Shared Knowledge:

Capacity
Building on
Social Mediafor cultural
institutions
Ars Electronica Linz GmbH & Co KG
Linz, Austria / ars.electronica.art

Introduction

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

This capacity building workshop on social media for cultural institutions
was organized within the framework of the European Media Art Platform(EMAP), which is co-funded by the European Union. It detailed different
channels and practices used by cultural institutions and platforms, giving
insight into best-practice cases of the following selected institutions: Dark
Euphoria, Mauthausen Memorial, DECIDIM, SHAPE+ and Ars Electronica.
The agenda included two sessions, the first one focusing on one social
media channel per institution, while the second session focused on how
to bring the channels together and create Communication Strategies.

2

Social media has become an essential tool for cultural institutions looking
to reach new audiences, promote their programs and events, and engage
with their audiences in new and innovative ways. By embracing social
media, cultural institutions can stay connected in an increasingly digitalworld and continue to share their cultural programs with audiences far
and wide.
There are a lot of social media platforms out there, which can leave one
feeling overwhelmed. Therefore, the intention of this workshop was toshow concrete examples of cultural institutions and how they shape theirmessages using one key social media channel. These examples show,that understanding audiences and the strengths of different social media
platforms is necessary for connecting with audiences in meaningful ways.
Please be aware that under “Insights” and “Conclusion” the author hascollected notes and topics that were talked about in the workshop, whichreflect and retell personal shared information and by no means makeclaim to completeness.
Ars Electronica
Jessica Galirow M.E.S.,BA

In the section “Shared Knowledge” EMAP publishes results frominternal conferences and workshops to share them with othercultural organisations and artists. The aim is to exchange and gain
knowledge within the sector of media art.
Do you want to share knowledge?
Contact us: pr@emare.eu

Content

1.

Introduction22.

Best-Practice Examples:4

2.1		 Dark Euphoria: LinkedIn

4

2.2		 Mauthausen Memorial – Concentration Camp Site:
		 TikTok

7

2.3		 DECIDIM – Digital Platform for Citizen Participation:
		 Telegram

9

2.4		 Ars Electronica: Mastodon

11

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

3.

3

4.

Communication Strategies:
3.1.		 S+T+ARTS Repairing the Present;
		 From introducing partners (venues) to archiving residencies.

14

3.2		 FOCUS PLATFORM COMMUNICATION –Communication and social media at SHAPE+
		 European platform for innovative music and audiovisual art

17

Conclusion

20

2. Best-Practice Examples

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

As already mentioned, this workshop was constructed to give insights
for cultural institutions on how to develop messages and reaching out
targeted, with the intention of being helpful for fellow professionals
in cultural institutions working on social media. Therefore, several
institutions were asked to provide user cases that could serve as
an inspiration. The speakers talked about their experience with thespecific Social Media channel, the characteristics of the chosen
media and their approach. In the workshop the following institutions
presented one Social Media channel as a best-practice example:

4•

Dark Euphoria: LinkedIn
presented by Céline Delatte (Community Manager)•

Mauthausen Memorial – Concentration Camp Site: TikTokpresented by Marlene Wöckinger (Education)•

DECIDIM - Digital Platform for Citizen Participation: Telegram
presented by Angela Precht (Head of Communications)•Ars Electronica: Mastodonpresented by Mario Schmidhumer (Social Media Manager)

2.1

Dark Euphoria: LinkedIn

Dark Euphoria
is an artistic production and cultural innovation agency based in
Marseille. Dark Euphoria prototypes and produces transdisciplinary
projects at the crossroads between art and digital technologies:
interactive installations, immersive experiences, augmented shows....
Through national and European programs (France 2030, Europe
Creative), they deploy spaces of exploration of new artistic languages
and technological devices, shared between artists, cultural places, andcreative technologists. As a pioneer in the production of XR and live
performances, Dark Euphoria is particularly committed to working withartists and creative teams who also wish to reinvent theatrical, musical,
and choreographic forms and their relationship with the public.
More information: en.dark-euphoria.com

LinkedIn
Founded in 2003, LinkedIn is a business and employment-focusedsocial media platform. LinkedIn was officially launched on May 5,
2003, and is now owned by Microsoft. As of April 2023, LinkedIn has
more than 900 million registered members from over 200 countries
and territories making it the world’s largest professional network.1
The platform is primarily used for professional networking and careerdevelopment and allows jobseekers to post their CVs and employers
to post jobs. LinkedIn can also be used to organize offline events, joingroups, write articles, publish job postings, post photos and videos,
and more.2
linkedin.com
LinkedIn Profile of Dark Euphoria:
linkedin.com/company/dark-euphoria/

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

Insights

5

Dark Euphoria uses LinkedIn as the main digital channel tocommunicate with professional communities. The audience is diverseand consists of independent artists, big studios, funding institutions,art venues, and more. This of course heavily shapes the content Dark
Euphoria shares on LinkedIn. The main questions to focus on here are:
What does the audience want to know about us? When creating amessage, it is important to consider how to make it technical enoughfor experts, but at the same time understandable for the generalaudience. On LinkedIn Dark Euphoria focuses on the production andhow projects are produced, giving insight into the processes behind
the artwork itself. This includes but is not limited to showcasing theactual role of producers, sharing information and evolution of certain
projects as well as showing the people and personal connection, which
can be a very valuable asset on social media. Moreover, Dark Euphoriaalso posts a variety of different posts that targeted specific audiences,i.e., sometimes more technical information or events targeted forexperts, and sometimes only informative posts targeting a generalaudience. Some tips for posting on LinkedIn included focusing on
storytelling, using a language that expresses expertise but excludes
jargon, always including a visual part to the message, whether it isa video or a photo, and that the regularity of posting is important.
Another crucial point is to always identify, and tag persons andcompanies involved to value their work and investment.

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

Figure 1
Screenshot of LinkedIn page of Dark
Euphoria, accessed on 11 April 2023

6

Figure 2
Screenshot of LinkedIn page of Dark
Euphoria, accessed on 11 April 2023

Figure 3
Screenshots of the LinkedIn
posts about this workshop

2.2		 Mauthausen Memorial –Concentration Camp Site: TikTok
Mauthausen Memorial – Concentration Camp Site
The Mauthausen Memorial today is an international site of remembrance
and political-historical education. Here, the memory of the victims isbeing preserved, the history of the Mauthausen Concentration Campand its sub-camps is being researched and documented, and throughexhibitions and educational programmes its visitors are empowered todeal with and discuss the history of concentration camps.

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

From 1938 to 1945, the Mauthausen Concentration Camp was pivot toa system of more than 40 sub-camps, and the central site of political,
social and racial persecution by the NS regime on the Austrian territory.
Of a total of 190,000 persons held prisoners here, at least 90,000 were
eventually killed.
The Mauthausen Memorial aims at raising awareness for any resurgenceof National Socialist activities, anti-Semitism, racism, discrimination ofminorities and antidemocratic tendencies. Furthermore, it is supposed
to contribute to preserving public knowledge and memory of National
Socialist mass crimes committed at the former Mauthausen and Gusen
concentration camps, and at all its sub-camps. The Mauthausen
Memorial regards itself as a place of remembrance and education, withhuman rights education through live teaching of history being amongits central tasks. It promotes the teaching of history, communicates
its significance for present and future times and aims at pointing out
comparable present day developments, tendencies and processes.3
More Information: mauthausen-memorial.org

TikTok
TikTok is a social media app that allows users to create and shareshort videos set to music. It was first launched in China in 2016
under the name Douyin, and later rebranded as TikTok when it was
launched internationally in 2017. TikTok has since become one of themost popular social media platforms, with over a billion active users
worldwide. The main feature of TikTok is its short-form videos, which
can be up to 60 seconds long. Users can create their own videos
or browse and engage with videos created by other users. The app
provides a range of tools and effects, such as filters, music, and editing
tools, to allow users to create engaging and creative videos.4
tiktok.com
TikTok Channel of Mauthausen Memorial – Concentration Camp Site:tiktok.com/@mauthausenmemorial
4

7

		 Zeng, J., Abidin, C., and Schäfer, M.S. (2021). Research Perspectives on TikTok and
Its Legacy Apps: Introduction. International Journal of Communication, 15(2021): 3161-3172.

Insights

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

The Mauthausen Memorial focuses on Holocaust education andcommemorative work on TikTok. Their channel started in January 2022,
when TikTok reached out to them, to discuss how holocaust memorials
can use TikTok as an educational platform, as there were problems
with antisemitism on the website. To counteract this problematicdevelopment, Mauthausen Memorial creates content to educate young
people. Mauthausen Memorial uses TikTok because they want to shape
how commemorative culture is done online. The main audience of thechannel is young adults between 14 and 24 years. While onsite visitors
are often Holocaust survivors and relatives, as the Memorial is also acemetery and place of commemoration, the majority now are visitorsfrom schools and universities. Therefore, a change of educational
approach was needed to also reach these audiences.

8

At Mauthausen Memorial, the educational and PR department work
closely together, which is also reflected on the TikTok channel. The
topics that are covered on the channel are chosen according to theinterest of the audience, also the visiting audience on-site. Each video
has a different outreach with views ranging from a few thousand to
22.000 and even 200.000. It is important to note that each video
stands on its own, therefore each video has the potential to go viral.
Another fact to consider is the language used on TikTok, which isvery specific in the ways you use emojis, how short videos are, andhow music is used. Sometimes it can be tricky to convey a message,
following Mauthausen Memorial’s approach to not overwhelm or
emotionalize viewers too much. The idea is to not force emotions on
people but let them explore on their own.
Things to consider when using TikTok are thatin the past there have been scandals regarding
how people have interacted with memorials on
TikTok. Therefore, Community management isa big topic on this social media channel. Thereis also always the potential that hate is being
spread, but this can be reported. Another fact
to consider is that although the videos may be
short on TikTok, they still need considerable
resources and time.
In the following, we want to highlight a video
that went viral:
This video is a good example of how to get amessage across in a short time of 15 seconds.
Considering the music, that was mentioned
earlier, here some easy-going “flowy” music
was used. The video received 500 comments,
mostly from Austrian young students in school
between 13 and 15 years old, as they were
tagging each other in the comments.
Figure 4
Screenshot of video “in a prisoner
barrack”, accessed on 6 April 2023.
The video is available here.

2.3		 DECIDIM – Digital Platform
for Citizen Participation: Telegram
Decidimis a Free Open-Source participatory democracy platform for cities
and organizations. But Decidim is more than a digital platform:
it’s a common’s free and open project and infrastructure involving
code, documentation, design, training courses, a legal framework,
collaborative interfaces, user and facilitation communities, anda common vision. It is currently used by cities and organizations
worldwide, whether it is an NGO, university, trade union, cooperative,
neighborhood association, etc. The complete list of currently active
instances is available here. Metadecidim is the community of Decidimthat collaborates in the design of the platform and the construction of
the Decidim project. The “Asociacion de Software Libre Decidim” (The
Decidim Free Software Association) is a democratic association for thegovernance of the Decidim community. It was founded on February 16,
2019 in an extraordinary assembly of the community, with the approvalof the organization statutes.5
More information: decidim.org

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

Telegram

9

Telegram is a free, cloud-based mobile and desktop instant messaging
app available across a range of mobile and desktop platforms,
including Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux. It first launchedin 2013 by Pavel Durov, the founder of VK, the largest social networkin Russia. Telegram offers several features, such as the ability to send
text messages, voice messages, photos, videos, documents, andfiles of any type up to 2 GB in size. Telegram also supports end-toend encryption in secret chats as well as support for large group chatfeatures. Another notable feature of Telegram is its API, which allows
developers to create bots, automated chat assistants that can perform
a variety of tasks, including sending reminders, conducting polls, andproviding customer support.6
web.telegram.org
Telegram channel of Decidim: t.me/s/decidim

Insights
Decidim uses telegram to reach audiences, which is not tech-savvy,
while for those professionals with technical backgrounds GitHub isused. Telegram is for news regarding the platform and about certain
activities, such as workshops, conferences, etc. The target audienceis their Ecosystem of people interested in e-democracy, e-government
and the project itself. Telegram has a unidirectional approach in theircase. Channels can be subscribed to by Telegram users. If the channel

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

10

operator writes a message, all subscribers receive this notification
directly. One of the benefits of Telegram is the use of usernames
instead of phone numbers, which means your account is not tied toa phone. This makes it easier to log in on other devices, allows you tohave multiple accounts on the same device, and makes it so you don’t
have to share your phone number with someone to add them as acontact in Telegram. Another favorable feature is the large file size limit
of up to 2 GB. Furthermore, Telegram comes with some customization
options absent from many of its competitors where you can choose thedominant app color, how the app opens links, whether or not the userinterface shows animations and more. There is also chatbot integration
where you can make use of bots to improve the experience. You caneven create your own themes, bots, and full apps using the Telegram
API. Over the years, Telegram has built up an extensive bot ecosystemthat adds even more functionality to the app. The feature Dedicim
uses the most is the “pin a message to the top of channel” function,
as Telegram can be used to share practical basic info. When Decidim
organizes its international conference Decidim Fest, they often pin theOpen Call, later the Speaker announcement and finally the schedule.
This makes it incredibly easy for people to find relevant info. In order tosearch for information inside a channel the Hashtag function needs to be
used, which for Decidim is quite practical, as they share all informationin three languages: Spanish, English and Catalan. Another feature of
Decidim is the possibility to edit texts after publishing in a transparent
way that shows the post has been edited. To make the topic of open
source more interesting they try to use images, that no one expects
instead of common visualization or graphics. Different images are used
to break expectations. Please see the screenshots below for examples.

Figure 5
Screenshot of Decidim Post on
Telegram from 27 March 2023

Figure 6
Another Screenshot of the
Telegram page of Decidim,
post from 2 February 2023

Decidim has not enabled comments, therefore, only reactions areviewable. What is important to consider is the political implications
Telegram has. The birth of Decidim is strictly linked to the antiausterity movement in Spain called the 15-M Movement or Indignados(Outraged) Movement. It was a series of protests, demonstrations, andoccupations against austerity policies in Spain that very fast spread allover the country. Therefore, in Spain Telegram is widely used by theleft wing. Nevertheless, in other countries Telegram is also a platform
used by the far right and conspiracy theory spreaders.7
The following links give further impressions on this topic and wererecommended by Angela Precht:“Chronology of a radicalisation”, a report by the German NGO CeMAS
on how Telegram became the most important platform for conspiracy
ideologies and right-wing extremism. A study of the last 3 years of
evolution of the platform: report.cemas.io/telegram/ (in German)
Another recommendation to learn more about the features of theplatform: “What is Telegram and why should I use it?”, written
by By Scott Adam Gordon and Nick Fernandez last December.
androidauthority.com/what-is-telegram-messenger-979357

2.4 Ars Electronica: Mastodon
Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

Ars Electronica

11

is a leading cultural institution, educational facility and R&D lab basedin Linz, Austria. Its comprehensive approach to techno-cultural
phenomena has brought Ars Electronica a worldwide reputationfor excellence. Its four divisions mutually inspire one another ina circuit of creativity. The Ars Electronica FESTIVAL and PRIX set
up a stage for the best and brightest international, artistic, cuttingedge experimentations each year. The Ars Electronica CENTER isa year-round presentation & interaction platform intended to educate
and entertain local audiences. The FUTURELAB is an innovative,
creative R&D facility, endowed with strong technical competence andimplementation skills, and linked up to a global network of universities& research facilities.
More information: ars.electronica.art/news/de

MastodonLaunched in 2016, Mastodon is free and open-source social media
platform that is decentralized and made up of independent servers
organized around specific themes, topics, or interests. In Mastodon,
users can create accounts, post updates, follow other users, andengage in conversations. Like Twitter, Mastodon allows users to post
short messages called “toots” instead of tweets, and these toots
can be boosted (like retweeted) by other users. Mastodon also hasa feature called “content warnings” that allow users to hide potentiallysensitive content behind a warning, which can be helpful for users whowant to avoid certain topics. However, unlike Twitter, Mastodon is afederated platform, which means that instead of being controlled bya single company, it is made up of many interconnected “instances”
or communities, each with its own set of rules and moderators. Eachinstance is essentially a server that hosts its own user accounts andcontent, but users from one instance can still communicate with users
on another instance. This decentralized structure means that there
is no central authority controlling the platform, and instances can set
their own moderation policies, making it easier to avoid issues likecensorship or data privacy concerns.8
joinmastodon.org
Mastodon of Ars Electronica:
social.ars.electronica.art/explore

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

Insights

12

Some of the reasons that Ars Electronica joined Mastodon were theCommunity-driven structure with the possibility to offer space tomind-liked people to connect and the diverse community of users,
including artists, activists, journalists and educators. Another attractive
feature was the fact that users can have more control over their own
experience due to the decentralized social network structure, which
is made up of independent servers. Moreover, there is no advertisingand a chronological timeline, as there is no sorting by an AI according
to interests and clicks. The decentralized structure and emphasis on
inclusivity and diversity helps ensure that the Mastodon community
represents a broader range of voices and perspectives than other social
media platforms. The ability to create their own instances and build
their own communities focused on specific interests or groups createsa greater diversity of perspectives and experiences shared by different
users. As a result, the focus of the platform is more on the exchange ofideas and conversations, rather than the rapid dissemination of content.
When creating your own server it is necessary to keep in mind thatthe server operator has access to all data and messages, can create
their own rules for users of the server and that each server must be
financed and has its own financing model. Ars Electronica has decided
on hosting on Hetzner in Germany (same provider as WordPress), whichcosts about 30 Euros per month. At the moment it is only a private
server/account but as a next step, a Mastodon Server specificallyfor media artists is in planning. Ars Electronica uses Mastodon with afocus on longer stories (threads) and posting several postings spreadthroughout the day. What is important to note here is that the focus ison the content, which is not used for self-promotion, but as a meansof telling interesting stories that relate to the topics of Ars Electronica.
Mastodon is very useful for engaging with an interested community
with the possibility to post and answer questions as well as take partin discussions, as figures 7 and 8 below show. The target audienceon Mastodon is a small but interested community. Regarding negative
features, it is important to consider that self-promotion, cross-postingCapacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

and advertising do not work for Mastodon and to keep in mind that
there are limited mobile apps and that planning posts is limited, whileat the same time a setup of a server can be confusing.This section
focused on how to bring different social media together and shared two
best-practice cases. The first one was focusing on residencies, while
the second gave insight into platform communication.

13•

S+T+ARTS Repairing the Present;
From introducing partners (venues) to archiving residencies.
Presented by Ana Maria Carabelea (Ars Electronica)•

Communication and social media at SHAPE+
European platform for innovative music and audiovisual art
Presented by Lucia Udvardyova (SHAPE+ Platform)

Figure 8
Screenshot of a post on Ars
Electronica Mastodon Server,
2 January 2023

Figure 7
Screenshot of a discussion
on Ars Electronica Mastodon
server, 6 December 2022

3. Communication Strategies

3.1		 S+T+ARTS Repairing the Present;
From introducing partners (venues)
to archiving residencies.
Using the project S+T+ARTS Repairing the Present as reference,the communication strategy of this project was analyzed.

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

About the project:

14

Regional S+T+ARTS Centers is part of S+T+ARTS - an initiative of
the European Commission that explores and exploits the innovation
potential of the border territory between Science + Technology + the
ARTS. Through the Regional S+T+ARTS Centers program, the initiative
designates its ambassadors at local and regional levels. The third
iteration of the Regional S+T+ARTS Centers gathered 12 of Europe’s
leading cultural and arts institutions, innovation and cleantech hubs
for the project suggestively titled Repairing the Present. To address
the unintended consequences of steadfast technological development
resulting in the European continent’s present social, economic, andenvironmental challenges, the Regional S+T+ARTS Centers hosted 21
artist residencies. Each of the residencies points to an EU Green Dealor a New European Bauhaus goal and reflects pan-European or global
issues that require solutions tailored to specific regions.
The Framework of the project included the following key moments:
12 partners, 21 challenges, 21 residencies, 6 months duration,
3 exhibitions
The Communication Strategy focused therefore on the following key
moments:•

Introducing the actors•

Introducing the topics (challenges)•

Introducing the winners•

Residency updates•

Exhibitions

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

Figure 10
quote from Onassis Stegi, thatwas shared on Social media

15

Figure 9quote by STATE, that was shared
on Social Media

From the beginning up to the call the communication strategy was ashared common effort, meaning the same ways of representing andvisuals were used by every partner. The first step for “Introducing theactors” and “introducing the topics” was to define the target audience,
which was artists. In order to reach this audience a website was set
up and social media posts on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram weresent with who the people and institutions behind the project were,
followed by information on the topics. Each institution was asked toshare a quote, to give a more personal outlook. Moreover, Youtube was
employed to share short videos on the residency institutions.
Link to the website:
starts.eu/what-we-do/residences/repairing-the-present
After the open call, individual webpages for each winner were createdon the website, which included information about the artist, the project
and keywords. After the winners were announced a shift in target
audiences as well as the internal communication approach occurred.
While the communication strategy started with a unified and top tobottom approach, now the partners needed to send content on theirresidency activities. The target audience shifted from artists to thegeneral public and the S+T+ARTS communities.
Throughout the residencies, as much content from a local level
as possible was created to animate the website and social media.
Besides Blogposts and video content, this included the “Ask the Artist”
campaign on Instagram. These were stories on Instagram where artists
presented the artwork, and gave people the chance to ask a question.
Another campaign was the Futures Canvas campaign. This was a tool
where audiences, residency partners and artists could write about
speculations of the future.

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

Figure 11
Screenshot of Instagram story “Ask the Artist”, accessed on 11. April 2023

16

Figure 12
Screenshot of article about Repairing the Present
in Le Monde.

Figure 13
Screenshot of article about Repairing the Present
in Il Manifesto.

The exhibitions were promoted by hiring a PR agency, which led to
articles in big publications and a wide audience reach.
The presentation gave some insights into the importance of mapping
important moments of the projects and building a scaffolding aroundthese as the project processes. Mapping a communication strategy
helps in defining the audiences better and realizing shifts in target
audiences as well as finding the right tone of voice to reach thedifferent audiences. When there are a lot of partners a synchronizedcommunication effort with a shared calendar and distributing content
over time is also helpful in reaching different audiences. Finally,a shared and personalized Hashtag creates visibility and linkage.

3.2		 FOCUS PLATFORM COMMUNICATION –Communication and social media
at SHAPE+ European platform forinnovative music and audiovisual art
SHAPE+ is a new European platform for innovative music andaudiovisual art co-financed by the Creative Europe programme.
Running for three years, SHAPE+ fosters exceptional emerging
talent, connecting them to local communities and audiences throughcollaborative residencies with multiple artistic outcomes, commissioned
artworks, as well as one-off presentations and performances.
Combining an open call and a curatorial selection, the platform
members will select a roster of artists to support each year. SHAPE+
initially consists of 13 partners in 13 countries with plans for further
expansion, while adopting an interdisciplinary approach and committing
to social and environmental awareness. SHAPE+ builds upon theprevious SHAPE platform, which from 2015 to 2022 supported 336
emerging European artists and presented their work at festivals, eventsand venues in numerous countries across Europe and beyond.

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

More information: shapeplatform.eu

17

Figure 14
Screenshot of an artist website, accessed on 11 April 2023

The communication of SHAPE+ platform is artist-centered, which isreflected on social media as well as the website. The communication
focuses on the following points, around which the website is alsoorganized.

•

Read: Under this category, all articles can be found, which include
interviews with artists. In order to manage a regular update of articles,
it is important to keep in contact with current year’s artists but also
alumni (since 2015) to get updates on their projects and events.

•

Watch: Photos and pictures of past events and projects
can be found here.

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

18•

Listen: SHAPE+ platform hosts their own online radio showcalled Resonance FM, which takes place monthly and is aired
on Resonance 104.4fm and then archived on a dedicatedMixcloud page. The content is diverse here, sometimes withvoice interviews or broadcasts of artistic outcomes. In addition,
SHAPE+ also has a dedicated radio show on NTS Radio where
SHAPE+ artist mixes are streamed.

•

Artists: The artists’ site also serves as an archive organizedby years, as each artist gets their own profile on the website,
including a biography, links, video and/or audio, news on theartist and her/his projects, as well as any upcoming events.
This information is also accessible after the end of the project.

•

Festivals: The festival’s section includes all festivals organizedby the members of the platform as well as festivals featuring
the funded artists. In total 48 emerging artists were presented
per year between 2015 and 2022. Currently, the format hasslightly changed, to also include residencies with local artists,
etc.

•

Events: This part shows all events where artists were presented
as well as upcoming events.

Next to the Website, SHAPE+ also utilizes different social media
channels, such as Instagram and Facebook. The communication
strategy also includes campaigns, as an example the publication of allinterviews with the artists is mentioned, which comes out every year.
The printed publications – they are going to have another one thissummer – are generally available at the SHAPE+ member events, orin Prague at SHAPE+ HQ MeetFactory.
The communication is very much artist focused, with artists being
one of the main target audiences. There is a weekly special focus
on featured artists. Every artist gets a special focus week, which not
only includes an interview on the website but also the strategy thatthe currently featured artist takes over the Instagram stories. Such
Instagram stories could include an explanation of their works, what
their inspiration is but also local tips by these artists. Here is a linkto dedicated graphics, which are quite modular:
instagram.com/p/Cpe63lRMSw5/?hl=cs
On Facebook, SHAPE+ communicates about new events, releases
and special media collaborations with radio shows. While 5-6 years
ago their Facebook used to have more followers than Instagram,
SHAPE+ has seen an increase in engagement on Soundcloud andInstagram, both channels that have become more active, while theengagement on Facebook has gone down. At the moment Instagram
seems to be the best social media platform for SHAPE+, as many
artists use and have accounts on this platform, and also reshare theircontent. Moreover, lots of Instagram stories about their events getshared.

Another notable feature of the communication strategy of SHAPE+ isthe consistent and playful use of its visual identity, which focuses on
its logo. As an example, please see the following pictures:

Figure 15
Logo of SHAPE+ platform

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

Figure 16
Some of the variations referencing the Logo

19

Capacity Building on Social Media for cultural institutions

4. Conclusion

20

The Capacity Building Workshop on Social Media for cultural
institutions aimed to provide insights to cultural institutions on how todevelop messages and reach targeted audiences. Several institutions
shared their experience with specific social media channels and theirapproach. Four institutions presented their best-practice examples:
Dark Euphoria uses LinkedIn to communicate with professional
communities, focusing on production and giving insight into theprocesses behind the artwork itself. Mauthausen Memorial focuseson Holocaust education and commemorative work on TikTok, creating
content to educate young people and reach a wide audience. Decidim
uses Telegram to reach audiences interested in e-democracy ande-government, sharing news about the platform and certain activities
such as workshops and conferences. Ars Electronica uses Mastodon
to tell stories for a small but interested community. Each institutionemphasized the importance of creating content that meets the needs
and interests of its target audience, using an appropriate language
and format for each social media platform, and regularly postinghigh-quality content. Community management and avoiding hatespeech were also discussed as important considerations. The second
part of the workshop consisted of Ars Electronica sharing theircommunication strategy using the project S+T+ARTS Repairing the
Present as a reference, while SHAPE+ platform gave insight into theirartist-centered platform communication strategy. Both presentations
showed that next to a website and printed materials, social media
and concrete campaigns are important parts of a successfulcommunication strategy. Moreover, mapping a communication
strategy helps in defining the audiences better and realizing shifts intarget audiences as well as finding the right tone of voice to reach thedifferent audiences. Further suggestions for social media channels
included a shared and personalized Hashtag as well as the use ofvariations of a Logo to show project/program linkage and to createa notable visual identity.

European Media Art Platform
The European Media Art Platform (EMAP),
initiated by werkleitz and co- funded by
Creative Europe since 2018, is a consortiumof leading European media art organisations
specialised in Digital and Media Art, Bio Art
and Robotic Art.
emare.eu
info@emare.eu

Contact:
Ars Electronica Linz GmbH & Co KG
Jessica Galirow
Ars-Electronica-Straße 14040 Linz, Austria+43-732-7272-783
jessica.galirow@ars.electronica.art
ars.electronica.art