The significance of arts and culture is frequently downplayed, yet it profoundly shapes people's lives. The Northern Ireland in 100 Stories project has gathered first hand accounts from people across the region demonstrating the impact arts and culture have on local residents. In this blog post, Laura examines the key themes from the project, highlighting how integral arts and culture are to are to local communities.

How do NI audiences perceive arts and culture? Find out in our latest audience snapshot.

In this audience snapshot, find out what NI audiences first do when going to a venue, their pet peeves and how venues make them feel.

In this snapshot, find out what arts and culture experiences represent for NI audiences, why they attend and what it gives them that other things don't.

We ran our first focus group with our Audience Panel and they had a lot to say about how they find out about upcoming arts and culture events.

This report from Arts Connect explores how people aged 10 to 19 relate to arts and culture.

How engaged Adults (35-49) are in Arts and Culture in Belfast and what art forms they are interested in the most.

How engaged Older People (65+) are in Arts and Culture in Belfast and what art forms they are interested in the most.

How engaged Young Adults (16-24) are in Arts and Culture in Belfast and what art forms they are interested in the most.

Get to know Jan, our accessibility persona created from the data collected during our Audience Panel.

Find out what art form NI audiences connect with the most and what prevents them from engaging with some art forms.

Get to know Frank and Nancy, our Older Frequent Attender persona created from the data collected during our Audience Panel.

In this snapshot, find out how NI audiences' engagement with culture online has changed, what they enjoy about it and what they don't.

Get to know Jill, our Young Family persona created from the data collected during our Audience Panel.

Find out how lockdown has impacted audiences in NI

Get to know Darren, our Young Infrequent Attender persona created from the data collected during our Audience Panel.

Find out what NI audiences think of emails and newsletters, and what they want to hear in your communication to them.

In this audience snapshot, learn about NI audiences' summer plans.

In this audience snapshot, find out how NI audiences feel about returning to in-person events.

A look at what Northern Ireland's ticketing data tells us about audience attendance trends across the year.

Find out how NI audiences engage with culture online.

This research explored UK audiences' behaviours during lockdown, their wants and needs post-Covid and marketing opportunities for arts & culture organisations moving forward.

Find out who are the NI audiences willing to pay for culture online.

What does art mean to people's lives? This year, we are going places to meet 100 audience members in all 11 council areas of Northern Ireland to find out. Our ninth stop was at the Fermanagh House in Fermanagh.

What does art mean to people's lives? This year, we are going places to meet 100 audience members in all 11 council areas of Northern Ireland to find out. Our first stop was at the Duncairn in Belfast.

What does art mean to people's lives? This year, we are going places to meet 100 audience members in all 11 council areas of Northern Ireland to find out. Our second stop was at the Millennium Forum in Derry~Londonderry.

What does art mean to people's lives? This year, we are going places to meet 100 audience members in all 11 council areas of Northern Ireland to find out. Our eleventh stop was at Seamus Heaney Homeplace in the Mid Ulster district council area.

What does art mean to people's lives? This year, we are going places to meet 100 audience members in all 11 council areas of Northern Ireland to find out. Our fourth stop was at High Rise in Lisburn, Lisburn and Castlereagh City.

What does art mean to people's lives? This year, we are going places to meet 100 audience members in all 11 council areas of Northern Ireland to find out. Our tenth stop was at Carrickfergus Library in the Mid and East Antrim district council area.

What does art mean to people's lives? This year, we are going places to meet 100 audience members in all 11 council areas of Northern Ireland to find out. Our eighth stop was at Coleraine Town Hall in the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough council area.

What does art mean to people's lives? This year, we are going places to meet 100 audience members in all 11 council areas of Northern Ireland to find out. Our third stop was at Portico of Ards in Portaferry, Ards and North Down Borough.

What does art mean to people's lives? This year, we are going places to meet 100 audience members in all 11 council areas of Northern Ireland to find out. Our fifth stop was at Antrim Castle Gardens in Antrim, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough.

What does art mean to people's lives? This year, we are going places to meet 100 audience members in all 11 council areas of Northern Ireland to find out. Our sixth stop was at Millennium Court in Portadown, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough.

What does art mean to people's lives? This year, we are going places to meet 100 audience members in all 11 council areas of Northern Ireland to find out. Our seventh stop was at Canal Court Hotel in Newry, Mourne and Down.

For the first time, we are sharing artform reports from our IMPACT Survey, using responses gathered from 29 organisations between September 2023 and July 2024. This report details the motivations, behaviours, and demographics of Theatre audiences.

For the first time, we are sharing artform reports from our IMPACT Survey, using responses gathered from 29 organisations between September 2023 and July 2024. This report details the motivations, behaviours, and demographics of Music audiences.

Discover the insights from the Missing Audiences for Northern Ireland - Wave 1 survey.

For the first time, we are sharing artform reports from our IMPACT Survey, using responses gathered from 29 organisations between September 2023 and July 2024. This report details the motivations, behaviours, and demographics of Visual Arts audiences.

For the first time, we are sharing artform reports from our IMPACT Survey, using responses gathered from 29 organisations between September 2023 and July 2024. This report details the motivations, behaviours, and demographics of Comedy audiences.

The raw data from our IMPACT Survey contains survey responses from 2,921 participants across 35 organisations in Northern Ireland collected from September 2023 to March 2024

Conversations and views from the public and the arts sector on what Arts Council England should focus on.

Our IMPACT report helps us learn more about who audiences are, how they behave, why they attend and how they feel after attending a variety of artforms.

A national survey from Arts Council of Ireland looking at attendance and participation in the arts in ROI.

Discover the insights from the Missing Audiences for Northern Ireland - Wave 2 survey.

Over the past couple of years, we have been working on an exciting venture known as the North West project. This initiative revolves around the collection of data concerning arts, culture, and heritage audiences in Derry and Donegal. Now, we've decided to put together all the stuff we've learned from it in one place.

The Continuous Household Survey is an annual public survey done by the Northern Irish Government. Here's how to access the results, and why you should read it.

Join us at The Duncairn to chat all things loyalty and engagement. How do you develop a committed relationship with your audience?

Advice from MOMA on using digital to connect with visual arts audiences, and a spotlight on creating a digital plan for heritage organisations.

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.

Read the Arts Collaboration Network's latest statement on 27th January 2021

The Arts Collaboration Network sent a document to the NI Executive, MLAs and NI MPs asking for urgent and ongoing support.

How many tickets for arts and culture events in Northern Ireland are offered at no cost? Insights from our Foundations Report have shed light on this. This prompts us to examine why organisations opt for free events and ticket giveaways. Are there benefits to sharing your valuable, often pricey, work for free?

Our CEO Margaret attended the Westminster Media Forum event recently, and came away with a lot of ideas and questions for digital transformation in the NI arts, culture, and heritage sector.

A roadmap for digital tailored to Northern Ireland’s arts and culture organisations’ needs

Amanda Neylon from NHS Digital tells us what exactly 'digital' means and what it means for the everyday person.

The lowdown on the newest ways cultural organisations can use digital to connect with their audiences.

In this short toolkit, we are looking at different types of surveys and finding the one that works best for you.

We ran a series of workshops to support arts and culture venues to think creatively about how to improve their Access for Disabled People. This is what we learned.

The Arts Collaboration Network's statement following the announcement from Communities Minister Carál Ní Chuilín of a £4m Creative Support Fund.

'Legitimate Interests' could be the saving grace for many arts and culture organisations who want to hold on to their marketing lists.

YouGov and Experian have been collecting data on the cost-of-living crisis and its impact on consumers. We wrote a blog about the implications for arts and culture audiences.

Our latest Foundations report, indicates a fresh wave of individuals engaging with arts and culture in Northern Ireland following the pandemic. We wanted to take a closer look at both emerging and diminishing audiences more closely.

Our Client Programme Coordinator Sarah looks at examples of how organisations outside of the arts and culture sectors exceed their audiences' expectations. Read her blog to find out her key takeaways.

As we're noticing the impact of the latest Apple update on social media advertising, we wrote a blog to explain what it's all about and the challenges it brings to arts and culture organisations.

Paul Connolly, lead singer of the Wood Burning Savages writes our third dream blog in which he reimagines NI cities and town centres where empty buildings are filled with arts and culture for the common good.

Spektrix ticketing on building loyalty through a great customer journey.

Author: Ben Park, Spektrix

Our CEO Fiona recently traveled to the North West to chat with a group of older people to understand more about their engagement with arts and culture. She wrote a blog to let us know what she learnt.

Learn about the effect online ticketing, particularly on mobile, can have on ticket sales and customer experience in the arts.

Author: After Digital

A guest post from Robert Jones of brand consultancy firm Wolff Olins. Robert talks about how a clear purpose is becoming more and more essential for cultural organisations.

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.

We found that demonstrating the value of arts and culture, and the impact it can have on people and their communities is not an easy task. EastSide Arts' project 'The Gert and Friends' is a great example of how it can be done through co-creation.

A step-by-step guide to putting together a press release that will get you noticed. Contains ideas on where to send your story, and story angles that will appeal to journalists.

This toolkit will help you to make small and easy changes to your venue and online presence to welcome disabled audiences.

When it comes to engagement, do you see yourself as more product-led or people-led? Our Head of Sector Development Laura has gathered together some excellent resources together that can help you find the answer!

Have questions on the IMPACT Survey? Read on for more information.

Two months since introducing our IMPACT survey, Research Analyst Laura has taken a first look at the data for early insights from the responses. Her initial review offers a pulse check – what does the data reveal about the impact of arts, cultural and heritage events and activities so far?

If you want to know what makes NI audiences click and stick, sign up to our Audience Panel newsletter to receive fresh insights straight to your inbox.

Find out what social media is best for your organisation based on your audience, pros and cons for each platform and the type of content audiences engage with the most.

Our Client Relationships Director Laura Cusick is back from maternity leave. Read her blog to find out more about how she plans to lead our team to further support you and the rest of the sector.

Good writing can be the difference between an amazing show, exhibition, or event enjoyed by many, or an amazing show in an empty venue. Here are our top tips.

Margaret Henry reports back from the Creative Industries Federation Brexit Conference and asks if we're missing some Northern Irish voices in the debate.

The Arts Collaboration Network's statement following the NI Executive announcement made on future restrictions which will apply in Northern Ireland from 11th December.

Our insights director Chris looks at the ticketing trends and what they say about where people get their cultural fix in NI. Do ticket-buyers in Belfast stick to city venues - and vice versa?

A comprehensive toolkit and checklist to help you welcome LGBTQ+ audiences to your venue, festival, or event. Produced in collaboration with Outburst Arts.

The action-research report from Cinegi profiles their efforts to bring filmed theatre, ballet, and opera to libraries and village halls across England.

Grassroots venues play a vital role in maintaining the longevity of the music sector. In this blog, Eve explores the challenges facing local grassroots music venues and what could be done to support their long term success.

Our CEO Margaret updates on the movement towards a citizens' assembly for the arts on the island of Ireland. How it could happen, and what it could mean for the cultural sector here.

Want to know more about the details of the IMPACT project? Read our FAQs

The Around the Town Festival in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, highlights the impact of community-driven efforts on local culture. Led by Positive Carrickfergus, the festival aimed to showcase the town’s potential and boost its arts scene. For this case study, our Client Programme Coordinator Sarah spoke with Creative Producer Lynn McKenzie to find out how she and the team turned community aspirations into a successful festival through collaboration, planning, and responsive organising.

For our new themes for 2021/2022, we take a closer look at a typical audience journey, from the first time they hear about you to when they become loyal customers, and all the steps in between. Read our introduction and first step of the audience journey.

The Earagail Arts Festival asked their audience and wider public about their motivations and barriers to attend the festival. They uncovered data that helped them to evaluate their impact and refine their purpose.

Sign-up forms, subscription confirmations, welcome emails... they're all opportunities to get the message out there about who you are and why a potential audience member should buy a ticket or plan a visit.

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.

The fifth and last step of audience development is the big scary evaluation. Reviewing what you've done and assessing the impact you've made shouldn't be a chore. Read our blog to see our take on the most important step of audience development.

Our latest Dreams guest blog is by Damien Coyle, Chief Executive of University of Atypical. He reflects on the past 12 months, what we can learn and what we must remember.

The ISLAND Arts Centre is our Audience Delight Award winner for best socially distanced festival for families. Read our case study to find out how they did it, how their audience found it and tips for doing it yourself.

Learnings from the Hull UK City of Culture conference around how we measure and talk about the benefits and impact of culture.

In this blog, we’re giving you some easy tips for writing great copy.

Our annual benchmarking report Foundations shows consistently each year that the vast majority of customers do not return the following year. And they don’t come more than once during the year. It sounds like we have a commitment problem. Áine explores how to use data to better understand audience engagement.

Read theatre director and writer Jess Williams' blog, the latest entry of our Dreams Guest Blog series.

Fat Chance is the second blog from our Dreams Guest Blog series. Caitlin Magnall-Kearns tackles the issue of diversity on our stages, specifically how Plus-Size Bodies are represented and what can be done for change.

Welcome to this year's third theme: What is your real purpose? What is the change you want to see?

Happy New Year! We're opening the year with a new theme: strengthening your relationship with your audiences and loyalty. It is as important as ever when our cultural spaces remain closed. Read our blog to find out more.

Audience development is about building relationships and this is what we will be focusing on to support the sector over the next 12 months.

We've asked Zoe Seaton at Big Telly Theatre Company what it's like to adapt live theatre online, how to price digital performances and tips for NI organisations.

When audiences visit your organisation for the first time, what can you do to build a lasting relationship with them? Read our blog to find out.

Last August, we invited Olly Davies from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to share his experience of using audience data to make positive lasting changes to their overall strategy.

New Era, New Audience: How can we make the arts appeal to the wider public during the pandemic and beyond? is our first guest blog of 2021, written by playwright Rosemary Jenkinson.

In this guest blog, Paul Kane from Belfast Over the Hill Music Collective shares his views on the way art and artists are perceived in our society and what he wants to change.

In our latest guest blog, Niamh Kelly, Youth Ambassador at Reimagine, Remake, Replay writes about co-curation with audiences, and in this instance, with young people. Could it change museums' relationships with their audiences for the better?

Patrick O'Reilly from Tinderbox asks the right questions and suggests solutions for a thriving cultural sector in Northern Ireland.