Research
Arts about Manchester
Dataculture project co-ordination
Being a bit of an evangelist when it comes to the importance of doing, using and disseminating audience research, I was delighted to be invited to work with Arts about Manchester and Audience Alliance on Dataculture. This ongoing regional project essentially aims to benchmark performing and visual arts audiences across Lancashire and Merseyside. It also looks at developing more data-driven individuals and organisations, encouraging the sharing and dissemination of research and best practice. Alongside working directly with the performing arts venues to install data extraction software on their box offices, I was also contracted to audit non-ticketed visual arts organisations to assess their research support needs and potential ways we could benchmark them.
Here’s what Arts about Manchester said about me:
Helen Corkery, Strategic Research & Marketing Manager, Arts about Manchester‘We approached Marge to work on our Data Culture project earlier this year. The project involved identifying and recruiting performing arts organisations to our Vital Statistics arts intelligence system, managing all the contractual requirements, identifying reporting requirements, liaising with our suppliers and regional partners; and, as an additional piece of work, undertaking an audit of visual arts organisations across much of the region.
The project had stalled and needed someone with strong research and project management skills, a real knowledge of the sector and who could engage organisations of all shapes and sizes. Marge instantly came to mind. She has taken a somewhat ill defined and complex project and delivered it on time, within budget and with greatest effect. Working with performing and visual arts organisations across the Northwest she has steered and championed the project, liaised over technical details, managed the contract negotiations and provided us with clear and workable outputs.
I would have no hesitation at all in contracting future projects to Marge or recommending her to others – I know with Marge that if there is a way she will find it and with her flexibility, intellect, experience and patience (I am not the easiest client to get hold of) she will always be a preferred consultant to AAM.’