Website accessibility is a necessity in an age where the internet plays a crucial role in providing information, services, and opportunities. But what does digital accessibility really mean for the user? What can your arts organisation do to improve accessibility for your audiences? 

Trustee at Colchester Arts and technology accessibility advisor Catherine Turner shares her personal experiences as a disabled person trying to work with less than ideal accessible technology.

Catherine is also a Web and App Accessibility Advisor, helping developers understand the human impact of technical decisions. She has been the lead consultant for Ticketsolve on their web accessibility project and has supported the system in achieving the goal of reaching the benchmarking required of WCAG 2.1/ AA compliance. 

In this episode, she takes us through the evolution of digital accessibility and how arts and cultural organisations should approach website accessibility. Her key takeaway? Don’t just implement accessibility for the sake of it - get real users involved. When you work with the people who will ultimately benefit from accessibility improvements you empower those groups and get an end result that works infinitely better for their needs, creating inclusive spaces for all. 

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THE ARTS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN PODCAST

Investigate new ideas and learn from your arts, culture and heritage peers! Join us every two weeks as we interview arts industry experts and get their take on the biggest issues facing the arts and culture world today. You’ll get ideas to try and practical tips, plus hear from arts and culture managers working in every role from marketing to management –  and every area –  from theatres and music venues to festivals, museums, heritage sites and more.

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GOT A GREAT TOPIC OR STORY TO SHARE?

Got a great topic for the podcast? Want to share your story with the arts and culture world? Get in touch! [email protected]

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RESOURCES

A big thank you to Catherine Turner for her invaluable insight and guidance.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-turner-0a09a68/?originalSubdomain=uk

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GET MORE INSIGHT AND SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE!

Facebook – www.facebook.com/Ticketsolving

Twitter – twitter.com/ticketsolvers

LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/company/ticketsolve 

Instagram – www.instagram.com/ticketsolve/

Artists have always championed initiatives of great social importance, often becoming beacons for social change. With this idea as their foundation, Irish charity, First Fortnight aims to challenge mental health prejudice through arts and culture. 

First Fortnight CEO Maria Fleming, discusses the charity’s annual festival whose aim is to create mental health awareness and end stigma. She delves into how unscripted conversations can help to change people’s perceptions about the ordinary experience of mental health. 

Maria also shares how her own experiences have shaped her thinking around mental health and the specific mental health challenges that we all faced during covid. 

In this episode, Maria also reminds us how important it is for people working in the arts and culture industry to take care of their own mental health as well; First Fortnight provides free mental health care to the whole of the cultural sector.

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THE ARTS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN PODCAST

Investigate new ideas and learn from your arts, culture and heritage peers! Join us every two weeks as we interview arts industry experts and get their take on the biggest issues facing the arts and culture world today. You’ll get ideas to try and practical tips, plus hear from arts and culture managers working in every role from marketing to management –  and every area –  from theatres and music venues to festivals, museums, heritage sites and more.

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GOT A GREAT TOPIC OR STORY TO SHARE?

Got a great topic for the podcast? Want to share your story with the arts and culture world? Get in touch! [email protected]

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RESOURCES

A big thank you to Maria Fleming, CEO of First Fortnight.

To learn more, participate or donate visit: https://www.firstfortnight.ie/

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GET MORE INSIGHT AND SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE!

Facebook – www.facebook.com/Ticketsolving

Twitter – twitter.com/ticketsolvers

LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/company/ticketsolve 

Instagram – www.instagram.com/ticketsolve/

In this episode, Dr. Colm Fallon takes us on a journey of the mind, combining neuroscience, psychology and meditation, to teach us how important self care is for the short and long term health of self.

You’ll learn how cognitive load and stress can create a volatile mix and more importantly how consistent meditation practice can help ease these burdens, but also help foster a growth mindset and healthier overall habits.

Dr. Fallon shares his personal journey and the founding of Project One Sky, and also leads a meditation session within the episode.

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THE ARTS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN PODCAST

Investigate new ideas and learn from your arts, culture and heritage peers! Join us every two weeks as we interview arts industry experts and get their take on the biggest issues facing the arts and culture world today. You’ll get ideas to try and practical tips, plus hear from arts and culture managers working in every role from marketing to management - and every area - from theatres and music venues to festivals, museums, heritage sites and more.

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GOT A GREAT TOPIC OR STORY TO SHARE?

Got a great topic for the podcast? Want to share your story with the arts and culture world? Get in touch! [email protected]

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RESOURCES

A big thank you to Dr. Colm Fallon, founder of Project One Sky.

https://www.projectonesky.com/

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GET MORE INSIGHT AND SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE!

Facebook - www.facebook.com/Ticketsolving

Twitter - twitter.com/ticketsolvers

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/ticketsolve 

Instagram - www.instagram.com/ticketsolve/

What if you could double the number of people your organisation was able to meaningfully engage with? What if you could do it easily and quickly - without spending any money?   Join Anna Walsh, Director of Theatre Forum, Aoife Demel from Mermaid Arts Centre, Marie Claire Cowley, from An Táin Arts and Ticketsolve’s Aoileann Ní Riain as they discuss how legitimate interest can be used to re-engage with customers. Originally a discussion presented at Recharge, the panel talks through how they worked through legitimate interest, balancing tests, and more using a step-by-step process and templates.   You’ll hear how Mermaid and An Táin identified the best customer segment to target and, using legitimate interest, refreshed communications with that segment, to encourage customers to return.   Ticketsolve’s Aoileann Ní Riain also explains how quickly and easily legitmate interest can be set up with Ticketsolve. ---------------------------------------- THE ARTS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN PODCAST Investigate new ideas and learn from your arts, culture and heritage peers! Every couple of weeks join Ticketsolve as we interview arts industry experts to get their take on the biggest issues facing the arts and culture world today. You’ll get ideas to try and practical tips, plus hear from arts and culture managers working in every role from marketing to management - and every area - from theatres and music venues to festivals, museums, heritage sites and more. ---------------------------------------- GOT A GREAT TOPIC OR STORY TO SHARE? Got a great topic for the podcast? Want to share your story with the arts and culture industry? Get in touch! [email protected] ---------------------------------------- RESOURCES A big thank you to Anna Walsh, Director of Theatre Forum, Aoife Demel from Mermaid Arts Centre, and Mary Claire Cowley, from An Táin Arts for sharing their insights, and a special thank you to Indigo and their work on Missing Audiences Survey Ireland. For more information check out: https://www.antain.ie/ https://www.mermaidartscentre.ie/ https://theatreforum.ie/forum-notice/24-august-marketing-forum/ https://vimeo.com/740684609 https://www.indigo-ltd.com/research-programmes/missing-audiences-ireland-survey https://www.culturehive.co.uk/resources/research-missing-audiences/ ---------------------------------------- GET MORE INSIGHT AND SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE! Facebook - www.facebook.com/Ticketsolving Twitter - twitter.com/ticketsolvers LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/ticketsolve Instagram - www.instagram.com/ticketsolve/

Data, data everywhere and no time to take a look (surely there is a poem about that right)? Data is everywhere, demographics, behavioural, social, impact - you name it - there is a measurement for it. It’s easy to get overwhelmed especially if you are time and resource constrained. But rather than burying your head in the sand - or worse - firmly digging in your heels while repeating “this is fine,” Recharge’s panel offers some practical and realistic ways to get to grips with your data in a way that makes the most impact with your limited time and resources. 

Join, Fiona Bell, CEO, Thrive Audience Development, Gail Jones, Communications Manager, Crescent Art Center, Becky Stewart, Assistant Arts Information and Education Officer, Island Arts Center, David Kinghan, Digital Content Manager, Ulster Orchestra, Miriam Crozier, Marketing Communications Manager, Ulster Orchestra, and Louise Boyce, Theater Manager, Alley Theater and learn how to use your data to do things better, but also make it easier and more streamlined for your team. The panel shares their insights and tips on battling the perma crisis in the arts and culture sector and the inevitable barriers you face. 

Can numbers solve every issue? As the panel tells it, probably not, but it might make things ever so slightly easier - especially if you are up to your ears in phallic lollies. 

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THE ARTS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN PODCAST

Investigate new ideas and learn from your arts, culture and heritage peers! Join us every few weeks as we interview arts industry experts and their take on the biggest issues facing the arts and culture world today. You’ll get ideas to try and practical tips, plus hear from arts and culture managers working in every role from marketing to management - and every area - from theatres and music venues to festivals, museums, heritage sites and more.

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GOT A GREAT TOPIC OR STORY TO SHARE?

Got a great topic for the podcast? Want to share your story with the arts and culture industry? Get in touch! [email protected]

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RESOURCES

A big thank you to our Recharge panel who took the time to not only be part of the workshops and research, but also to share their ideas and insights with others. 

Fiona Bell, CEO, Thrive Audience Development, https://wewillthrive.co.uk/

Gail Jones, Communications Manager, Crescent Art Center, https://crescentarts.org/

Becky Stewart, Assistant Arts Information and Education Officer, Island Arts Center, https://islandartscentre.com/

David Kinghan, Digital Content Manager, Ulster Orchestra, https://www.ulsterorchestra.org.uk/

Miriam Crozier, Marketing Communications Manager, Ulster Orchestra, https://www.ulsterorchestra.org.uk/

Louise Boyce, Theater Manager, Alley Theater, https://www.alley-theatre.com/

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GET MORE INSIGHT AND SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE!

Facebook - www.facebook.com/Ticketsolving

Twitter - twitter.com/ticketsolvers

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/ticketsolve 

Instagram - www.instagram.com/ticketsolve/

How do you know how to price your next show? How do you measure the value of the show to your various patrons and turn that into a ticket price? Should you be considering the cost of living crisis? Other factors lurking in the shadows?

Pricing is a tough one - regardless of industry. It is doubly hard for arts and cultural organisations as inextricably linked to their patron as they are plus attendance hesitancy and economic pressures still rife amongst live event audiences. 

In this episode, Sean Kelly, founder of dynamic pricing tool Vatic, dispels the myths and lays out the case for dynamic pricing. He explains how, while knee jerk reactions are understandable, there is a better way to think about pricing that benefits your organisation, but also makes sense to your audiences. 

As Sean says, like it or not, every pound and euro counts in the arts and culture industry. We need to value our offerings correctly and allow the data to help open a pricing conversation with customers. To know what the right price is for each customer - we need to start listening to the hidden conversations our customers are having with us each time they buy a ticket. 

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THE ARTS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN PODCAST

Investigate new ideas and learn from your arts, culture and heritage peers! Join us every few weeks as we interview arts industry experts and their take on the biggest issues facing the arts and culture world today. You’ll get ideas to try and practical tips, plus hear from arts and culture managers working in every role from marketing to management - and every area - from theatres and music venues to festivals, museums, heritage sites and more.

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GOT A GREAT TOPIC OR STORY TO SHARE?

Got a great topic for the podcast? Want to share your story with the arts and culture industry? Get in touch! [email protected]

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RESOURCES

A big thank you to Sean Kelly founder of Vatic for taking the time to speak with us. 

https://www.vatic.tech/

https://www.culturehive.co.uk/resources/10-ways-to-make-your-dynamic-pricing-targets-work-harder/

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GET MORE INSIGHT AND SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE!

Facebook - www.facebook.com/Ticketsolving

Twitter - twitter.com/ticketsolvers

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/ticketsolve 

Instagram - www.instagram.com/ticketsolve/

Get Recharged! In this episode, Lucy Costello talks about The Arts & Culture Collective - a Ticketsolve initiative - that explores the main challenges facing arts organisations. She takes us through what they have learnt so far.

The initiative looked to understand how the arts and culture industry uses data in times of great uncertainty, and how data helps to inform innovative practices. The aim is to see how these practices can lead to greater sustainability throughout the sector. 

Lucy reveals how challenges such as fundraising, changing tastes, relevance, leadership, diversity and technology have shifted from 2016, through the pandemic to now. And how the Arts and Culture Collective, questioned really questioned their data, their data practices and what they really wanted and needed data for to help make positive organisational changes that stick.

This is part one of a two part series, in the second part, you will hear from the participants of the study and hear, in their own words, their experiences and insights around data, data driven organisations and decision making. 

A big thank you to the Irish Research Council for their collaboration!

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THE ARTS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN PODCAST

It's tough but rewarding working in the arts and often so busy you have little time to share with your peers and investigate new ideas. Every couple weeks join the team at Ticketsolve as they interview arts industry experts getting their take on the biggest issues facing the arts world today. There will be ideas to try, practical tips, lots of learning and of course - lots of laughs. If you work in theatres, venues, festivals or the arts and cultural sector this podcast is what you need! 

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WANT TO BE ON THE PODCAST 

If you have some great tips and tricks or have an idea for a topic you'd like to learn more about or share with the arts industry, drop us an email on [email protected]

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RESOURCES 

Interested in learning how to use your data better? Want to work with organisations who are looking for better ways to do things and safeguard our industry? Join us! The Arts & Culture Collective is a cohort of organisations across the UK and Ireland, looking at the biggest challenges facing the arts and how we can tackle them together. 

https://www.ticketsolve.com/with-you/the-arts-culture-collective/

Irish Research Council

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FOLLOW TICKETSOLVE 

Facebook - www.facebook.com/Ticketsolving

Twitter - twitter.com/ticketsolvers

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/ticketsolve 

Instagram - www.instagram.com/ticketsolve/

In this special episode of Arts & Everything in Between we are taking you to RECHARGE, Ticketsolve’s recent arts and culture forums in London and Dublin.

The events were a chance to learn best practices for ticketing tactics, connect with others in the Ticketsolve Community and learn from top experts in the arts and culture industry.

In this episode, you’ll hear from Peter Ling, Shows and Finance Manager at Ipswich Regent and Corn Exchange. Peter, shared Ipswich’s experiences on the radical changes at Ipswich that the team implemented post-Covid.

Peter’s talk looks at how Ipswich faced dramatic changes in their organisation and how they faced these challenges with creative solutions that balanced their values and ensured a sustainable future.

Peter shared in detail the changes Ipwich implemented to optimise operations across their multiple venues. He spoke candidly about the difficulties, but also how now they are really seeing the fruits of their labours. He discussed how tools within Ticketsolve have helped them to continue to evolve.

If you are looking for ways to improve operations at your organisation by combining technology, automations and human engagement, this episode has some excellent practical guidance.

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THE ARTS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN PODCAST

It's tough but rewarding working in the arts and often so busy you have little time to share with your peers and investigate new ideas. Every couple weeks join the team at Ticketsolve as they interview arts industry experts getting their take on the biggest issues facing the arts world today. There will be ideas to try, practical tips, lots of learning and of course - lots of laughs. If you work in theatres, venues, festivals or the arts and cultural sector this podcast is what you need!

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WANT TO BE ON THE PODCAST

If you have some great tips and tricks or have an idea for a topic you'd like to learn more about or share with the arts industry, drop us an email on [email protected]

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RESOURCES

https://www.zendesk.com/

https://ipswichtheatres.co.uk/

https://www.venuesipswich.co.uk/corn-exchange/

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FOLLOW TICKETSOLVE

Facebook - www.facebook.com/Ticketsolving

Twitter - twitter.com/ticketsolvers

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/ticketsolve

Instagram - www.instagram.com/ticketsolve/

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About Peter Ling

Shows and Finance Manager for Ipswich Regent and Corn Exchange Theatres, Peter manages the 1,551 capacity Ipswich Regent Theatre and 1025 capacity Corn Exchange. He focuses on implementing data-led improvement to theatre operations, box office management and audience development.

On this episode of the Arts & Everything in Between Podcast, we are celebrating World Theatre Day with the exciting launch of Theatre Token’s Love Your Local Theatre 2023 campaign!

Lucy Costello, Head of Marketing at Ticketsolve, sat down with Head of Theatre Tokens - and long time arts management professional - Jamie Snelgrove, to get a sneak peek into this year’s Love Your Local Theatre campaign, which includes some amazing incentives to get audiences back into theatres.

In this episode, Jamie shared his concerns about the continued challenges facing theatres around audience hesitancy and last minute booking behaviours. He explains how partnership with The National Lottery (who has put £1 million into the campaign), will encourage audiences to start booking again through a free £25 theatre voucher scheme which launches today - 27th of March - in celebration of World Theatre Day.

Jamie and Lucy also discuss Theatre Tokens’ (a non-profit and part of UK Theatre and SOLT) mission of supporting theatres, however possible and the ways that theatres can get the support they need.

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THE ARTS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN PODCAST

It's tough but rewarding working in the arts and often so busy you have little time to share with your peers and investigate new ideas. Every couple weeks join the team at Ticketsolve as they interview arts industry experts getting their take on the biggest issues facing the arts world today. There will be ideas to try, practical tips, lots of learning and of course - lots of laughs. If you work in theatres, venues, festivals or the arts and cultural sector this podcast is what you need!

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WANT TO BE ON THE PODCAST

If you have some great tips and tricks or have an idea for a topic you'd like to learn more about or share with the arts industry, drop us an email on [email protected]

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RESOURCES

Want to be a participating theatre in the Love Your Local Theatre Campaign? Visit https://www.theatretokens.com/ for more information or contact us via any of our social channels and we’ll put you in touch with Jaime directly!

Love Your Local Theatre free £25 vouchers: https://loveyourlocaltheatre.com/

UK Theatre: The UK’s leading theatre and performing arts membership organisation. https://uktheatre.org/

Society of London Theatre: Championing theatre and performing arts since 1908. https://solt.co.uk/

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FOLLOW TICKETSOLVE

Facebook - www.facebook.com/Ticketsolving

Twitter - twitter.com/ticketsolvers

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/ticketsolve

Instagram - www.instagram.com/ticketsolve/

In this episode, we have brought our colleagues who identify as women together to celebrate and reflect on International Women’s Day and what it means to be a woman in the workplace. You’ll hear about their backgrounds, how they got into the arts and eventually Ticketsolve. The panel talks candidly about the challenges they have faced in their own careers, breaking stereotypes, and what the future holds for women working not just in the arts but across every industry.  

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TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Career paths to the arts and ticketing and technology. 

• What are the stereotypes in the workplace and how do we break them?

• What are experiences with traditional leadership styles (male vs. female)?

• How female communication styles can impact perceptions.

• The surprising facts of bullying in the workplace - and specifically in arts and culture. 

• How can we make small changes to help level the playing field and make work environments more inclusive.

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THE ARTS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN PODCAST

It's tough but rewarding working in the arts and often so busy you have little time to share with your peers and investigate new ideas. Join us as we speak to arts industry experts getting their take on the biggest issues facing the arts world today - and to those outside of the arts and culture sphere to see what else we can learn. Every few weeks, there will be ideas to try, practical tips, lots of learning and of course - lots of laughs. If you work in theatres, venues, festivals or the arts and cultural sector this podcast is what you need! 

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WANT TO BE ON THE PODCAST 

If you have some great tips and tricks or have an idea for a topic you'd like to learn more about or share with the arts industry, drop us an email on [email protected]

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FOLLOW TICKETSOLVE

Facebook - www.facebook.com/Ticketsolving

Twitter - twitter.com/ticketsolvers

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/ticketsolve 

Instagram - www.instagram.com/ticketsolve/

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A huge thank you to those that participated in our panel discussion for International Women’s Day!