Family Arts Campaign Evaluation released

Now in our fourth year, we are pleased to release an extremely positive independent evaluation of the Campaign’s initial three years, following the third successful national Family Arts Festival.

The report, produced by Catherine Rose’s Office and sam-culture, demonstrates the success of the Campaign to date by showing overwhelming engagement and a step change in the prioritisation of family audiences.

With over 2,000 arts organisations joining the Campaign and over 1,000 attendances at training events, the Campaign has inspired a huge range of arts organisations to come together with the shared ambition to cater for and expand family audiences.

The Campaign has been delivered by a new partnership of industry membership bodies. The first three years of the Campaign were supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Laura Dyer, Executive Director of Arts Council England commented: “The Campaign has built great momentum. It has highlighted intergenerational opportunities and created moments for people from different generations to share experiences. It has been fantastic to see the arts sector coming together to think about families; sharing learning, expertise, knowledge and best practice.”

The Campaign’s flagship initiative, the national Family Arts Festival, was launched in 2013. It reached 1.2 million families across its first two years, and encouraged and supported new work, with over 500 pieces of newly commissioned pieces specifically for families being presented. Overall, the report highlights a 61% increase in work shown for families across the country.

Darren Henley OBE, Chief Executive of Arts Council England stated: “The arts have the power to change the lives of everyone in England. And there’s nothing that proves this more than the Family Arts Festival. It’s particularly special because it unites every generation in shared experiences, so that everyone from toddlers to grandparents can enjoy the very best artistic creativity in cities, towns and villages across the country”

The third Festival took place this October and saw a successful partnership with BBC Arts’ Get Creative campaign to form the Get Creative Family Arts Festival, with 4,000 arts events especially for families taking place all across the UK.

Arts Council England has confirmed funding for the Family Arts Campaign until 2018.  The Campaign will continue to contribute towards a more resilient and better-equipped sector informed by shared purpose, new cultural resources and shared best practice. Future plans include a bid to Creative Europe for a Family Arts Campaign Europe, a continuation of its Family Arts Festival and Family Arts Standards initiatives, and further research into the family-friendliness of the arts sector as a major employer.

Download your copy of the report

10 December 2015