Hi (hope it is okay to post this on here),
I am on the committee for the Visitor Studies Group as the conference lead. The Visitors Studies Group (VSG) is small volunteer committee run organisation for those who do audience research, or related work, for visitor venues.
This year we will be having a conference focusing on how the cost of living is impacting audiences relationships with our venues and how as venues we go about conducting this research. The title and conference summary is:
The cost of culture: measuring barriers affecting the visitor experience
Britain is in the middle of a cost of living crisis and audiences are feeling the pinch. Financial restrictions to participation and enjoyment of arts venues, science centres, heritage and other visitor attractions are nothing new; however, with increasing suggestions and new requirements that organisations collect data on the socio-economic status of their visitors, the question has been brought to the forefront, and not without its controversies. Which audiences are most hit by the cost of living crisis and how should venues and programming respond? Has the sector contributed to social mobility in the UK? What role does class in the research and wider cultural workforce play? We welcome fresh perspectives to these questions and different interpretations of the conference theme.
This is a topic that many of us can relate to I'm sure and I know some of us have had various conversations online/in-person conversations about related issues such as the Arts Council's plans to measure class, challenges to get more representative survey results, changes in booking patterns in correlation with the economic climate and various schemes and initiatives to introduce more or maintain financially accessible arts and culture for all audiences. We currently have a call proposals open, which closes 25 January, and if anyone feels they have a project, success story or a 'learn from your mistakes story' they would be interested in presenting at the conference this year please do let me know or submit directly here. Or if you think you would be a good fit for a potential panel I would love to hear from you!
PS. The conference is 10 May in London! It's a great space for peer-led learning on navigating surveys and audience research, as I know the desire for more on this has come up a few times as well!