AGO – Outsiders

AGO

In response to an ever-changing and crowded competitive landscape, the AGO strives to become an institution that is more accessible, forward-looking and impactful. Attracting new and more diverse audiences supports this mandate.  Due to the nature of the Outsiders exhibit, there was an opportunity to break through to a niche LGBTQ community and audience. The Outsiders exhibition celebrates the work of a group of American photographers and filmmakers from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, highlighting their differences, celebrating their chosen families and ultimately putting forward alternative visions of American life that countered the perceived mainstream.  We used the personal and emotional journey of these perceived outsiders to inform the creative platform, to invite our audience to contemplate their own emotional connection to the subject matter, as a way to help consumers connect the exhibition theme to their experiences in the present. Instead of showing only the art, we showed responses to art. The campaign was punctuated with the line “where do you belong,” to purposely evoke an emotional response to the show, and to invite participation.  To target the LGBTQ community specifically, the campaign featured influencer Cassandra Moore, a transgender Toronto performer who provided a powerful response in a behind-the-scenes social video.