Latest news on the case for arts and culture
NEWS FROM THE AUDIENCE AGENCY
Last week the argument for continued government funding for arts and culture ratcheted up a notch with the release of a new report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research looking into the economic contribution of the arts and culture. The first of its kind and commissioned by Arts Council England, the report included key findings that, hopefully, should really help make the case for continued government spend on culture in time for the Treasury’s spending review. These include:
You can read The Audience Agency’s response to the report here, but we’re delighted to see the CEBR recognising not only the economic benefits of arts and culture, but also recording the contribution to the ‘people economy’ and spillover benefits to employability, personal productivity and well-being. As John Kay says in his blog post the real value of arts and culture lies in “the contribution – direct or indirect – the activity makes to the welfare of ordinary citizens”. At The Audience Agency we’ve been working with cultural partners across the country on the creation of a major new evidence based initiative designed to develop our collective understanding of audiences to inform effective and efficient business planning. We are currently working with clusters of organisations to shape, share and compare market research and intelligence through an easy to use online resource analysing existing and new audience data. With over 165 performing and visual arts organisations signing up and two clusters actively collecting data it’s really starting to gather pace. We’re excited to announce that individual organisations (independent of clusters) will be eligible to sign up this summer. Data specialists Purple Seven are helping power the project. They’ve just announced exciting news in the form of new investors and we’re discussing how these developments will enhance our work together. As this Audience Focus strand of work has been funded by ACE, NPOs can access this programme for free as part of their funding agreements. Non-NPOs can still access resources and we’ve designed flexible cost options depending on the level of requirements. We will be announcing more details soon but for more information, please contact cimeon.ellerton@ |
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
Craft is not ‘other’
This concerns the recent news that the DCMS released a paper in April seeking to remove Craft from the list of recognised UK creative industries. In her piece for the Guardian, Julia Bennett at Crafts Council argues why this is shortsighted and denies the industry and its many aspects the recognition it deserves.
Official statement from Crafts Council:
The Crafts Council will be formally responding to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) consultation ‘Classifying and measuring the creative industries’ which proposes ‘Crafts’ is removed from the categories.
The consultation on a revised classification of the creative industries will close on 14 June.
Owing to the difficulty in capturing an accurate picture of the craft sector through the methods of data collection and classification proposed by DCMS – ‘Crafts’ has been removed as a category.
The Crafts Council’s own research Craft in an Age of Change shows that the estimated craft-related income for contemporary craft-making businesses in 2011 was £457m (larger than spending on music downloads and only slightly smaller than London West End theatres) with a GVA of £220m.
Of the estimated 23,000 businesses, 88% are sole-traders, a number of whom will be under the VAT threshold and thus invisible in the methodology DCMS use to count the creative industries.
The remainder are discounted through other quirks of the international approaches to counting industry categorisation. Goldsmiths, jewellers, glass-makers, pattern-cutters, fashion designers and others are now loosely grouped together in, for example, ‘other’ or ‘manufacturing’ classifications which remain outside the creative industries data.
The Crafts Council has been involved in direct talks with DCMS in recent months and we continue to discuss this specific point with them. We are disappointed that our views have not been taken on board to date but we will continue to work constructively with them while seeking to change their views.
If you have any feedback on this consultation then please email policy@craftscouncil.org.uk by 1 June and we will reflect positions in our response where they are broadly shared.
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
So, you want to break into the scene in Dubai?
Ok, so you’re a successful creative and you’re stocked across a range of retailers in the UK and probably also elsewhere but … for whatever reason you’ve not yet made any inroads into Dubai … that shopping mecca for the Gulf!
As luck would have it MyCake founder Sarah Thelwall is just back from a few days there where she was delivering work for the British Council under the delightfully mischievous leadership of Shelagh Wright and Peter Jenkinson. So here’s a few tips to get you started:
- At first glance it’s all about the malls … because it’s hot, because malls are air-conditioned, because it’s a public place where the youth of both sexes can meet and mingle freely … all sorts of reasons. So it’s worth getting to know what’s in the malls (you can research this online) and finding the multibrand retailers. You’ll find regional multibrand retailers such as Aishti and Aizone there who focus on international brands but you’ll also find independent retailers stocking much smaller and niche brands. Sarah’s favourite in the Mall of the Emirates was Boom & Mellow who clearly look around the globe for interesting brands and makers.
- If you’re a gem based jeweller it is worth looking specifically at the jewellery retailers as there is such a focus on gem based work. Again you’ll find that the top flight malls have whole sections dedicated to jewellers. To see some innovative jewellery from a UAE designer have a look at the work of the award winning Azza Al Qubaisi
- There is a local creative and design scene and it’s growing but finding local labels is not as straightforward … they’re not located together in a geographic cluster the way they often are in the UK. For an interesting overview of the Dubai fashion scene get yourself a copy of Sonyia Kirpilani’s film Do Buy. Also have a look at the line up for the Fashion Forward event that’s run annually and showcases local, regional and international talent. You would do well to talk to Khulood Thani as well and you’ll find her at www.binthani.com. For a broader Gulf view on what’s hot and who the key retailers are talk to Marriam Mossalli who runs www.nichearabia.com
- The contemporary art scene is substantial in Dubai so to start getting your head around it get yourself a copy of the ArtMap and sign up for the art alerts from Art in the City. You might want to talk to a local artist. We say start with Nik Nejad .. you’ll find him on facebook and also at www.niknejad.net … mention Sarah’s name when you say Hi.
- If you can get out there soon the 6th Sharjah Biennial is utterly superb and a great way to see a combination of Gulf-based and international artists
- There is a varied music scene, you need to meet a local as we didn’t spend enough time to say a great deal. Fortunately we have one of those to recommend DJ Lobito, you’ll find him on twitter and feel free to say we sent you in his direction
What else can we tell you? What other sorts of people would you like to meet out there? Drop us a line and we’ll do our best to connect you – sarah@mycake.org
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
“Self discipline is like a muscle the more you exercise it the stronger it gets”
An inspirational TED talk from Daniel Goldstein about your future financial self:
The battle between your present and future self
What tools would motivate you to build your future?
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
CIDACo’s Creative Capital – the time is now
Last week we welcomed in the launch of Creative Capital – a new Arts Council funded initiative from Yorkshire based consultancy CidaCo who specialise in creativity, innovation and enterprise. The Creative Capital programme is designed to boost the Northern region’s creative sector, as arts organisations across Yorkshire and the surrounding areas experience budget cuts and the need to develop new revenue sources.
Creative Capital was launched on Wednesday 10 April in Sheffield’s Cutler’s Hall a magnificent place that has been around since the 1700′s and contains many a grand room with tall ceilings and a need for sound systems for us mere mortals. Next year they will be celebrating 150 years of Sheffield Steel so the place is looking pretty smart, even the teaspoons used for our teas and coffees were of a higher standard than your average in-house caterers. Very impressive.
In the last week or so I have had a few emails from the CIDACo team to say that the numbers of attendees is going up and up so whilst I am not worrying about being heard at the back I am wondering if we will all fit in such a grand room.
MyCake were invited to talk about how an organisations’s data is useful in the process of change.
Our message is one of building collective intelligence in the sector rather than struggling in isolation. We are incredibly keen for arts organisations to open up more about sharing data and learning from a bigger source of knowledge, not just sharing best practice any longer but gaining powerful insights into where business models have to change and adapt or else pull an institution under. You can see an outline of what Sarah spoke about in the presentation slides on How pooling your data can improve your business model.
The challenge of these sorts of very short sessions (I had a mere 15 minutes) is of course one of engagement … Getting the audience to a point where they understand what ball park we are in intellectually is one thing. Getting them fired up about actually doing benchmarking themselves is another. So the tweak for this session was to take all the public financial data I can find on the invitees and use it to see and show how similar to or different from the national average this group are.
By the time we reach the round table discussions it is clear this approach has really worked as the questions are coming thick and fast …. What benchmarking is included in the programme? How do we get started? What data can we use? What do you think about social impact data? Every one of the six tables comes at the data question from a different angle. This is one highly engaged group of organisations 
Perhaps it is that the timing is right for this programme, perhaps the risk of other funders ‘doing a Newcastle’ has really hit home, perhaps it is the energy that Anamaria and her team bring to the topic, perhaps it is the bespoke nature of the support being offered, and the quality of the team CIDA is fielding. Whatever it is this is going to be a programme which can deliver change in both the practice and the performance of the organisations who participate. Data is part of the approach of course as it helps with both diagnostic and goal setting and the interest in social impact data (there are those in the room such as Hoot who have already been working with this framework for a while) should help this group not simply benefit from what’s been done already but add to the body of knowledge on how to use data in the arts better.
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
We are hiring – are you brilliant at sales and customer service?
We are looking for a proactive person and friendly voice to join our MyCake team as Sales and User Support from 18 April 2013 (handover period) until Jan-Feb 2014 (maternity cover).
The role is part-time (about 8hrs a month) and paid monthly (£200 per month) + commission on sales.
You will be part of a small team of 5 and manage your own time and work. You’ll be expected to be working from home but will be asked to attend monthly team meetings via conference call.
The role:
-inform social media campaigns to increase the number of new users
-contact new and existing users
-provide support to our users via email and phone
-report to Director
-operate MyCake existing CRM system
Requirements:
-be familiar with Kashflow bookkeeping package (although no need to be an accountant or bookkeeper)
-experience of using social media to generate sales
-experience of working within the creative sector
-be comfortable speaking to people over the phone
-be a good and friendly salesperson
How to apply:
Please send your proposals and expressions of interest to support@mycake.org please put ‘Sales and User Support role’ as the email subject header.
Deadline to apply is Friday 12 April 2013.
About MyCake
MyCake is an online book-keeping and financial toolkit for creative businesses. Designed to help manage the financial side of a creative business simply and easily. MyCake also provides a benchmarking function that allows businesses to compare their financials past and present with those of other creative businesses.
MyCake website:
https://www.mycake.org/default.aspx
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
In real-time: your salary as it happens and other small biz finance news
It could be the title of the most boring news coverage or worst new reality TV show ever in fact reporting your employees’ salary to HMRC in real time is the new responsibility of UK businesses from 6th April 2013.
HMRC are providing guidance over on their website on Operating PAYE in real time (RTI)
Your limited business is now legally obligated to report all PAYE salary payments made through the business on or before the day that a payment is made. For those administering salary payments weekly this is going to need to be on the company’s weekly finance agenda! You’ll also need to discuss the process with your accountant to let them know how you are doing your reporting or if they are taking this on for you. Companies still need to complete PAYE returns annually by 19 May.
PAYE reporting in real time does not apply to sole traders or partnerships unless you also have employees.
Headline news from Osborne’s budget (if only his budget case was this pretty)
Corporation tax is reduced to 20% from April 2015
Fuel prices have been frozen so ok news for those who drive a lot with work
Personal tax allowance will rise in 2013-14 and will be up to £10,000 by 2015-16
New schemes being introduced to help small creative and tech businesses include the small business research initiative and the tax relief incentives for animation, high end TV and video game industries.
From 2014 Employer’s have a national insurance allowance of up to £2,000 to incentivise taking on new staff.
There’s a graphic version of the budget on yourmoney.com which could be handy for reference.
Money saving tips from across the web:
How to cut the cost of your rail tickets
Also did you know that this week it has been 40 years since the government’s VAT levy was introduced? Watch this space for an article on MyCake and all things VAT coming soon. Let us know by email to press@mycake.org if there are any specific topics you want us to cover.
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
Upcoming event: creative Europe in a time of austerity
UK / European conference – Thursday 9 May 2013
Conference website: http://www.euclid.info/events/
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, UK
In a time of financial austerity in the UK and across the rest of Europe, this event aims to provide arts and cultural organisations with a range of ideas to help them decrease their reliance on public subsidy by offering examples of initiatives, strategies, collaborative opportunities and alliances. MyCake founder Sarah Thelwall will be presenting at the conference.
The event will provide attendees with a selection of possible solutions and opportunities offered to the conference by a programme of 15 speakers, including Sarah, over three main sessions, followed by a round table session where delegates can meet in small groups with each of the speakers.
Sometimes contradictory, and often controversial, these presentations will reflect on practitioner’s own experiences.
Early bird registration is open until 31 March 2013.
Registration and tickets for the event: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5433876872?ref=ebtn#
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
Snowing? Kettle on? Our new five minute online tour of MyCake awaits
This week MyCake’s Marion has been trying out screencast and as a result we can now show you a nifty new five minute tour of the MyCake book keeping solution for creative businesses.
So if the snow is flurrying passed your window and you’re wondering if today might be a good time to get your finances in order watch our MyCake Introduction below and start to get it all figured out with us:
MyCake 5 minute Introduction demo
When it comes to managing your finances there’s snow time like the present : )
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
Start Me Up! School for Creative Startups Showcase event 23/24 March
This month we are really excited to be a part of the School for Creative Startup’s inaugural event The Startup Showcase, the UK’s premiere startup festival for creative entrepreneurs.
MyCake’s founder Sarah Thelwall will be facing every creative person’s money nightmare, the issue of cashflow head on in her Saturday talk.
Further details on the website:
Cashflow – What you need to know, Saturday 23 March, 1 – 1.45pm
The School for Creative Startups, Startup Showcase
23rd and 24th March | Somerset House, London|
The beautiful embankment galleries at Somerset House will be transformed into a totally unique marketplace showcasing over 100 rising creative talents and industry stalls, running alongside an inspiring professional development talks series hosted by some of the brightest minds in the UK as well as a creative skills workshop programme.
Advanced tickets can be booked now at a discounted rate of £5 for adults and £3 concession on our website www.thestartupshowcase.com
SPEAKERS INCLUDE: Michael Jacobsen, Patricia Van den Akker, Sophie Cornish and other leading industry experts.
WORKSHOPS INCLUDE: Millinery, Activating your Business Mind, The Art of Perfumery, Speed Portfolio Reviewing, Crafting Raw Chocolate and much more…
Tickets
Advanced general admission tickets can be booked now at a discounted rate of £5 for adults and £3 concession on our website www.thestartupshowcase.com or on the day for £7 for adults, £5 concession or £12 two day ticket.
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
Subscribe
Search
Popular Posts
The MyCake twitter feed
- Here at the launch of Sportworks .... Let's see what the sport for development bunch could teach their art for development equivalents 1 day ago
- Latest news on the case for arts and culture wp.me/puRBC-1w1 5 days ago
- They are making an exception for me! 5 days ago