, video, audio, photos and links to related content;
• stories from patrons and others highlighting UMS’s impact on them over the years;
• conversation areas with feeds from Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.

The site’s development began about a year ago after EmcArts, a non-profit group that promotes learning and innovation in the arts, provided UMS with a competitive “Innovation Lab” grant. With consulting support from EmcArts staff and additional financial support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, a team of UMS staff and volunteers set out to research new social networking opportunities. Their work culminated in an intensive, week-long retreat in October where they further refined the Lobby and its visitors’ experience with the performing arts at Michigan.  In addition to the website, the Lobby includes new opportunities for concert-goers to interact in the actual lobbies of the venues where UMS presents its performances.

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