Lorna Wooldridge

"I have always been involved in the arts for as long as I can remember. I was in a number of theatre groups as a child and teenager, and have spent most of my life playing guitar. When undertaking a BA (Hons) in Advertising and Marketing Communications, I got a fantastic placement opportunity at the Lawrence Batley Theatre, which was an opportunity to combine my passion of the arts with my degree by working as the Press and Marketing Assistant. By the time my placement came to an end, I didn't want to leave and stayed on until the BA was finished.

Whilst working a the theatre I saw some of the most clever audience development strategies take place, and became fascinated how a local theatre always managed to have a growing audience each season. It became clear to me how essential audience development is to the survival of the arts industries, and in order to explore that more I undertook the MA in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy.

The MA introduced me not just to the arts scene in the UK, but the rest of the world, too, and through research I got to explore how our funding system for the arts and the audience development strategies used here compare to that elsewhere. The atmosphere in Goldsmiths sparks creativity and was inspiring whilst researching. The tutors encouraged us to find answers to the current topical issues in the arts, and this led to my current Research Assistant role at The Audience Agency.

Since graduating in September 2016 I have been working as a Research Assistant at The Audience Agency, specialising in bespoke quantitative research. I work in the arts industries as a whole, museums, galleries and theatres, which expands on my knowledge developed in the MA. It encourages arts organisations to undertake their own research, and aids them in development of their audiences by understanding who their current audiences are."