Arts Council England and Nesta’s study of technology usage and impact among arts and culture organisations.

Key findings

• In 2013, arts and culture organisations averaged 9.2 types of digital activity each; in 2017 this has decreased to 7.8.
• There have been increases in key activity areas related to business models, consistent with the rise in the perceived importance of digital – for example, organisations undertaking ticket sales online are up 10 per cent to 52 per cent since 2013.
• Almost 70 per cent of organisations report a major positive impact from digital technology on their ability to deliver their mission.
• There has been a significant increase in the proportion of organisations reporting a major positive impact in relation to audiences.
• Organisations that say they experiment or take risks with digital technology are more likely to engage in complex activities and report higher levels of positive impact, particularly on their creative output, distribution and exhibition.

Technology has impacted upon creative work and its associated industries in different ways. Digital Culture, a major longitudinal study of arts and cultural organisations usage of technology in England, charts trends in this area over 2013-2017. It looks at how organisations use digital technology in different ways, and the associated opportunities, impacts and challenges they experience.

The study provides detailed insight on digital for arts and cultural organisations to affect change within their own work, along with an in-depth analysis of the major trends to guide policy makers and sector support organisations. The report builds on previously published work in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Browse the results by artform.

Author

MTM London