Eileen Myles and Jill Soloway

Hammer Highlights 2016: Most-Watched Programs Online This Year

– By Susan Edwards, associate director, digital content

The Hammer produces over 300 public programs each year—quite a feat for a museum of our size. And this year, we upped the ante and produced almost 450 programs, including more than a dozen performance art events that were part of In Real Life: 100 Days of Film and Performance

Did you know that almost all of our programs are recorded live and available to watch online? We do this because we want to reach as many people as possible with the important conversations, ideas, and art that happens inside our walls. The issues discussed and voices heard contributed to critical issues of the time, and also provide a document for the future.

Not only is our physical space limited (our theater only seats 285 people), but by putting these programs online we meet our audience where they are, and how they like—in their living rooms, in their cars, on their TVs, and in bits over time. In today’s busy world, we know that getting to a physical event is hard—especially in Los Angeles where the traffic is a challenge.

I decided to look back at the 2016 Hammer programs that were most-viewed online in hopes of getting a snapshot of what our online audiences are interested in. As you can see, the Hammer’s programs in 2016 covered wide-ranging topics from feminism to the election, from the environment to racism, from art history to popular culture. And there are many, many more programs to explore.

Whether you are in Los Angeles, London, or Lhasa, we invite you to re-watch these programs, share them with your community, and come back to the Hammer in 2017 for more inspiration.

So here is our top 10 list of the programs that were most-viewed online in 2016: