In mid-2020 it became clear to us that our WUSF Public Media service area arts organizations required a new, innovative way of presenting and producing their incredible local performance and exhibition offerings for audiences to enjoy online and in their homes. As a result, we created the digital arts hub initiative called Arts Axis Florida. This platform is free for arts organizations to use to engage with their audiences online through audio and video streaming and links to educational information. We also are producing a fun and informative podcast series about the arts in our area with the Arts Axis Florida brand. Our mission is to have Arts Axis=Arts Access.
Since its launch, Arts Axis Florida has 89 arts organizations from West Central Florida participating and has 22,000 unique viewers, 36,000 pageviews, 16,000 content downloads, 20,000 persons signed up for the weekly newsletter and nearly 15 million impressions through digital and on-air promotions. Participating organizations work with WUSF’s digital team to help gain entry to the Arts Axis Florida website. Organizations are encouraged to refresh and update their information as often as they like. We have worked with a number of arts organizations to produce and promote live, original online events using the Arts Axis Florida platform. Our Arts Axis Florida podcast has over 5,000 downloads and it was recently recognized as a Top 35 Art Podcast Teachers Must Follow in 2021 by Feedspot.
To promote Arts Axis Florida, WUSF uses its own broadcasts and digital platforms (web, email and social media). WUSF and the Arts Axis Florida weekly newsletters highlight upcoming live or recorded local performances and publicize their dates and times. We leverage our partners’ social networks and communities to bring new audiences to WUSF and Arts Axis Florida.
In the coming year, we will work with other Florida public media stations to develop Arts Axis Florida web pages to provide service to their local communities and arts organizations through this digital arts hub.