Touring for Everybody
Our New Touring Model is about going deeper, and creating community; building a Diverse City in every place we visit.
We want touring to work better for everybody.
We want to try something new that resets how we think about touring work.
What if we no longer brought a show to a venue, performed and left? What if instead, we bedded down in the communities we visit and gave them everything we have? The whole shebang!
We think that a new model that better serves individual artists, companies, venues, audiences and communities is possible.
And we need you to help us do it!
The old ways aren’t working.
For many companies like us, touring in the traditional model is just not a practical choice any more.
Organisations like ours like us, who are committed to accessibility, sustainability, impact and excellence, are going to have to change the way we work.
Help drive meaningful change.
No more visits so brief it’s impossible to connect to the community or make a lasting impact.
No more inaccessibly quick turnover of shows.
No more long, unsustainable journeys.
“This is radical. It's a blueprint for how work should be done – not perfection, but presence.”
– Claire Hodgson, Joint Artistic Director
We aim to…
- Tour new shows
- Provide excellent, innovative and sustained artist development
- Grow community engagement
- Provide meaningful work experience for young people
- Grow diverse future leaders
- Give disabled young people access to the Arts
- Create Arts networking opportunities
- Demystify the creative process
- Share our learning and expertise with our peers
We don’t just bring a show. We bring multiple strands of our work together in one place.
What this model looks like in practice.
Rather than arriving with a show and moving on, we’ll bring together multiple strands of our work in each place we visit.
This gives us the time and space to build relationships, share skills and create meaningful opportunities for local communities.
Being a Diverse City
It’s not just a show going on tour – the whole charity’s going on tour with a programme of events.
Become a Diverse City
We’re looking for venues, festivals, community organisations, schools, colleges, artists, funders and local partners who share our belief that touring can work differently.
Rather than presenting a single show, we’ll work with partners to create a richer, deeper relationship with place through performance, artist development, work experience, community participation, leadership development and creative exchange.
Together, we can build a model that leaves something behind long after the curtain comes down.
We’re not just redesigning how Diverse City tours.
We’re exploring a model that could help reshape how inclusive work is created, shared and sustained across the sector.
We want to work with:
-
Venues and Festivals
Who want to deepen their relationship with local communities and artists
-
Schools and Colleges
Who want to connect young people with real creative careers and industry experience.
-
Community Organisations
Who know their place and want to help shape activity that is relevant to local people.
-
Artists
Who want to collaborate, develop work and be part of a growing national network.
-
Funders and Supporters
Who want to invest in a more equitable, sustainable future for the arts.
-
Local Champions and Connectors
Who can open doors, make introductions and help us understand a place
Come and help build the future with us.
We’re currently looking for partners in Dorset, Brighton, Plymouth and beyond to help shape and test this new model.
Whether you’re a venue, funder, artist, educator or community organisation, we’d love to start a conversation.
/