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Audience Development in British National Art Museums

Audience Development in British National Art Museums

National Gallery London
(Source: www.artfund.org)

INTRODUCTION
There is a distinction between high cultural art form (e.g. art, opera, ballet) and popular culture (e.g. film, TV series, fashion design). The first one is identical with advanced taste and exclusivity whilst the second one is classified as ordinary mass-produced goods. In other words, to be able to understand the high culture, people need to have a higher level of knowledge or higher class in society (Boorsma, 2006). This conception promotes an understanding that art as a high cultural form is not for everyone. Therefore, people often question the eligibility of the arts-related state funding. The museum, as a medium to bridge between the artworks and the people, has a responsibility to alter this misconception. Across the year, art museums have been struggling to prove that the public and government funding is worth the investment by acquiring wider audience and assure that they may provide spill-over benefits to the society (O’Hagan, 2016).

The essay aims to further examine the museums’ audience development strategies. It is structured as follows. First, it will define the meaning of art museum, observe several types of museum funding scheme, and the objectives of the funding scheme. Second, it will discuss the museum audience and explore two theories of audience development from Hayes and Slater (2002) and Hansen (2015). Finally, it will mention some examples of audience development strategies in real-life practice which will be organised into four types: (1) taste cultivation; (2) audience education; (3) extended marketing; and (4) outreach, then further analyse how they are related to the objectives of the funding.

STATE FUNDING ON NATIONAL ART MUSEUM
At the beginning, museum’s purposes are to store, exhibit, conserve, and archive historical objects and artefacts, including artworks, thus the physical goods can be preserved permanently for the future generation and not just documented through pictures. The establishment of the museum is also based on educational core purpose.  It often acquires artefacts from personal collectors so that the artefacts will be accessible for public. Moreover, the museum is a symbol of well-developed and high-cultured society. That is why sometimes it is identical with the elitist (McClellan, 2008). It is true that museum does not cause an explicit impact on poverty, but it is considered to reaffirm the social and economic inequalities (Kawashima, 2006).

Nowadays the purposes of the museums are getting broader to reach beyond the cultural elitist, eradicate social exclusion, and heading towards the inclusive museum goals. In this case, the term social exclusion does not always refer to the exclusion of marginalised people, but it applies to all classes of people who possess some kind of barriers to participate in the arts and culture (Sandell, 2000). It does not mean that museums will start to display popular art rather than high art, but it will target mainstream audiences and become more socially inclusive (Hayes and Slater, 2002; Jancovich, 2011).

Statistically, there is a total of 17 museums in the UK which are officially funded by the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport (Maddison, 2004). Nevertheless, the scope of this essay is British national art museums or galleries, namely: (1) National Gallery; (2) National Portrait Gallery; (3) Tate; and (4) Victoria and Albert Museum. These museums are funded at arm’s length principle which means that the government does not interfere with their daily operational policies (DCMS, 2016a).

Variety of Funding Schemes in 2005/2006
(Source: Adapted from MLA, 2006)

There are several types of funding schemes based on the sources of the funding. MLA (2006) reported that art museums in the UK gathered their funding from national lottery funding, donations, sponsorships, government grant-in-aid, and public grant-in-aid which performs as the primary income. The museums also earn money from trading in the shops or restaurants and admissions for temporary exhibitions. The huge proportion of the funding is allocated to abolish entrance fee since it is an effective way to attract audiences. This policy succeeded to increase the number of visitors by 128% in 2015/2016 term (DCMS, 2016a). Besides that, the funding is allocated to cover the operational cost, capital expenditure, and to purchase artworks. Based on the statistics, the given funding which is translated into expenditure almost always produces higher income (MLA, 2006). Indirectly, it confirms that the museum funding is well-invested.

Expenditure and Income Comparison in 2015/2016
(Source: Adapted from MLA, 2006)

Despite the general funding, there are more specific funding schemes which target narrower goal such as New Audiences Fund for audience development, Museum Resilience Fund for sustainability and resilience-based development, and Cultural Gifts and Acceptance in Lieu to acquire private-owned works of art and change it into public-owned. Moreover, besides funding by the government, there is also grant by an independent philanthropic organisation such as Museums and Galleries Improvement Funds by The Wolfson Foundation (Hayes and Slater, 2002; DCMS, 2016a). However, Maddison (2004) stated that the increased amount of private grant may decrease the allocation of public and government’s funding in the future. It means that the government aid is not permanent, but rather it befits with the museum’s condition. For instance, Victoria and Albert Museum change their admission status several times during the 2000s.

The main goal of the subsidised arts is ‘providing free public access to permanent collections of national museums and galleries’ (DCMS, 2016a, p.2). However, besides cost, the government also acknowledges the importance of the quality of audiences’ visit to the museum. Therefore, DCMS (2016b, p.3) added that ‘everyone should enjoy the opportunities culture offers no matter where they start in life, […] benefit communities across the country, and […] increase our international standing’.

It is essential to converse the funding into concrete social impact. At some point, people acknowledge the personal and symbolic benefit of the arts such as the ability to spiritually connect oneself to the philosophy of an artwork, gains aesthetic pleasure, elevates social status, and helps us in relaxing our mind (Boorsma, 2006). Furthermore, the principal product of museums is not the artworks collection, but the propositioned experiences for visitors. Some museums not only display artworks and treat visitor as passive spectators, but also initiate related activities to help the visitors immerse themselves in the experience. There are four types of museum-going experiences, namely: ‘(1) social experiences; (2) cognitive experiences; (3) object experiences; and (4) introspective experiences’ (Kotler and Kotler, 2000, p.277).

However, O’Hagan (2016) stated that if art solely has personal benefit, it should not be funded by the government and the taxpayers because people would not get the benefit equally. He further explained that art is a medium to build identity and strengthen social cohesion thus it possesses a social impact. Moreover, Sandell (1998) proclaimed museum as the agent of social regeneration. In relation to these theories, Rushton (2003, p.91) believes that even though not everyone participated in the arts, everyone is ‘collectively benefits from the art’.

To fortify the evaluation of the social impact, each museum has its own interrelated goals which can be divided into three categories: ‘(1) audience goals; (2) product goals; and (3) organisation goals’ (Kotler and Kotler, 2000, 274).  The audience is related to the visitor, the product is related to the collection, and the organisation is related to the income and collaboration between museums. Some of the goals can be valued through quantitative measurements. For example, the museum can count the number of ‘attendance, volunteerism, advocacy, or donations’ and analyse the data as a framework for audience development program (Hayes and Slater, 2002, p. 7). However, some of the qualitative goals are only able to be measured in a long-term research.

MUSEUM AUDIENCE
The trend of British museums’ audience is escalating throughout the year. The fastest growing audience is shown in the National Gallery with its constant growth. However, Tate succeeded to obtain almost 8 million total visitors in 2015 which was the highest among other museums. It is assumed that this happened because Tate has four separate museums which are Tate Gallery (London), Tate Modern (London), Tate Liverpool, and Tate St. Ives (Tate, n.d.). Approximately 47% of the total visitors comprises of overseas visitors and 7% of the total visitor is under 16 (DCMS, 2016a).

Museum Visitors Between 2010-2015
(Source: Adapted from DCMS, 2016a)

The biggest challenge for the museums is to erase the stigma that art world is dominated by white middle-class male and address the cultural diversity issue (Jancovich, 2011). It leads ACE (2004, p.7) to better understand the profile of the audience demographic. Its New Audiences Program classified the priority of the audiences in its research findings which consists of ‘general audiences, disability, diversity, inclusion, rural, young people, families, and older people’. With wider audience segmentation, it is hoped that the exposure for art museums will be greater.

Before formulating the strategy, McCarthy and Jinnett (2001) stressed the importance to understand the factors that influence people to go to the museum and elaborate it in the RAND model. Besides personal background, which often understood as the most important decision factor, individual perception and their closest communities’ attitudes towards art also have roles in the decision-making process. It means that art museums can change perceptual and practical notion of people from different backgrounds. At the same time, people’s past experiences will determine their perception towards future participation in a cyclical pattern.

Audience Participation Model
(Source: McCarthy and Jinnett, 2001, p.24)

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
Starting from 2002, all government-funded museums must provide free access to their permanent collections, but they are allowed to sell admission tickets for temporary exhibitions and special events (Madison, 2004). Considering this fact, technically there should not be any financial barrier for people to go to the museums, but on the other hand, many art museums still struggle to alter the stigma that art is exclusive and hard to understand without appropriate knowledge. That is why museums must accommodate the representation of people’s diversity so that everyone will have the same access to participate in cultural appreciation and production (Sandell, 2000).

Wiggins (2004) found out that the greatest barriers are caused by the lack of either motivation, ability, opportunity or the combination between those three aspects. Furthermore, audience motivation itself is diverse. It ranges from ‘self-actualisation, psychological needs, personal development, social needs, and stimulation’ (Cooper and Tower, 1992 as cited in Hill et al., 1995, p.50).

Another theory by Hayes and Slater (2002, p.7) conveyed two approaches of audience development which are (1) mainstream for attenders and (2) missionary for the non-attenders. The attenders and non-attenders are divided into six categories, namely: ‘(1) existing audience; (2) attenders elsewhere; (3) switchers; (4) intenders; (5) indifferent; and (6) hostile’. According to the findings of their research, most of the audiences fell into hostiles and indifferent categories, hence missionary strategies, like conversion and reversion, are more crucial to be implemented. On the other hand, Hansen (2015) adapted audience typology from Kawashima (2006) and proposed strategy for each typology. It simplifies the audiences into four categories based on their attendance and perception.

Audience Develeopment Strategies
(Source: Adapted from Hayes & Slater, 2002 and Hansen, 2015)

The practical examples from Hansen’s strategy (2015) will be discussed below. Some projects are independent projects of the museums while some of them are parts of the New Audiences Fund Scheme which have cultivated a total of 1,157 projects (Kawashima, 2006). Even though the classification is narrowed down into four strategies, the implementation may be overlapping.

Taste Cultivation
Positive attenders are the ideal museum audiences since they already have a personal connection with the arts. The objective of the taste cultivation strategy is to improve audiences’ comfort, generated more perceived value, and raise the frequency of attendance which will be translated into loyalty (Kemp and Poole, 2016; McCarrthy and Jinnett, 2001). The strategy can be achieved by constantly improves the variant of the collections and offers an appealing concept for temporary exhibitions. One of the exhibitions that captivate many visitors is a temporary Raphael Exhibition in National Gallery. It cooperated with other art institutions to bring paintings by Raphael to London for the first time. Approximately 231,000 people came to see this rare exhibition (MLA, 2006).

Another advantage of having mature audiences is the ability to ‘introduce new art forms, genre, or cultural institutions to broaden their scope’ (Hansen 2015, p.348). In line with this, National Gallery routinely commissions musicians to perform a classical piece in the museum (NG, n.d.). Moreover, to engage professional cultural workers as an active museum participants, Victoria and Albert Museum opens a residency program for contemporary UK-based artists, designers, and makers. The selected residents will be provided with on-site studio facility, artworks production grant, and unlimited access to the museum’s resource (VAM, n.d.).

VAM's Artist Residency
(Source: www.transartist.org)

Audience Education
Negative attenders are an important target to tackle since they have the ability to advocate public with word-of-mouth or online review that may influence non-attenders to rethink their decision to visit the museum. Museums must transform their negative experience by providing basic education and positive stimulation (Hanse, 2015). For instance, National Gallery commenced Line of Vision youth mentorship and discussion program for a first-time visitor (MLA, 2006). Besides guides, museums also complete the artworks with easy to understand information which linked to interesting facts about the works, artists, or related art movement.

As for children, museums can make activity book or interactive display that is combined with games and art-making workshops (Kotler and Kotler, 2000), like TATE does with its SureStart program (MLA, 2006). If since the early age children are actively engaged in creating art, even though from different forms such as music and dance, it will be easier to appreciate all forms of art (Kemp and Poole, 2016).

The education process also can be enriched with events such as artist talk and public discussion (Hansen, 2015). It strengthens the importance to organise exhibition related to recent issue, thus it will catalyse stimulating discussion. For instance, in 2012 Tate organised an exhibition about immigrant movement. At that time and until nowadays, immigrant is a controversial issue. With the differences between how the public perceive the exhibition, the issue will raise to the surface and educate people who previously are not concerned with this matter. In this way, museums function as the agent of social change.

Extended Marketing
Positive non-attenders can be classified as a soft target because they are already interested in arts or museums. Mainly this segment’s barrier is related with a physical barrier and it can be changed into an opportunity for the museum. If it wants to expand the market, this segment is the most promising target (Wiggins, 2004).

Fundamentally, the museum must ensure that the information related to event and program has reached the audiences. The information can be spread through the website, social media, and electronic invitation (McCarthy and Jinnett, 2001). However, some audiences may not be able to attend the exhibition because they live far away from the location or have a busy schedule. The solution is to harness the power of digital technology. Museums can offer an informative website which is completed with an online shop and free downloadable resource, online course, or phone application. The example is Love Art phone application by National Gallery that can help non-attenders to accomplish virtual tour (Dawson, 2013)

Love Art Phone Application
(Source: Dawson, 2013)

A physical barrier also happens to people with special needs. In this term, National Gallery has Magical Journey Program. It brings the duplicate portrait of children author and poet for children in the hospital, tells stories about them, and encourages children to make their own art in order to feel better and happier. This program proves that art can contribute to wellbeing. Nationa Portrait Gallery also provides public creative space for an artist with disability (NPG, n.d.). In addition, a program like Talking Images by Tate and Royal National Institute for the Blind conducts a research to improve blind audiences’ art experiences (MLA, 2006). To some extent, most of the extended marketing strategies are close to community development approach (Kotler and Kotler, 2000).

Outreach
Different with the previous types, negative non-attenders may be physically available but they have a psychological barrier which is related to motivation. This cluster of the audience is subbed as a hard target (Wiggins, 2004) because the museums are not only competing with other museums to get their attention but also with other modes of entertainment such as cinema and concert. The proposed strategy is to move the settings from the physical museums whilst convey the same content (Hansen, 2015)

In example, National Gallery worked together with BBC1 to produce a series of documentary about British art entitled A Picture of Britain and Victoria and Albert Museum acts as the main speaker for a BBC2 show about modernism movement which was inspired by its exhibition (MLA, 2006). There is also At Home with Art program by Tate. It commissioned 9 artists to design and produce mass-produced products. It challenged the notion of art as a one-of-a-kind piece of work. The products were sold in ordinary homeware shops. More than 37,000 products were sold and the interesting concept of the program received wide media exposure (ACE, 2004). With this programs, the museums hope to ignite a spark of interest in the audiences’ mind. However, on top of that, all museums present open access to their annual report as accountability for the public patronage.

CONCLUSION
All in all, although the museums acquire their capital from several funding schemes, public grant-in-aid is their primary source (MLA, 2006). Nowadays, the primary objective of the funding is to provide equal access for everyone, regardless of their background (DCMS, 2016a). This objective is improved from the past objectives which revolve around preservation and education (McClellan, 2008). Since museums are funded by the public, it is paramount to ensure that they acquire equal benefits. The audience development strategy is the tool to help museums reach this equality.

However, before formulating any audience development program, the museum must understand the audience profile and investigate the barriers which preclude them for participating in the arts. Hayes and Slater (2002), Kawashima (2006), and Hansen (2015) holistically covers all types of audiences and assist specific strategies to engage with each type of audiences. Even though the two ideas may have different classifications, but the main ideas are similar. They both convey that museums must choose the strategy depends on the targets that they want to touch, which are attenders or non-attenders.

Regarding the objective of public grant-in-aid to prepare better access for everyone, the strategy for the non-attenders can be implemented. At the same time, access is also related to the visitors’ comfort and loyalty which is covered in the attenders’ strategy. Therefore, it can be concluded that to fulfil the aims of the subsidy, museums must perform several types of audience development strategies. It cannot just offer free charge and simultaneously expect people to come without further ado.

Moreover, the effectiveness of the strategies can be seen in wide variables from quantitative measurements of visitors’ attendance, website clicks (DCMS, 2016a), to a more intangible social function indicator such as the ability to provoke public discussion and offer new perspectives towards current issue (DCMS, 2016). As for the aim to fortify international standing, they aimed to gain more overseas audience by promoting the museums in the digital platform such as websites and phone applications.

DISCLAIMER
This is an essay for Creative Lives Assignment for Creative Industries and Cultural Policy Course at the University of Glasgow. Please provide proper citation if you use this as reference.

REFERENCES
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Working in the Digital Economy

Working in the Digital Economy

DIGITAL ECONOMY
The digital economy is classified as the fourth industrial revolution. Each industrial revolution has offered a new technology that significantly alters business model and human life in general. Previously, human depended on the agricultural industry which exploits natural resources. Afterwards, the transformation began with the invention of steam power, electricity, electronics, information and communication technology (ICT), up to the internet of things in the late 2000s (Maynard, 2015). Internet of things combine the extant technologies such as personal computers, web 1.0, and web 2.0 in an interconnected system. In such way, it will blur the distinction between software and hardware. As the ICT gets cheaper and becomes more accessible to wider people, the digital economy emerges (WEF, 2017).

Figure 1. Combinatorial Effects of Technology (WEF, 2017)

 The implication of the fourth industrial revolution is workers must adapt to the digital technology. Since it harnesses the creative capability of human resources rather than natural resources, the term knowledge worker was used as the opposite to routine worker who works in rigid schedule and brick-and-mortar office (Colbert et al., 2016). Furthermore, knowledge worker emphasises on ‘embrained knowledge rather than embodies and embedded knowledge’ (Colbert et al., 2016, p.206).

The structure of the report is based on 3 aspects of working that are affected by the digital economy, namely: ‘(1) workplace; (2) workforce; and (3) manner of work’ (Greenfield, 2014, p.109). Finally, it explains some government’s public policies to adapt to the digital economic landscape.

WORKPLACE
Current physical work surrounding is highly different from the office 20 years ago. With the advancement of technology, we simplify almost the whole workplace into a single desk. This leads to a more flexible work environment. The flexibility is also assisted by virtual knowledge sharing platforms such as Trello and Google Drive so that workers can solve problems or tasks from several locations at the same time. On the other hand, with the emergence of virtual communication media such as Whatsapp and Google Hangout, the communication line is more structured even though the managers, workers, or clients do not engage in a face-to-face meeting (Colbert et al., 2016).

Furthermore, start-ups can minimise their operational cost because they do not require to establish its own physical workplace. Nowadays there are many co-working spaces thus start-ups or independent workers can get office facility without establishing official workplace. The system of the co-working spaces is desk or small room rent. Other common office facilities such as receptionist, meeting room, and even café can be used together. Moreover, it is also possible to do work from home or for a company to establish a modular office (Greenfield, 2014).

WORKFORCE
The key subjects of digital economy are interactivity and open content. The goal is to overcome physical barriers and create a borderless world so that people can connect with anyone with the same interest, no matter where they live (Lanzolla and Anderson, 2008). Even though the application of ICT seems simple, it requires complex management process. That is why, digital economy is responsible for generating many new occupations in the past few years such as social media marketer, content manager, data analyst, and user interface designer. As stated in OECD (2015, p.43) report, ‘employment in the ICT sector accounted for more than 14 million people, almost 3% of total employment in the OECD’ countries. However, the employment growth is still fluctuating.

Figure 2. ICT Sector and Total Employment Growth in the OECD Area (OECD, 2015)

Most of the digital workers are digital immigrants which mean that they recently learned to operate digital devices in their adulthood. They are different with the digital natives of the younger generation which already exposed to the digital environment since their early stage of life (Maynard, 2015). Besides digital literacy, World Economic Forum (2016) discovers 10 essential skills for knowledge workers in the digital age as shown in the diagram below. It conveys that creativity as the ability to produce knowledge is getting more important in the future.

Figure 3. Top 10 Workers' Skills (WEF, 2016)

With the transformation of workplace concept, the notions of self-employment and freelance are thriving. A report from Klair (2016) showed that self-employed and part-time workers trend increased dramatically in the beginning of 2014 and the number are predicted to keep rising. Currently, there is a total of 4.6 million self-employed workers in the UK only. In addition, there is also a concept of interim manager which offer non-permanent outsourced manager for short-term contract projects (Inkson et al., 2001)

Figure 4. Net Employment Growth in the UK (Klair, 2016)

Another change is happening in the recruitment process. It is getting easier because interview can be conducted via an online platform. Moreover, with the international trade collaboration, people can work anywhere. For example, approximately 89,000 Indian engineers dominate Silicon Valley’s start-up workers (Dave, 2015). Besides, the presence of online resume and portfolio websites such as Linkedin and Behance makes it more convenient for head-hunter to recruit some specific workers independently rather than creating job advertisement. Therefore, workers must pay attention to their personal branding in the online presence (Fottrell, 2016). Some websites like Freelance, Upwork, and Toptal also perform as platforms to connect workers to clients and vice versa (Johansson, 2015).

MANNER OF WORK
Flexible working constitutes in a task-specific approach rather than strict working hours. Workers are allowed to work anytime they want as long as the task will be finished on deadline (Colbert et al., 2016). The company also encourages their workers to be more proactive and find solutions together rather than executing an order in the top-bottom approach because it aspires for continuous improvement (Nonaka and Taekuchi, 1995).

However, the flexibility of digital workers has merged work and home and blurred the distinction between work and play (Greenfield, 2014). The drawback is they may confuse to distinguish between working time and leisure time. For instance, even after they arrive at home, they continue to do a working task or discuss the task via smartphone thus it may act as a distraction from their wellbeing and social life (Colbert et al., 2016).

ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
It is important for every country to adapt with the dynamic of the industrial revolution. Nowadays many countries consider ICT as the driver for national economic growth. Considering this fact, the governments must formulate public policies to reinforce the development phase. The policy can be formulated based on the supply-side (producer) or the demand-side (consumer or user) as illustrated in the table below (Pick and Sharkar, 2015).

Figure 5. Classification of ICT Policies in Several Countries (Pick and Sarkar, 2015)

In general, the key objective of the policy is to prevent digital divide. The digital divide is the knowledge gap between the digital immigrants who require constant ICT education and the digital natives (Wong et al., 2009). Furthermore, according to United Nations (2012, as cited in Pick and Sarkar, 2015, p.338), ‘access to the internet is a basic human right’. Regarding this matter, most of the policies accentuate the development of network structure (e.g. faster fibre internet access) and provide supporting tools (e.g. free computers to school). With these programs, ICT is proclaimed to be inclusive and accessible for a whole range of social class. After the infrastructures are established, the government can do related training to improve digital literacy. Consequently, these programs will boost the quality of the forthcoming digital workers and prepare them to compete globally (Wong et al., 2009).

CONCLUSION
There are many positive impacts of the workers’ change in the digital economy. Some of them are time and space flexibility, the removal of labour’s boundaries to work internationally, and a desire of self-improvement that will also impact the company. The advantages lead to government policies to abolish digital divide and provide citizen with an inclusive environment. Furthermore, to be able to compete in the current economic landscape, workers must possess the required skills and adapt with the manner of work because change is inevitable.

DISCLAIMER
This is an essay for Digital Transformation Assignment for Creative Industries and Cultural Policy Course at the University of Glasgow. Please provide proper citation if you use this as reference.

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Menonton Teater di Glasgow

Menonton Teater di Glasgow

Hansel & Gretel Ballet Concert
(Sumber: www..glasgowtheatreblog.wordpress.com)

Sejak berkuliah di Fakultas Seni Rupa dan Desain, saya mulai memiliki ketertarika pada bidang performance art, khususnya teater. Saya sering sekali menonton video-video Broadway di Youtube, sehingga menonton teater menjadi salah satu hal yang wajib saya lakukan saat berkuliah di Glasgow. Sayang sekali menonton teater belum menjadi aktivitas yang lumrah bagi pelajar Indonesia di Glasgow, sehingga saya ingin membantu mempromosikan salah satu bidang industri kreatif ini.

Glasgow sebagai salah satu anggota terpilih dari UNESCO creative cities network, memiliki kualitas performance arts yang sangat baik. Disini pertunjukan teater selalu ramai dikunjungi penonton dan pementasannya tidak pernah berhenti sepanjang tahun. Aktor-aktor teaternya pun sudah bekerja secara profesional, tidak seperti pementasan teater di Indonesia yang kebanyakan diselenggarakan oleh komunitas. Aktor teater disini menjalakan profesinya secara full time. Kebanyakan waktunya diisi dengan persiapan dan tur keliling kota, dimana masing-masing tahapnya membutuhkan waktu beberapa bulan. Selain berakting, aktor juga dituntut untuk bisa menyanyi dan menari. Maka tidak heran jika pementasan teater di Glasgow akan menyuguhkan pengalaman yang sangat menyenangkan.

Kebanyakan pementasan teater di Glasgow berupa pantomine, yang merupakan tradisi asli Skotlandia. Pemaknaan pantomime disini tidak sama dengan pantomim versi Indonesia yang berarti pementasan tanpa suara ala Charlie Chaplin, melainkan sebuah pementasan yang mengadaptasi kisah-kisah populer dan memadukannya dengan drama musikal dan komedi. Beberapa jokes yang dilontarkan dalam pementasan pantomime terkadang sangat lokal, tapi kebanyakan masih bisa dimegerti. Di luar hal tersebut, lucu sekali rasanya ketika melihat seorang Aladdin dengan logat Glaswegian kental. Selain pantomime, terdapat juga pertunjukan teater yang lebih 'serius', drama musikal, pertunjukan musik / resital, konser, balet, dan sirkus.

Cinderella Pantomime
(Sumber: www.backstagepass.biz)

Pementasan teater, terutama pantomime, sangat family friendly. Sejalan dengan tujuan utama pantomime yaitu 'untuk menjadi anak-anak kembali', gaya pementasan yang interaktif membuat pertunjukan tidak membosankan. Sepanjang acara anak-anak bisa melihat aktor-aktor yang kerap bergerak kesana kemari dan sesekali melontarkan pertanyaan kepada penonton, sehingga atensi anak akan selalu terfokus pada panggung. Desain kostum dan tata panggung yang apik juga turut menambah daya tarik. Saya juga menemukan beberapa pementasan juga mengundang anak-anak untuk tampil ke panggung dan mengajak penonton ikut bernyanyi. Hal lain yang saya kagumi adalah pertunjukan teater disini sangat inklusif. Beberapa kali saya menemui penonton yang berkebutuhan khusus, sehingga senang sekali rasanya ketika melihat mereka bisa menikmati hiburan dengan nyaman dan berbaur dengan masyarakat.

Selain pantomime, saya juga sangat menyukai format drama musikal. Biasanya cerita drama musikal diapdaptasi dari cerita dari film-film yang populer, seperti yang sudah saya tonton yaitu Ghost dan Dirty Dancing. Apabila film tersebut bukan film musikal, banyak lagu-lagu baru yang diciptakan khusus untuk pementasan tersebut. Meskipun begitu, ada juga film-film yang dibuat dari pementasan musikal yang sudah lebih dahulu terkenal seperti Mammamia dan Hairspray. Menurut saya drama musikal menyajikan paket komplit karena selain akting yang baik, kita juga disuguhi nyanyian dan tarian yang tidak kalah menarik.


Pengalaman menonton teater bisa didapatkan dengan harga variatif, mulai dari £10 sampai £30 jika memilih kursi yang paling strategis. Menurut saya harga ini sangat worth it karena pada dasarnya tidak jauh berbeda dengan harga satu kali menonton bioskop, yaitu £7. Apalagi sebagai student kita juga mendapat diskon dengan tiket concession. Info-info mengenai pementasan yang sedang berlangsung mudah sekali didapatkan melalui information box di beberapa lokasi seperti bioskop dan museum ataupun di papan pengumuman di subway. Sedangkan untuk pemesanan dapat dilakukan melalui ATG Tickets (www.atgtickets.com). Jika akan rutin menonton teater, bisa juga mendaftar Theatre Pass untuk mendapatkan potongan harga melalui website tersebut.

Masih belum terbayang dengan pertunjukan teater? Sebagai gambaran, berikut adalah video trailer dari pementasan Charlie & The Chocolate Factory.


Semoga beberapa tahun ke depan saya bisa menyaksikan pertunjukan langsung di Broadway! Saat ini Lion King masih ada di peringkat teratas dari daftar teater yang ingin saya tonton di kesempatan berikutnya.


LOKASI PEMENTASAN
Citizen's Theatre
119 Gorbals Street, G5 9DS

Clyde Auditorium
Next to SECC & SSE Hydro, G3

King's Theatre
297 Bath Street, G2 4JN

Pavilion Theatre
121 Renfield Street, G2 3AX

Theatre Royal
282 Hope Street, G2 3QA

Interior Theatre Royal
(Sumber: www.scottishcinemas.org.uk)

Panduan Memilih Akomodasi di Glasgow / Inggris

Panduan Memilih Akomodasi di Glasgow / Inggris


Akomodasi adalah hal utama yang melintas di pikiran kita sebelum berangkat untuk melanjutkan studi ke luar negeri. Mencari akomodasi sebetulnya tidak sulit, apalagi saat ini kita sudah banyak terbantu dengan kehadiran internet sehingga proses bisa dilakukan sejak kita masih di Indonesia. Hanya saja mencari akomodasi yang tepat memang membutuhkan kesabaran. Tulisan ini akan mengulas mengenai beberapa tipe akomodasi, perbandingan keuntungan dan kekurangannya, serta hal-hal yang perlu diperhatikan ketika memilih akomodasi.

ISTILAH PENTING
• Non En Suite. Single bedroom, shared bathroom, shared kitchen.
• En Suite. Single bedroom, private bathroom, shared kitchen.
• Studio. Single bedroom, private bathroom, private kitchen.
• Double bed. Standar kasur yang digunakan adalah double, bukan single seperti di Indonesia. Hal ini juga berbeda dengan dua kamar (double bedroom).
• Landlord. Pemilik rumah yang menyewakan flat, sebagian tinggal bersama di rumah dan sebagian lagi hanya menyewakan rumah. Biasanya landlord memiliki beberap unit flat.
• Agent. Agen yang menyewakan flat, sehingga tenant tidak berhubungan langsung dengan landlord.
• Viewing. Proses melihat isi rumah dan bertemu dengan landlord / agent yang wajib dilakukan setiap calon tenant. Pada saat high season, viewing bisa dilakukan bersamaan dengan beberapa calon tenant sekaligus. Jika landlord / agent sudah cocok dengan tenant, maka bisa dilanjutkan dengan proses membayar deposit dan tandatangan kontrak.
• HMO. House in Multiple Occupation. lisensi dari City Council untuk rumah yang ditinggali lebih dari 2 orang yang bukan keluarga.
• PCM. Per Calendar Month (bulanan)
• PW. Per Week (mingguan)
• To Let. Rumah yang siap disewakan.
• Let Agreed. Rumah yang sudah disewa atau sudah dibooked.

JENIS-JENIS AKOMODASI
Campus Student Accommodation


Setiap kampus di Inggris wajib menyediakan akomodasi bagi mahasiswanya. Mungkin bisa dibilang mirip dengan asrama. Biasanya akomodasi untuk undergraduate dan postgraduate dibedakan, sehingga mahasiswa postgraduate yang lebih ‘serius’ belajar (terutama karena waktu yang dimiliki hanya satu tahun) bisa lebih fokus. Jika ingin berteman dengan teman-teman dari negara lain, campus student accommodation adalah pilihan yang menarik karena tenant-nya sangat beragam.

Umumnya satu unit akomodasi terdiri 3-5 kamar dengan sharing bathroom (non en suite) dan kitchen yang sekaligus berfungsi sebagai ruang santai bersama (non en suite & en suite). Fasilitas lainnya yang pasti dimiliki adalah laundry dan common room yang dapat digunakan untuk rapat, belajar, atau dibooking untuk berbagai keperluan lainnya. Bahkan akomodasi yang kualitasnya lebih bagus dilengkapi juga dengan gym. Untuk memesan akomodasi, calon tenant dapat mengisi formulir online yang disediakan oleh pihak universitas.


Private Student Accommodation


Secara teknis, fasilitas yang dimiliki private student accommodation sama dengan campus student accommodation. Perbedaannya hanya pada kepemilikan, dimana akomodasi ini dikelola oleh perusahaan yang tidak terafiliasi dengan kampus. Karena rata-rata merupakan gedung baru, kualitasnya bisa dibilang lebih baik dibanding campus student accommodation. Selain itu, pilihan akomodasi juga lebih beragam. Pendaftaran akomodasi dapat dilakukan secara online melalui website di bawah sehingga sangat praktis.


Private Flat (Sharing)


Konsep private flat hampir sama dengan konsep kontrakan di Indonesia. Proses pencariannya dapat dilakukan secara online maupun offline ketika tiba di Glasgow. Umumnya 1 flat terdiri dari 2 kamar, ruang tamu, dapur, dan kamar mandi. Namun ada juga landlor yang mengalihfungsikan ruang tamu menjadi kamar sehingga dapat memanmpung 3 tenant. Ada pula flat yang unfurnished (kosongan) dan furnished. Flat unfurnished lebih direkomendasikan untuk mahasiswa PhD yang membutuhkan waktu studi lebih lama. Perlu diketahui bawa memilih private flat dan flatmate memang lebih tricky dibandingkan dengan student accommodation, namun digemari mahasiswa Indonesia karena dianggap lebih murah.


Buddy Ups / Host Family


Jika ingin menyewa private flat tapi tidak kunjung menemukan flat yang tepat, kamu bisa mencoba untuk mencari calon flatmate melalui website berikut. Biasanya di dekat term masuk kuliah, mereka sudah memiliki flat namun belum memiliki flatmate. Kadang selain flatmate sesame pelajar, kamu juga bisa menemukan host family yang menyewakan kamar kosong di rumahnya. Bahkan melalui Aupair kita dapat memiliki akomodasi gratis, hanya saja kita harus membantu pekerjaan domestic pemilik rumah. Maka dari itu, jangan lupa untuk memperhatikan kriteria flatmate dan terms & conditions yang berlaku.


PERBANDINGAN AKOMODASI
Campus/Private Student Accommodation
(+)
• Tidak perlu repot mengurus bill karena biaya sudah all in.
• Kamar lebih nyaman dibanding private flat karena disediakan meja belajar dan rak, dimana biasanya flat hanya berisi kasur dan lemari baju.
• Kitchen dan common room dibersihkan secara berkala, sehingga tenant hanya bertanggungjawab penuh akan kebersihan kamarnya sendiri.
• Cenderung jauh lebih hangat karena pemakaian pemanas sudah diatur oleh akomodasi dan termasuk biaya bulanan, sedangkan di private flat menyalakan heater dalam waktu yang lama terhitung mahal.
• Ada pihak manajemen atau penjaga di akomodasi yang siap membantu ketika kita sedang menghadapi permasalahan mengenai rumah.
• Sudah bisa dibooking sejak di Indonesia sehingga begitu sampai Glasgow bisa langsung mendapatkan tempat tinggal.

(-)
• Biaya sewa relatif lebih mahal, walaupun ada juga beberapa private flat yang harga total dengan bill-nya tidak jauh berbeda dengan student accommodation.
• Biaya sewa untuk kontrak selama 6 bulan sampai 1 tahun dibayar sekaligus secara di muka, sehingga harus menyiapkan budget khusus. Tapi untuk penerima beasiswa ada beberapa student accommodation yang bisa dibayar secara misalnya 3 bulan sekali dengan permintaan khusus.
• Kontrak tidak bisa dinegosiasikan untuk jangka pendek, sehingga tenant harus segera move out begitu tahun ajaran berakhir (menjadi masalah ketika mahasiswa masih melanjutkan internship, mengulang mata kuliah, atau sekedar ingin menunggu wisuda).
• Tidak bebas untuk membawa tamu untuk menginap.


Private Flat
(+)
• Relatif lebih hemat dibanding student accommodation, pilihan yang tepat untuk berhemat (walaupun ada juga yang jika ditotal dengan bill harga sama dengan student accommodation)
• Bisa mengatur sendiri pengeluaran lainnya seperti listrik sesuai budget.
• Punya kebebasan penuh akan rumah, bisa mengundang tema-teman atau mengadakan acara tanpa harus bergantian meminjam common room.
• Dapur dan mesin cuci pribadi, kebersihan lebih terjamin.
• Beberapa lokasi lebih dekat dengan kampus dibanding student accommodation.

(-)
• Harga tidak termasuk bill listrik dan gas (perkiraan per rumah £40-£80 saat winter).
• Harus mencari provider internet sendiri (perkiraan per rumah £20-£30 tergantung provider dan paket).
• Beberapa flat memiliki kondisi yang kurang baik karena gedungnya sudah tua atau peralatannya sudah lama dan rusak, sehingga calon tenant harus benar-benar teliti saat viewing.
• Bertanggung jawab penuh akan kebersihan rumah dan kondisi peralatan yang disediakan oleh landlord/agent sampai masa akhir kontrak, jika ada ketidaksesuaian akan dilakukan denda yang dipotong dari biaya deposit.
• Hidup tinggal bersama dengan orang lain berarti harus bisa berkompromi dengan sifat dan kebiasaan flatmate kita. Kadang jika tidak sesuai akan mempengaruhi kenyamanan dalam menjalani keseharian dan belajar.
• Butuh usaha ekstra untuk mencari flat yang tepat, misalnya dengan datang tidak mepet waktu mulai perkuliahan, proaktif mencari flat yang available, sampai menyewa tempat tinggal sementara terlebih dahulu.


STREET VIEWING
Dengan bantuan Google Maps, ada baiknya kita melihat-lihat lingkungan sekitar calon flat dan kampus secara virtual agar lebih familiar ketika sudah sampai di Glasgow. Caranya cukup dengan memasukkan kode pos tempat tinggal atau kode pos kampus tujuan. Melalui cara ini, kamu juga bisa mengetahui jarak flat ke kampus, berapa lama waktu jalan kaki yang dibutuhkan (walking distance), dan melakukan simulasi virtual perjalanan dari flat ke kampus atau lokasi lainnya seperti City Center, dan mengetahui transportasi umum apa saja yang tersedia. Jangan lupa juga bahwa walking distance versi orang Inggris lumayan berbeda dengan walking distance versi Indonesia, yang biasanya membutuhkan waktu lebih lama. Contoh berikut adalah jarak dari West Village private student accommodation ke University of Glasgow.



PERTIMBANGAN MEMILIH AKOMODASI
• Jarak. Terutama jarak dari akomodasi ke gedung kampus dan library karena waktu kita akan banyak dihabiskan disana. Semakin dekat akomodasi dengan kampus tentu semakin mahal biaya sewanya, tetapi kalau ingin mencari yang lebih murah, jarak 20 menit walking distance masih bisa dibilang wajar karena disini semua orang terbiasa berjalan kaki. Jangan lupa pertimbangkan juga kenyamanan saat berjalan, misalnya saat musim dingin atau saat ke kelas pagi.

• Transportasi. Cara paling mudah untuk mengetahui dekat atau tidaknya akomodasi dengan kampus adalah dengan mengetahui subway station terdekat. Selain subway, akses ke bus shelter terdekat juga dapat menjadi pertimbangan. Karena jika tidak dekat dengan kedua medium transportasi utama tersebut, kita terpaksa untuk berjalan kaki yang kadang-kadang tidak efisien jika harus mengejar kelas saat kuliah. Perhatikan juga jam transportasi. Misalnya, ada flat murah yang dekat dengan terminal bus dengan jadwal bus pertama pada jam 9 pagi. Hal ini tentu tidak memungkinkan jika kamu memiliki kelas jam 9 pagi juga. Info lebih detail mengenai transportasi di Glasgow dapat dilihat disini.

• Fasilitas. Pastikan fasilitas apa saja yang termasuk dalam biaya sewa serta fasilitas pendukung yang dapat diadikan nilai tambah suatu flat, misalnya jendela double-glazed agar ruangan lebih hangat atau penggunaan central heating yang menjadikan biaya pemanas lebih murah.

• Lingkungan. Jika menemukan akomodasi yang tidak begitu dekat dengan kampus, tapi dekat dengan fasilitas yang menunjang kehidupan seperti Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Sainsburry, Boots, NHS, serta transportasi umum, akomodasi tersebut layak untuk dipertimbangkan.

• Harga. Kisaran harga sangat variatif, mulai dari £250 sampai £550 per orang setiap bulannya. Namun untuk student accommodation biasanya harga yang dicantumkan adalah per minggu dengan total kontrak selama 44 atau 51 minggu.

• Agen. Ketika melihat iklan akomodasi dengan agen, kita juga perlu mengecek kredibilitasnya. Caranya sesederhana mengetik nama agen di Google dan mencari review mengenai agen tersebut. Jika agen tidak bertanggung jawab, kemungkinan agen akan sulit dihubungi saat kita membutuhkan bantuan terkait masalah rumah atau sulit untuk mengembalikan deposit.

• Ketentuan Tenant. Beberapa agen dan landlord memiliki preferensi tersendiri untuk calon tenant yang harus kita perhatikan. Misalnya ada akomodasi yang tidak mengizinkan flatnya disewa oleh family atau sebaliknya ada akomodasi satu kamar yang memperbolehkan double occupancy.

FAQ
Kapan waktu yang tepat untuk mulai mencari akomodasi?
Pada dasarnya, karena banyak penyewa flat adalah mahasiswa, maka akomodasi yang tersedia pun baru akan mulai diiklankan menjelang habisnya masa kontrak, yaitu satu tahun, yang dimulai sejak awal tahun ajaran (Januari atau September). Jadi jangan heran ketika kamu melakukan searching di bulan Maret, misalnya, kemudian melihat pilihan yang sangat sedikit. Student accommodation, baik campus maupun private, bisa dipesan lebih awal kira-kira 2-3 bulan sebelum semester dimulai, sedangkan untuk private flat browsing bisa mulai dilakukan sekitar 2 minggu sebelum berangkat. Kalau jauh-jauh hari sudah browsing untuk mengetahui gambaran harga dan kondisi flat boleh saja, tapi kebanyakan flat tersebut sudah tidak akan available lagi ketika kita sampai di Glasgow.

Apakah ada akomodasi dan barang lungsuran dari mahasiswa tahun sebelumnya?
Ada dan cukup banyak, namun tentu saja harus bersabar karena baru akan didata menjelang disertasi selesai, yaitu pada bulan Agustus. Sekitar bulan Juni/Juli pengurus PPI Greater Glasgow akan menyiapkan kegiatan Pre-Arrival untuk mahasiswa yang akan datang ke area Greater Glasgow di bulan September 2017 nanti. Info-info terkait akomodasi dan barang lungsuran lainnya akan disampaikan pada kegiatan tersebut.

Apakah kita bisa memilih teman satu ‘flat’ di student accommodation?
Bisa, terutama jika memesan sejak jauh hari. Saat memesan student accommodation, kita akan diminta mengisi aplikasi mengenai preferensi tempat tinggal. Kita bisa meminta untuk ditempatkan di flat yang berisi mahasiswa dari berbagai negara jika ingin punya pengalaman yang tidak biasa, mahasiswa perempuan saja untuk alasan kenyamanan, bahkan kita bisa menyebutkan nama calon tenant yang kita inginkan menjadi ‘flatmate’ kita jika mendaftar dalam waktu yang berdekatan. Hal ini krusial terutama untuk jenis akomodasi non en-suite, dimana kita harus berbagi kamar mandi dan dapur.

Bagaimana cara mendapatkan janji viewing?
Sebelumnya pastikan dulu bahwa kita bisa melakukan viewing dalam waktu dekat, karena jika tidak, sia-sia saja membuat janji. Lanlord/agent juga tidak akan memperbolehkan sewa tanpa viewing terlebih dahulu. Jadi kita bisa membuat janji viewing beberapa hari sebelum berangkat ke Glasgow. Melalui informasi yang didapat dari internet, kita dapat mengirim email yang menyatakan ketertarikan kita. Namun berdasarkan pengalaman, menghubungi via telepon jauh lebih efektif. Jika keberatan dengan biaya telepon, alternatifnya adalah dengan menggunakan Skype call atau Whatsapp call.

Apakah viewing bisa diwakilkan? Apa saja yang dilakukan saat viewing?
Lazimnya tidak bisa, karena banyak landlord/agent ingin bertemu langsung dengan calon tenant sehingga ia bisa memilih sendiri mana yang paling cocok. Ada baiknya juga kita melihat sendiri kondisi flat untuk meminimalisir ketidaksesuaian, menayakan teknis penyewaan, dan membanding-bandingkan beberapa flat sekaligus. Ditambah lagi, jika landlord/agent sudah cocok dengan calon tenant, maka calon tenant akan langsung diminta untuk membayar deposit. Deposit adalah sejumlah uang yang dibayarkan seharga satu kali sewa dan akan dikembalikan setelah kontrak berakhir. Maka ada baiknya kita menyiapkan budget sekitar £500-£1000 per rumah secara cash (karena biasanya belum memiliki kartu bank) untuk biaya deposit.

Apakah uang deposit akan dikembalikan?
Perlu diketahui bahwa uang deposit berbeda dengan DP (down payment). Deposit dibayarkan secara terpisah di luar biaya sewa. Deposit akan dikembalikan setelah kontrak sewa berakhir selama tidak ada masalah terkait flat, misalnya flat ditinggalkan dalam keadaan kotor (butuh biaya bersih-bersih) atau ada peralatan yang rusak (butuh biaya perbaikan atau penggantian). Jadi sebelum move out for good, tenant harus memastikan bahwa kondisi flat sama dengan kondisi awal. Ada yang mengatakan bahwa landlord lebih ‘mudah’ mengembalikan deposit dibanding agent, karena agent selalu mencari cara untuk mencari keuntungan tambahan.

Berapa lama saya harus menyewa penginapan sementara saya mencari flat? Bagaimana proses pencariannya?
Biasanya mahasiswa akan menyewa AirBNB selama sekitar 1 minggu. Jika sudah mulai mencari flat sejak di Indonesia, waktu tersebut seharusnya sudah cukup untuk mencari flat dan pada akhirnya move in. Selain dari internet, kita juga dapat mencari secara langsung dengan berjalan-jalan di kawasan sekitar kampus dan membaca selebaran yang di tempel di sepanjang toko-toko di kawasan Byres Road atau Great Western Road (daerah West End).

Apakah bisa pindah akomodasi di tengah-tengah masa studi?
Sebenarnya bisa, tapi secara teknis kita harus mematuhi kontrak. Misalnya ketika kita memiliki kontrak selama satu tahun di private flat dan ingin pindah, kita harus mencari pengganti.

Ada yang menawarkan flat lebih dari 2 kamar tanpa HMO, apakah aman?
Secara teknis yang bisa melaporkan pelanggaran tanpa HMO kepada City Council adalah landlord, sehingga kalau landlord sudah mengizinkan sebenarnya bisa. Tapi mungkin saja kita sedang tidak beruntung dan mendapatkan inspeksi mendadak dari City Council. Jika ketahuan, dendanya bisa lumayan besar karena termasuk pelanggaran peraturan.

Semoga membantu! Apabila ada pertanyaan, silakan cantumkan di kolom komentar agar bisa dibaca juga oleh teman-teman lainnya.

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