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Spotlighting case studies of Community Arts and Cultural Development

In 2023, Patternmakers was commissioned by Creative Australia to develop a prototype for exploring case studies of Community Arts and Cultural Development. Explore the interactive digital resource ‘When Art Sparks Change’.

All around Australia, artists are sparking social change, working with communities to tell their stories, tackle big issues and create common ground.

Community Arts and Cultural Development (CACD) is a specialist art form where professional artist facilitators work with communities to co-create projects with purpose. However, many Australians are not. Research shows that of all the artforms, our population has a particularly limited understanding of the benefits of CACD.

This new resource launching today collates a selection of local case studies to showcase the inspiring work led by CACD artists. As Australia grapples with a civic crisis, their work has never been more needed.

Click the button below to learn more about the project and scroll through the digital resource: 'When Art Sparks Change' or download the PDF detailing the web content.

Image Credit: Robert Catto, Milk Crate Theatre’s DUST.

 
 

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Researching Participation Pathways for Australian Dancers

Patternmakers is working with The Australian Ballet and the Australian Ballet School in 2023, conducting research into participation pathways for Australian dancers.

Dance schools play a vital role for families, communities and Australia's professional dance sector, but the pandemic has impacted their work.

In 2023, we were commissioned by The Australian Ballet (TAB) and The Australian Ballet School (ABS) to conduct research into participation pathways for Australian dancers. 560 stakeholders, including dance teachers, studio owners, students and parents of students, participated in this project, and many expressed support for change in the dance industry. 

The project aimed to help The Australian Ballet and The Australian Ballet School better understand the current landscape of dance participation in Australia, identify motivations and barriers and investigate how wider and more diverse participation in ballet can be encouraged.

Download the Fact Sheet

Click the button below to read the full story, including statistics around enrolment, diversity of participation, and areas of opportunity within the dance sector. 

Each year, around 80 dancers are employed at TAB and around 100 students train at ABS, with most emerging from amongst the 4,000 private dance studios operating in Australia.

We found that financial barriers are a significant roadblock inhibiting the ability of some to discover dance, with 67% of dance teachers and 54% of parents/caregivers and past/current students seeing this as a barrier to enrolling. 

Dance is so expensive, and we make so many sacrifices so our girls can dance...

Even though dancing at The Australian Ballet School is my eldest daughter’s dream, we just can’t cut back anymore to make it happen.”
— Parent/caregiver, regional NSW

There is also strong support to continue the momentum towards increasing diverse representation in dance, with 95% of respondents believing that dance should be accessible for people of all backgrounds. 

The research demonstrates that TAB and ABS are positioned to continue leading and supporting change across the ballet and dance sectors, in partnership with organisations such as The Royal Academy of Dance, NAISDA, Blakdance, Bangarra, AusDance, state dance organisations and others. 

It’s a really important time in the ballet world to have an honest conversation about this and look at the profession and try to make a difference.
— Andrew Murphy, Artistic Teacher of Classical Dance and Ballet Master at ABS



Tips for private dance studios

TAB and ABS are grateful to the many dance teachers and dance school owners who participated in this research. Based on the ideas and experiences shared by these professionals, we’ve compiled a checklist of insights for private dance studios:

If you have any thoughts or questions about the research, get in touch with us via info@thepatternmakers.com.au.

Image Credit: australianballet.com.au/our-dancers

Those invested in the dance sector, may be interested to read other recent research about the industry, including:

 
 

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Audience Outlook Monitor — 2023

Patternmakers leads a major tracking study of audiences in partnership with US research agency WolfBrown.

Patternmakers led a major tracking study of audiences in partnership with US research agency WolfBrown.

Initiatied in the first weeks of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the study has evolved over time to explore topics like ticket-buying timelines, audience appetites for different content, and behavioural trends related to the cost-of-living crisis.

Patternmakers has partnered with Australia Council for the Arts, Create NSW, Creative Victoria, Arts Queensland, Department of the Premier and Cabinet (Arts SA), DLGSC WA and Arts ACT to deliver this project between 2020 and 2023.

Our 2020-2023 program of work helped artists and cultural organisations connect with audiences, tracking the way people engaged with arts, culture and creativity in the pandemic and post-pandemic landscape. Artists and cultural organisations needed to continually innovate the events they programmed, their marketing and their policies.

The work is regularly cited in the media and in major policy papers such as Revive, the Australia Government's National Cultural Policy. It is providing artists and cultural organisations with a resource to guide decision-making and forward planning, to help revitalise our communities.

Explore the Audience Outlook Monitor research launched in 2023:

 

Click below to view all of our past Audience Outlook Monitor publications:

Image Credit: Nicholas Smith, courtesy of Campbelltown Arts Centre.

 
 

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Improving the accessibility of live music venues in Melbourne

In 2023, Patternmakers worked with Morwenna Collett and Music Victoria to identify ways to improve the accessibility of live music venues in Melbourne.

In 2023, Patternmakers worked with Morwenna Collett and Music Victoria to identify ways to improve the accessibility of live music venues in Melbourne.

Live music is a significant part of Victoria’s culture – and Music Victoria has identified an opportunity to help music venues increase the accessibility of their spaces. With support from City of Melbourne and City of Yarra, Music Victoria led the Accessible Music Venues project, to assist venues to build their knowledge and identify ways to improve their onsite and online accessibility.

Visit the Music Victoria website to learn more about the project, or download the report below:

 
 

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Evaluation of A is for Atlas' Social Art Practice, Dining Room Tales

In 2023, Patternmakers partnered with contemporary performance company A is for Atlas to evaluate Dining Room Tales and explore its social impact.

In 2023, Patternmakers is partnering with contemporary performance company A is for Atlas to evaluate Dining Room Tales and explore its social impact.

Starting in 2011, Dining Room Tales is a social art practice which invites audiences to share time, food and conversation with an internationally acclaimed artist and other members of the community.

Since 2021, performances have been centred in regional Victoria and preliminary data suggests Dining Room Tales' audiences are valuing the opportunity to witness something new and connect with their community.

Image Credit: Image of Whang Zeng-Ting, from the Dining Room Tales website.

 
 

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Evaluation of the Sydney Opera House's Centre for Creativity

In 2022, Sydney Opera House partnered with Patternmakers to create an Evaluation Framework for its new Centre for Creativity.

In 2022, Sydney Opera House partnered with Patternmakers to create an Evaluation Framework for its new Centre for Creativity (CFC), described as a ‘purpose-built home for hands-on creative experiences’.

The CFC aims to foster creativity, with the ultimate goals of improving wellbeing and cultivating creative citizenship. It also aligns with the SOH commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including quality education, climate action and reduced inequalities.

To track its progress towards these goals, it enlisted Patternmakers to establish an Evaluation Framework – which would ‘set the template’ for an annual evaluation of CFC activity.

Image Credit: www.sydneyoperahouse.com/visit/our-venues/centre-for-creativity

 
 

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Evaluation of the SongMakers program for APRA

In 2022 and 2023, Patternmakers is working with APRA/AMCOS to evaluate a new version of the celebrated SongMakers program.

In 2022 and 2023 we’re working with APRA/AMCOS to evaluate a new version of the celebrated SongMakers program.

SongMakers is a songwriting program for young people in secondary schools, that has kickstarted the careers of a number of emerging Australian musicians. The latest version adapts this program for a school holiday format for young people in regional NSW, with support from the NSW Government. 

This research involves surveying young people at the end of SongMakers workshops about the impacts of the program across domains including songwriting craft, participant wellbeing, and music industry knowledge. It also incorporates interviews with key stakeholders like program mentors and regional venue partners, and case studies with standout participants. 

To date we have delivered an interim report which has shown that the program is successfully cultivating technical skills, improved mood, ambition and passion for songwriting amongst participants, and identified a need for further extracurricular opportunities like SongMakers for young people in regional areas. At the end of the program, a final report will be produced based on further fieldwork, including a survey of all participants to explore their career trajectories since participating.

Image Credit: songmakers.com.au/holiday-sessions/

 
 

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Audience Research for the Sydney Jewish Museum

In 2022 and 2023, Patternmakers worked with the Sydney Jewish Museum on an audience research project to build a profile of past SJM audiences, and explore the motivations and barriers of potential new visitors.

In 2022 and 2023, Patternmakers worked with the Sydney Jewish Museum on an audience research project.

The goal was to build a profile of past SJM audiences, and explore the motivations and barriers of potential new visitors. The methodology included focus groups, interviews, a databases survey and a panel survey of museum goers.

The findings are informing the musuem's Master Plan and an audience development strategy for the next five years. The report includes segment profiles to inform programming and decision making at the museum.

Image Credit: sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au/

 
 

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Audience Outlook Monitor — 2022

Patternmakers leads a major tracking study of audiences in partnership with US research agency WolfBrown.

Patternmakers led a major tracking study of audiences in partnership with US research agency WolfBrown.

Initiatied in the first weeks of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the study has evolved over time to explore topics like ticket-buying timelines, audience appetites for different content, and behavioural trends related to the cost-of-living crisis.

Patternmakers has partnered with Australia Council for the Arts, Create NSW, Creative Victoria, Arts Queensland, Department of the Premier and Cabinet (Arts SA), DLGSC WA and Arts ACT to deliver this project between 2020 and 2023.

Our 2020-2023 program of work helped artists and cultural organisations connect with audiences, tracking the way people engaged with arts, culture and creativity in the pandemic and post-pandemic landscape. Artists and cultural organisations needed to continually innovate the events they programmed, their marketing and their policies.

The work is regularly cited in the media and in major policy papers such as Revive, the Australia Government's National Cultural Policy. It is providing artists and cultural organisations with a resource to guide decision-making and forward planning, to help revitalise our communities.

Explore the Audience Outlook Monitor research launched in 2022:

 
 

Click below to view all of our past Audience Outlook Monitor publications:

Image Credit: Nicholas Smith, courtesy of Campbelltown Arts Centre.

 
 

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The Power of Youth Arts

Patternmakers collaborated with ATYP to produce a new research resource that tells us about the benefits of performing arts participation for children and young people.

In 2022, the Patternmakers team collaborated with the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) to discover what the research tells us about the benefits of performing arts participation for children and young people.

We’ve created a research guide that aims to consolidate the wealth of existing research on the benefits of performing arts participation for children and young people, making this evidence-based resource accessible and able to be shared in numerous ways within the sector.

Click the button below for the full report, summary, and the 5 key messages we’ve identified about young people and arts, supported by the literature.

Image Credit: Brett Boardman, courtesy of ATYP.

 
 
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Audience Research for Theatre Royal Hobart

In 2022, Patternmakers worked with Theatre Royal Hobart on an audience research project.

In 2022, Patternmakers worked with Theatre Royal Hobart on an audience research project.

The project aimed to build an audience profile of Theatre Royal attendees, increase attendances and reach more people, strengthen awareness and inform strategies.

The research involved desktop research of existing audience data, a series of stakeholder interviews, focus groups and an online survey. The results helped to develop a series of audience segments for Theatre Royal to continue and look to engaging in future, identify key opportunities and lay the foundations for an Audience Development Plan.

Image Credit: www.theatreroyal.com.au/our-venues

 
 

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Audience Research for Northern Rivers Performing Arts (NORPA)

In the months following the 2022 floods, we worked with NORPA on a phase of audience research to build a profile of its audiences, understand how they are changing over time and identify insights for its work in the next chapter.

In the months following the 2022 floods, we worked with NORPA on a phase of audience research.

The objectives were to build a profile of its audiences, understand how they are changing over time and identify insights for its work in the next chapter.

The project involved focus group discussions, an online survey and desktop analysis of available audience data. The results helped to define the unique characteristics of NORPA's audiences, and the impact NORPA has for individuals and the Northern Rivers community.

Image Credit: Kate Holmes

 
 

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Growing arts audiences in the Sunshine Coast region

Patternmakers collaborate Sunshine Coast Council and Sunshine Coast Arts Foundation (SCAF) to grow arts and culture audiences in the local region through an audience and market research project.

We worked with the Sunshine Coast Council and Sunshine Coast Arts Foundation (SCAF) to undertake audience and market research.

The research heard from over 600 participants both living on or visiting the Sunshine Coast, to identify insights and opportunities for arts and culture events in 2020 and beyond. This involved designing and administering an online survey of audiences, conducting interviews with community and industry stakeholders, and focus groups with locals and visitors of different backgrounds.

Our final report highlighted key insights and outlined priority opportunities for market and audience development for the Sunshine Coast region.

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The Impact of Youth Theatre on Mental Health

We worked with ATYP to explore the impact of youth theatre on mental health and launch the findings at the Arts & Health Conference.

We worked with ATYP to explore the impact of youth theatre on mental health and launch the findings at the Arts & Health Conference.

This project involved a review of existing research, and new qualitative and quantitative research including depth interviews, an online discussion board and a survey of 1,200 parents, participants and stakeholders. We also provided advice on an organisation-wide research framework.

The results demonstrated the positive impacts of participating in theatre for young people, and the importance of theatre skills in building self confidence, communications skills and resilience. The findings were published in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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Impact Evaluation for Terrapin Puppet Theatre’s Schools Touring Program

From 2019 - 2021, Patternmakers worked with Terrapin to evaluate the impact of its Schools Touring Program on Tasmanian students, teachers and communities.

We worked with Terrapin to evaluate the impact of its Schools Touring Program on Tasmanian students, teachers and communities.

We explored the impact of the program in delivering puppet theatre to Tasmanian children for over 35 years. The research was conducted in three phases: a teacher survey and depth interviews in 2019, classroom observations in 2020 and further fieldwork in 2021.

The results provided insights into the impact of the program on Tasmanian culture and communities, as well as identifed the program’s successes and opportunities for improvement. The research also assisted Terrapin to partner with Blundstone on delivering an access program which reached over 4,000 additional student attendances.

For more information, read the case study linked below:

Image Credit: Scaredy Cat in a Tasmanian primary school 2021, Peter Mathew

 
 

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Evaluation of the Melbourne Fringe Access & Inclusion Program

We’ve worked with Melbourne Fringe from 2018 to 2021 on an evaluation of their Access and Inclusion Program.

We worked with Melbourne Fringe from 2018 to 2021 on an evaluation of their Access and Inclusion Program.

This has involved establishing a ‘progress tracker’ to measure incremental changes in terms of the festival’s reach and access for people who experience disability. The evaluation aims to capture insights and learnings about how to improve the accessibility of festivals for artists and audiences.

Image Credit: www.artshub.com.au/news/opinions-analysis/centring-access-and-inclusion-at-the-fringes-2518198/

 
 

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Audience Outlook Monitor — 2021

Patternmakers leads a major tracking study of audiences in partnership with US research agency WolfBrown.

Patternmakers led a major tracking study of audiences in partnership with US research agency WolfBrown.

Initiatied in the first weeks of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the study has evolved over time to explore topics like ticket-buying timelines, audience appetites for different content, and behavioural trends related to the cost-of-living crisis.

Patternmakers has partnered with Australia Council for the Arts, Create NSW, Creative Victoria, Arts Queensland, Department of the Premier and Cabinet (Arts SA), DLGSC WA and Arts ACT to deliver this project between 2020 and 2023.

Our 2020-2023 program of work helped artists and cultural organisations connect with audiences, tracking the way people engaged with arts, culture and creativity in the pandemic and post-pandemic landscape. Artists and cultural organisations needed to continually innovate the events they programmed, their marketing and their policies.

The work is regularly cited in the media and in major policy papers such as Revive, the Australia Government's National Cultural Policy. It is providing artists and cultural organisations with a resource to guide decision-making and forward planning, to help revitalise our communities.

Explore the Audience Outlook Monitor research launched in 2021:

Click below to view all of our past Audience Outlook Monitor publications:

Image Credit: Nicholas Smith, courtesy of Campbelltown Arts Centre.

 
 

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Impact Evaluation of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

In 2019 and 2020, we worked with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs to evaluate the impact of choral participation. This is the largest study of its kind ever conducted in Australia, with over 2,800 participants.

In 2019 and 2020, we worked with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs to evaluate the impact of choral participation. This is the largest study of its kind ever conducted in Australia, with over 2,800 participants.

This work involved a series of depth interviews with stakeholders, focus groups current and past choristers, and singers in the broader community. A second objective of the study involved surveying other choristers in NSW and ACT about the impacts of choral singing.

The study highlighted chorister experiences and domains of impact and identified opportunities for future development as the organisation celebrated its centenary year.

Image Credit: https://www.sydneyphilharmonia.com.au/

 
 

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Sydney Audience Snapshot with City of Sydney

In 2020, we worked with the City of Sydney to report on findings from the Audience Outlook Monitor relevant to Sydney arts and culture audiences.

We worked with the City of Sydney to report on findings from the Audience Outlook Monitor relevant to Sydney arts and culture audiences.

The data was collected from over 2,000 past attendees of cultural events in Sydney, as a part of the Audience Outlook Monitor. This work provided insights about arts audiences, attendance and sentiment in the Sydney metropolitan Region.

Patternmakers also collaborated with a graphic designer on an innovative way to bring the qualitative findings to life, in a dynamic website with visual system for navigating by theme, artform and diversity segment. Visit the Visions for Culture page to explore the tool.

 
 

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Audience Research for Sunshine Coast Arts Foundation and Sunshine Coast Council

In 2020, we worked with the Sunshine Coast Council and Sunshine Coast Arts Foundation to undertake audience and market research.

We worked with the Sunshine Coast Council and Sunshine Coast Arts Foundation (SCAF) to undertake audience and market research.

The research heard from over 600 participants both living on or visiting the Sunshine Coast, to identify insights and opportunities for arts and culture events in 2020 and beyond. This involved designing and administering an online survey of audiences, conducting interviews with community and industry stakeholders, and focus groups with locals and visitors of different backgrounds.

We produced a report that highlighted key insights and outlined priority opportunities for market and audience development for the Sunshine Coast region.

Image Credit: www.scartsfoundation.com/portfolio-items/open-studios-sunshine-coast/

 
 

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