Where to start
The UK’s arts and heritage sector is extremely broad, and widely viewed as the leading cultural sector in the world. Employers include The Arts Council, National Trust, English Heritage, and Historic England, as well as numerous performing arts venues, artist agencies, arts consultancies, community theatres, festivals, outreach projects, and more.
Working in this field requires business skills, creativity, and a passion for the arts. Salaries are low compared to more corporate sectors (entry level £15-£20K) but job satisfaction is very high. Salary progression is varied depending on organisation size—a general Manager or CEO could be anywhere between £25K and £80K.
Arts and heritage management roles include event management, exhibition curation, music programming, concerts management, arts outreach, and arts conservation. There are also roles in the business side—finance, box office, marketing, fundraising, HR, project management. There are also roles in the delivery of the arts and customer experience – stage and production management, technical delivery, visitor experience.