16 brave and bold cultural organisations ‘Get Real’ about AI through supported experimentation and collaborative learning
After eight months of experimentation and collaboration our report sharing the learning from the 2025 Let’s Get Real: AI cohort is now available to download and read. A group of 32 leaders and practitioners from 16 UK cultural organisations came together to experiment, learn and strategise around the use of artificial intelligence in their work.
Three key themes emerged across the 16 sets of experiments – Emotions and people-centred practice; Experimentation, guardrails and strategy; Technological and data readiness. The considerations within those three themes, coupled with the detailed case studies of the 16 experiments have shaped five strategic and practical recommendations to support people working within cultural organisations to better navigate AI.
Download the report here for strategic insights into AI use and guidance on creating AI policy.
Jane Finnis, Consultant Director says:
“This cohort has been on a journey to understand how best to use AI in each of their own contexts. The report offers some hugely useful practical recommendations at a time when the sector is hungry for guidance - in particular, how our feelings about AI at a personal, organisational and societal level are the bedrock and foundation to our understanding.”
London Symphony Orchestra:
“Working together across the cultural sector helped us shape a clearer vision for how AI can support creativity while strengthening practical tools for accessibility and engagement. We came away with new confidence, useful skills, and a sense of community. “
The Box:
“The emphasis on rigorous evaluation pushed us to track metrics we might otherwise have overlooked, and their peer learning sessions helped us contextualise our findings within broader sector trends. The support network meant we could test, fail, iterate, and succeed with confidence.”
The 2025 Let’s Get Real AI cohort was supported and sponsored by Arts Marketing Association and Bloomberg Connects, delivered in partnership with Jocelyn Burnham and run in partnership with Institute for Digital Culture at University of Leicester with their Director and Professor of Museum Technology, Ross Parry.
Insights from the report have informed our choice of theme for the next Let’s Get Real Programme starting in May 2026 – Let's Get Real: Social Impact + AI. This new cohort will consider how artificial intelligence has the power to reshape the ways cultural organisations engage audiences, improve access, and create social impact. The Audience Agency is looking for up to 20 cultural organisations to join this year’s cohort, with sign up now open until the end of April.
Find out about the programme here
