The Times Supplement: Working Towards 2012

The first of many supplements, The Times Supplement, dated 17 May 2006, offers a fairly comprehensive coverage of some of the key issues.  Its coverage of historical information is particularly interesting.
The main shortcoming of the Supplement, in my view, is the lack of coverage of Culture and its importance for 2012 and the period of up to ten years after the [...]

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Trouble Reported in Black and Minority Ethnic Theatre

The Arts Professional, issue 122 of 22nd may 2006 reports that the 'theatre sector has been criticised on race' and says that an independent report has called for a network of dedicated buildings to be established for Black theatre to reverse decades of under-funding.
Mirador will soon present its own views on this key report.

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Mirador Culture launches CDR

Mirador Culture has launched Creative Diversity Recruitment – CDR, a new support service for arts and cultural organisations. Only one of the areas of  its focus is on recruitment. We believe that no organisation can positively confirm its commitment to cultural diversity unless its HR policies relate to its business plans, its customer care policies and its [...]

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Making Sense of Creative Diversity

The terms 'cultural diversity', 'diversity', 'inclusivenes' and 'creative diversity' all represent various aspects of a common and ongoing debate.  The key issues of interest to investors in culture can be summarised by linking cultural diversity to sustainable development.
Beliefs, traditions and values are connected to various forms of artistic expression which help to create sources of meaning [...]

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How are arts organisations responding to the new opportunities?

Within a short period of time, if this is not already happening, an increasing number of arts organisations in London are going to be looking at the new markets leading to 2012 as an "opportunity". However, these efforts must be preceded by critical and objective reviews of their operations before they try to jump on the Olympics bandwagon!
Mirador has prepared an initial checklist [...]

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Just Out!

The economic importance of the creative industries 
What does the term 'creative industries' mean? How significant is the creative sector? What opportunities does the sector present?
In the past, consensus on defintions has not been easy to achieve. As a result the estimates of the size and importance of the creative sector vary.
This is straight from NESTA's website.  [...]

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Ensuring cross-cutting delivery systems

The early rounds of comprehensive performance assessments (CPA) carried out by the Audit Commission have shown that most local authorities have found the services commonly grouped under 'Environmental Services' to be amongst the most challenging ones to deliver. The challenges that lie ahead for waste management and recycling, street cleansing and maintenance, grounds and parks management, highways [...]

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Cultural Planning in East London for 2012

The submission of a successful bid to host the London Olympics in 2012 has created unprecedented euphoria and enthusiasm. However, many 'nervous' observers on the sidelines may feel that the people and organisations in charge of planning and delivery may not be able to meet their targets. Of course, people who work in culture bring their own [...]

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The worst-case scenario is unacceptable

The worst-case scenario is unacceptable. Instead Mirador aims to work with its present and future clients and partners to address the following:

Innovation and creativity. The markets for culture are changing  and the challenge in the next ten years is to resist a culture of providing ‘more of the same’.

New entrepreneurialism.  Local authorities and their partners [...]

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The worst-case scenario

The worst case scenarion presents major losses to the local cultural economies if cultural planning was to fail and local provision is not enhanced to meet the demands of new or expanding markets.  A worst-case scenario prevails where:

arts and cultural producers, community groups, local authorities, arts funders and business sponsors fail to analyse and scrutinise their [...]

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