Bums on seats

This may be a somewhat biased stance given the fact that I work for an arts organisation based in Manchester city centre, but to me Manchester is the cultural heartbeat of the UK. Whether you are an apathetic arts attender whose annual arts experience hinges on the latest Corrie dropout starring in the Opera House panto, or a budding creative type searching for a platform from which to bear your inspired soul this city has something to offer you.

One of the many perks for those of us fortunate enough to be working in the industry is that our diaries are crammed full of (often unused) invitations to press nights, openings, private views and previews. We are drowning in a canal of social engagements issued by marketing managers in the vain attempt that their event will be so spectacular that we will do nothing else but talk about it to whoever we meet for the next month. In reality, this is simply not the case for the vast majority of us who take our positions for granted. More often than not we decide not to attend at the last moment, throwing caution to the wind and our complimentary tickets in the bin as we head off to The Bayhorse for a quick pint and then a chippy tea.

Isn't it time to rethink who we invite to press night? We are living in a city that includes some of the most deprived areas of the country. Arts organisations, or Arts Council England North West at the very least, play at jargon tourettes: community engagement, audience development, increasing participation from "BME's" (the most despicable term I have the misfortune to work with).

If we must cheapen participation in the arts by dissolving it down to "bums on seats", can't we at least be a little more intelligent (and do I dare say it, but CREATIVE) about whom those bums belong to?