Design organisation routines around audience development

64 Million Artists: Cultural democracy in practice

This publication shares examples and case studies and provides a framework and argument for cultural democracy. Originating from the UK it is both a practical toolkit and a growing compendium of best practice.

All We Need Is Audience Development?

Goran Tomka asks: who is developing the audiences, and what assumed premises do they work from? In this article, he argues the need to democratise audience development into a more equitable process.

Tomka also offers provocations and different ways of thinking - and the ways audience development is often a 'colonising effort'.

Assessing your organisation's capacity for successful audience development

Worksheet 2.6 on p. 135 of the Increasing Cultural Participation Handbook is a worksheet to evaluate an organisation's current ability to implement an audience development initiative. Question topics include not only vision and resources, but the willingness of the organisation to evolve.

The Handbook also contains a step-by-step 'how to' for audience development, including other practical tools.

Guide to Audience Development Planning

This Audience Development Planning guide from the Audience Agency, is a comprehensive and practical blueprint for growing audiences, increasing reach, and building deeper relationships.

According to the Agency the guide is 'adaptable to many situations, organisations and audiences. The Audiences & Engagement team at Arts Council England have also inputted, and this guidance is consistent with their expectations for their funded organisations.'

Audience Development is dead. Long live Audience Centred Design.

An article that first appeared in Arts Professional on 12 March 2020. It introduces their guide to 'Creating an Effective Audience Development Plan' and presents new ways to think about audience development.

'If we genuinely want to support social justice and develop more meaningful audience relationships, then we need the courage to go on an experimental journey with our communities. The way forward is to develop the habits and culture of human-centred design.'

The Relationship is the Project: Working with Communities (Audiences and Cultural Diversity)

Cultural diversity of audiences is as significant as diversity on stage. This chapter examines the importance and use multicultural media as a vital communication tool for diverse audiences.