Wifi tracking of museum visitors

Three UK museums have been tracking the wifi signals of visitor phones. It's early days, but looks like the technology can help measure visit duration, dwell times, and routes taken through the site. Creepy, but intriguing!

A closer look at creative skillsets

Unlike other industries, the creative sector faces a bit of an information gap on the types of skills required in the industry. This new Nesta study users job ads to shed light on the talent pipeline. Plus: sexy visualisations. 

Mixed results in latest UK arts participation research

Arts participation among those with a disability has increased significantly over the past 10 years, but there has been a significant decline in participation by the Asian population. The latest Taking Part statistics are food for thought.

Community projects should focus on fun

This recent evaluation confirms that real engagement 'cannot be artificially created'. It also recommends arts outreach projects emphasise fun. No huge surprises but a good summary for those with an interest in this field. 

Art meets artificial intelligence

A closer look at some of the ways artists are working with artificial intelligence. We're excited to see more big companies like Google initiating collaboration with artists. Watch this space, it's about to get very interesting!

Why are most creative industries based in cities?

An interesting look at creative networks and how population size and diversity play a part. It notes that creatives need to connect with others outside their creative bubble – their audiences and critics alike.

A Museum of Failure opens in Sweden

From Colgate frozen lasagne to a Donald Trump board game – this unorthodox collection offers a tour of the misguided (but often relatable) thinking that leads to a product bombing.

Meet the new Arts Council England Chair

Sir Nicholas Serota gave his first speech as Chair of Arts Council England at UK conference No Boundaries 2017, picking up on their 25-Year Creative Talent Plan pilot scheme. 

Podcast: self-care for the creative soul

This Creative Mornings talk in Edinburgh covers part of creative life that people don’t often talk about: creative burnout, depression and mental health. It includes some good advice for those feeling tired, mired or uninspired.

100 ways to be more creative

An insightful list of some great ideas for getting your creative juices flowing. Ideas are sorted into ten categories: Read, write, create, make, connect, watch, stretch, learn, stop and start. So, get to it!

Europe's greatest artworks in your browser

We're loving the new Chrome browser extension Art Up Your Tab. It brings full-screen artworks from the Europeana collection directly into your browser, meaning you get a fresh injection of art with every new window. 

Beyond the Bio: Jodie Bombardier

Come meet our new administrator, Jodie Bombardier. We are delighted to have operations maestro Jodie as part of the Patternmakers family. Join us as we take a few moments to go beyond the bio with Jodie.

New projects to sink our teeth into

We kicked off a new project with UTS Art this month, looking at the value of art in university life. The team is also busy looking at the impacts of theatre for mental health, projecting visitor numbers to museums and more. 

Connect with us on Facebook

This month we joined Facebook so be sure to give the page a like if you want to get our geeky industry insights straight into your feeds. We're hoping it will allow us to hear your thoughts on some of the above too.