Early indications are that the pilot audience development partnership between visual arts venues in Bristol and Birmingham is proving popular with potential tourists.
Four venues in Bristol – the Arnolfini, Bristol Museums and Art Gallery, Spike Island Artspace and the Royal West of England Academy – are working with seven venues in Birmingham on the cross-city promotional campaign aimed at encouraging known visual arts attenders to visit galleries in their partner city.
Using targeted direct mail offering additionality and incentives, attenders have been invited to have a day/weekend out enjoying the best visual arts in another city.
Venues in Bristol have taken the opportunity to develop a common brand that effectively communicates the range and quality of the galleries whilst still celebrating the individual style and programmes of each.
Partners from the commercial sector including City Café at City Inn, Creation, Budokan and Belgo have joined the promotion to encourage ancillary spend through discount vouchers included with the mailing.
Bristol Tourism and Conference Bureau, Bristol Legible City, South West Arts, Bristol City Council and City Inn have all given financial support to the project, the first of its kind in the country. Wales and West supplied free poster sites on all their trains adding high visibility and wider profile-raising opportunities across a huge area of the country, the first time they have offered in-kind sponsorship to the arts.
The participating cities were chosen because they have complementary venues in terms of quality and range of exhibitions; existing visual arts consortia with a proven track record of collaboration; a database of attenders that can be legally shared and accessed centrally; a close enough geographical proximity to allow attenders the choice of either a day trip or a more extended stay equally viable.
Since the initiative was launched at the beginning of March, interest in the exhibitions has been high with record attendances reported at a number of the galleries. Full evaluation won’t take place until May, when the discount vouchers expire and all highlighted exhibitions have closed but a report is due in early summer and will be available to any interested venues.
For more details ring Helen Tobias on 0117-927 6941 or email helen.tobias@swam.org.uk.
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