Abstract

In May 2020, in the middle of pandemic crisis, a group of nine Italian cultural workers interrogate themselves about the mood of their reference audiences. They launch a public research starting from the question «Dear Spectator, how do you feel?». One hundred of Italian cultural organizations of the performing arts field support the research and spread the survey to their reference audiences. More than 5000 people respond. The results of the research tell us about the missing of live cultural experiences, and the deep emotional and personal involvement of the audience in it. After one year and a half, after closure and reopenings of cultural venues how is the relationship with the audience changed? What did cultural workers learn from the research and from the pandemic?