2020 festivals: there’s no going back
Having flexed our innovation muscles in response to the pandemic, now’s the time to assess what we’ve done and use thi…
Posts
Evolve or die: time to think the unthinkable
Covid-19 has only accelerated what was bound to happen in the arts world – the collapse of unsustainable economic models. It…
Storytelling – a different way of evaluating
Conventional monitoring and evaluation isn’t always helpful in community settings, but with some creative thinking, it can b…
A better space
Covid has given us a chance to imagine a new kind of future for our theatres, but without big goals we will be hostages to fortune…
Do we still need record labels?
The costs of making and distributing music have both come down, but streaming income is very low. John Funge examines the financia…
Sustainable development: are you doing your bit?
Light on resources and heavy on challenges – even before Covid-19 – the cultural sector can nonetheless take small, re…
Are qualifications worth it?
Until the arts sector defines its expectations of the learning needed by employees, even aspirational and potentially career-enhan…
Building online relationships with supporters
In the current climate it’s time to adapt digital fundraising strategies and look at how your data can help boost online don…
Facing the future in the digital sphere
Despite the blow the lockdown has dealt to its plans, dreams, ambitions and finances, Tomorrow’s Warriors are managing to th…
Arts and health partners in a post-Covid world
Delivering arts and health services digitally can extend access for some, but others are excluded. Nesta Lloyd-Jones looks at the…
“We need collectivity against structural and institutional racism in the cultural sector”
A collective of Black and Asian artists, curators and educators explains how the impenetrable glass ceiling keeps them on the marg…
Time to let go of protective control
Given where we now find ourselves, we have few choices but to pool resources and develop new economic and business structures with…
How to tell audiences you’re open for business again
Communicating re-opening will be much, much harder than closure, says Kate Fielding-Cox, who proposes four key principles that eve…
Musings of a Covid-weary venue manager
“Two pigeons in the foyer, a baby seagull falling off the roof and the lager kegs exploding in the heat”: Elspeth McBa…
Trapped in the status quo?
“Radical, representative reinvention” is the only moral choice for the sector now, says Richard Watts, who examines wh…
The many roads to recovery
As we emerge from the chaos of the pandemic let’s focus on where we want to go, but remember there’s no single way to…
Artists on the front line
Outdoor Arts producers and artists are experienced at turning the most unpromising setting into a performance space, and their bac…
When the festivals fell silent
Familiar voices may be muted this year, but some have found new ways to communicate with their audiences, and to reach new ones. M…
Artful leadership against a clever virus
As we move from the immediate crisis towards new ones, we need atypical thinkers, agile doers and creative problem-solvers who thr…
Living without workplace banter
With home-working more likely to become the norm, what can be done to sustain our mental health and support our colleagues and col…
The ethics of making ‘challenging’ work
Funders are putting BAME artists under increasing pressure to explore sensitive topics from their own lives or communities, but le…
Why creatives should design the experiences of their art
Competition in the ‘experience economy’ combined with the circumstances of the pandemic mean it’s time for the c…
The pivot to digital: catching up and moving forward
As live-to-digital capture, broadcast and live-streaming are embraced more widely in the rush to build up work online, emerging te…
Will it be worth it? The re-opening barriers facing visually impaired people
What has been the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on those who are blind or have low levels of vision? And how can cultural ven…
