Annual Conference
The first All-Ireland Arts Conference (AIAC) will take place at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast on 14 and 15 June 2012 organised by Audiences NI, Northern Ireland Theatre Association (NITA) and Theatre Forum Ireland.
For the past number of years, these organisations have each individually organised their own annual conferences with considerable success. This year, for the first time, the organisations have decided to come together to create one conference for the whole arts community on the island of Ireland.
The main objective of this conference is to enhance networking among artists and arts practitioners throughout the island of Ireland. It is hoped and expected that this in turn will:
- Develop an all-Ireland arts community;
- Facilitate an exchange of information, ideas and expertise and stimulate new thinking;
- Create more partnership and touring opportunities for artists on both sides of the border.
In the longer term, the partner organisations will work together to provide more opportunities for practitioners and managers to meet and will strive to make the All-Ireland Arts Conference an annual event. They will also work together and with their members to ensure that the vital role of the arts is recognised within wider society.
The conference
Taking place in the newly redeveloped Lyric Theatre in Belfast this two-day conference will feature an array of high profile local and international speakers. Keynote addresses, interviews, plenary and breakout sessions will be scheduled to stimulate, provoke, impart wisdom, practical skills and to challenge. Crucially, there will also be plenty of time for networking during coffee breaks, lunches and evening dinner.
We expect up to 300 delegates to attend the conference including artists and key decision makers from all the theatre, dance and opera companies, festivals and arts centres around the country. Potential themes include: cultural leadership, developing audiences, organisational change, cultural tourism, theatre development and touring.
Partner organisations
Audiences NI is the Audience Development Agency for Northern Ireland. A strategic delivery partner of Arts Council Northern Ireland, Audiences NI is a membership based agency working with a wide range of clients across all artforms in the NI arts and cultural sector to increase, broaden, maintain, understand and diversify audiences. Audiences NI is uniquely positioned to understand the challenges and specific needs of the sector.
As an agency we work with over 100 arts organisations annually through specific audience development projects such as Test Drive the Arts NI, the largest audience development project in Ireland, Classical Arts NI and Marketing Essentials and also deliver core marketing services such as e-marketing on a sector-wide basis.
Our Annual programme includes full day, half day, and bite size events, seminars in partnership with the Arts Marketing Association, ThinkTANK master classes, and an annual conference. Our market intelligence is unique in Northern Ireland and provides a wealth of sectoral reports, audience mapping, and bespoke research. We also offer a range of free resources including an e-newsletter, downloads library, press contacts database, data cleaning, Freepost service and 1-2-1 marketing, audience development and research consultancy.
A powerful advocate for the arts, Audiences NI was a key partner in the recent arts funding campaign, jointly hosting an Arts Hustings event, a lobbying masterclass and directly contacting tens of thousands of people to lobby for the sector. Audiences NI has recently produced an Audience Development Manifesto and has developed an increasingly sophisticated evidence base for arts advocacy.
Northern Ireland Theatre Association (NITA) is the representative body for professional theatre in Northern Ireland. NITA has over 70 members which are drawn from a wide section of the theatre community in Northern Ireland and include all the theatres and arts centres; professional theatre companies; the main arts festivals and individual directors, actors and producers.
NITA provides a collective voice for the theatre sector, undertaking promotion and advocacy on behalf of its members as well as delivering sector-specific training, providing excellent networking opportunities, and disseminating a wide range of sector-relevant information. NITA delivers dynamic and coherent advocacy for theatre to participants, politicians and the public and drives development of the industry. NITA aims to become a high-profile strategic arts organisation. As well as being a voice for the sector, it aims to raise the quality and profile of theatre, act as a ‘think tank’ for theatre, drive innovation and creativity, be a passionate and proactive advocate for theatre, and champion the benefits that we know theatre provides to our region and its people.
Theatre Forum Ireland is the representative association for theatre and the performing arts in the Republic of Ireland. It has 240 members including all the theatres and arts centres; professional theatre, dance and opera companies; the main arts festivals and individual directors, actors and producers.
Its work includes: information provision; networking and information events; training and professional development; research, practical services and advocacy on behalf of the sector.
It is seen as the point of contact for information on the performing arts in the Republic of Ireland. Its website www.theatreforumireland.com attracts 600+ unique visits a day. It communicates monthly via e-newsletter (mailed to 1,400 members). In addition, has 1,700+ likes on Facebook and 700+ followers on Twitter and this increases every day.
The Twitter hashtag for news, updates and speakers at the Annual Conference is #AIAC2012
