London Calling

This last week I’ve been reading through Arts Council England’s public consultation Achieving Great Art For Everyone and pondering the multiple questions it raises: What are the challenges and opportunities for us as Arts Marketers in the decade to come, and how best can we respond to the evolving arts landscape both as individuals and organisations, to name just a few.

Clearly the first step is to get involved and make sure to register and complete the survey. I’m still finishing mine, but then I’m a wordy kind of guy and it’s the kind of big picture stuff that requires some serious thought.

The future’s not set, but Liz Forgan, Chair, Arts Council England has some thoughts on the fate we’ve already made for ourselves, and the major trends the Arts Council can see unfolding, to get us started.

What will the world look like in 2021? Some things we know: a generation of digital natives will dominate the creative arts; climate change will be central to all our thinking; the demographic composition of Britain – its artists and its audiences – will continue evolving; and the fallout from the recession of 2009 will still be felt in both private and public sectors. Life – and art – will be different.

For me, I’m naturally inclined to think about this from a marketing perspective, and how vital it is that proper funding consideration is given to promoting and communicating Great Art, not just achieving it.

The Arts have a proud history of grand ambition and shoestring budgets but – in my humble opinion at least – there’s a pressing need to support our sector’s excellent efforts at communication as much as there is a need for director or curatorial excellence, and I’ll likely be saying something similar in my survey answers as soon as I’ve thought them through.

The deadline’s not until 14th April, but there’s no reason not to start sending those thoughts in now, and the more the better.