Take Art works with volunteer promoters to bring high quality live art performances to rural communities across Somerset. Julie’s Bicycle were commissioned to assess the environmental impact of this Rural Touring model.
In this analysis, four consecutive Rural Touring performances by artist Blair Dunlop in February 2024 were compared to a single larger-capacity show in a more urbanised setting. This involved calculating the carbon footprint of audience travel and energy data collected from the Take Art shows before comparing to data submitted to the Julie’s Bicycle Creative Climate Tools by a representative larger, town venue. This document sets out the results of the emissions comparison between the Rural Touring and central show model.
It finds that a rural tour produces significantly less carbon than a single theatre show in a town or city. And it illustrates the environmental benefits of small-scale multi-purpose community spaces where art is brought closer to the doorstep of audiences.
The benefits of rural touring over town or city productions were stark compared to the hypothetical single urban show:
- Blair Dunlop’s four shows produced 57% less carbon emissions per audience member.
- Audience travel emissions were 20% lower on the rural tour.
- Venues on the rural tour produced 90% less emissions.