Association for Cultural Enterprises

Entries are now open in the Cultural Enterprises Awards 2025! Yes our Awards are back, and they’re bigger and better than ever! With 14 brand new categories recognising innovation and best practice in all areas of cultural income generation, there are now even more opportunities to celebrate your success and the incredible teams that make it happen. This year entries are open to everyone in the sector, and we urge you all to enter - arts, heritage and cultural organisations of all types and sizes, this is a chance to showcase your achievements and inspire others! From venue hire to visitor experience, clever ticketing solutions to fantastic filming initiatives and memorable marketing campaigns, we want to hear about all the innovative ways you’ve engaged audiences, created memorable experiences and generated revenue this year. Find out more and enter here: https://bit.ly/4e8o78T #sustainingculture #awards #culturalenterprisesawards #innovation #bestpractice

New blog! We recently asked Cultural Enterprises members if their organisations were going cashless. The results have given us an intriguing snapshot of attitudes within the cultural sector to a question faced by all businesses. In our latest blog, Tom Dawson looks at why around a third of cultural organisations are choosing to go cashless, why many others definitely won't - and how to weigh up the pros and cons for your organisation. Read it here: https://bit.ly/4eZ55lB #sustainingculture #goingcashless #hottopic

Museum Shop Sunday weekend is here! A massive 130+ shops are taking part here in the UK, Ireland and even Hungary, and still more are joining in all the time! It’s been truly inspiring seeing all your ideas come to life with so much energy and creativity, as we encourage everyone to Shop with Purpose this weekend. Why not explore what’s happening near you? Our website is brimming with festive fun and gorgeous gifts to inspire your weekend plans, take a look here: https://lnkd.in/e-BHqS5g Wherever you go, remember: shopping with purpose is about more than buying gifts. It’s an opportunity to support communities, celebrate creativity, and invest in the cultural world. Happy Museum Shop Sunday! 🎁❤️ Pictured: Meet The Chocolate Cellar at Port Sunlight Village Trust; Gorgeous gifts from Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum #MuseumShopSunday #ShopwithPurpose #ShopLocal #ShopUnique #GiftBetter #SustainingCulture

Hands up if you often find yourself spending hours searching for just the right image? Yep if you work in marketing, you've been there! Our new blog is here to help. We spoke to the team at Bridgeman Images, leading specialists in licensing fine art, cultural and historical media, about how to get the best out of your image licensing. Read on for some top tips to make your campaigns picture perfect ✨ https://bit.ly/3BeUDZk Image: THE ART COLLECTOR PEGGY GUGGENHEIM (with goggles) AT HOME - VENICE - 196?, / © Archivio Arici. All rights reserved 2024 / Bridgeman Images #sustainingculture #blog #imagelibraries #licensing #imagelicensing

We've super excited to have launched our new Online Member Forum - a completely free resource where our members can ask questions, share advice and make new connections, bringing together our community of over 500 member organisations. Topics range across all areas of commercial activity, with questions already being posted on dealing with disruptive visitor behaviour, the impact of GPSR legislation on cultural ecommerce, what ticketing systems cultural venues use, conversion rates for guidebook sales, Museum Shop Sunday and much more! Join the conversation here: https://lnkd.in/er8V3DZb #sustainingculture #memberforum #onlineforum

It's awards season! ✨ Lots of great opportunities in the Museums + Heritage Awards (details below), and ahead of #MuseumShopSunday we're especially proud to be partnering the Shop of the Year Award 🎁 ✨ Still plenty of time to enter our very own Cultural Enterprises Awards too:🏆 https://bit.ly/4e8o78T

Are you keen to launch a bespoke product range, but not sure where to start? Join brilliant product development specialist Matthew Henderson on 21 Jan at Hopetown Darlington for a Masterclass in creating beautiful and unique products that tell your stories, engage audiences and maximise profit. Matthew will take you step by step through the process of building bespoke ranges - from finding inspiration, creating artwork and working with suppliers, to launching your range and minimising financial risk. Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to enhance your current offer, this practical workshop will give you the skills and confidence to create truly unique retail that will drive sales and boost your bottom line. Book now, with special rates & free bursary places available for members: https://bit.ly/4g607Vi #sustainingculture #masterclass #productdevelopment #bespoke

With just a week to go (maybe less if you're starting early!), we’re excited to share that more than 100 shops in UK arts, heritage and cultural venues are taking part in Museum Shop Sunday (so far!) - from Shetland all the way down to Cornwall and Guernsey! Thanks to everyone who's taking part and joining our campaign to show the world just how brilliant, unique and important our cultural shops are - and what wonderful and creative gifts you can find when you shop with purpose.🎄🎁 And there's still time to get involved! Let’s get everyone shopping with purpose this Christmas. Head to the website to find out more:👇 https://lnkd.in/e-BHqS5g Images: The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, Royal Ballet and Opera, The Brunel Museum, Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret, National Galleries of Scotland #MuseumShopSunday #ShopwithPurpose #ShopUnique #GiftBetter #ShopLocal #SustainingCulture

Association for Cultural Enterprises promotes purposeful gifting with Museum Shop Sunday. https://lnkd.in/du763wH9

New blog! A week ahead of Museum Shop Sunday, we're talking about sustainable, ethical craftsmanship - something that so many cultural shops are keen to focus on, and for good reason. Homeware designer Victoria Eggs is doubling down on her mission to focus on sustainability, working with small-batch British suppliers, and proudly flying the flag for UK made. We caught up with Victoria about the benefits of stocking UK made products and why it matters. Read it here: https://bit.ly/4ftodcB #sustainingculture #madeinuk #madeinbritain #sustainability #ethicalsourcing #MuseumShopSunday #ShopwithPurpose #GiftBetter #ShopLocal