Project Staff

HI~Arts have now appointed Fiona Carr, a native of Inverness, to take a lead on the ticketing project as Online Box Office Manager. Prior to accepting the position, Fiona worked at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as Financial Co-ordinator for the Fringe Programme and Box Office, from which she brings to the project a wealth of experience in the area of online ticketing and box office management.
 

Joining Fiona will be Susan Chisholm, taking on the role of Sales and Training Manager for the ticketing project.  Susan is presently the part-time manager of Arts & Business in the Highlands and Islands region.  Her background in working with both the business and arts sectors makes her an ideal choice for this position.
 

Project Consultants - Catalyst Arts

Beth began her career as Business Manager of the Bedlam Theatre in Edinburgh before combining her love of the arts with her computing training by joining the staff of Select Ticketing Systems (now part of Tickets.Com) in 1989. She worked as a consultant, trainer and installer, working with organisations as diverse as Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Glyndebourne. She is a director of the Arts Marketing Association and an Associate of the Institute of Management Consultants.

Kieran’s background is as a marketer, holding posts at Aldeburgh Festival, Cambridge Arts Theatre, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Bath Festivals. He is a past Chair of the Arts Marketing Association and is on the board of the audience development agency South West Arts Marketing. He holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing and is a Chartered Marketer.

Since Catalyst Arts was formed in 1999, clients have included Tate & Barbican (producing system specifications and Invitation to Tender documents for new ticketing systems), Watershed, Birmingham Arts Marketing, Arts About Manchester and Bridgewater Hall. More recently, Catalyst conducted a project to analyse the best ways of using information about audiences throughout the arts system, commissioned jointly by Arts Council England, the Scottish Arts Council and the Arts Council of Wales.
 

Project Steering Group

HI~Arts are delighted to have an extremely talented Steering Group to oversee the implementation of the ticketing project, made up of members with a wealth of experience in the arts, consultancy and project management.

David Pirnie is a management consultant specialising in strategic planning, organisation, services and performance reviews, network and partnership development and facilitation.  David is based in Scotland but works internationally.  David has a long associating with the arts and the Highlands & Islands, and also sits on HI~Arts' Board of Directors.

Judy Menabney is the Prinicipal Cultural Officer of the Highland Council, and has a wealth of experience in community arts in her past role as Arts Development Officer for the Highland Council in Badenoch and Strathspey.

Stuart Brownlee is the manager of Highland-based information and knowledge management company, SBWorks.  Stuart's consultancy work often sees him working with the arts sector of the Highlands and Islands, and he is currently delivering a key Audience Development Project with working with the Promoters' Arts Network within the region to.

The Steering Group also comprises Robert Livingston (Director of HI~Arts), Caroline Macleod (HI~Arts Business Manager), Marcus Wilson (HI~Arts Audience Development Coordinator), and observers from two of the project's funders, the Scottish Arts Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
 

Project Steering Group - Feasibility Stage (2003)

HI~Arts would also like to thank the original Ticketing Project Steering Group who guided the project through feasibility stage. The membership of this steering group represented the region's arts venues, festivals and promoters, potential project stakeholders, and experts in arts marketing and finance.

Core members of this Steering Group were:
Alison Gow , Box Office Manager, Eden Court Theatre
Robert Livingston , Director, HI~Arts
Morven Macleod , Administrator, Highland Festival
William Powrie , Branch Director (N.Scotland), Lloyds TSB*
Wendy Sanders , Arts Development Officer, Highland Council
Marcus Wilson , Audience Development Coordinator, HI~Arts

*We thank William Powrie for his participation on the Steering Group, which was arranged through Arts & Business Skills Bank, supported by Deloitte & Touche.

Observing members were:
Ros Lamont , Audience & Sales Development Unit, Scottish Arts Council
David Smillie , Head of Culture, Highlands and Islands Enterprise

The Steering Group oversaw and guided the development of the project through feasibility study, business planning, and up to the stage of submitting a project funding application to key agencies.
 

Project Origins

The Highlands and Islands Online Ticketing Project was devised by Marcus Wilson as part of a three-year Audience Development Project based with HI~Arts between 2002 and 2005. As an arts marketing specialist, Marcus has visited and worked with many arts organisations in the most remote communities of the Highlands and Islands since 2000.  Prior to this, Marcus worked in theatres and festivals in Yorkshire and London.