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History

Established in 1989 as Arts About Manchester, we operated successfully for over 20 years, delivering insightful research, tactical marketing services, pioneering audience development projects and support for the arts and cultural organisations who formed our Membership.

In 2010 we became All About Audiences, the audience development agency for the north west.

Chetham's Library, Chetham's School of Music

From Arts About Manchester to All About Audiences

Prior to our inception, audience development provision across the North West was relatively disjointed. As Arts About Manchester (AAM) we provided support to Greater Manchester organisations. Meanwhile, TEAM (The Entertainment & Arts Marketeers) worked across Merseyside, and the Audience Alliance (a joint initiative between AAM, TEAM and Arts Council England North West) provided audience development provision across Cumbria, Lancashire and to a lesser extent Cheshire.

To everyone’s great dismay, TEAM went into receivership in 2007 and Merseyside was left without an audience development agency. Liverpool was working hard to maximize on the opportunities provided by the forthcoming Capital of Culture year in 2008, and LARC (Liverpool Arts Regeneration Consortium) approached Arts About Manchester to work with them to temporarily plug the gap in audience development support during 2008 and into 2009.

It was apparent that a more sustainable and permanent solution was needed for Merseyside. Furthermore, the Audience Alliance had limited resource and capacity, so a more robust solution was essential for Cumbria, Lancashire and Cheshire.

The region’s arts and cultural sector had a clear and compelling case for consistent and unified audience development support. Having already established an identity beyond Greater Manchester, through our Audience Alliance work, the LARC partnership, and other North West projects & activities, Arts About Manchester was in the perfect position to take on a wider North West role.

We had an excellent reputation locally, regionally and nationally, and had developed the skills, knowledge and expertise needed to extend our remit. With the full backing of Arts Council England North West, we began the process of transition from Arts About Manchester to All About Audiences.

Following an extensive period of consultation with peers, partners and potential clients Arts About Manchester was able to identify the needs and demands of the region’s sector. We listened carefully to the frustrations, hopes, fears and needs of all of these stakeholders, and restructured and reformed the agency in response. The new agency was created to reflect the requirements of the sector across the whole region, with changes to our aims and objectives, our offer and ways of working to enable us to be both effective and fair.

The new subscription model, with all the benefits and services that it encompasses, was also developed in response to the consultation feedback, so we think we’ve got it right. But we won’t stand still. We’ll keep listening, amending and improving to meet our subscribers’ needs. As the audience development agency for the North West, we fully intend to continue our own development.

  • Supported by Arts Council England
  • AGMA Association of Greater Manchester Authorities
  • Lancashire County Council
  • Cumbria County Council