About a-n

www.a-n.co.uk keeps on developing
www.a-n.co.uk offers fast routes into an information-rich resource that’s relevant to all engaged in the visual arts. Our in-depth features and content along with the Communities areas are designed to represent the multiple voices and wide range of activities and industry insights within contemporary visual arts.

When launched in 1980, a-n made a commitment to being "an open communication channel for artists". Although ways to achieve this have changed over the years, we’ve never lost sight of our vision. The adoption of Web2.0 into our repertoire way back in 2005 heralded a sea-change, in which our users were invited to bring in their knowledge and insights and share them across the visual arts.

Looking back over the last twelve months, we can see the success of this, with over 350 new blogs and 26,700 posts on Artists Talking, and some 300 self-posted Reviews and 2,000+ What's on listings on Interface alone. These with the subscriber Forums that encompass areas such as Critical discussion, Work/Life balance, Swap shop and Virtual Coffee House attracting over 10,000 page views in less than six weeks. And not just a Jobs and Opps listings site, www.a-n.co.uk/jobs_and_opps is providing a rounded route to who's offering work and why, through inclusion of Reports and the Employer Index, and a rolling programme of features on arts organisers and artists engaged in the world of visual arts work.

Explaining our editorial stance , Editor Gillian Nicol said: "We want to ensure there are effective platforms that give a voice to our users - a safe supportive environment where they know they are amongst a community of peers ".

Whilst many other visual arts organisations provide information to artists about what they could do and how to do it, our role is ensure that it's artists insights and needs that are visible, so that funders, promoters and enablers can easily tune in and tailor their funds, opportunity and resources to artists' changing aspirations .

Notes to Editors

a-n The Artists Information Company is a not for profit company that seeks to support and stimulate visual arts and raise awareness of the value artists in society. www.a-n.co.uk is designed to meet the needs and aspirations of visual and applied artists at all career stages, art and design students, arts organisers including arts officers, commissioners, cultural planners, curators, consultants, advisers researchers and educators. There are distinct routes in for each of these groups along with www.a-n.co.uk/research - a suite of freely accessible research papers and resources especially for policy-makers, funders and academic and cultural researchers. Our subscriber areas attract £3m page views annually, and we reach over 32,000 readers per issue through a-n Magazine, available in print and online.

First published: a-n.co.uk December 2009