Dionne Swift, Designer/Maker and Co-ordinator of the Huddersfield Open Studio Trail.
1. How far in advance should you begin planning an event?
Gordon Parker, Brighouse
This will depend crucially on the scale of the event. For a large event, it is ideal to begin the planning process about twelve months before the event is scheduled to take place to ensure that there is enough time to organise venues, produce all marketing material and organise press coverage. The latter is particularly important as you must adhere to the publication's lead times and this may be months before the event actually takes place. Often, if you are organising what is to be an annual event, the planning for the following year will often begin during the current year's event, as you notice areas which could be improved upon and planning technicalities which should be taken into account for the following year.
2. Where are the best places to advertise an arts event?
Sarah Mansell, Thongsbridge
If you have room in your budget for spending on advertising, the type of event you are planning will affect the type of publication suitable for advertising. Most artists value the Artists' Newsletter (AN) as a credible source for advertising, however, if your aim is to target the general public rather than purely artists, this may not be the best option. Regional and local magazines and newspapers are more likely to attract your target audience and advertising in such publications may ensure that your advertising budget is spent in the most constructive way.
3. I don't have a budget for advertising but what are the best places to publicise an event for free?
Rebecca Jackson, Birkenshaw
The first thing to decide upon is the event's target audience as this will influence which publications are best to approach for an event's listing. If you are organising a local event, local free magazines such as Huddersfield Eye and Barnsleye are produced in high numbers and have a wide circulation, being found in many shops and cafes around the town. If you are aiming for more national coverage, websites and E-Bulletins are very useful to approach. The Arts news listing through the Arts Council is free and has national coverage. You can also place the advertisement as often as you wish. Another popular option is to advertise the event through the Creative Portal. Another approach is to encourage the participation of other organisations in the event itself and, therefore, you can use their contacts to help with marketing and to spread the word, for example, on each partner organisation's website. Another option to consider is local radio.
4. What is the best way to work with the Press?
Melanie Garside, Wath-upon-Dearne
In these situations, it is always fortunate to have built a relationship with a member of the press room staff at your local newspapers and magazines – unfortunately such a relationship can take a long time to forge so take any opportunity you can to build press relationships as you do not know when you will need to rely on these relationships in the future. It is always useful if there is some sort of mutual territory between you and the press contact. Such factors can then be utilised when required. For example, when HOST:05 (Huddersfield Open Studio Trail) was being organised, one of our press contacts also happened to be an artist. This was enormously beneficial for building up our press relationship and our network of contacts.
5. How do you find suitable venues for events?
Imran Ali, Rotherham
Again, networking is very important here. It is always best to have a general overview already of the availability of venues in your local and surrounding areas. This then gives you plenty of resources to pull upon when an event requires a particular venue or venue type. Studios, for example, are increasingly being used as venues for arts events, as they were for HOST:05. However, such venues should be approached carefully as accessibility is an issue which must be taken into consideration when planning an event.
6. What type of insurance, if any, needs to be taken into account?
Peter Evans, Barnsley
This will depend on the type of event you are organising and what venues and which artists are taking part, if any. For example, for HOST:05, 8 different venues were used with a total of 46 artists displaying their work. In this case, it was up to each individual artist taking part in the event to ensure that they had their own adequate Public Liability Insurance which covers against claims for accidental bodily injury or damage to property of a third party, should the policy holder be found liable. It is required by self-employed artists to cover circumstances where there is chance that someone may be injured as a direct result of their professional activities, including all types of public performance and live events, workshops, residencies, open studios and public commissions. For further information, have a look at the previous Ask the Expert Insurance topic.
7. What about Health and Safety issues? How do these impact when you are organising an event?
Hilary Taylor, Harrogate
Again, this will depend on the type of event to be organised. Using HOST:05 as an example again, any health and safety issues were the responsibility of the individual studios. Technically, adequate measures should already be in place, however, it is important that the venue addresses any issues frequently and particularly prior to an event, ensuring that any potential problems are either dealt with or explained to the visitors to the event, for example, any uneven flooring etc.
8. Is it normal practice to charge visitors for attendance to an event or for the contributing artists to pay a fee to help cover costs?
Martin Fairclough, Goole
I think this is a case of judging your market and the event type. If you are organising a new event, you will have to try and assess whether charging visitors to attend will potentially discourage them. A fee from the artists demonstrates a level of commitment from them to the event itself. If you do decide to charge visitors, or ask artists to contribute a fee, this will need to be reviewed annually and it will need to be outlined clearly what the artists or visitors should expect from their payment and what will be expected of them. This is particularly important if you are organising a large event with many different artists taking part.
9. What should I take into consideration in the marketing of an arts event?
Tony Osborne, Grimsby
If you produce any marketing material for the event, for example, flyers, posters or brochures, make sure this is included in your plan at an early stage to take into account time for proofs and any alterations that need to be made. Involving a designer at this Assessing numbers for the print run is very important and it is crucial that you do not misjudge how much material you will need. Unfortunately, being able to assess this accurately often comes from the experience of organising previous events. Make sure that you always keep back a certain number of each type of material for any last minute distribution and it is always a good idea to keep a sample of each piece of marketing material that you produce for your own records. If an event incorporates a large number of different artists or practitioners, each artist will have their own personal database or mailing list which can be used to directly invite people to the event. If you are publicising your event in a free listing guide, make sure that you approach the relevant contact in good time to ensure that you meet their deadlines. However, it is very important that you do not rely too heavily on this form of publicity as, often, such guides will not include your details and as such, they can not be relied upon as your only marketing device. You could also consider using Audiences Yorkshire's distribution service, 'A Y Creative Services', who can distribute your material for you for a fee. Contact them directly to discuss this option with them through their website http://www.aycreativeservices.com/.
Ask the Expert: Organising an Arts Event