Cultural Social Enterprise
Revolutionary Arts Group - supporting artists and makers in Sussex
The Revolutionary Arts Group is a business that has grown organically over the years. It acts as agent, manager and life coach to professional and semi-professional artists and craftspeople, and also operates the biggest arts listing website in the area.
Artists & Makers is a web-based networking resource for the arts in Sussex. Updated daily, 
there is an events section, information on galleries, unbiased and independent reviews, arts-related opportunities, links to other projects and free mailing lists. The site has around 750 people subscribing to its free service and 50 artists receiving a paid-for service. The website receives about 1,800 visitors a day.
The Revolutionary Arts Group (RAG) was set up in 2001, with its Artist & Makers website operational since 2003. The company is run as a partnership which, as co-founder Dan Thompson explains, has proved to be the best business model for them. “We are able to move and respond quickly to events as they happen. There is no committee to answer to. We are about delivering and doing, rather than talking!" When they were starting out, there weren’t the various models available to social enterprises there are today, although Dan thinks that they would still go down the partnership route if they had their time again.
They originally set the business up because they felt there was no organisation in Worthing (where they are based) offering contemporary art activities of a high quality. Today, as well as offering resources online, they hold various events throughout the year, the main one being the annual Artists & Makers Festival every July. This involves open houses, studios and exhibitions held in a wide variety of different, often surprising, venues; bringing art into shops, churches and offices in villages and towns around Sussex, while at the same time showcasing music, poetry and performance.
Artists & Makers considers each of its members as a small business in their own right, one who needs advice on anything from pricing to marketing. In this respect they are offered a unique service - they can attend workshops or benefit from individual attention. They can also show their own work in their own personal gallery on the website. Members join, 'skill up' and then, armed with their new-found resources, are able to go out on their own. This means that the membership is always changing, as people come and go. The consistency is in that the organisation is open to all; there is no distinction made between being a quilt-maker or a video artist, for example. As a body, Artist and Makers also supports other local groups - from samba to film clubs - offering them the benefit of its experience. As Dan says: "We have made our mistakes already and so can help ensure that others don't have the same problems!"
They have worked closely with local authorities since the early days, although there has been no actual financial support. They are always lobbying hard for public art and actively engage with councils wherever possible. As there is no dedicated Arts Development Officer at Worthing Town Council, RAG is able to go some way to filling that gap and acts as a much-needed ambassador for arts in the area. In fact, enquiries to the Council on art-related matters are often passed on to them.
Funding-wise, Dan is very insistent that despite being a social enterprise, this is still a business that makes money. It does this from having a healthy membership, selling work and taking a commission for doing so. It does receive occasional grant funding on a small and specific level for individual projects, such as from Horsham District Council to subsidise an arts festival in the town. This was so successful that Luna Davenport, Horsham Council's Arts Development Officer, commented, "With a finger on the pulse, an ability to respond quickly, and a real understanding of the needs of artists and makers, the service RAG provides is an invaluable resource for Arts Development Officers." In general, though, Dan is adamant that the business does not rely on handouts and is proud to be debt-free.
The rewards of running such an enterprise, according to Dan, are numerous, and he would recommend it to anyone. "Do it! It's great fun, and better than a 'real' job any day. We all have to accept the responsibility as individuals to make things better. No one else is going to do it for us!"
www.artistsandmakers.com
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