Data, partnership and insight reports on artists’ working conditions, career barriers, and ambitions
Applied addresses a crucial gap in data and analysis related to artists in England — specifically:
- visual artist working conditions,
- career barriers they face, and
- career ambitions.
While there are many initiatives focused on audience data, such as The Audience Agency and Taking Part, Applied is the only ongoing, artist-focused data project of its kind in the country.
Applied is made up of three key components:
- Applied: Partnership – A collaborative data sharing initiative involving arts organisations that engage with artists through open calls, memberships, and registrations.
- Applied: Insights – Analysis and interpretation of data gathered through the Applied Partnership, providing a deeper understanding of the evolving landscape in which artists work.
- Applied: Metrics – Data tracking dashboards offering headline indicators on the state of artists’ working lives, highlighting key trends in conditions, barriers, and ambitions. Coming Winter 2025/26.
We use new knowledge from Applied to design more equitable programmes, inform our reporting to funders, and strengthen collective advocacy efforts. By tracking trends over time, we’re also able to hold ourselves and the arts sector accountable in diversifying who we work with. Looking ahead, we aim to collaborate with researchers and funders to develop strategic projects grounded in this data.
Get involved
Finding out how you can better understand the artists you work with, streamline reporting, and collaborate on the UK’s only ongoing artist workforce data partnership.
If you’re an artist-focussed organisation interested in working with us, contact Nick Kaplony at Artquest to talk more.
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