A PATTERNMAKERS INITIATIVE
Growing Together
Audience development for arts organizations who want to grow — together.
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WORKSHOPS
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What is Growing Together?
Growing Together is Patternmakers' new audience development program, designed for groups of arts organizations who want to build audience connection without burning out trying.
The program uses audience insights as a springboard for collaborative learning. Participants take small actions regularly, develop the rituals and relationships required for long-term growth, and draw on the expertise of their peers.
Audience development, as we see it, is about fulfilling the potential of your creative work to connect with people. More than just 'bums on seats' — it's about making meaningful connections between your work and your community.
THE WHY
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The bandwidth gap
Arts workers are stretched thin. Staff wear many hats, and it's hard to justify the time or money for major research or lengthy plans.
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The fragmented audience
Audiences are harder to reach than ever. With shows running for one or two nights, there's little chance for word of mouth to spread organically.
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The accountabilityvacuum
Good intentions rarely survive without structure. Organisations need time and support as much as new information — and someone to grow alongside.
THE PHILOSOPHY
Growing a garden, not a campaign
Growing Together adopts the metaphor of gardening as a grounded and accessible framework for audience development. In 2026, there is increasing emphasis on sustainable, community-driven and regenerative approaches. This metaphor aligns with those priorities in four key ways:
| Principle | What it means |
|---|---|
| Care and cultivation | Audience development is not a one-off campaign. It requires ongoing attention and adaptation — much like tending a garden through changing seasons. |
| Systems thinking | Audiences are part of broader ecosystems — including artists, organisations and communities. Gardening is more than just planting or watering. |
| Mutual benefit | Terms like "capturing" or "targeting" audiences can feel transactional. "Growing together" suggests mutual benefit, trust-building and long-term engagement. |
| Current values | The metaphor resonates with contemporary concerns around wellbeing, inclusion and environmental awareness — especially relevant for cultural organisations. |
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
Four months. Eight workshops.
The program runs over 16 weeks, with fortnightly workshops of 90 minutes each. Each month has a distinct focus, building progressively from reflection and goal-setting through to action, partnership and celebration.
Depending on timing, a 1–2 week break mid-program can work well, with an overall program length of 24 weeks. This means it could run February–June, or June–November — or split across Spring and Autumn.
Preparing the soil
Baseline review and goal-setting. Understanding where you are now and what kind of change is needed.
Planting pathways
Building systems and growing sign-ups. Laying the structural groundwork — databases, profiles, first impressions.
Nurturing stories
Crafting resonant communications. Finding the stories that cultivate connection and sharing them with confidence.
Pollination & harvest
Strengthening partnerships and celebrating progress. Consolidating learnings and planning the season ahead.
WORKSHOP FORMAT
90 minutes that actually stick
Each fortnightly session follows a consistent structure — balancing new insights with practical application and peer learning. The format is designed for busy people, not academics.
| 20 min | Seasonal insight | Case study, research or provocation on audience connection, drawing on the latest thinking in the field. |
| 10 min | Individual activity | Guided work on your own real assets: reviewing website copy, mapping customer pathways, completing checklists. |
| 15 min | Peer exchange | Group sharing and troubleshooting — because the expertise in the room is often as valuable as anything presented. |
| 30 min | Task time | Protected personal time to tackle one or two actions — right then and there, with support nearby. |
| 15 min | Reflections & next steps | Reviewing what's emerged, and establishing intentions for the next fortnight. Slow and steady is the whole point. |
On alternate weeks, an optional 30-minute check-in is offered for those who want to build their toolkit of reflective practices and maintain momentum between sessions.
WORKSHOP TOPICS
Eight sessions. Eight angles.
Topics are curated in collaboration with you and shaped by your group's context, drawing on existing resources and filling the gaps that matter most. The list below represents our core offering — always open to tailoring.
Groundwork
Reviewing the baseline of reach and engagement, and setting meaningful goals and intentions.
Landscape
The why and how of looking beyond your current audience, and knowing your wider community and operating environment.
Architecture
Why the email and CRM database is the foundation for audience growth, and a practical database health check.
Nectar
Reviewing key listings and profiles to engage new audiences and make a great first impression.
Pathways
Mapping your top audience pathways and identifying friction points and energisers.
Weaving
Finding the stories that cultivate connection, and developing practical ways to share them with your audiences.
Pollination
Reviewing community relationships, identifying partnership opportunities and exploring cross-promotion ideas.
Harvest
Reflecting on insights and learnings, celebrating progress, and looking ahead to the next season of growth.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
8 fortnightly workshops
90-minute live sessions with a consistent structure designed to build momentum across 16 weeks.
Reflection practices
Optional 30-minute check-ins plus structured reflective practices to build the habit of regular audience development.
Digital discussion board
A shared Padlet (or similar) for ongoing conversation and peer support between sessions.
Resource library
templates and readings available for six months post-completion.
1:1 call with Tandi
with Patternmakers’ Director to work through challenges specific to your organisation.
Tailored design
Topics, timing and style are shaped with you and your group before the program begins.
WHO IT'S FOR
Made for groups, not individuals
Growing Together is designed for a cohort of organisations that share a common interest in growing their audiences — whether through a peak body, a funding program, a geographic region or simply a shared sense of purpose.
Performing arts producers and presenters looking to deepen community connections Regional or state-based networks with members at varying stages of capacity Organisations where one or two people manage all marketing and engagement Teams who want to move from collecting data to actually using insights Organisations who are ready to try something different — in good company
ABOUT PATTERNMAKERS
Research for good
Patternmakers has been providing research, professional development and management consulting in the arts, culture and community sectors since 2015. We have worked with peak bodies, local governments, State and Territory agencies and the Australian Government.
Growing Together is the culmination of many years of work on audience research, audience development and management consulting. We are eager to share this knowledge with cultural institutions for the benefit of Australian communities.
Our Director, Tandi Palmer Williams, is an industry researcher with a background in accounting, management, economics and post-graduate psychology — and someone who genuinely believes in the power of the performing arts to connect people with their communities.
10+ years
2026
Audience research in the Australian cultural sector
First Growing Together cohorts now available
Ready to growtogether?
Tell us a little about your organisation or network and we'll explore whether Growing Together could be the right fit.