Audiences, Engagement, Participation MA

Overview

Examine established notions of engagement and participation in the arts and culture, and discover how to lead and manage a more audience-centred approach to arts management and cultural policy.

The arts have enormous potential to effect positive change in society. However, participation data has uncovered a lack of diversity in the age, ethnicity, education level and socioeconomic background of audiences in the cultural sector, alongside a decline in overall levels of arts engagement.

This course allows you to respond and contribute to the highly topical debate surrounding strategies to increase engagement and participation, while pursuing your own interests and career ambitions.

Through a combination of theoretical analysis and research, you’ll explore the possibility of creating a more genuinely participatory culture while developing your own skills in techniques and practices of engagement.

You’ll explore theoretical concepts such as co-creation, co-production, and participatory governance, alongside investigation into community and participatory arts practice, the implications of digital engagement, and conceptual design of audience experiences.

Leeds has a thriving cultural scene, and our local connections allow you to interact with a range of partners including Leeds Playhouse, Phoenix Dance Theatre, the BBC, Leeds City Council, the National Science and Media Museum, East Street Arts, Transform Festival, and many other local arts and community organisations.

Flexible study options

We offer part-time, PGDip and PGCert options for this course, allowing you to study in the way that best suits you.

Learning and teaching

This course comprises a balanced mix of teaching and learning methods, including interactive lectures, small group seminars, small group tutorials, practical workshops, industry visits and case studies.

By the end of the course you should be able to demonstrate in-depth, specialist knowledge and mastery of techniques relevant to audience engagement and cultural participation and/or to demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of concepts, information and techniques at the forefront of the disciplines.

On this course you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.

Assessment

Assessment will comprise a balanced mix of formative and summative activities, and a balanced mix of assessment modes which are likely to include the following: individual or small group presentations, written reports, academic essays and an extended individual research projects/theses.

Career opportunities

This course will prepare you very well for employment in areas such as cultural policy, arts management, arts marketing, audience development, and arts education.