Since SWAM was launched in the summer, much of our time has been spent meeting with artists, venues, art organisations and arts officers throughout the region. Although we still have a lot of people to meet, we have been listening to priorities and drawing up action plans in each county to address urgent needs, often working with existing networks to identify joint needs and opportunities for collaborative initiatives.
Here are some updates on actions and plans for new initiatives:
In B&NES:
At a meeting of B&NES Arts Organisations, members identified a need for new initiatives to raise the profile of the arts in and around the city of Bath and alert people to the range and quality of arts provision. All organisations were invited to attend further meetings to explore the options for working collaboratively to reinforce the organisations’ individual marketing efforts and two initiatives have been agreed. In the first initiative, the arts organisations are looking to extend and improve their links with Bath Tourism: in the second, an advocacy and information campaign will be targeted at key decision-makers to ensure that they are fully informed about the range of work undertaken by arts organisations and its importance to all aspects of the local community. We’re still in the planning stages so we’ll keep you informed. SWAM is also one of a number of arts organisations supporting the training and development of people from local communities in all aspects of arts management as part of a bid to improve rural access to the arts.
In Bristol:
Helen Tobias has been meeting key staff of both regularly funded organisations and non-funded organisations - representatives of 47 organisations have been met and 13 surgeries undertaken to date, covering subjects as varied as sponsorship, writing marketing strategies and marketing for specific projects/events. Another 9 surgeries have been booked by arts organisations prior to the end of 2000 to address their specific marketing and strategic needs.
A network of currently non funded arts organisations ‘Arts is Collective’, is being supported by both SWAM and Bristol City Council with initial training days to be arranged early next year to promote good practice. For more information about Art is Collective please contact:
Rachel McNally/Julia Blake/Tom Chambers
Hope Centre
Hope Chapel Hill
Hotwells
Bristol
BS8 4ND
Telephone: 0117 921 5271
Fax: 0117 929 1883
E-mail: rachel.mcnally@btinternet.com
As a result of discussions with SWAM, a cross-artform collaborative marketing initiative was undertaken by the Poetry Can for the Bristol Poetry Festival and Independent Artists Network for Workplace during October/November 2000. The results of the collaboration are yet to be assessed but enabled both organisations to maximise outlets for their respective publicity.
Another much larger visual arts collaborative initiative is in its formative stage within Bristol. The pilot project will take place during 2001 and will involve visual arts venues within the Cities of Birmingham and Bristol. The project will consist of reciprocal direct mailing campaigns using existing databases of visual arts attenders. Participating venues will produce a promotional brochure (one per city), which is mailed to the named visual arts attenders in the database of their partner city. The cities were chosen as they have complementary venues in terms of quality and range of product; there are existing visual arts consortia with a proven track record of collaboration; both consortia can provide a database of attenders that can be accessed centrally; and the cities are close enough geographically to offer the attender a choice of a day trip or a more extended stay with additional tourism features to make the proposition of a longer visit attractive. The project will be co-managed by SWAM and Birmingham Arts Marketing and meetings with participating venues will be arranged very soon. Watch this space……..
In Cornwall:
SWAM has been liaising with Richard Glover at Cornwall Arts Marketing to ensure that all arts organisations are kept informed about developments and will be offered an opportunity to join in collaborative marketing initiatives in the future. More detailed reports on some of the CAM initiatives will appear in future newsletters. Audience data is a key need in Cornwall and SWAM will be looking to carry out market research during the next two years as part of a major region-wide initiative in partnership with South West Arts.
In Devon:
Arts organisations have identified the need for cross county collaboration for the sharing of best practice and exchanging information, and SWAM have been liaising with members of Devon Arts Marketing with a view to re-invigorating this worthwhile network. They have also been invited to attend meetings of the Devon Arts Forum. A meeting is planned for early in the new year to discuss county wide priorities and investigate the possibilities for collaborative working.
In Dorset:
The important work undertaken by the Dorset Arts Promoters Forum in establishing new networks and offering opportunities for training and collaboration have been recognised through an award from the New Audiences Fund. Members will be considering new initiatives and pilot campaigns, the results of which will be disseminated on a regionwide basis. Venues are also looking to build on past collaborations in the visual arts and will be launching a listings service co-ordinated by Claire Ring at Dorset County Council. SWAM has been carrying out a number of surgeries on organisation-specific themes and is available for individual advice if needed.
In Gloucestershire:
Arts organisations were invited to attend a meeting for a lively preliminary discussion about priorities for audience development and how we could work collaboratively to address some of the issues. A wide range of different areas were covered and a need for further artform- or topic-specific meetings identified. A campaign to improve both service and communication channels with disabled audiences is being considered as a priority. A seminar on e-marketing is being arranged for early 2001 in response to requests from a large number of organisations.
In Somerset:
One of the themes that emerged during meetings with regularly funded organisations and local government Arts Development Officers was the need for training. SWAM has already delivered workshops in Basic Marketing, Producing Effective Print on a Limited Budget, and Conducting Basic Audience Research while individual organisations have received surgeries in these subjects as well as Branding and Profile Raising. Further planned training includes a Marketing Day for Local Government Arts Development Officers, and surgeries in Getting the Most from Computerised Box Office Systems. Another identified priority is the need for research into rural audiences and their barriers to attendance. SWAM is currently working with Take Art! and other rural touring agencies to determine the research brief. SWAM has also begun an audit of the visual arts within the county, with a view to building a profile of provision, existing attenders and the potential audience.
If you would like to know more about any of these initiatives or find out about advice, training or collaborative marketing opportunities in your area, contact SWAM on 0117-927 6936 or at info@swam.org.uk
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