Hashtags – a word, set of initials or unbroken string of words preceded by a # sign – are used on Twitter and other social media.
Using them in a Tweet helps other people search and find relevant content easily, and allows people to create threads of relevant content for other websites. These are some suggested arts-based hashtags with a brief definition. But there are no set rules – some people may use them and mean other things, or may spam them with irrelevant content.
Arts Funding and government cuts:
- #artsfunding is used for general news, links and discussion about government cuts to funding for the arts while
- #artstaxreform is about the specifics of reforming the tax system
Empty shops and pop-up projects:
- #emptyshops is used for general empty shop projects and news relevant to people interested in empty shops, the high street and town centres, while
- #popupshop refers to retail and commercial pop-up shops
- #retailready is a series of #popupshop projects for young people; Retail Ready People is organised by vInspired and The Retail Trust with help from the Empty Shops Network
- #workshop1a was the Empty Shops Network’s project in Shoreham by Sea, #workshop24 was the Empty Shops Network’s project in South Kilburn and #workshop161 was a nomadic project started on Rochester High Street
- #fortherecord is a pop-up record store
- #minlit was the Ministry of Littlehampton, a mass observation project
- #chaoslibrary is a pop-up library on the theme of order and chaos
- #popuppeople was a research project and workshops series by the Empty Shops Network, funded by Arts Council England, which created a report
Arts events:
- #creatingspaces was a conference in Newcastle, New South Wales
- #mirth was an event at Fabrica, Brighton in June 2012
- #madeinworthing is an annual festival in that town, which has become a guerilla think tank as well
- #shifthappens is an annual arts and technology conference run by Pilot Theatre
- #kissbythebook is Pilot Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet-based show
- #pierday is Revoutionary Arts event, originally on Worthing Pier but in 2011 looking for alternative venues. Help suggest them using the #findapier hashtag
- the #northernartprize is announced once a year
- #sota is the annual State of the Arts conference, organised by Arts Council England and the RSA – it has a dated hashtag as well, for example #sota11 and #sota12
- #AOH is the Artists Open House scheme in Brighton and Hove
- For late-night events every Friday at the V&A, search for #fridaylate
- #SEOS2011 is the hashtag for South East Open Studios – change the year for the latest events
- #shroparts gathers together arts activity in Shropshire
Places:
- #workshop1a is in an empty shop in Shoreham by Sea, #workshop24 is in South Kilburn
- #brixvill is a market in Brixton
- #lv21 is a floating art space (a former lightship) used for exhibitions, performance and more
Networking, discussion and professional development
- a meeting of people arranged via Twitter is a #tweetup – if it’s a room full of actors it’s for #twespians
- both #tuttle and #likemind are friendly, creative get-togethers fueled by coffee
- get involved with AIR campaigns, advocacy, events, planning, actions and dialogue using #AIRactivists
- curators can discuss their practice using #artistcurators in an a-n and Axis led discussion
- the Tate lead discussions using #tatedebate and the ICA do the same with #icadebate
- in Edinburgh, there’s a weekly coffee morning using the hashtag #EdCM
- the #getambition programme helps arts organisations keep up with digital developments
- once a year, there is a Social Media Week with lots of seminars, workshops and discussions using the #smwldn (for London) tag
- for general opportunities for artists, follow #artsopps and for jobs follow #artsjobs
Projects
- Some artists try to draw and pubish a drawing online every day – find them with the #draw365 hashtag
- a-n magazine encourage artists to blog regulary and use #artiststalking to promote their blogs
- #overheard conversations and snippets of chat – generally random but amusing – are shared by some artists and
- #tpsaa records the Things People Say About Artists
- #tpaaa records the Things People Ask About Artists
- #platespinners are inspiring people running multiple projects
- social artist Dan Thompson has launched worthingstuff.co.uk to support local shops, cafes and arts; they use #worthingstuff, #worthingart, #worthingstyle and #worthingfood – and the same set of tags are in use in Leeds
- #riotcleanup was launched after the #londonriots in August 2011; #riotwombles were the people who did it and they became known as the #broomarmy. (Other #riotcleanup hashtags were used for uk cities affected by rioting.) #riotraffle brought together artists and makers to raise funds for people affected by the #ukriots.
- #wewillgather is a hashtag that gets people together to organise small, local actions – to start an action, Tweet the hashtag, the word ‘help’ and a postcode and #wewillgather will start a page for you
General tags:
- #followfriday is a Twitter tradition where every Friday users suggest you follow people they find interesting; it can be abbreviated as #ff
- For artist-specific Follow Friday suggestions, use the hashtag #followart
Psst…You can always try a fairly wildcard search using general hashtags like #photography #letterpress #printmaking and so on.
Revolutionary Arts 