Audience and participant trends diverge in Northern Ireland
Arts participation continues to grow in Northern Ireland, though attendance has fallen and engagement is declining among disabled…
Posts
Scotland continues to embrace culture
Festival-going is on the increase, though cinema and reading for pleasure are still the most popular forms of cultural engagement.
Yes or no, that is the answer
For readers in the rest of the UK, Christine Hamilton reflects on how the Scottish arts world has responded to the independence re…
Museum and gallery visits reach all-time high
Visits to museums and galleries soar, while arts engagement remains static across most of England, and charitable donations fall.
My Gurus
Bec Fearon, Head of Engagement at the Bluecoat, Liverpool’s centre for the contemporary arts, reveals the people who have in…
Happiness or art?
The Cultural Value Project examines the value of the arts and culture rather than just its outcomes – and its negative effec…
Big numbers
James Allenby describes how a few innovations made the Big Dance Pledge, the international mass participation dance event, bigger…
In a room full of foreigners
UK membership of the European Union gives cultural organisations access to a wide variety of funds and initiatives. Why are we not…
Arts engagement equivalent to £1k pay rise
New evidence of the social benefits of engagement in culture boosts the economic case for the arts.
Critical engagement please!
Why are we not critically engaging with learning disability arts? Bella Todd reports on the recent Creative Minds conference.
Arts reach more young people in Wales
ACW reports highest recorded levels of arts engagement among young people, although participation among adults shows some signs of…
Joined-up thinking puts arts on the main agenda in Wales
The Welsh Government is preparing to harness the arts, culture and heritage in its battle against poverty and social exclusion.
It’s England, Jim, but not as you know it
Liz Hill concludes that Arts Council England’s ‘This England’ report is based on a carefully constructed analysi…
Craft apprenticeships get Government backing
A new government-backed craft apprenticeship initiative could help reverse falling participation in craft-related design and techn…
In need of a new image
Rich Hadley believes that cultural organisations must lose their "remote, elitist, rarified, out of touch and unyielding"…
How the other Stratford lives
Liz Pearson is certain that partnerships between educational and public cultural bodies are maintaining the momentum behind Stratf…
A bridge over the arts
Richard Clark explains how Bridge organisations are enriching children and young people’s experience of the arts.
Touring back on track?
What can be done to create better links between a touring company and the communities where it tours? Catherine Love offers s…
Survey shows drop in cultural participation across Europe
Northern Europeans have the highest levels of cultural engagement but overall levels of participation and engagement have fallen s…
The arts in a box
The Bloomsbury Festival in a Box outreach scheme is tackling cultural exclusion, reports Cathy Mager.
Arts visits provide the key to engaging young people
Schools are playing a critical role in levelling access to the arts in London, but those in outer London are still missing out, ac…
New research reveals links between culture, health and happiness
A survey in Scotland has found that people who engage in culture are more likely to report good health and life satisfaction than…
Arts are low cost, but have low impact on children’s learning
An educational spending toolkit says creative activities are beneficial but the positive impact on academic learning is low.
What culture should we value?
Leila Jancovich says let’s not pretend ‘we’re all in it together’
