How Do We Tell Them? Communications and Marketing for Arts and Culture (Core)

In the constant noise and clamor to be heard, we'll consider how to make our work stand out. We'll explore a variety of different traditional and non-traditional platforms and approaches to getting the message across, which will build into your own marketing, communications, and audience development package to support your practice or promote the work of others.

We'll be hearing from the Lincoln Arts Centre team and engaging with other professional cultural organizations to analyze and understand the strategies and campaigns that they've put in place. What worked, what didn't, and why?

Meet the Sector: Creative Industries Speaker Series (Core)

This module is built around the Lincoln School of Creative Arts' Industry Speaker Series, and each week you'll have the opportunity to hear from and speak to, a sector professional about their valuable work. We know that no two routes into industry are the same, so we ask our speakers to reflect on their unique backgrounds, journeys, experiences and decisions that have ultimately informed their careers. You'll work in groups to understand the sector and choose to deliver your findings as a case study report or work with our LSCA experts to create your own podcast episode.

The series to date includes speakers from: Kings Place and The London Podcast Festival, Mashi Theatre, The Spark- Leicester, Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester, Cambridge Arts, Manchester International Festival (MIF), BBC North, UK New Artists, Threshold Studios and Frequency Festival of Digital Culture, In Good Company, LaPelles Factory, Proto-type Theater, Forced Entertainment, Spymonkey, Zest Theatre, Lost Village Festival, and The Party Somewhere Else.

Putting it into Context: Understanding and Articulating Value (Core)

Arts and Culture have value, and in this module will look at the different ways this might be defined. What is the real 'cost' of the work we undertake? What is its value to people and places? Can we measure quality? Should we measure quality? Who gets to ask these questions and who doesn't? How might we fund what we do? We'll look at the work of the sector in relation to the UK funding landscape, and through research, investigation, bid-writing, and group discussion, we'll learn how we might define value and how we might make the case for support to funders and potential partners.

Putting it into Practice: ACM Professional Project (Core)

You've designed your project or placement and now you'll put it into practice. This might be a practice-as-research project within your own artistic discipline; working alongside a festival delivery team to evaluate attendee experience; proposing and delivering a marketing campaign to attract a new target audience; creating a 'Theatre Club' as an embedded critic with a venue or organization; designing and running a creative fundraising event for an arts collective, theatre company, or band; or perhaps you'll be performing an accessibility audit for a venue or location.

Whatever you do, you'll be working in a professional context with supervision and support from your academic teams - all while building your networks and gaining valuable experience.

Shaping the Future: Project Planning and Management (Core)

Ever wanted to change the world? In this module, you'll identify a need and pose a solution by designing your own industry project or placement. You'll then pitch your ideas directly to artists, professional creatives, arts organizations, and cultural sector employers for the chance to work alongside them to deliver your vision.

This is a co-delivered module drawing on the cultural sector skills of the Lincoln School of Creative Arts and the project management expertise of Lincoln International Business School.

Who is it For? Understanding Audience and Visitor Economies (Core)

People and place are crucial to how we position our artistic and cultural outputs, and we need to understand how we might connect to those we most want to reach with our work. Through this short seminar-based module you'll have the opportunity to understand and analyse audience engagement from A to B.

We'll look at the work of the cultural industries in relation to social justice, equality, diversity, inclusivity, and decolonization - and consider how we might remove the barriers on the visitor experience journey. You'll analyze what you discover and share your findings through infographics, posters, or web pages.

This module has been created by experts from Lincoln International Business School who are dedicated to teaching leadership that empowers people to be ambitious, to challenge, and to innovate.

How You Study

The course consists of three terms, each with a selection of industry-focused modules. The themes of each term include Understanding the Sector, Project Planning and Communications, and Professional Practice.

The course offers the opportunity to benefit from the University's expertise in both creative arts and business and hear insights from industry professionals. You'll have the opportunity to develop practical skills such as developing funding applications, producing marketing materials, creating public-facing presentations, and much more.

Applicants will be able to apply for PGCert (Semester A only), PGDip (Semesters A and B), and the full MA course (Semesters A, B, and C)* in line with your own professional working practices. This presents the opportunity for you to engage on your own terms (financial and schedule-wise), and to consider returning later to advance your studies further.

*The total number of credit points required for the achievement of each level and exit award within this program are Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert) = 60 credits, Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) = 120 credits, Master of Arts (MA) = 180 credits.

How You Are Assessed

We know that working in the creative sector often requires you to create a wide variety of public-facing outputs and documents. We take a no essays approach where every assessment type is designed to mimic the kinds of presentations and publications you might encounter in a creative career and help you gain valuable experience.

You'll have the opportunity to develop your professional skills, showcase your learning and create a range of industry-standard outputs for assessment that may include: -

• Creating a podcast episode about the work of a contemporary artist, company, or cultural organization
• Building a funding application based on a particular funding body's bid application process (e.g. Arts Council England)
• Creating arts marketing and comms documents including press releases, audience development plans, marketing campaigns, copy/blurb, and frameworks for evaluation
• Producing an infographic, poster, webpage, or similar to visually communicate your creative ideas
• Creating public-facing presentations which you can deliver directly to industry experts to pitch your projects and plans
• Participating in panel-style discussions with artists, cultural organizations, and academics
• Compiling critical evaluation reports around your own practice and the work of the sector

You will receive supportive feedback throughout your studies, as well as after each key assessment point. Your tutors and industry professionals will be on-hand throughout the course to offer advice to help you develop your professional practice and creative career.

Features

• The opportunity to gain experience, expertise, and enhanced networked connections with a number of national arts venues and organizations
• Professional content and assessment designed to drive your creativity, employability, and skills development
• Learning through doing with an emphasis on evaluation to understand and evidence the impact of your work
• The opportunity to work in collaboration with other students and professionals across disciplines, reflecting sector approaches to arts and cultural strategy
• Teaching and support from the experts at the Lincoln School of Creative Arts and Lincoln International Business School
• Access to the Lincoln School of Creative Arts Industry Speaker Series
• Bespoke support from the Lincoln School of Creative Arts Professional Practice Clinic
• Opportunities to connect to significant artists and cultural organizations in the region including Lincoln Arts Centre, UK New Artists, Threshold Studios (Frequency Festival of Digital Culture), Zest Theatre, and Barbican Creative Hub
• Membership of Barbican Creative Hub (expected 2024), including hot desk and meeting facilities, as well as a curated program of special member events
• An overnight cultural experience trip to an event, city, or festival, such as MIF to understand audience/visitor experience first-hand (MA and PG Dip Only). Accommodation and travel costs will be covered by the University. Students will be expected to cover their own food and general expenses
• The opportunity to apply to join The Lincoln Company – LSCA’s company of emerging theatre, dance, and performance makers, and LAC company-in-residence.

How You Study

The course consists of three terms, each with a selection of industry focused modules. The themes of each term include Understanding the Sector, Project Planning and Communications, and Professional Practice.

The course offers the opportunity to benefit from the University's expertise in both creative arts and business, and hear insights from industry professionals. You will have the opportunity to develop practical skills such as developing funding applications, producing marketing materials, creating public-facing presentations, and much more.

Applicants will be able to apply for PGCert (Semester A only), PGDip (Semesters A and B), and the full MA course (Semesters A, B, and C)* in line with your own professional working practices. This presents the opportunity for you to engage on your own terms (financial and schedule-wise), and to consider returning later to advance your studies further.

*The total number of credit points required for achievement of each level and exit award within this Program are:

Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert) = 60 credits, Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) = 120 credits, Master of Arts (MA) = 180 credits.

Features

• The opportunity to gain experience, expertise, and enhanced networked connections with a number of national arts venues and organisations
• Professional content and assessment designed to drive your creativity, employability, and skills development
• Learning through doing with an emphasis on evaluation to understand and evidence the impact of your work
• The opportunity to work in collaboration with other students and professionals across disciplines, reflecting sector approaches to arts and cultural strategy
• Teaching and support from the experts at the Lincoln School of Creative Arts and Lincoln International Business School
• Access to the Lincoln School of Creative Arts Industry Speaker Series
• Bespoke support from the Lincoln School of Creative Arts Professional Practice Clinic
• Opportunities to connect to significant artists and cultural organisations in the region including Lincoln Arts Centre, UK New Artists, Threshold Studios (Frequency Festival of Digital Culture), Zest Theatre, and Barbican Creative Hub
• Membership of Barbican Creative Hub (expected 2024), including hot desk and meeting facilities, as well as a curated Program of special member events
• An overnight cultural experience trip to an event, city, or festival, such as MIF to understand audience/visitor experience first-hand (MA and PG Dip Only). Accommodation and travel costs will be covered by the University. Students will be expected to cover their own food and general expenses
• The opportunity to apply to join The Lincoln Company – LSCA’s company of emerging theatre, dance, and performance makers, and LAC company-in-residence.

This program will enable artists and creatives who have recently graduated, and those already working within the industry, to maximize the transferable skills from their studies / professional experience to date and refocus on planning, producing, project management, facilitation, and leadership.

Potential career routes could include cultural leadership, arts management, marketing and communications for arts and culture, social media and content creation, self-producing artist/practitioner, fundraising and bid-writing, project management, accessibility champion, workshop design, visitor experience and tourism, outreach and participation leadership, arts education, or further study at the Ph.D. level.