Working with real people
Opening up decision-making about what art gets made and by whom doesn't lead to people 'playing it safe', but to progr…
Posts
An unexpected gift
A welcome surprise of five-year funding provided the opportunity for Cardiff's Sherman Theatre to diversify its audiences, boo…
A breath of fresh air
The port town of Felixstowe proved an ideal setting for exploring less cerebral ways of engaging with contemporary art, writes Nat…
The talk of the town
When Ron Evans started thinking about how to make post-show talks more appealing and accessible, he found audiences hungry for new…
Taking art out of the box
Biennials have emerged as a key influence in contemporary exhibition-making. Shwetal Patel and Sunil Manghani explain how a more i…
Turning engagement patterns upside down
How can arts and culture reach a broader audience that more accurately reflects local communities? Sarah Boiling explores how to c…
How to… develop a CRM strategy
How can arts organisations develop the best possible strategy for their customer relationship management and ticketing systems? He…
Letting youth lead the way
National Trust venues are engaging with new audiences by empowering young people to run events with local communities, says Hattie…
Liverpool stands by ‘insulting’ logo design competition
The city region authority is offering a prize of £800 for a “simple but visually impactful” design to be used ac…
Also this week…
As Tate Modern's latest art installation starts to melt away, AP's Jonathan Knott reflects on how art can play a role…
Capturing the essence
When invited to carry out a creative evaluation of the first three years of Creative People and Places, Sarah Butler decided that…
Engaging audiences on tour
While touring three productions around the UK, Unlimited Theatre developed a model for working with venues to engage local audienc…
Review highlights evidence of class bias in arts funding
The tendency for people from higher social grades to be more likely to attend arts events is down to a mismatch between current fu…
Fighting for customer attention
Just providing entertainment is no longer enough to draw in audiences. But by focusing on what people value, arts organisations ca…
Waltham Forest embraces urban nature for culture year
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the borough’s diversity was ‘an asset to be unlocked’.
A different kind of dialogue
Approaches to assessing cultural value are stuck in a financially reductionist ‘value = money’ orbit. We should be exa…
Rules to shake up city theatre
The city theatre in Ghent, Belgium has a new rulebook, aiming to open it up to the independent scene and international touring. Mi…
Doing the impossible
The success of Hull City of Culture shows what can be achieved in the arts when we come together to achieve a common goal. Positiv…
Are we misunderstanding cultural democracy?
Has Arts Council England got cultural democracy wrong? Steven Hadley and Eleonora Belfiore argue for a more thorough questioning o…
Disabled people more engaged with arts than ever, figures reveal
Data from the Government’s Taking Part survey also suggests that 2017/18 saw record levels of arts engagement in England as…
The craft of captioning artworks
If artists want an authentic response to their work, they need to give viewers a way in, argues Eleanor MacFarlane.
Cultural value research hub backed by 5-year funding
The research centre will aim to “pre-empt the needless wheel-spinning, data-churning and combative cross-talking that has ch…
“Class gap” holds back young people from the arts, finds research
Two reports commissioned by Arts Council England found that cost and lack of confidence are major barriers to youth engagement.
‘Donut’ venues boost community engagement, report finds
Three outer city venues around Leeds were found to have generated committed core audiences in areas perceived as barren.
