Gerard Devney BSc, MSc, aFHEA

With a background in public and private sector communications and events management, in 2007 I  spent two years working in Japan as a language teacher.  On my return I took a more formal academic path in 2013 with a Masters in Public Relations.  Working as a marketing mentor for the Performing Arts Network Development Agency (PANDA) I took creative entrepreneurs to showcase their work in Brussels, subsequently pursuing a PhD in Arts Marketing.  Working on projects with Creative Scene, Dewsbury, the Free for Arts Festival, and conducting research with the Manchester International Festival, I have since developed my research in Audience Development for the performing arts, presenting internationally at the AIMAC arts management conference in Venice, 2019, and winning best doctoral research paper at Stirling’s Arts, Heritage, Non-profit and Social conference that same year.

Following my Masters research into Arts Marketing, I am currently pursuing a PhD into relationship marketing in the arts, investigating how an integrated practice with an organisation might help to broker access for broader publics to attend the arts.  Achieving a best doctoral paper award and bidding for funding to research the fallout of the pandemic and its affect on the arts industry has been a key focus of the last two years.