The Highlands and Islands Visual Art Marketing Project took place between July 2000 and July 2002, and was made possible with assistance from the SAC and HIE.

The broad aim of the project was to raise marketing and promotional practices within the visual arts of the region for both galleries and individual artists.

The Public Report of the project (left) contains detailed information about the findings and outcomes of the visual arts project, and is available for dowload at the bottom of this page.
 
 

Outline of the Marketing Project

During the project, Marcus Wilson of HI~Arts undertook residencies with ten visual arts organisations across the Highlands and Islands, including Pier Arts Centre (Orkney), An Tuireann (Skye), Taigh Chearsabhagh (North Uist), An Lanntair (Stornoway), and Bonhoga Gallery (Shetland). In each organisation, research was carried out into marketing pratices and audiences, and a marketing plan for each organisation was developed.

In addition, Marcus worked with a number of individual artists in the region to address their marketing and promotional needs.
 

Project Outcomes

As a result of the project, a second edition of the Visual Arts Guide for the Highlands and Islands was produced, a press tour of Highlands and Islands galleries was conducted, and regular networking fora for artists were organised.

The project has also resulted in HI~Arts establishing a further Audience Development project to develop similar cross-region initiatives across various artforms.

A full outline of the exit strategy for the Visual Arts Marketing Project is available in the Public Report, which can be downloaded below.