Contents

1. Birmingham Means EveryoneTuesday 23 November 20109.30am – 10.15amVishalakshi RoyAudiences Central

2. Contents • Audiences Central • BME project in detail • Legacy of BME • Questions and answers

3. Audiences Central • A team of audience development, marketing, research, communications and organisational change specialists • Regularly funded by Arts Council England • A registered charity • Established in 1995 (formerly BAM) • Based in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter • Regional remit • A member based organisation • A member of Audiences UK

4. What we do Support arts and cultural organisations • Market research and intelligence • Audience Development • Events and professional development • Marketing Services • Campaign Management and Consultancy “We aim to work with and inspire arts and cultural organisations, agencies, practitioners and audiences in order to increase and diversify the market for arts and culture in the region”

5. Birmingham Means Everyone • Shares the same acronym as the over used term Black and Minority Ethnic (BME), and describes the geographic and social demographic framework that is the focus of this work. • Aimed to develop a programme of support for organisations wanting to broaden their audiences to include BME families and households.

6. Aims and Objectives • Identify the barriers that effect BME families • Explore ways of tackling these to develop BME family audiences • Explore BME families’ perceptions of arts organisations in regard to their community • Find out if the barriers are specific to the community or more generic • Establish key learning to update Arts Council England’s Family Friendly toolkit

7. Timeline June 2005: Project starts Community groups identified and approached Dec 2006: Inital consultation, Partnered with arts organsations Feb 2006: Taster sessions, Follow up consultations Oct 2006: Report and dissemination Sept 2008: Podcasts recorded Plans for legacy project

8. Delivery • Established contact with the leaders of community groups • Conducted initial consultations with the groups • Partnered arts organisations with community groups • Provided two free taster sessions at The Drum, Midland’s Arts Centre, Birmingham Opera and the Hippodrome • Conducted post taster session consultations with the group

9. Activities

10. Summary of findings • Price • Personal safety • Active cultural lives • Proud of their culture, traditions and heritage • Gatekeepers and community leaders • Communities with new arrivals have the broadest range of barriers • General interest in the arts • Lack of available and accessible information

11. Summary of findings Additional factors which should be considered for the specific BME communities researched through this project: • Sensitivity and understanding around religious and cultural protocols • Language issues • The importance of learning English and learning about British culture • Having a 'guide' to help them understand the new experience

12. Recommendations • Pricing should take into account the risk of trying something new. • Real opportunity to show how they can help new arrivals to develop and integrate themselves into society. • A willing new audience can be reached through highly targeted marketing and communications. • BME communities are proud of their culture, traditions and heritage-this may be a ‘way in’ to engage them with established (Western) arts organisations, through reciprocal activities and sharing.

13. Legacy • Podcasts at free arts festivals • Additions to Family Friendly toolkit • Quantitative research into newly arrived communities • The World in One Region

15. Real People George’s story

16. The World in One Region • Create a snapshot of the current ethnic diversity make up of the West Midlands • Bring communities to life, by breaking down existing communication barriers and dispelling myths. • Assisting organisations to feel more confident in engaging with diverse communities in the future.

17. Contact details Vishalakshi Roy vishalakshi.roy@audiencescentral.co.uk +44 121 685 2616