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Yorkshire declares independence while Scotland joins forces

A new audience development agency has risen from the ashes of Yorkshire’s audience agency &Co, which was one of the English agencies that chose not to join forces with others to form a national audience development organisation when Arts Council England core funding was withdrawn last year. The new Community Interest Company, known as &Co Cultural Marketing, will be targeting cultural organisations in Yorkshire, The Humber and neighbouring regions. It will be led by three Principal Consultants: Alison Edbury, previously Chief Executive of &Co; Professor Chris Bailey, who served on the boards of &Co and Audiences North East; and Jane Wood, a specialist in social media and digital services. Associate Consultants include Alison O’Hara, former Chief Executive of Audiences North East, and Vanessa Rawlings Jackson, Executive Director of the East Midlands agency Cultivate.
Meanwhile in Scotland, the three audience development agencies Culture Sparks, Hi-Arts and The Audience Business are working to becoming one from April next year. A series of consultation meetings for stakeholders is helping to shape a new, audience-focused national agency that will deliver research, projects and market intelligence. The final meeting is in Perth on Monday 26 November.