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Participation in artistic activity is fundamental to the human spirit, enabling people to express who they are and to tell their story. Yet, too often, cultural organisations and structure get in the way of this, through the codes we adopt, the jargon we use, the perpetuation of a myth that true art is for the few not the many.”
Jude Kelly, Creative Arts Marketing.
Research Team
This project is being delivered by researchers, industry leaders and stakeholders who understand diversifying arts audiences involves challenging and changing traditional ways of working.
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Hilary Glow
Hilary Glow is a Professor in Arts and Cultural Management in the Department of Management, Deakin Business School. She is an author of books, book chapters and journal articles with a primary focus on research into arts audiences. As a teacher and researcher Hilary has in-depth knowledge of and strong networks in the arts and cultural sector. From 2012-2015 she was the Founding Director of the Arts Participation Incubator which investigated the ideas, practices and processes that enhance the public’s participation in and engagement with arts and cultural activities. From 2016-2020, Hilary was President of Green Room Awards – Victoria’s premier peer-presented, performing arts industry awards.
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Katya Johanson
Katya is Associate Dean, Creative Humanities, in the School of Arts and Humanities at Edith Cowan University. Katya has held this position since January 2023. Previously, she was Professor of Audience Research at Deakin University (Victoria, Australia), where she worked for 20 years and held a range of leadership positions, including Associate Dean (International and Engagement) and Higher Degree by Research Coordinator.
Katya has an interdisciplinary background in history, political and cultural studies, and a professional background in publishing. Katya teaches subjects on cultural policy, arts audiences, work-integrated learning, editing and publishing. She has worked with local, state and federal government agencies on research projects about the cultural economy, arts evaluations and intercultural arts initiatives. Her research interests include the experiences of particular audience cohorts (such as teenage readers, foreign audiences, and regional audiences). With Matthew Reason, Lynne Conner and Ben Walmsley, she is editor of the Routledge Companion to Audiences and the Performing Arts. Her articles have been published in Media International Australia, Continuum, the International Journal of Cultural Policy, the International Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, and Poetics.
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Anne Kershaw
Anne Kershaw’s research interests are organisational behaviour and collaborative processes in the arts and cultural sectors. She is an academic in the Deakin Business School and teaches into the Arts & Cultural Management program. In addition to her teaching and academic work Anne has undertaken a range of arts industry funded evaluation and research projects.
Anne worked as an arts manager in local and state government for over 15 years. During this time she developed arts and cultural strategies, designed new and innovative cultural programs, supported the development of local creative industries, and undertook feasibility studies for arts and cultural infrastructure. A focus of Anne’s work has been the engagement of communities that aren’t generally well represented in arts audiences. She is particularly experienced in arts and cultural initiatives designed to enhance local cultural identity and strengthen communities.
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Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor is Senior Lecturer in Quantitative Methods (Sociology) at the Sheffield Methods Institute, University of Sheffield. His research interests are in the sociology of culture: in consumption, production, and education, and its relationship to inequality, as well as in quantitative methods, particularly data visualisation. More recently, he has been working on questions of diversity in the UK games industry. He is the co-author of Culture Is Bad For You (Manchester University Press) with Orian Brook & Dave O’Brien. His work has been published in journals including Poetics, Sociology, and the European Journal of Cultural Studies.
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Abbie Trott
Abbie Victoria Trott is a research assistant in Arts and Cultural Management at Deakin University and has previously been a Lecturer in Drama at the University of Queensland. Researching postdigital theatre with audiences, Abbie is an experienced stage and production manager across community theatre, circus, and multimedia performance. Abbie is published in Australasian Drama Studies.
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Tracy Margieson
Tracy Margieson is a Higher Degree by Research Candidate in the Department of Management at Deakin Business School. Tracy is undertaking a PhD exploring organisational innovation and transformation in the performing arts industry.
Tracy holds post-graduate qualifications in Business Psychology and Arts and Entertainment Management. She is a creative and curious leader and has worked in a variety of arts management roles for more than a decade. Most recently, Tracy worked at Arts Centre Melbourne, where she was responsible for establishing and leading the Arts Wellbeing Collective, an award-winning, internationally renowned sector-wide program promoting positive mental health and wellbeing in the performing arts industry.