Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Page 161

Free Admissions Help Arts
Organizations Build New
Audiences. Not Really.
Ariel Stolier
Ariel Stolier is Producing Director of Paseo La Plaza (www.paseolaplaza.com.ar), a leading
performing arts center in Buenos Aires, Argentina and a Director at Grupo La Plaza. More than
650,000 people attend its productions every year at 4 theaters, 6 alternative spaces and on tour.
Previously he held artistic and management roles in the United States at Theater Communications
Group and at Manhattan Theater Group, amongst others. He holds a degree in Public Relations
and Communications from UADE University and received a Fulbright/National Endowment for
the Arts Fellowship to pursue graduate training in Arts Management in the United States. He is a
professor at the Masters Programme in Cultural and Creative Administration at UBA/Universidad
de Buenos Aires, and a visiting lecturer at UNC/Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. He is also
Editorial Director of ACC / Administración Cultura Creatividad (www.revistaacc.econ.uba.ar),
an academic magazine devoted to covering the arts management sector in Latin America, published
by Universidad de Buenos Aires.
A recurring debate within the cultural wars between politicians, taxpayers,
creative producers, and artistic community concerns what constitutes a
fair price of admission. Should the access to the arts be determined and
subsidized by the public sector or the producers and artists themselves? The
definition of fairness provokes multiple interpretations as price and value
are easily conflated.
Many performing arts organizations use low-cost
or free admission as a strategy to introduce new
programming, maximize attendance, and expand their
audience base. This approach interprets price as an
obstacle for the consumption of arts. Some argue for
nominal or free ticket prices because taxpayers already
support the cultural sector through direct subsidies,
philanthropic grants, and tax exemption. However,
the development, production, and distribution of
the arts are subject to ever-rising costs, which makes
maintaining financial viability a difficult task.
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