Tangram Essentials
Welcome to Tangram Essentials, a series of practical how-to guides covering everything you need to know about arts, culture and placemaking. We understand the unique challenges and exciting opportunities within these sectors, and Tangram Essentials is designed to provide you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed especially if you’re early in your career.
What you’ll find
Our expertly crafted guides cover a wide spectrum of essential topics, offering invaluable insights and actionable advice. From navigating funding landscapes and developing compelling programmes to mastering community engagement and implementing effective placemaking strategies, Tangram Essentials is your trusted companion.
Our approach
Each guide in the Tangram Essentials series is carefully edited by experienced members of the Tangram team, bringing their collective expertise and industry knowledge to the forefront. To enhance the depth and breadth of our content, we have used generative AI in the writing process, but every single word has been checked by a human. Our aim is to create guides that are both authoritative and accessible, providing you with well-rounded and informative resources.
Stay connected
We will continuously expand our library of resources. We encourage you to check this page regularly for new additions and updates, ensuring you always have access to the latest best practices and evolving industry trends. Sign up to our newsletter for news.
Find out more about Tangram’s services that can support you and your team here.
Community co-creation
This guide provides a practical framework for leading authentic community co-creation. For professionals in the cultural and placemaking sector mastering this is essential for building resilience, relevance and real connection. We’ll walk you through the core principles, from initial strategy to successful execution, enabling you to foster shared ownership and create work that truly matters.
Ethnographic research
Ever feel like you’re shouting into the void? You’ve crafted a brilliant programme, a stunning exhibition, or a thought-provoking play, but the audience engagement isn't what you hoped for. You've run the surveys and analysed the ticketing data, but you're still missing the 'why'. Why aren't people connecting? The answer often lies beyond the numbers. Sometimes it can be found in lived experiences, unspoken behaviours, and the complex context of everyday life. This is the domain of ethnographic research - a powerful tool for gaining deep, authentic human insight.
Focus groups
Focus groups are a powerful tool for gaining new insight into a prospective audience, but where do you start? For many in the arts and culture sector, understanding visitor motivations, lifestyle habits and consumer responses to everything from brand campaigns to new programming ideas is crucial. Yet, the prospect of organising and running a focus group can feel daunting. This guide removes the guesswork.
Internal Communications
Working in Comms, your focus is rightly on connecting with our target audiences, engaging our communities and delivering unforgettable experiences. Sometimes that means we don’t pay attention to what can be the most crucial connection of all – the one within our own teams. Internal communication can often be an afterthought, leading to siloed departments, mixed messages and disengaged staff who have not come on the journey with you.
Crisis communication
Reputation is everything as they say. It influences funding, audience loyalty, repeat or first time visits and crucial stakeholder support. But what happens when the unexpected strikes?
Community consultation
This guide provides a practical framework for effective community consultation. Whether you're a gallery in Glasgow, a theatre in London or a museum in Manchester, these steps will help you move from feedback forms to a dynamic process of engagement with your audiences and communities.
Away days
Taking a strategic pause shouldn’t be a luxury. It can be essential for reflection, planning and contemplation. A well-executed off-site can be an effective tool for galvanising a team, refining a strategy and fostering the connection. This guide will walk you through designing an away day that delivers real, lasting value for your team or organisation.
Transformation
Organisational transformation can feel like a daunting, abstract concept. Where do you even begin? How do you bring your team, board and community on the journey with you?
Executive Coaching
Leading an organisation is a uniquely rewarding and demanding role. You’re expected to take on many roles all at once. In the face of constant change, stakeholder pressure and the drive for innovation, it’s easy to feel isolated at the top. But what if you had a confidential sounding board, a strategic partner dedicated solely to helping you navigate these challenges and unlock your full potential?
Community Engagement
In a vibrant arts and culture sector, moving beyond simply attracting audiences to fostering genuine community connection is the marker of a truly impactful organisation that will add lasting value to the communities it serves. But what does authentic community engagement actually look like? It’s more than a box-ticking exercise or a short-term outreach project; it's a deep, long term and strategic commitment to building reciprocal relationships.
Fundraising
The arts and culture sector is driven by extraordinary passion and creativity, generating £123 billion annually for the economy. Yet, despite its impact, the sector continues to face a persistent challenge: securing sustainable funding. Breaking free from the reactive cycle of grant applications and moving toward a proactive, multi-faceted fundraising strategy is essential for long-term resilience and growth.
Policy
In the creative sector, ‘policy’ is often seen as distant from the day-to-day work of making and sharing art. Yet policy doesn’t have to be about red tape or restriction, it can be a powerful strategic tool. A well-crafted policy is a declaration of values, a framework for fairness, and a practical instrument for effective leadership and organisational transformation. It’s the invisible architecture that underpins and strengthens your mission.
Arts PR
Securing meaningful profile and awareness for your organisation can sometimes feel like an overwhelming task. You have a powerful exhibition, a groundbreaking performance or a community-led placemaking project to share, but how do you cut through the noise in a very busy market and actually reach your target audience?