The Arts Council, through Arts Audiences, is investing
in projects in 2012 to assist and support members of the arts community to
develop new skills and tools to connect and engage with existing audiences and
create new ones and ensure a long-term sustainable future. Major projects will
include:

• Marketing help for touring
• A  new annual marketing
  training programme for  venues and festivals, with partners
• Continuing improvement on levels of
  knowledge and information about audiences for different artforms

This year, Arts Audiences will continue to develop best practice tools and programmes that represent international and national models,  and are made available to Irish arts organisations for free or at
a nominal cost.  Arts Audiences has already carried out extensive training
in the areas of touring, marketing, online marketing, cross promotion, customer
retention and cultural tourism and regularly publishes valuable demographic and
qualitative research on audiences within the arts sector.  In 2011 , Arts Audiences
worked with Galway Arts Festival, Chester Beatty Library, The Abbey Theatre,
Riverbank Arts Centre, to help improve their performance. In 2012, we aim to
streamline the work programme and make it accessible to many more
organizations. Details of targeted programmes will be made over the coming
weeks.

The Arts Council has identified the area of audience
development as a strategic priority and by integrating the work of Arts
Audiences more into The Arts Council’s own activities, the Council will give
expression to its prioritisation of this work.

Arts Audiences is a partnership initiative between the
Arts Council and Temple Bar Cultural Trust.