Thinking Differently was initially conceived by Meadow Arts as a small scale project to explore how artists think, new ways of developing creative practice in educational settings and new ways of gathering evidence of the wider benefits of creativity. This report written by Simon Taylor MA, University of Worcester with Liz Elders MA and Dr ... Read more

Author, speaker, international advisor on education and the arts and Patron of The Place, Sir Ken Robinson talks to the Chief Executive of The Place, Clare Connor about the innate value of dance, hierarchies in arts and education and how dance may help us expand our narrow views of intelligence.

Northants Cultural Education Partnership (CEP) brings together leading arts, education and community organisations across the county to support young people, schools and local groups to unlock access to high quality cultural opportunities.

Founded in 2002 the Windmill Theatre is a not-for-profit performing arts company based in Adelaide, Australia. This case study describes how Windmill’s award-winning Arts Community and Education Program reflects the company’s belief that capturing the imaginations of young people early in their development helps to establish a life-long love of the arts. Using educators to facilitate direct dialogue between artists and young ... Read more

The Lancashire Witches 400 project explored the heritage of the Lancashire Witches and the 400th anniversary of their trial and execution, alongside the enduring theme of persecution today. A diverse, creative programme initiated by Green Close Studios, involved hundreds of people participating in free workshops, talks and exhibitions featuring work from schools and the local community. There have ... Read more

This paper by Dr Dennie Palmer Wolf and Dr Steven Holochwost from US cultural consultancy WolfBrown draws on new understandings of creativity, as well as a number of WolfBrown projects, to suggest that a focus on building creative capital is a powerful way to think about planning for, executing, and measuring the impact of the ... Read more

This book offers examples of successful cultural partnerships from the US and outlines how these have benefited local communities.  Based on the success of these partnerships it also offers some useful advice on developing successful partnerships in the community as well as outlining some less successful ventures into partnership and based on this, tips on ... Read more

This social marketing case study has been shared by the National Social Marketing Centre.  In 2007 Brent Council’s Graffiti Partnership Board (a multi-agency partnership) successfully led diversionary activities and implemented a stronger investigation and enforcement strategy to tackle graffiti in the area.  The approach was developed after extensive research and engagement with young people, graffiti ... Read more

This review by US consultancy WolfBrown was commissioned by the Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute in 2012. The purpose of the review was to invite readers and stakeholders – including organisations, musicians, staff, and advocates–to think about three key questions:  What exactly can music (or, more broadly, the arts) contribute to the reform of juvenile ... Read more

‘All Our Futures’, the government report into creative and cultural education, put forward a case for more integrated arts activities in schools. In this keynote speech we are urged to change our conceptions of ‘culture’ and ‘art’ – as the arts is often regarded as a remote and separate activity, something that exists outside the ... Read more

This report on culture and learning comes out of an investigation and consultation across formal and informal learning, the arts and heritage. It is the outcome of a series of consultation seminars held in five cultural venues across England, and of interviews with groups of teachers from different parts of the country, plus written responses to a Demos Consultation Paper, Culture and Learning: Towards a New Agenda, written ... Read more

A detailed report describing how the MLA Challenge Fund successfully enabled museums, libraries and archives round the UK to open up their spaces free of charge to self-organised groups of learners. Case studies include a poetry group and various heritage, craft and creative arts groups.

A detailed report on the effectiveness of the Renaissance programme – funding across regional museum hubs to promote community engagement activities. It discusses approaches to community engagement, outcomes and impacts, and policy and programme development.

The final 150-page report evaluating community use of public libraries following Big Lottery funding. Using case studies, the report measures how well the libraries engage with their communities, whether perceptions of library services have changed and how much impact the funding has made on learning and skills development for users, staff and volunteers.

In this article the findings of audience research using statistical modelling may challenge some of our preconceptions about audience behaviour and the key indicators or drivers for attendance and participation. Orian Brook looks at a culture accessibility index, identifies the importance of higher education and commuting and the impact they have on different artforms.

Given that we know why people engage with the arts, John Holden discusses how arts organisations can actually increase public engagement in the arts. In the context of positive shifts in policy and changes in the way we judge and measure the quality of the arts, he looks at the need for greater collaboration and ... Read more

Twelve case studies of arts engagement projects working with older people and families in London. The case studies share the learning from Audiences London’s Family Advocates Programme, BAC’s work with non-professional older artists, a skills exchange with Building Exploratory, an architecture centre and Cubitt, a gallery and studios regarding work with older audiences, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Tate ... Read more

An evaluation and case study of a large-scale, mutlidimensional arts tour and education project. Torbay Council brought an award-winning, interventionist work of public art, RedBall UK, to the streets, enriching cultural tourists’ experiences and allowing visitors to see familiar places in a new light.

In the year that the Edinburgh International Festival celebrated its sixtieth birthday, this presentation discussed how an understanding of audiences contributes to the development of the Festival brand, illustrating how in 60 years it has transformed a City not known for its festivals into one that attracts millions of visitors and generates over £200 million ... Read more

An insight into how The Natural History Museum aims to create life-long relationships with its visitors which rely on them being connected with all aspects of the Museum’s work.  For an organisation that has 40 different logos and a complex structure, this is no easy task, and this case study shows you how it can ... Read more