Inside the minds of cultural leaders

Abstract art image of a head
14 Mar 2024

What do cultural leaders really think about the problems they, and the arts and cultural sector, face? Steven Hadley is the Editor of a new book on the subject. 

An asset of community value

Musicians - violinists - performing at Peckham Levels
12 Mar 2024

A car park in Peckham has been transformed into a cultural hub, setting the benchmark for regeneration without gentrification, writes Joseph Winters.

Is curiosity a leadership superpower?

06 Mar 2024

Curiosity has been described as a leadership superpower, but unfocused curiosity can be frustrating, confusing and ineffective for the people you work with, writes Ash Mann.

Joining the dots for better cultural policy

Light installation in Leeds
14 Feb 2024

As Anna Kime begins working with West Yorkshire Combined Authority, she explores how integrated data and evaluation can aid decision making and ensure the UK’s cultural and creative sectors continue to be world-leading. 

Has beauty become a dirty word?

14 Dec 2023

Artist Sarah Hunter, physicist Rox Middleton and philosopher Lucy Tomlinson spotlight what they learnt from spending a year exploring the cultural value of beauty. 

New funding landscape for the arts

East London youth dance company
30 Nov 2023

Impact investment is an ideal partner for the arts sector where taking creative risks, experimentation and imagination are second nature, writes Fran Sanderson

Audience behaviour: Where do we go from here?

Interior of Blackpool Winters Gardens showing empty foyer
12 Sep 2023

As the Covid aftermath continues to unfold, David Reece explores how audience behaviour has changed and what that means for the way the performing arts shape future success.

Unravelling the legalities of the stolen British Museum artefacts

Glass roof inside the British Museum
11 Sep 2023

The scandal of the British Museum thefts has sparked an immense, international public reaction but, as litigation expert Rosie Adcock explains, determining rightful ownership of stolen relics is complex.

‘Apple doesn’t sell fruit’

Young man sitting in an office drinking from a bottle branded 'Prim
06 Jul 2023

What’s in a name? And how does an organisation go about changing its brand identity? Lauren James has some top tips.

Springing back into action: new insights

Graphic showing a person speaking into a mic, a meter, tickets, emojis, mobile phone
26 Apr 2023

Most people in the sector don’t need to be analysts but they do need the insight to make changes that speak to audiences. Here, Anne Torregiani shares how this thinking has shaped The Audience Agency’s next-generation suite of audience insight tools. 

Charitable legacies: The time to act is now

Hand drawn vector illustration of charitable symbols
18 Apr 2023

In the next 30 years, a record £5.5 trillion is set to be transferred between generations, as either inheritance or gifts. Michelle Wright thinks legacy giving is a neglected area of fundraising.

Weathering the cost-of-living storm across the UK

Storm clouds and lightning
08 Dec 2022

Research rings warning bells about the potential effects of the cost-of-living clouds rolling in across all four nations. Anne Torreggiani asks how we can brace for impact and support communities? 

Bridging the divide for children in the North

Childwall Academy
17 Nov 2022

At the heart of the cost-of-living and Covid storm, children and young people have fewer opportunities to engage in arts and culture and barriers to access are growing. Hannah Baldwin thinks this is a crisis in the making.

Education in need of a radical rethink 

First Encounters with Shakespeare production photograph
15 Sep 2022

Industry complains of a chronic skills shortage in areas such as communication and creativity. Yet our education system places little value on subjects that hone those skills, says Jacqui O'Hanlon.

Training the next generation: filming performance bootcamp

31 Aug 2022

Natalie Woolman explains how a bootcamp to develop a talent pipeline for the multicamera teams of the future will address a serious gap in skills training.

Creating spaces for reflection and connection

29 Jun 2022

With a wealth of experience leading and facilitating peer learning programmes, Amanda Smethurst reflects on the critical requirements for an impactful learning experience.

‘Make it SO’

17 May 2022

In the last in our series profiling the shortlisted candidates for City of Culture 2025, Claire Whitaker says Southampton has been connecting the UK with people across the globe for thousands of years.

‘We rise together’

Children celebrate Wrexham's City of Culture 2025 bid
04 May 2022

In the third of our series profiling the shortlisted candidates for City of Culture 2025, Ian Bancroft reveals Wrexham as “one of the last punk places in the UK”.

‘Our Time, Our Place’

Young people from Bradford send off for the district's official UK City of Culture 2025 bid
19 Apr 2022

In the second in our series profiling the shortlisted candidates for City of Culture 2025, Shanaz Gulzar shares how Bradford's young people shaped a bid that awakened a sleeping giant of a city.

‘The past we inherit, the future we build’

Durham miners' gala
06 Apr 2022

In the first in a series profiling the shortlisted candidates for UK City of Culture 2025, Alison Clark introduces the county whose bid is inspired by the Durham Miners Association.

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