The latest news and views from thrive.

Bringing you the latest news on audiences in the cultural sector.

BLOG 28th August 2023

Audience Development: Does one size fit all? (Yes, it does! Oh no, it doesn’t!)

Audience development. It’s an objective that is close to our hearts here at Thrive. This summer, we decided to delve deeper into it, meeting with people from various parts of Northern Ireland’s arts and cultural sector (festivals, producers, galleries, and venues) The aim? To get an insight into the unique challenges each group faces around building and maintaining audience relationships.

BLOG 21st August 2023

Northern Ireland in 100 Stories: Resources

In July 2022, we began work on a fascinating project: Northern Ireland in 100 Stories. For the past year, we met with a total of 120 people from across all 11 council areas in Northern Ireland to find out what arts and culture means to their lives. As we near the end of the project, we wanted to gather in one place all the resources that came from it.
The photo shows an empty theatre
BLOG 8th August 2023

Can’t or won’t? Barriers vs. motivations in missing audiences

How and when does an interest in an artform translate into attending and participating in it? In June, our resident BOSS Eve attended the 'Interest Into Action' TEA Break session hosted by the Audience Agency. This session led Eve to doing some investigating into this concept of her own with some very interesting results.
A Jack Russell Terrier sitting on the grass
BLOG 20th June 2023

Belfast Stories: How asking about dogs unleashed pawfect data

We recently designed and delivered research for Belfast Stories in which we took a creative approach to craft our questions.
Two men chatting in art gallery
BLOG 14th June 2023

What is the impact of arts and culture attendance?

Last month, we sat down with representatives from organisations across Belfast to discuss their thoughts on the impact of various art forms on audiences. Find out how the meeting went in our latest blog written by our Sector Programme Coordinator Eve Murtagh.
Young woman wearing reading glasses is lying down on a sofa. There's a cosy blanket over her and she's holding her head with her hand, her head resting on a cushion
BLOG 9th March 2023

How to re-engage your lapsed audiences

Some people who used to be regular audience members haven't yet returned to cultural organisations. There are ways to entice them back. Read our blog to find out.

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