Quotas alone won't achieve gender equality

A photo of three women singing
09 Jan 2020

Setting targets helps, but wider strategies are needed to dispel the sense of novelty value that still surrounds female musicians. We need to normalise their presence on stage and behind the scenes, writes Kate Lowes.

ACE treads carefully with ‘intrusive’ new social class metric

17 Dec 2019

Arts Council England will begin collecting data on the socio-economic background of its NPO workforce next year, but will need to overcome perceptions that doing so is “alien, intimate and intrusive”.

Female artists’ work three times more likely to be undervalued than men’s

17 Dec 2019

New research “confirms many fears that female artists are making less money, regardless of talent”. So what’s the solution?

AP's end of year quiz

13 Dec 2019

Arts numpty? Or sector swot? Test your team's knowledge with ArtsProfessional's light-hearted look at the year's news... 

How the Fringe is forcing out working class voices

12 Dec 2019

Edinburgh Fringe is full of people making obscene amounts of money on the backs of artists who are bringing everyone to the city in the first place, says Kevin P. Gilday. It’s an inequality that is undermining the lofty ideals on which the fringe was formed.

New national agency to study ageing and creativity

11 Dec 2019

A three-year project will research ways to support later-life creativity and creative technology solutions for an ageing population.

Classical music must face up to abuse

A close up of a hand and a violin
06 Dec 2019

Harassment will continue until institutions are willing to take difficult decisions, says Jonathan Knott.

How can heritage respond to a changing world?

A photo of a large glass door with text on it
05 Dec 2019

Climate change, activism, funding constraints, policy priorities… How can museums and heritage organisations adjust their presentation, programming, collections and business models in response to the challenging world around them? Being adaptable is the only way forward, says Tom Freshwater.

Finding faith in voluntary arts

A building with a tall tower and a wall covered in a bright mural saying 'faith'
05 Dec 2019

How do policies and prejudices around religious belief affect the cultural workforce? People of faith tell Martin Cox how they feel about being an artist involved in socially engaged arts.

A truly national theatre? Exploring new ways to collaborate

A photo of a young man on a stage leaning against another actor
05 Dec 2019

National Theatre partnerships with theatres around the country are creating an opportunity for them to share and compare experiences and ideas across a mix of scales, locations and financial models. Lisa Burger explains what’s going on.

Diversity and inclusion: why are we still talking about it?

A room of people listening to a speaker
28 Nov 2019

A reluctance to self-reflect and a tendency to recruit in our own image are at the root of the sector’s failure to employ a workforce that reflects the wider working population, says Sara Whybrew.

Bonding with the Bard: how Shakespeare brought East Londoners closer together

28 Nov 2019

Can theatres really forge deep and meaningful connections with their local communities across age, class and ethnicity? Douglas Rintoul explains how Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has done just that.

Does 'Pay What You Can' pay off?

21 Nov 2019

As new customers are more likely to buy high price tickets than existing customers, can we expect Pay What You Can schemes to develop new audiences? Debbie Richards examines the evidence. 

We need more welfare funding of the arts – literally

19 Nov 2019

If the arts sector really has faith in everyday creativity, it should put its money where its mouth is, writes Jonathan Knott.

Head to head: can a toolkit solve the sector’s class problem?

14 Nov 2019

This year Jerwood Arts published a toolkit for cultural organisations, designed to encourage greater socio-economic diversity in the arts. Julie Lomax, Chief Executive of a-n The Artists Information Company, sees it as a starting point for helping solve the sector’s ‘class crisis’ – but arts consultant Chrissie Tiller isn’t so sure.

Can you quantify class?

A picture of four people's hands holding mobile devices
14 Nov 2019

Asking questions about someone’s social class may feel uncomfortable, but people are less sensitive than you might think. Maya Sharma and Dan Cowley explain why it’s important to tackle the subject head on – and how to go about it.

Changing the narrative in East Leeds

A photo of the Chapel FM building in a former church
14 Nov 2019

It’s been five years since Heads Together opened Chapel FM in East Leeds. Linda Strudwick looks at what can be achieved from running an arts centre in the middle of a disadvantaged community.

‘We raise each other up’: supporting a new generation of writers

A photo of a young woman in front of a camera
14 Nov 2019

New Writing North is helping young people in some of the region's most socio-economically disadvantaged areas express themselves through creative writing. Laura Fraine explains how a new generation is finding its voice.

A welcoming space for affordable training

Picture of a collage including a dog and a cartoon face
14 Nov 2019

The lack of affordable skills-based training and opportunities to learn from others makes it much harder for people from disadvantaged backgrounds to develop their careers in the arts. Simina Neagu and Valentina Bin took action to fill the gap.

‘Racism and microaggressions’: publishers reveal industry biases

12 Nov 2019

BME people in children’s publishing are often “pressured to comment on diversity issues” amid expectations their books will focus on cultural stereotypes.

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