Venue Selection: Creating Spaces for the Entire Community
Venue Selection: Creating Spaces for the Entire Community
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As event professionals, we all have a list of considerations when picking a venue (costs, capacity, availability, required vendors, etc.). At TENCUE, we like to add a human-centered approach to evaluating the experience a particular venue might provide.
How might your selection of a host city and venue impact your attendees? And what might you consider beyond the basic questions we all grapple with during pre-production?
Is the event in a location marked by increasing violence directed toward marginalized communities? What can we do to help attendees feel safe, seen, and understood? If we do nothing, how well prepared will they be to set aside their well-founded fears in favor of your messaging?
Even if the event is in a place with a fair bit of safety, will attendees have to travel through locations that put them at risk?
None of us can prepare for everything. But being prepared is in our DNA. We make disaster plans. We make contingency plans. We make evacuation plans and scripts for fire, loss of power, random hecklers, and yes, even active shooters. We can’t help ourselves; it’s our job.
As event professionals, we all have a list of considerations when picking a venue (costs, capacity, availability, required vendors, etc.). At TENCUE, we like to add a human-centered approach to evaluating the experience a particular venue might provide.
How might your selection of a host city and venue impact your attendees? And what might you consider beyond the basic questions we all grapple with during pre-production?
Is the event in a location marked by increasing violence directed toward marginalized communities? What can we do to help attendees feel safe, seen, and understood? If we do nothing, how well prepared will they be to set aside their well-founded fears in favor of your messaging?
Even if the event is in a place with a fair bit of safety, will attendees have to travel through locations that put them at risk?
None of us can prepare for everything. But being prepared is in our DNA. We make disaster plans. We make contingency plans. We make evacuation plans and scripts for fire, loss of power, random hecklers, and yes, even active shooters. We can’t help ourselves; it’s our job.
It’s time to add more to the list: how do we make the members of our audiences who are daily seeing their communities harassed, tormented, and persecuted feel safe enough to show up, pay attention, and engage with the host’s messaging?
If we are not considering the ENTIRE community in our planning, attendees’ focused attention will be split, ROI will erode, and ultimately, the event brand deteriorates.
As professionals, we will be most successful when we intentionally create spaces marked by true camaraderie and safety.
One step is to establish, publish, and actively support inclusive codes of conduct.
It’s time to add more to the list: how do we make the members of our audiences who are daily seeing their communities harassed, tormented, and persecuted feel safe enough to show up, pay attention, and engage with the host’s messaging?
If we are not considering the ENTIRE community in our planning, attendees’ focused attention will be split, ROI will erode, and ultimately, the event brand deteriorates.
As professionals, we will be most successful when we intentionally create spaces marked by true camaraderie and safety.
One step is to establish, publish, and actively support inclusive codes of conduct.
Another is to ensure that any community-based guiding committees include representatives from a wide variety of attendee backgrounds. Listen closely to their input and take action where possible.
Other inclusivity and safety considerations include: have you set aside space for mothers’ rooms? Is it possible to provide shared transportation for off-site evening events? Can you create inclusive signage and messaging that helps counter-balance environmental elements that might be unwelcoming to some?
Ultimately, our goal is to create communities in spaces where an event’s messaging can be clearly heard. We want to ensure that all attendees can focus on the message, and not choose between personal safety and true participation.
Another is to ensure that any community-based guiding committees include representatives from a wide variety of attendee backgrounds. Listen closely to their input and take action where possible.
Other inclusivity and safety considerations include: have you set aside space for mothers’ rooms? Is it possible to provide shared transportation for off-site evening events? Can you create inclusive signage and messaging that helps counter-balance environmental elements that might be unwelcoming to some?
Ultimately, our goal is to create communities in spaces where an event’s messaging can be clearly heard. We want to ensure that all attendees can focus on the message, and not choose between personal safety and true participation.
By Michelle Huston, President & Chief Production Officer
Co-authored by Kristin Zavorska, Sr. Dir. Production
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