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. 

The shifting world of arts comms

Graphic showing the letters PR
08 Feb 2024

For the past two years, Mobius Industries has run a survey to take the temperature of arts PR. As Emma Berge reports, the results reveal widespread concern about the shrinkage of arts coverage. 

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

What would a regenerative cultural sector look like?

Young people leaping across a lavender bed in Ilam Park
18 Mar 2024

The sector’s resilience and creativity in navigating crises show how art and culture will sustain even in the toughest of times. Ben Walmsley explores what is now needed to build a more equitable, confident and sustainable future.   

Significant challenges 'may limit opera sector ambitions'

Malcolm Ridley as Harrison Howell Kiss me Kate Opera North tour 2018
08 Mar 2024

A report into the opera sector commissioned by Arts Council England has warned that the rising costs of staging productions are outstripping income.

More than half of arts audiences are first-time bookers

Audience cheering
05 Mar 2024

Research into the behaviour of new arts audiences post-pandemic found the retention rate of new bookers in 2023 was higher than it has been since 2016.

Pressures on freelance mothers in dance 'at critical point'

A female dancer leaping through the air
29 Feb 2024

Concerns raised over female dancers returning to work too soon after giving birth, risking physical exhaustion and injury.

Researchers investigate benefits of singing

28 Feb 2024

A Bristol music venue is teaming up with researchers at the city's University of the West of England to explore links between singing and wellbeing.

The project, called Sing for Happiness is being described as the first large-scale research initiative of its kind and is seeking up to 500 local participants to take part.

Sing for Happiness will consist of a series of in-person sessions at St George’s music venue across spring 2024, with a final performance at Bristol Beacon on Saturday 22 June. 

It's hoped the research project’s results will provide data on how singing can be used in health and wellbeing contexts such as social prescribing.

Kat Branch, Head of UWE Bristol’s Centre for Music who is leading the study said: "No research has been done on this scale before, and we’re really pleased to be collaborating with St George’s who have fantastic links in the Bristol community to make this happen.”

Natalie Cooper, Leader of Bristol-based Melody Makers Choir, which will be convening sessions during the project, said: “People often tell me after a choir rehearsal how it has made them feel so much better. 

"There’s nowhere like a choir – how many places can you go to genuinely make new friends, create beautiful music together, feel a sense of achievement, and feel safe knowing that everyone is equal?”

Measuring the impact of Shakespeare

School children taking part in RSC Romeo and Juliet workshop
20 Feb 2024

The RSC is currently the only theatre company to hold Independent Research Organisation status. It is using that to initiate research about things that matter to the whole sector, as Jacqui O’Hanlon shares.

Under half of England’s local authorities have a cultural strategy

Suffolk County Council building
14 Feb 2024

Analysis from the start of last year found less than half of England’s local authorities have a publicly available cultural strategy.

Movement for wellbeing

Image shows two people seated, one in a wheelchair, touching hands
05 Feb 2024

Taking part in physical activity has proven health benefits but it remains elusive for many. Here Amy Knowles shares an innovative approach to engaging adults in moving more. 

Survey to review pay transparency for live music freelancers

05 Feb 2024

Music sector body LIVE has launched a survey to understand and identify changes required to improve the experience of freelancers working in the live music industry.

The Hidden Side of Freelancing will explore pay transparency and the personal experiences of freelancers at live music events. 

It can be completed anonymously. The results will be assessed, then used in a publicly available report to be published in April 2024.

“This survey will give freelancers in our industry the information needed to get the most out of the work they do and help to deliver impact change for every freelancer and the organisations that rely on freelance talent,” said LIVE CEO Jon Collins.

Technical Production Manager Paul Jones says one of the biggest single questions raised on the Live Event Freelancers Forum is about wages and pay rates.

“This survey gives every live event freelancer a chance to give accurate and honest information, and anonymously if need be. 

“There has never been more of a need to gain accurate information on pay and conditions for the freelance community so we can gather valuable insight and help shape the future of our sector and industry well into the future.

“If you are a freelancer in the live sector, you should not ignore this survey. It should be one of the most important things you do in 2024. It's your industry, let’s make a difference.”

The survey will close on 23 February.

Teaching empathy

01 Feb 2024

Empathy is vital in the work of NHS staff, but it's not always part of their professional development. Persis Jadé Maravala is collaborating on a project to improve healthcare training using touch.

How to boost arts audiences

Image of people from above, generated by DALL-E
22 Jan 2024

The figures for attendance at arts events in the UK have been stable since 2005*, writes Agnieszka Wlazeł, despite a variety of audience development initiatives over the years. 

Most artists want AI regulation from government

18 Jan 2024

The majority of UK artists want the government to introduce legislation to protect their work from being used to train AI, according to a new survey.

Conducted by Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS), the study found 89% would like to see the introduction of more robust safeguards and regulations around AI, with 94% saying they should be compensated financially when their work is used to train AI. 

Although 74% said they had concerns about their work being used to train AI, 84% would sign up for a licensing mechanism to be paid when AI uses their work. 

Nearly a third of respondents reported using an AI software or platform to support or assist their work. Almost the same proportion identified a lack of skills or training as a barrier to using AI in their practice.

As a result of the survey, DACS is making five policy recommendations to the government, including that AI models must comply with copyright law and artists must authorise the use of their works for AI training. 

DACS also wants government to adopt blanket licensing and levy schemes to compensate creators as well as a general improvement in pay and work for artists and incentives for AI training.

Young Vic arts education scheme helps ‘plug gaps’ in schools

Two pupils sit at computers for a lesson, a teacher leans forward to speak to them
16 Jan 2024

Young Vic's Innovate programme embedded six artists into two local schools to help teachers deliver creative activities as part of the core curriculum.

Artwork proposed for Leeds park to make it feel safer

15 Jan 2024

Creative lighting and public art are to be designed by community groups for a park in Leeds to try to make the space more welcoming for women.

Wow Park - a co-creative public art and lighting project to make Woodhouse Moor feel safer - is being developed by the University of Leeds after a study of women and girls from across West Yorkshire found that most feel unsafe in parks in some situations.

The study, carried out by researchers in the university's School of Law, concluded that feeling vulnerable in parks is a barrier that needs to be urgently addressed to ensure that women and girls feel able to use, enjoy and benefit from them. 

Woodhouse Moor is an open space that borders the university and is used by thousands of students and local residents as a social space to walk to and from campus. Research in 2016 showed it is the city’s most popular park, hosting more than three million visits annually.   

The University’s Cultural Institute will use the study's findings to explore whether creative solutions can help transform the park to make it feel safer, more inclusive, and welcoming for women, girls, and local communities.   

Professor Ben Walmsley, Dean of Cultural Engagement and Chair of the Cultural Institute’s Steering Group said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to explore and showcase the powerful role that arts and culture can play in animating places and making them safer and more inclusive, as well as more attractive. 

“This project shows how the University of Leeds can work across its diverse Schools and Institutes to translate research into action and make a positive difference to people’s lives through sustained community engagement."

Study on future of arts festivals launches 

15 Jan 2024

British Arts Festivals Association (BAFA) will undertake a UK-wide research study to assess the future of arts festivals.

Supported by Arts Council England, Arts Council of Wales and Creative Scotland, BAFA is commissioning BOP Consulting to research issues including sustainability, equality, diversity and access. 

The data will be used to benchmark the sector, quantifying its contribution to the economy and the places festivals serve. BAFA said it hopes the findings will demonstrate the challenges and opportunities for the sector in the wake of Covid and Brexit.  

Fiona Goh, Director of BAFA, said: “There’s never been a more critical time for BAFA to be able to capture the size, scale and impact of this extraordinary range of cultural events in the arts festivals sector, taking place across the UK.  

"This vital research will not only help us understand the scope of work currently happening in the sector, and to pinpoint the impacts of the pandemic and Brexit, but also help us see how festivals are responding to the challenges of sustainability, the cost of living crisis and social justice movements. 

"We’re delighted that investment from three national arts councils will provide the data that we need to support the sector in shaping a better future together.”

Findings from the survey, which can be accessed here, are due to be shared in the autumn.

Smaller NPOs urged to establish university links

A dancer leaning back on a stage lit in vivid blue
15 Jan 2024

National Portfolio Organisations with the highest levels of public funding three times more likely to be working with universities on arts and culture research than those with lower levels of subsidy.

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