Are you thinking about participation and the different values we all bring to our experience of culture? Here are six recommended reads that will help you explore the different meanings people give to ‘participation’ and how this affects the approaches we might take. Our series of My Essential Reads features academics and practitioners sharing their … Read more
In this case study, Fabio Santos describes his involvement in the planning of The Complete Freedom of Truth (TCFT), an international youth arts project led by Opera Circus. This large-scale international participatory project is designed to use the arts to provide skills training, cultural and social awareness for young people enabling them to stage small, … 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
The toolkit and guidelines for audiences at outdoor events and festival aim to provide a framework to measuring and evidencing the impact of an outdoor event. The guidelines provide practical advice for audience research at un-ticketed cultural festivals and other events in the following sections: research principles, data collection methods, evidencing success, estimating audience size, questionnaires and surveys, working … Read more
An in-depth study of voluntary and amateur arts groups and informal adult learning in the arts in England. Commissioned by DCMS and Arts Council England to improve the knowledge base on the voluntary and amateur arts sector in England, it is the first of its kind on a national scale and represents the first step … Read more
People are engaging in the arts in increasingly active and expressive ways. Arts organisations are examining this seismic shift toward a participatory arts culture and figuring out how to adapt in new and creative ways. This report looks to deepen understanding of these changes and spotlights exciting examples of participatory arts practices. The researchers investigated active arts participation … Read more
In Touch was an innovative Cultural Heritage volunteering programme delivered by Manchester Museum and Imperial War Museum North (IWM North) in partnership with Trafford College and Salford City College and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The model focused on personal and skills development for a specific group of socially-excluded people who are significantly … Read more
This report looks at the convergence of three trends: technological change the way that people engage with culture the policy aim of increasing democratic participation in culture, with particular regard to audiences described as ‘hard to reach’. The report discusses DCMS’s project Culture Online and highlights some practical lessons learnt from its delivery. In this context it … Read more
An analysis of some London arts companies that have participation and engagement at the heart of their arts creation and delivery models. The review involved organisations that work in some of the most challenging circumstances possible in London – in prisons, in hostels for homeless people, in healthcare settings, in daycare centres for people affected … Read more
This report outlines the process and outcomes of The Style of Our Lives, a LIFT project with the aim of celebrating the ‘theatre of the streets’ as represented by individual style and dress, that took place in Stoke Newington in 2000. Find out whether the aims and objectives of the programme were met, how the … Read more
