'They let us pick any artist in the world': the freedom to create relatable theatre

Photo of Japanese artists Chim↑Pom
18 Jul 2019
Feature

The Contact Young Curators programme gave Wez Thistlethwaite the opportunity to re-engage his creative muscles by co-curating a world premiere at this year’s Manchester International Festival.

Access
Audience development
Management
Children and young people
Diversity
Leadership

Mayor steps in to plug V&A East funding gap

An artist's drawing of the planned V&A East museum
12 Jul 2019
News

The GLA has agreed to underwrite a budget shortfall of up to £12m, which is expected despite a £9m a year boost in funding from DCMS.

Audience development
Finance
Fundraising
Museums and heritage
Arts funding

Austerity is undermining children’s access to culture, finds research

A photo of a boy holding a tablet
12 Jul 2019
News

An LSE researcher said children’s development is being thwarted by Government policy, but argued the situation could be improved if recent welfare cuts were reversed.

Access
Audience development
Education
Policy
Children and young people
Diversity
Equality

Why European collaboration is worth fighting for

A photo of an art installation of collapse pillars in Denmark
11 Jul 2019
Feature

While some in the UK may believe we have little to learn from European collaboration, Anne Torreggiani and Jonathan Goodacre have found cross-border networks to be a force for innovation and change.

Audience development
Management
Europe
International
Collaboration
Brexit

The real 'Brand Britain': can European grassroots touring survive?

A photo of a man playing a cello
11 Jul 2019
Feature

What might a no-deal Brexit do to the independent grassroots networks that currently flourish across the continent, asks Martin Cox.

Audience development
Policy
Touring
Europe
International
Collaboration
Supporting artists
Brexit

Three comments that reveal Tristram Hunt’s approach to cultural inclusion

A photo of V&A Dundee
05 Jul 2019
News

The V&A Director warned against getting “too romantic about what Stratford was like before the Olympics”.

Audience development
Engagement
Management
Diversity
Equality
Placemaking
Regeneration

The feelgood factor: making flagship programmes work

A photo of an Asian women with a suitcase, a Black service man and two white women on their phones sitting on a bench in a station
27 Jun 2019
Feature

Artistic excellence and effective governance are key to the success of major public cultural programmes, writes Nigel Hinds.

Audience development
Finance
Governance
Local authorities
Management
Public art
Collaboration
Placemaking

'The problem is that everybody hates it': insights from qualitative research

A photo of a band, with orchestral instruments in case, dressed in black against a white tiled wall.
27 Jun 2019
Feature

An analysis of motivations helped a contemporary music ensemble upend received wisdom about its audiences. Celia Duffy and Charlotte Gilmore explain how.

Audience development
Research
Data

Tristram Hunt ‘not interested’ in V&A prayer room

A photo of a gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum
27 Jun 2019
News

The V&A Director is unconvinced by arguments for a dedicated prayer room in V&A East.

Access
Audience development
Engagement
Diversity
Equality
Regeneration

Shining a light on local culture

Photo of a transgender person getting ready at a vanity table as a audience watches on.
27 Jun 2019
Case study

The LightNight festival initially aimed to showcase Liverpool's artists to outsiders - but it is now more concerned with galvanising the local cultural scene, writes Laura Marie Brown.

Audience development
Festivals
Management
Public art
Collaboration
Placemaking
Regeneration
Supporting artists

The data illusion

A photo of people in the rain outside London's National Gallery
14 Jun 2019
Opinion

Funders are increasing their demands for data from arts organisations while only paying lip service to quality in their own statistics. It’s time to stop indulging them, says Jonathan Knott.

Audience development
Policy
Data
Income

Creative processes at the heart

Photo of a wall graffitied with the words "Together We Create!"
12 Jun 2019
Feature

The place in which a cultural organisation finds itself can determine how it thrives, survives or even dies, but many organisations are now taking the lead in helping places reinvent themselves. Anne Torreggiani explores the rise of place-shaping.

Audience development
Participatory arts
Local authorities
Collaboration
Data
Placemaking

Giving youth a voice

Photo of a group of young people
06 Jun 2019
Feature

Engaging with young people is a sound investment in future audiences, says Annabel Thomas - provided you are clear about why and how you are doing it.

Audience development
Children and young people

Wheelchair users barred from online bookings

A photo of an empty theatre auditorium
24 May 2019
News

New research finds only 4% of bookings that included wheelchair access needs were made online, compared to 60% of all transactions.

Access
Audience development
Marketing
Retail and merchandising
Ticketing
Data
Disability
Diversity
Equality
Income

Diversity beyond visible representation

Photo of EVIDENCE DANCE COMPANY in New Conversations featuring Annique Roberts, Courtney Paige, Ross Keon Thoulouis & Shayla Caldwell
15 May 2019
Feature

Culturally diverse work is becoming more prominent, but the infrastructure supporting BAME artists still needs to improve, argues Pawlet Brookes.

Audience development
Diversity
Equality

ACE denies statistics are misleading as regulator demands more clarity

People watching a film outside next to a canal
03 May 2019
News

The UK Statistics Authority has endorsed AP’s challenge to Arts Council England over the reporting of audience numbers in its latest annual review.

Audience development
Public art
Arts funding
Data

Queuing up for 50p tickets

A photo of a queue of people outside Citizens Theatre, Glasgow
02 May 2019
Case study

There are queues around the block for a chance to nab the Citizens Theatre's 50p tickets – an offer that’s available for every production. It’s not just a way of diversifying audiences, it also brings to life the theatre’s history, and civic mission, says Dominic Hill.

Audience development
Engagement
Ticketing
Theatre
Diversity

A sensory new world

A photo of a man performing with a guitar to a disabled audience with a sensory set
02 May 2019
Feature

Lucy Garland explains how her company makes theatre accessible to adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Audience development
Theatre
Diversity
Equality

A seat at the table

Photo of Imrana speaking at the Power of Community symposium
24 Apr 2019
Feature

Challenging the notion of a ‘hard-to-reach community’ in Luton, Imrana Mahmood explores the need to create pathways that lead to meaningful inclusion.

Audience development
Participatory arts
Cultural commissioning
Education
Engagement
Management
Outdoor arts
Public art
Cross artform
Visual arts
Collaboration
Diversity
Equality
Leadership
Placemaking

Making the tea or changing the game?

Photo of The Audience Agency's intern, Massimo Finistrella, and participants in the Connect pilot programme
11 Apr 2019
Feature

Anne Torreggiani explains why participating in an EU-funded Erasmus programme has prompted her to re-evaluate the ability of interns to act as a source of new ideas and fresh thinking.

Audience development
Human resources
Children and young people

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