Following a successful pilot initiative to improve communications with potential arts attenders from the disabled community, Gloucestershire’s key arts organisations have embarked on an ambitious two-year collaborative project targeting communities across the county by establishing a network of arts ambassadors.
The project will see the creation of a flexible team of ambassadors for the arts, using a range of successful models, in order to address the needs of different venues, artforms and target communities. In order to be able to identify the gaps in the current audience profile compared to the county’s demographics, there will be a research period to establish baseline attendance data and identify existing crossover. The research data will be used to inform a structure that can effectively target members of those communities with whom the arts organisations are not currently forming relationships.
Gloucestershire has a significant range and quality of arts organisations that offer a wide variety of events, activities and experiences across the county. They include internationally acclaimed venues and festivals, participatory community groups, unique collections and inclusive performance spaces, representing a huge breadth of arts opportunity for the people of Gloucestershire and beyond and a significant asset for the county.
This project is designed to ensure that the widest possible potential audience is aware of the value of the arts in the county and how easily they can access them. By establishing a network of ambassadors they can reach further into local communities and encourage new attenders by improving awareness and understanding of what the arts are and what each venue offers.
The concept of arts ambassadors is not a new one but this project will be uniquely tailored to the priorities of the participating organisations. Although the primary aim will be to increase audiences for the arts, this project hopes to raise the profile of the arts in the target communities and get across the message that the arts in Gloucestershire are something of which the whole community can be proud.
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