The Audience Culture's Unknown Quantity Is cultural supply outstripping demand? Do too few people benefit from the rich array of subsidized art? It is not cultural-policy makers alone who recognize that cultural promotion needs to refocus some of its emphasis to include not only artistic production but the expectations of the potential consumer – to build bridges and provide broader access to art and culture.Wishes that are of core relevance to the debate surrounding Switzerland’s new draft legislation on federal cultural promotion and Pro Helvetia. And considerations that are at the heart of the work the Arts Council of Switzerland does every day. It is against this background that Pro Helvetia’s cultural magazine Passages dedicates the present issue to a very special kind of «cultural asset»: the audience. To the individuals who form the much-courted collective that gives meaning to the idea of «demand», «access» or «building bridges». Our authors ask questions, offer approaches or even concrete formulas targeting a phenomenon that, though amenable to empirical research, is too elusive to be easily pinned down. Download the PDF here. For more information, CLICK HERE.