Audience Development Capacity Building

HI-Arts is pleased to announce a range of practical audience development tools and training for cultural organisations across the Highlands and Islands to develop their audiences in the run up to and during Highland 2007, the year Scotland celebrates Highland culture.

The Audience Development Capacity Building (ADCB) project, funded by Scottish Arts Council and Highland 2007, will run from August 2006 and throughout Highland 2007, to help arts and heritage venues, event promoters and festivals, to capitalise on the increased interest in the region's culture during the festival year, and to build their audiences.

The key aims of the project are as follows:

To raise the skills, ambitions and confidence of events promoters in audience development
To encourage best practice in evidence-based and strategic marketing planning
To assist events and venue promoters in reaching new and tourist audiences, thus expanding audiences
To increase access to cultural and events information for audiences
As a result, to increase access to, and attendance at, cultural events and venues and thereby maintain viable event promoting venues and festivals at a local level

It is recognised that the type of marketing training, resources and assistance that is appropriate will differ depending on the nature of the event promoter. For instance, a large-scale, core-funded arts venue with Box Office will have very different requirements to a small-scale voluntary festival organiser.

Therefore, for the purposes of the ADCB project, arts and heritage promoters will be divided into four main groupings, with each group receiving a tailored menu of audience development training and practical tools to suit their needs.

	Group A includes SAC core-funded arts venues with access to a Box Office and marketing department.
	Group B includes other SAC funded arts organisations with access to either a marketing or education officer.
	Group C includes promoters who offer a year-round programme of events to their local communities without access to dedicated marketing support.
	Group D includes cultural festivals and others organising one-off events, as well as heritage/arts groups and visitor attractions in receipt of Highland 2007 funding.

A range of audience development training, consultancy, practical tools and services, will be offered to each of these groups*. Click here for details of the ADCB project groupings.

*Priority will be given to arts and heritage groups and organisations working within the Highlands and Islands, and in receipt of Highland 2007 funding. However, Highland 2007 funding is not necessary for participation in the project.

Project Staff

Marcus Wilson

Marcus Wilson is HI-Arts' Audience Development Coordinator, and has worked with the cultural sector of the Highlands and Islands since 2000. Marcus has practical experience working in both marketing departments and Box Offices of a range of arts venues, and has delivered arts marketing consultancy for a number of arts organisations throughout the region from Shetland to Mull. marcus@hi-arts.co.uk

Marcus Wilson

Stuart Brownlee

Stuart joins the ADCB project, having had a vast amount of previous experience working with the region's promoters during the Promoters Arts Network's Audience Development project over the past few years. Stuart has also worked as consultant on a range of cultural projects with his own consultancy firm, sbworks. He is currently the Marketing & Information Co-ordinator for the Highlands & Islands Theatre Network (HITN). stuart@hi-arts.co.uk

Stuart Brownlee

Heather Maitland

Heather is an arts consultant, and Research Associate of the Centre for Cultural Policy Studies at University of Warwick. She has worked for a range of arts organisations: from the smallest of touring companies to running the London end of the Royal Shakespeare Company's marketing operation. She worked on audience development as head of two of England’s audience development agencies, and has written seven books on arts marketing. She is Director of the Theatrical Management Association’s marketing courses in the Republic of Ireland and in Scotland, and has been a tutor at Druidstone for ten years (four as Director). She particularly enjoys working with small and voluntary organisations to help them find practical and sustainable ways to get more visitors, audiences and participants.

Heather Maitland