A day of honest reflection, critique, provocation and creative thinking.

Friday 24 January 2025, 9.15am-5pm
M Shed, Bristol

This year's Let's Get Real conference asks how digital can add value for cultural audiences, communities and organisations.

It will feature insights from 19 brilliant, brave and forward-thinking organisations that comprise this year's Let's Get Real cohort including Wellcome Collection, Shakespeare's Globe, Bradford Museums and Galleries, The Box and National Trust.

Let's Get Real is a collaborative action research programme that supports arts organisations in harnessing digital skills to communicate with their audiences, upskill their workforce and develop long-lasting digital transformation and organisational change. The programme was founded in 2011 and run by Culture24 until 2023, with it transferred to The Audience Agency as part of a merger between the two independent, non-profit organisations.

Why this conference now?

Time to reflect is not easy to find in the current climate, but it is vital if we are to understand the kinds of value that our digital activities bring to our organisations. What is working? How to evidence it? How to evolve how we work to ensure we can be responsive to changing audience needs and behaviours.

Our Let’s Get Real conference always takes an open and honest approach to digital issues, helping you to build your capacity and confidence and step back from the day to day and find a space where inspiration and insight is possible.

Alongside keynotes offering perspectives on digital and value from in and outside our sector, we will be sharing case studies from the range of experiments carried out by cultural organisations on this year’s programme
(Let’s Get Real: Using digital to add value). Issues covered will include ways to meaningfully interrogate data, using AI tools to study language models, auditing your digital skills, testing donation platforms and more.

Alongside these cutting-edge case studies, the conference will offer insights on the strategic challenges facing our sector and methods for supporting positive internal change and deepening engagement. Sessions will be a mix of presentations and panel discussions, plus the usual ‘crit room’ where as a delegate you have the opportunity to submit a digital output for a live peer review by a panel of experts. This is always a super-popular and brilliantly insightful session.

What you will get from attending

  • You will learn from inspiring projects inside the cultural sector and beyond: discovering how to articulate the value of your work against your mission.
  • Discover new, digitally-influenced ways to understand value, and take part in a day that recognises the importance of your experience and expertise in shaping how your organisation responds to change.
  • Gain insights into some of the best digital practice and thinking, inspiring you to experiment yourself and how to prioritise activities and avoid burnout.

Join us for a day of honest reflection, critique, provocation and creative thinking.

When and where?

Friday 24 January 2025, 9.15am - 5pm
M Shed,
Princes Wharf, Wapping Rd,
Bristol BS1 4RN


Ticket Prices

  • Limited Edition Special Tickets £99 on sale until they are gone
  • Early Bird Special Tickets £155 available after Super Early Bird Tickets have sold out, then on sale until 31 December 2024
  • Standard Tickets £179 after 1 January 2025

Book your place

Access

Accessibility information for M Shed is available here

If you would like to discuss any access requirements you may have, please email us events@theaudienceagency.org.

Travel

Travel information (by public transport or car) for M Shed is available here

With thanks to our conference sponsors and hosts:

Headline sponsor:

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Networking sponsors:

Conference sponsors:

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Host sponsor:

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What previous delegates have said about us:

“This was a wonderful experience. Topics were current, and you could see they were actual concerns for the professionals in the room. Moreover, the venue was fantastic and the organisation of the event flawless. In short, I am extremely glad I attended. I learned a lot and, most importantly, met really nice people!”

“Thank you @Culture24 for an inspiring, informative & invigorating Conference. What a genuinely interesting day with thought-provoking conversations & the opportunity to meet wonderful individuals. Feeling truly inspired!”

“Thanks to all those involved in @Culture24's Let's Get Real Conference last week – exploring digital practice and social purpose. There were some brilliant speakers covering everything from the gamification of hate to @LivityUK's use of gifs for social good.”

“Blown away yesterday at #LGR at our amazing sector colleagues.”

“What a fantastic day at #LGR. So much to think about and try. Need a lie down now.”