| |
Arts Council England
This is a link to the Arts Council website, where you will find detailed information on a number of audience development initiatives, including the New Audiences reports
Audience development and marketing agencies
The agencies are primed to work with all cultural organisations in their specific region, as well as on national programmes; they are also available as resources for
touring companies
If you are touring in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, there is an audience development agency in each region who will be able to help you with intelligence and research on audiences and potential audiences in their area.
Who are these audience development agencies? and where?
Map of the Network consortium of agencies, all but Audiences Nothern Ireland, who are based in Belfast.
amh
Arts About Manchester
Audiences Central
Audiences London
Audiences North East
Audiences Northern Ireland
Audiences Yorkshire
Audiences Wales
Cultivate
Glasgow Grows Audiences
SAM
Audiences South West
The Audience Business
Why they are useful?
The agencies are a subsidised resource, often under-used by arts organisations, especially touring companies, at the ‘hub’ regionally of many partnerships and able to introduce you to these networks eg local authority partnerships
Most of these agencies work with all artforms and in the wider cultural sector.
Background
- At least one in each Government region with resources relevant to cultural organisations in that region
- Directors between them have many years’ experience as practitioners, leaders, skills providers
- Understand the cultural landscape/ecology, both building-based and audience-based
- Involved in large numbers of A4E and New Audiences initiatives
- Involved in local authority partnerships, major events such as Year of Culture 2008, and collaborative programmes with Museums, Libraries and Archives sector
Relationships
- On various Arts Council national consultation groups eg Family Friendly
- Local authority partnerships
- MLA and regional MLAC joint working
- Involvement in specific national campaigns eg Campaign for Learning
- Extensive professional (and personal) networks throughout the cultural sector and elsewhere
Specialisms
- Initiated Audience Data UK work (www.aduk.org) and part of national consultation on this process
- Support and contribute to Arts Council publications eg Arts Ambassadors
- Supply market intelligence via TGI, Area Profile Reports etc
- Training and skilling-up of arts organisations to make better use of resources and programmes eg evaluation, research etc.
FAQs
- Just for the ‘big players’?
no, really interested in emergent organisations (trying to devise way to resource this currently)
- Just for venues?
no, if you’re working with/in touring companies, live literature projects, creative industries – worth talking to the relevant agency
- Costly?
most agencies offer free or heavily subsidised first advice sessions, then help you identify where you might get resources for further work
- Do they provide only external training courses?
no, customised, in-house training also readily available
- Is it expensive?
not by most standards and the agencies can often suggest sources of training funds
How to access this help?
Any of the agencies will happily talk to an arts organisations on an advisory basis, and direct them to the appropriate agency for their needs.
The Network website gives a rundown of basic activity/programmes/skills.
www.audiencedevelopment.org
|
|
|
