AEA Welcomes Hilary Knight 

AEA is pleased to welcome Hilary Knight as Senior Consultant in our London office! We have been thrilled to have her join our team, adding to our multidisciplinary expertise through her leadership experience in digital strategy and new technologies, audience-centric approaches, and agile methodologies for the creative industries. She has been a champion for the use of creative thinking, experimentation, and adaptive processes to deliver exciting public-facing experiences and drive organizational change.

Bringing over 20 years of experience delivering growth and performance for creative and cultural organizations, Hilary will be working across AEA's global portfolio to support clients exploring innovative digital practice and projects, as well as exploring their broader strategic ambitions. 

Welcome, Hilary! 

Five Digital Trends Shaping the Cultural Sector

by Hilary Knight

In this article, Hilary reflects on years of running digital and multiplatform projects in large cultural institutions like Tate, Channel 4, and the BBC, and outlines five digital trends shaping the cultural sector today. 

Read Five Digital Trends Shaping the Cultural Sector. 

2021 Cultural Infrastructure Index

Last month, AEA released the Cultural Infrastructure Index. Now in its sixth edition, the Index seeks to measure investment in capital projects in the cultural sector globally, identifying projects with a budget of US$10 million or more that were publicly announced or completed within a calendar year. “Cultural infrastructure” comprises museums/galleries, performing arts centers, multifunction arts venues, and cultural hubs or districts, and projects tracked include new buildings, renovations, expansions, and adaptive reuse.

Our analysis finds that $11.2 billion worth of new physical assets were completed globally in 2021 across 211 projects. A further $6.5 billion of investment in 174 projects were announced. This was a record year for the volume of both completed and announced projects (and by some margin!), jumping up 103% and 34% from the previous year, respectively. Project budgets tell a different story, where completed projects bounced back from a dip in 2020 by $5.5 billion ($5.7 billion to $11.2 billion) and were the highest annual value of completed projects since AEA began tracking in 2016. Announced capital investment did not keep pace, however, falling by $1.7 billion ($8.2 billion to $6.5 billion) as median project values dropped 24% from $40.0 million to $30.5 million.

Explore AEA's findings in the 2021 Cultural Infrastructure Index.

AEA is Hiring! 

AEA is currently seeking exceptional candidates for the position of Senior Consultant to work across our portfolio of projects connected to the cultural and creative industries throughout the Middle East. The Senior Consultant will lead consulting projects, manage client relationships, ensure successful delivery of consulting assignments, and contribute to business development, thought leadership, and AEA's practice methods. 

Join us in our mission to harness the power of art, culture, and creativity to realize the full potential of people and places around the world.

Read more about the Senior Consultant position. 

AEA Consulting is a global firm setting the standard in strategy and planning for the cultural and creative industries.

We are known for our candid and impartial advice that draws on deep knowledge of the cultural sector as well as robust research and analytical insight.

Since 1991, we have successfully delivered more than 1,200 assignments in 42 countries, helping clients around the world plan and realize vital and sustainable cultural projects.