Ivonne Chand O'Neal, PhD, Researcher, Cultural Strategist, and Founder of MUSE Research (Washington, D.C., U.S.A.)

Ivonne Chand O'Neal, PhD, is a researcher, cultural strategist, and founder of MUSE Research, a firm dedicated to measuring the impact of arts and creativity on communities and institutions. She previously served as founding director of research and evaluation at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where she built its first comprehensive research agenda examining the arts' impact at local, national, and international scales.

Her work centers on equity, access, and belonging, and her forthcoming three-volume series, The Impact of Arts on Human Flourishing (Springer, 2026), offers new frameworks for demonstrating cultural value. A trusted voice at the intersection of data and creativity, she brings rigorous evidence to the questions cultural leaders care about most: who we reach, how deeply, and why it matters.

WORKSHOP - From Spectators to Stakeholders: Fandom as a Force for Audience Activation

What transforms a casual visitor into a passionate advocate? What turns a single encounter with a cultural institution into a lifelong relationship? The answer, increasingly, is fandom — and cultural leaders can no longer afford to leave it to chance.

This workshop examines fandom not as a fringe phenomenon reserved for pop culture, but as a powerful, transferable model for deep audience engagement in arts and cultural institutions. Drawing on strategies from entertainment, sports, and digital communities, participants will explore how the mechanics of fandom — identity, belonging, co-creation, and emotional investment — can be deliberately cultivated to activate audiences at every stage of their journey.

As cultural institutions grapple with questions of values, mission, and how to demonstrate impact across communities and generations, fandom offers a framework that bridges both. When audiences move from passive consumption to active participation — sharing, interpreting, defending, and extending the cultural narratives of an institution — they become co-creators of meaning and trust.

Participants will examine real-world case studies of institutions that have successfully leveraged fan communities to build loyalty, expand reach, and measure engagement beyond traditional attendance metrics. The session will also address how digital transformation and social platforms amplify fandom dynamics, enabling cultural organizations to foster dialogue that extends far beyond the gallery wall or concert hall.

Aligned with the conference's exploration of how cultural institutions can foster connection, empathy, and understanding across communities, this workshop offers practical tools for cultural leaders ready to reimagine their audiences as stakeholders — not just ticket holders. Attendees will leave with a fandom activation framework adaptable to institutions of any size, along with strategies for measuring the impact of community-driven engagement.

No prior fandom expertise required — only a commitment to building deeper trust between institutions and the people they serve.