ABSTRACT

One of the most distinctive characteristics of the contemporary arts attenders in our study was a willingness to be challenged, disturbed or puzzled by a new arts encounter, in an attitude we have termed ‘It’s okay not to like it’. Rather than seeking a guarantee of enjoyment, as might be the case for ‘mainstream’ audiences, our participants found value in difficult arts experiences through a sense of responsibility to support the arts regardless of whether or not it was to their own taste, illustrated through a case study of individual donors to a contemporary music organisation. We explore the appeal of the contemporary, expressed as a desire to seek out the newest and most experimental artworks and acceptance that experimentation always has the possibility to fail. There are limits to this open-mindedness, however, and so we also consider the frustrations of the contemporary and the dilemmas expressed in statements of ‘should’ attend.