SPARC: Contributing to recovery plans for the cultural industry
In response to the pandemic, SPARC have been researching not only the devastating effects of Covid-19 on vibrant music and arts sectors in cities like Sheffield, but also what could be done to help those most vulnerable, smaller, independent, grassroots and freelance artists and venues, to survive.
Professor Stephanie Pitts is an academic in the Department of Music who has created a research centre as a result of her leading research in music education and the cultural industries. Sheffield Performer and Audience Research Centre (SPARC) works in close collaboration with arts organisations across music, dance, drama and visual art to understand the experiences of audiences and practitioners in order to promote changes which make the arts more accessible and full of richer and more enjoyable experiences for the general public.
The new book by SPARC, Understanding Audience Engagement in the Contemporary Arts, explores how artists, art sector organisations and the thousands of people who make their livelihoods in the cultural industries can grow and nurture audiences.
The book will help the sector understand audiences, what brings them in, how they relate to different forms of art and venue, what makes them stay and how and why audiences choose to justify engaging with live events. This is valuable research for music and arts organisations across the country and could help them adapt and grow audiences in the wake of the pandemic.
Dr Sarah Price
Research Associate at SPARC
The publication follows a survey conducted in partnership with the Sheffield City Region Music Board which revealed that more than £1.2million in revenue was lost in Sheffield in the first two months of the coronavirus pandemic due to cancelled shows or events, with millions more expected as a total figure.
SPARC are now looking to work with local music and arts venues to collect crucial data on audiences, venues and freelancers that can be fed directly into policies and economic recovery plans for the cultural industry in the Sheffield City Region and across the UK.
Evidence submitted by SPARC to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) enquiry into the impact of COVID-19 on DCMS sectors also commented that the willingness of audiences to return to live events will be central to the recovery of the sector.
A guide book and free chapter of the new book can be accessed through the SPARC website.
