What is the Campaign about?

Welsh language information

The Family Arts Campaign is a national Sector Support Organisation funded by Arts Council England and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation to raise family engagement with arts and culture.

Since our beginnings in 2012, we have focused on three main areas of work:

Increasing the amount and range of artistic work available to families
Increasing the quality of experience for families
Improving marketing to reach more families

We are here to support National Portfolio Organisations, museums, libraries, community groups, individuals, and anyone else looking to better connect families with arts and culture.

You can take part by signing up to the free Family Arts Standards and Age-Friendly Standards quality-marks, by attending training and events, or accessing our online resources library. You can also promote all of your family and age-friendly events for free as part of our Fantastic for Families campaign.

Who is running the Campaign?

We are a cross-sector and cross-artform initiative steered by a consortium of ten organisations and trade bodies. Our lead partner organisation is The Albany.

Logos of consortium partners: AMA, CVAN, ITS, One Dance UK, Society of London Theatre, UK Theatre, The Albany, Kids in Museums, ABO, The Audience Agency

The campaign is overseen by a Project Board:


Helen Featherstone	Deputy Director, Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Sebastian Cater	Head of UK Theatre and Workforce Development, UK Theatre
Charlotte Jones	Chief Executive, Independent Theatre Council
Cath Hume	Executive Director, Arts Marketing Association
Robert O’Dowd	Chief Executive, Rose Theatre Kingston
Gavin Barlow	Chief Executive/Artistic Director, The Albany
Matthew Swann (Interim Chair)	Chief Executive, City of London Sinfonia
Mark Pemberton	Director, Association of British Orchestras
Anne Torreggiani	Executive Director, The Audience Agency
Karla Barnacle-Best	CEO, Discover Children’s Story Centre
Alison Bowyer and Laura Bedford	Executive Director and Head of Programmes, Kids in Museums
Paula Orrell	Director, Contemporary Visual Arts Network
Frederick Hopkins	Head of Business Development and Membership, One Dance UK
Sarah Mears and Liz McMillan	Programme Manager, Libraries Connected / Libraries and Culture Services Manager, Slough Borough Council

Central co-ordination team:

Anna Dever	Head of Campaign
Rukhsana Jahangir	Campaign Manager
Sophie Evans	Digital Marketing Manager
Anna O’Connor	Digital Marketing Support Officer

‘Test Drive The Arts’ for Families

Online resource now available!

The Family Arts Campaign commissioned The Audience Agency and Mousetrap Theatre Projects to produce resources to help arts organisations reach out to new families and implement a family friendly programme.

What is a ‘Test Drive’?

“Test Drive is a programme of activity designed to increase regular future attendance by utilising spare capacity to encourage people to try a new experience in the arts”

We recommend you read The Audience Agency’s overview first, followed by Mousetrap Theatre Projects’ guide to their approach with the fantastic Family First Nights.