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.

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.

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

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

In its second year, the North West Audience Survey is currently gathering data on arts and heritage audiences in Derry and Donegal. Please find our third snapshot of our findings, which looks at the impact of who audiences attend with.

Insights from the ticketing data of up to 343 cultural organisations across the UK, Ireland, USA, and Canada.

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 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 Comedy audiences.

10 personas for UK cultural audiences. These are a great way to visualise your audience once you know where they're coming from.

This comprehensive report from UK Theatre analyses sales data across a wide range of genres and venue types.

Research into the media preferences and habits of over 25,000 US performing arts customers.

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

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

Global Web Index's report on millennials' online behaviors and their attitudes to digital and marketing.

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

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

This in-depth qualitative study looks at arts audiences from 20 organisations across the UK, uncovering why people attend shows, events, and galleries - and what holds them back from engaging more.

Earlier this month, we were invited to take part in the Festivals Forum, where we presented some of our findings on festival audience attendance over the last 4 years. The meeting provided us with great insight into trends from across NI festivals. Eve discusses in this report.

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.

What's the standard for digital marketing in the arts? Here are findings from a survey of 180 U.S. arts organisations by Capacity Interactive.

This report from Culture24 explores after-hours events in museums and their role in the night-time economy.

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

Uncover the insight in your box office data.

How can we make classical music more representative of the real world? Conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya argues for a variety of intentional approaches across many different job roles.

Author: Lidiya Yankovskaya

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

Do you want to know more about your audiences and contribute to sector-wide research? Find out about our newest project and how to get involved.

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.

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.

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

Read our third guest blog from the Changed Future series, written by Paul Connolly.

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.

How Art UK and the Audience Agency increased visits to their online collection and resources from BAME audiences and those aged 16-24.

Authors: Katie Moffat and Richard Turpin

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.

Our Client Relationships Director Laura took a closer look at Taylor Swift's behaviour with her fans and realised it was exactly what we talk about when we talk about audience development.

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

Practical advice and case studies on cultural democracy from 64 Million Artists.

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.

Practical steps that arts and cultural organisations can take to get more working class people employed and leading in the sector.

Author: Danielle Rose

Some audience development controversy from the Theatre 2016 conference.

We ran Hitchhiker's Guide to the Arts in 2014 to see if planned group visits could increase engagement from those who don't normally attend cultural events.

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.

How you can use images to connect with your audiences.

In this guest blog, Sarah McAvera from Golden Thread Gallery, shares her experience of attending "free" cultural events with her family, which often come with hidden prices. She explores whether this outcome is inevitable or if organisations can implement changes to provide more budget-friendly and accessible family programming.

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.

The Foundations 2019-2023 report was made to study look at the ticketing landscape in Northern Ireland in recent years, including festivals. We learned a lot from it. So, we decided to talk to a few Northern Ireland festivals that weren't in the report. We wanted to find out what they thought about the trends for the next year.

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.

The Arts Collaboration Network have issued a statement following discussions about the impact of Covid-19 on the NI Arts and Cultural sector #InThisTogether

How National Theatre of Scotland is using digital creatively to improve access and grow Deaf audiences.

The Duncairn is our Audience Delight Award winner for Best Community Vibes. Read our case study to find out what is it about them that makes their audiences click.

Three proven ways to get performing arts audiences to re-attend.

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.

When you're starting any kind of research - the first thing to do is to check what's already out there. Here are our top free online sources of audience information.

Libraries are routinely reaching audiences that other cultural organisations struggle to. What can we learn from libraries about attracting a more diverse and representative audience?

Open House Festival is in the unusual position of having moved location from Belfast city centre to the seaside town of Bangor. We explore why they made the move, and how it has affected their audiences.

How Young At Art create relaxed performances and an accessible festival experience for their young audience members with additional needs.

How much will your audience pay for a show or experience? And do lower prices de-value your product? Here's the research behind effective pricing strategies.

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?

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.

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.

How can the NI arts and cultural scene adapt to social distancing measures after the lockdown? Our Chief Executive Margaret Henry tries to find out.

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.

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

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.

Carrickfergus Museum transformed an empty space within their building into an area specifically designed for a new audience. We're looking at how they succeeded and how they integrated it into their regular programming.

How can you know more about your audiences? We're listing free tools that you already have access to and tips on how to use them.

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.

In early July, Sarah and Maurane hopped over to sunny Brighton for the Arts Marketing Association
conference. Maurane was invited over as a speaker and Sarah decided to tag along and mingle with over 750 representatives from the UK’s cultural sector. The conference, themed "Be Bold, Be Brave," featured thirty-five talks over two days. Here are some key lessons in bravery that Sarah learned.

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.

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.

How using focus groups helped The Crescent understand how their audience sees them, and led to a new brand and website that's showcasing the best of what they offer.

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.

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