About Lisa
Practice
I’ve been working in the arts and cultural sector for over 30 years and have a wealth of experience of
arts organisations of all sizes and descriptions. After years of disillusionment with the way audiences
were regarded [largely as beans to be counted or boxes to be ticked], I established The Experience
Business in 2012 to ignite purpose driven, audience centred, experientially focussed and community
rooted thinking and practice.
Whilst I’ve worked with many institutions, I am not institutionalised and so I’m able to call out the
mindsets and patterns that can often hold organisations back. Some call me a provocateur and a
disruptor. I like that.
My approach is probing, gently challenging, collaborative and facilitative, responding to the unique
opportunities and contexts of those I work with. The methods I use are simple-yet-profound, creating
safe spaces for people and organisations to blossom.
Positions
I’m the Founder of the Experience Business, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a certified
Design Thinking Facilitator. Between 2020 – 2024 I was the Associate Director of the Centre for
Cultural Value and co-designer/partnership manager of its innovative Collaborate fund, designed to
support innovative research partnerships between cultural sector practitioners and academics around
the subject of cultural value.
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I have proudly served on the Boards of Walk the Plank and Transform Festival, and currently serve
on the board of Handmade Productions, all of which are committed to creating innovative and
delightful work that connects deeply with local communities.
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I am also an Associate of the CKI, the Danish Centre for Arts and Interculture, and the MuseoSpace
Foundation based in the Netherlands.
Public Speaking
I’m fortunate to have been invited many times to talk about my thinking and practice including the City
of Cape Town Cultural Indaba [South Africa], Australia Council for the Arts – Arts Marketing
Conference [Canberra], Arts and Audiences Conferences [Reykjavik, Helsinki, Bergen],
Communicating the Arts [Paris], Connected Audiences: Museums and Emotions [Berlin],
International Council of Museums [Moscow], UK Theatre [London], Adeste+ [Turin], Creative
Bureaucracy Digital Festival [Europe], Culture Matters 2012: International Cultural Heritage
Conference [Norwich], the Balkan Museums Network [North Macedonia], the Federation of
Scottish Theatre [Edinburgh], Arts and Philanthropy Fundraising Summer School, TEATRON
[Helsinki] and numerous appearances at the annual Arts Marketing Association conferences [UK
wide].
Titles include:
- Visitor-topia!
- Designing Experiences for 21st Century Audiences
- Planning for Success in the Experience Economy
- Walking in the Shoes of your Audience
- Prototyping Your Way to Excellence
- If You Think You Know What a Brand Is, Think Again!
- Designing Public Value with Purpose
- Crossing the Fundraising Authenticity Gap
- Powering Up Your Creative Confidence
Lectures
I’ve given lectures and masterclasses on the subject of Creative Thinking, Experience Design and
Brand Innovation at the University of Warwick, the University of Leeds, Deakin University Arts
Participation Incubator Unit [Australia], the University of Sheffield, the University of Groningen
[Netherlands], the Royal Northern College of Music and LIPA [Liverpool Institute of Performing
Arts].
Research
For over 20 years I have conducted qualitative research, specialising in the audience experience of
buildings, customer services, brands, the arts, exhibitions etc. My practice was significantly enriched
by my role as Lead Researcher in an AHRC/ACE funded programme called Qualitative Methods of
Enquiry into the Arts Consumption Experience and its Impact [2008]. Together with the
University of Sheffield and Audiences Yorkshire, I conducted pioneering work into the potential of
qualitative research to reveal deeper understanding of the arts experience. As a result, I am now
steeped in the amazingness that is the human experience of the arts and culture in all its
manifestations, which inspired me to establish The Experience Business.
Reports and Workbooks
- The Performing Artist’s Audience Workbook. Downloadable workbook commissioned by Creative Scotland.
- Capital Works – Spotlight on the User Experience. Report commissioned by Arts Council England.
- Evaluation for Arts, Heritage and Culture: Principles and Practice. FutureLearn MOOC co-developed with The Centre for Cultural Value and the University of Leeds.
- A Review of Touring Theatre and Dance in Scotland. Report commissioned by Creative Scotland.
- BRAW, Website about a Paul Hamlyn Foundation ‘Explore and Test’ programme in partnership with The Touring Network Highlands and Islands, including written pieces: Devising by Design, A Sharing with Eigg, and A Rural Promoter’s Perspective.
Videos, Webinars and Podcasts
- Taking the Initiative – Radical Processes for Public Good, Powered by Culture. Livestreamed talk for the Creative Bureaucracy Digital Festival.
- Designing Public Value with Purpose. Webinar commissioned by Arts Council Wales
- Design Thinking and Public Value. Theory of Creativity Podcast produced by Patternmakers, Australia
- The Road Less Travelled. Talk about Artist Development at the Audiences Norway Conference, Oslo
- Audience Experience Design as an Audience Development Tool. Talk given at the Kulturutveckling Conference, Gothenburg
- Audience Engagement Programme. Video resource produced by Australia Council for the Arts
- How to Become Relevant. Webinar for the Network of European Museum Organisations [NEMO]
Book contributions
- Baxter, L (2010) 'Qualitative Research and the Arts: From Luxury to Necessity' in O'Reilly, D and Kerrigan, F (ed.) Marketing the Arts: Challenging Convention. London: Routledge
- Baxter, L, O’Reilly, D and Carnegie, E (2013) ‘Innovative Methods of Enquiry into Arts Engagement’ in Radbourne, J, Glow, H and Johanson, K (ed.) The Audience Experience: A Critical Analysis of Audiences in the Performing Arts. Sydney: Intellect
Articles
- Customer Journey Mapping and Wearing New Shoes. Arts Professional
- Experience Counts. Arts Industry Magazine
- Making Your Brand Essential Rather than Desirable. Journal of Arts Marketing
- The Team Meeting is Dead. Long Live the Team. Journal of Arts Marketing
- How to Develop a Research Question. The Centre for Cultural Value
- When Should I Use a Focus Group? Culture Hive
- Qualitative Research. Journal of Arts Marketing
- Top Ten Tips for Great Focus Groups. Culture Hive
- Exploring Qualitative Research. Guest Editor, Journal of Arts Marketing
- Are We Doing Qual Well Enough? Guest Editor, Journal of Arts Marketing