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Cultural Enterprises Conference explores entrepreneurship in the post-COVID age

Opinion
Cultural enterprises conference

By Rachel Mackay 

association for cultural enterprise

Last week, the Association of Cultural Enterprises met in Glasgow for the annual conference exploring commercial entrepreneurship in cultural attractions. Here, I will look at some of the inspirational case studies discussed and the themes explored.

Cultural organisations belonging to the Association of Cultural Enterprises last had the opportunity to come together in March of 2019. Today, the cultural landscape of the UK is a very different one. So, what themes emerged from our discussion of cultural commerce in the brave new world?

The impact of COVID

AIM-association of independent museums logo

Given how long it had been since many delegates had the opportunity to come together and reflect, a discussion about the impact of COVID was unavoidable. The Association of Independent Museums shared a snapshot of the impact of omicron on independent museums. This highlighted the need for support with core funding, capital projects and particularly for staff wellbeing and resilience.

Gemma Budden, retail manager at Tate St. Ives spoke movingly about how the pandemic almost spelt the end for the organisation’s shop. The director of Painshill Park, Paul Griffiths, outlined the many disappointments of the past two years, wrestling restrictions that made putting on even outdoor events challenging.

Paul Griffiths cultural enterprises conference Glasgow
Paul Griffiths delivers his session at ACE 2022

Jill Fenwick, CEO of the Association for Cultural Enterprises, encouraged conference delegates to speak to the many independent suppliers in the Trade Hall. She highlighted that many businesses who were present at the 2019 conference had not survived the pandemic.

Positive stories at the Cultural Enterprises Conference

Many of these stories had silver linings, however. The organisations and individuals who had come through adversity to deliver success was inspiring. The Royal Opera House took the time that lockdown gave them to develop their tour programme into a highly profitable business model.

Many organisations developed their online offers, including online shops and virtual visits. Beamish Museum took their shops outside as market stalls. They did a roaring trade. But they also found that they had come even closer to the original vision of the site.

Stephanie Teles from the Garden Museum spoke about maximising income streams during the pandemic, utilising not only huge public financial support but the opportunity of lockdown to make the most of licensing partnerships.

Rachel Mackay speaks at Cultural Enterprises Conference
Rachel Mackay delivers a session at ACE 2022.

I spoke about the Eurovision inspiration behind the new Hidden Spaces tours at Kew Palace. This makes the most of visitors’ increased desire for exclusive and intimate experiences.

Storytelling as a tool for success

Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions

Many of the successful case studies discussed at the Cultural Enterprises Conference had utilised storytelling. This seemed particularly appropriate given that 2022 is Scotland’s Year of Stories. To support this, the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions has been collaborating with Complete Works to deliver storytelling workshops for attractions staff.

Their joint sessions shared the success of this initiative. They also presented some key storytelling tips such as structure, pacing and delivery.

Caroline Reid from the National Trust for Scotland spoke about increasing sales by sharing the stories of retail suppliers. Their ‘Meet the Maker’ initiative used featured stories and social media to highlight the local, handcrafted products on sale onsite and online. It has been so successful that NTS now intend to progress the trial into food and beverage.

Ethics versus income?

One of the key questions explored throughout the week, and in particular in the Trustee’s Question Time session which marked the end of the Cultural Enterprises Conference, was ‘Can you have a social purpose and be commercial too?’. This reflected the high amount of case studies shared during the conference that featured stories of inclusion and sustainability.

For example, the Art House in Wakefield shared their inspiring story of securing interim use space in abandoned retail outlets for independent artists and social enterprises.

COVID, in all its awfulness, has given us the opportunity to demand more from our sector and more from our organisations, to move forward with care, with thought and with each other.

The initiative, Makey Wakey, is a pivot away from the organisation’s established money-making enterprise. However, CEO Sydney Thornbury shared the incredible benefits of such a venture. This includes providing a route to business for artists and makers who arrive in Wakefield as refugees. Thornbury said her long-term goal is to create the UK’s first “social enterprise mall.”

At the end of the conference, ACE Chair Caroline Brown concluded that a better question might be ‘can you afford not to have a social purpose?’ commenting that:

COVID, in all its awfulness, has given us the opportunity to demand more from our sector and more from our organisations, to move forward with care, with thought and with each other.”

Celebrating success at the Cultural Enterprises Conference

ACE awards at KelvinGrove cultural enterprises conference
The Cultural Enterprises Awards

As if to cement the need for organisations to move forward with each other, the Cultural Enterprises Conference ended with a gala dinner and ceilidh. This took place at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

The evening also included the Cultural Enterprise Awards. Organisations were recognised for best shop, best retail product and best use of creative commerce. Suppliers were also recognised for fair trade and sustainability initiatives.

Matthew Henderson, product development manager at Beamish Museum was awarded the 2022 Rising Star award, as well as the overall award of the night.

You can read about all the Cultural Enterprise award finalists here.

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Rachel Mackay

Rachel Mackay is the head of Hampton Court Palace for Historic Royal Palaces, looking after operations and experience delivery at Henry VIII’s iconic pleasure palace. In 2020, she created The Recovery Room (therecoveryroomblog.com) to share research and resources as the museum sector recovers from the impact of the pandemic. Her first book, Delivering the Visitor Experience, was published in August 2023.

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