In May 2022, I was invited as a guest speaker to host a session called ‘Managing the Performing Arts: Exploring Entrepreneurship, Brand Experiences and Leadership as a Minority in Performing Arts’ at Birkbeck University to MA Arts Policy and Management students.

My talk explored entrepreneurship in the performing arts/festival sector, how organisations can design brand experiences that encourage audience loyalty, and how I’ve navigated being a minority in leadership positions in the performing arts and events industry.

In discussion with students, I posed the question whether as cultural arts practitioners/producers they viewed themselves as entrepreneurs. There was a discussion as to why performing arts organisations aren’t always considered legitimate businesses, furthermore, why operating in this way (less strategically) could be doing them a disservice.

We looked at ways they could bring about audience/customer loyalty by exploring the four quadrants of the multi-loyalty framework. In this, we found that performing arts loyalty is driven by experience and social connection.

As a guest speaker, the insights the students provided from the differing perspectives and experiences as cultural arts practitioners/producers made for really engaging conversation. There was something for each of us to learn.