Arts marketing consultant, journalist, events organiser and trainer,
Ros Fry works with cultural organisations and individuals across Britain and Europe.
Ros was nominated for the 2007 Woman of the Year award for her work promoting the arts and her success at making culture more accessible.
Ros is a director of West Mead Creative Ltd.
The Arts Institute at Bournemouth runs an amazingly popular degree course for budding cultural managers.
I am teaching 1st and 2nd year students all about arts marketing and communications. Graduating students actually get jobs afterwards! You can find out more on their website
The Marketing Map is a useful tool I am creating for the Arts Marketing Association.
A wall-based practical tool for anyone working on a project which needs audiences or visitors.
It will explain the principles of marketing, offers a simple action plan for what to do when and ensures that your resources are well used.
We are currently road testing the Marketing Map and plan to launch it next Autumn.
Dorset Visual Arts organises Dorset Art Weeks, possible the larges open studios event in the UK.
They are having a think about their future direction and Chris Huxley and I are hosting an AWAYDAY for artists to help discover new future directions.
Published in Evolver magazine May & June 2008
Midsummer’s night is often a bit of a dream but Alum Chine, a beautiful coastal spot halfway between Bournemouth and Poole, is the scene this summer for an organisational nightmare when over a thousand young people, dozens of artists and performers, chunky JCB diggers and a fleet of ribs and boats spend a week creating Hubworld, a massive free outdoor cultural spectacle taking place on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st June.
Published in Journal of Arts Marketing Issue 30 June 2008
I have a secret confession - once I wasn’t very bothered about public engagement. My first job was at the Commonwealth Institute and though I was passionate about our product I felt the Education Department was dull and not worth publicising. Later, at the South Bank Centre I was fired up to tell the world about cutting edge dance, installations or contemporary music but community engagement had me yawning. Yes, we were keen to develop audiences but only so they could support our cool arts activities!
It was only when I had children myself and got involved with real communities with real people (as opposed to cool arty people dressed in black) that I fully began to understand the enormity of the task. Engaging ordinary people into meaningful dialogue with culture is quite something. Changing attitudes, removing barriers and developing significant cultural links demands time, money and commitment.
Continue reading "Real Communities start with real people" »
