Cultural policy makers have not focused much on census data in the past, but that data is a goldmine for researchers, says Mark Taylor.
The census takes place every 10 years - it’s a mammoth undertaking. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and equivalent agencies aim to collect data on the entire population. In 2021, the overall response rate in England and Wales was 97%.
Compared with high-quality survey data - which is a crucial part of the toolkit - the census offers a few critical advantages. In survey work, we can make statements about groups of occupations like ‘music, performing and visual arts’, but we... more
15 May 2024
Feature
Long-term Heart of Glass collaborator Chrissie Tiller reflects on working with the Merseyside-based NPO and how, by building deeper relationships with communities, the arts can create fairer futures.
14 May 2024
Feature
With her experience of working across multiple projects, Sarah Fortescue explores how the sector can deliver what they do best, in the best way possible?
14 May 2024
Feature
Covid has affected the UK theatre industry at all levels, with wide ranging impacts on the workforce, livelihoods, working practices and support networks. But, as James Rowson explains, early career workers have been particularly affected.
13 May 2024
Feature
After a recent appearance before Wales’s Culture Committee, Charlotte Faucher has been rethinking our new relationship with Europe.
09 May 2024
Feature
Evaluation reports in the cultural sector can be packed full of learning. Emma McDowell explores how we might unearth this existing knowledge.
09 May 2024
Feature
You may not have met a philanthropy advisor before, but it is a growing profession, so be ready. Emma Beeston, who’s been one for ten years, explains how they work and why they can be helpful for your organisation.
08 May 2024
Feature
Introducing an ambitious initiative at a time when subsidised arts organisations are being asked to do less seems like madness. But for Slung Low it is a natural next step in their exploration of where civic responsibility meets cultural capital, writes Rachel Perry.
07 May 2024
Feature
Northcott Theatre in Exeter has said it will advertise at least one creative role on every production. Creative Director Martin Berry explains the thinking behind it.
02 May 2024
Feature
In the first of our series looking at the role of philanthropy in arts funding, Caroline McCormick of the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation argues that the financial plight of our cultural institutions is undermining their huge impact.
01 May 2024
Opinion
The decimation of arts education has hit the music sector particularly hard. Deborah Annetts of the Independent Society of Musicians calls on government departments to work together to stop the decline.
30 Apr 2024
Feature
As activity this year gathers pace, Michelle Wright explores the many quandaries arts organisations have to navigate in deciding where to focus their fundraising efforts.
29 Apr 2024
Case study
Welcome to Metroland. We are in Brent, London’s fifth largest borough, an urban sprawl and home to 340,000 people. But, as Lois Stonock shares, the cultural infrastructure needs support.
26 Apr 2024
Opinion
To mark World Intellectual Property Day, Adele Morse thinks it’s time the UK caught up with other countries in paying its artists fairly.
24 Apr 2024
Opinion
Co-Founder of Freedom in the Arts, Rosie Kay, thinks the arts in the UK have strayed into a culture of intolerance, which has led to cancellation and a climate of self-censorship that has to be addressed.
24 Apr 2024
Opinion
Voters across England go to the polls next week (2 May) to elect many thousands of new councillors and 10 metro mayors – one of them being the Mayor of London. Phoebe Gardiner outlines what mayoral hopefuls need to understand about the capital’s culture.