The best way to understand how our voice works in action is to see examples.
The following pages feature instances where our writing doesn’t share our voice principles. Take a look at them and find out why they don’t work.
Click Next to discover how they can be rewritten in our brand voice, including explanations of what’s changed.
A world-class arts and learning centre, the Barbican pushes the boundaries of all major art forms including dance, film, music, theatre and visual arts.
Event calendar >
Dance. Film. Music. Theatre. Visual arts. Whatever you’re into, you’ll find it here.
Explore >
Source: Barbican website
Life Rewired will interrogate how artists are responding to a time when technology is simultaneously enhancing our lives and challenging our identity by creating machines with human characteristics. It will explore how scientific breakthroughs can affect us at every stage of our life; from expert and first-person perspectives on IVF to the personal and societal impact of lengthening life expectancy.
Get to grips with the tech revolution at Life Rewired. From IVF to AI, discover how technology is making our lives better — and more uncertain – than ever before.
Source: Life Rewired description
In 2020, our Beyond Barbican team is looking to consolidate its production resources into a new role which will work across some of its key festivals and events to support the continued development of this work. We’re looking for someone who is passionate about working collaboratively with a wide range of partners across all disciplines to create unique experiences for programme partners, delivery teams and audiences alike.
We’re looking for a collaborative, passionate Festivals Production Manager to make our Beyond Barbican events even better.
Beyond Barbican celebrates creativity outside of the Barbican with free events like Walthamstow Garden Party.
You’ll oversee production for our festivals and events. And work with programme partners, delivery teams and audiences to take Beyond Barbican to the next level.
Source: LinkedIn job ad
If you arrive late for the start of a performance or after an interval we appreciate that you will want to take your seat as soon as possible. We will do everything possible to assist. To limit disturbance to fellow audience members and artists we may have to ask you to wait until a suitable break in the performance.
We’ll help you take your seat as quickly as possible, but you might need to wait until there’s a break in the performance. That way, we won’t disturb the performers or other audience members.
Source: Box office and ticketing FAQ
Hi [GROUP LEADER],
We are delighted to invite [COMMUNITY GROUP] to Barbican’s latest offer: A Community View of Into the Night on Monday 18 November from 6pm. This landmark exhibition explores the history of cabarets, cafés and clubs in modern art across the world. Discover works of art, many rarely seen in the UK, as well as life-size recreations of avant-garde spaces. Please let us know if you would like to attend and register by emailing community@barbican.org.uk.
Thanks and best, [NAME]
Hi [GROUP LEADER]
We’d love to invite [COMMUNITY GROUP] to our newest exhibition, Into the Night.
What’s Into the Night?
Discover the history of the world’s most iconic cabarets and nightclubs — from Mexico City to Berlin. Explore life-size recreations, and get close to artwork that’s rarely seen in the UK.
When is it?
6pm, Monday 18 November Interested? Email community@barbican.org.uk …
Source: Community View invitation email
The Concrete Utopia collection is a unique collaboration between Apparel & Lovers and the Barbican. Flashes of primary colour, graphic lines and brutalist high-rises feature across the collection – all brought together in a minimalistic style. Every purchase supports the Barbican.
Flashes of colour. Bold graphic lines. Unmistakable minimalism. We’ve teamed up with Helsinki designers Apparel & Lovers to create the Concrete Utopia collection — inspired by the Barbican’s iconic architecture. Shop the collection. Support our work
Source: Shop poster
In the heart of the City of London, with excellent national and international transport links, the Barbican is Europe’s largest combined arts and events centre.
The AIM Gold accredited Barbican has 21 flexible and creative spaces that can be hired for a wide range of events, from conferences, AGMs and product launches to meetings, receptions, and weddings.
Together with state-of-the-art technology and a dedicated team of event managers with years of staging world-class …
Launch a product. Host a conference. Tie the knot. Whatever you’re doing, do it at the Barbican.
Space for everyone
21 flexible, creative spaces across our iconic building — rated AIM Gold by the Meetings Industry Association
Well-connected
Hassle-free, super-fast national and international transport links
Helping hands
State-of-the-art technology and an experienced, hands-on team to bring …
Source: Venue hire information
Many thanks for your feedback concerning your booking experience.
In common with many other arts organisations, we do charge a booking fee. The decision to charge the current fee was not taken lightly and was made in a climate where we are under considerable financial pressure. Together with a variety of other income streams our booking fee helps us to continue to offer a diverse artistic programme and maintain our iconic building.
We do offer a reduced booking fee for online bookings, and as an alternative …
Thanks for your email.
Charging a booking fee helps support our range of different artforms, as well as our iconic building.
In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need booking fees. But right now, funding an organisation as big as the Barbican has never been harder.
We know paying a booking fee on top of the price of a ticket is frustrating. That’s why we offer a reduced fee online, and no charge at all if you pay in person or by post.
Source: Customer complaints response
The Barbican has an ambitious cross-arts programme and we are incredibly grateful to those partners helping the Barbican expand its reach and impact around the world. The Barbican continues to work with an expanding network of embassies and cultural institutes, who last year provided vital support for productions and performances from artist companies in Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland and Japan, among others.
We’re excited to bring our cross-arts programme to people around the world.
To make it happen, we rely on the help of our growing network of embassies and cultural institutes. Last year, they helped us put on productions in Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, and Japan.
Source: Annual report excerpt
Over the last six decades, artists have consistently sought to destabilise the narrow definitions of gender that determine our social structures in order to encourage new ways of thinking about identity, gender and sexuality. ‘Disrupting the Archetype’ explores the representation of conventional and at times clichéd masculine subjects such as soldiers, cowboys, athletes, bullfighters, bodybuilders and wrestlers. By reconfiguring the representation of traditional masculinity – loosely defined as an idealised, dominant heterosexual …
Since the 1960s, artists have tried to destabilise society’s narrow definitions of masculinity. Why? To encourage new ways of thinking about identity, gender, and sexuality.
In this room, we explore conventional (and sometimes cliched) masculine subjects like soldiers, cowboys, and bullfighters.
By representing traditional masculinity in different ways, our artists challenge the stereotype of idealised and dominant heterosexual masculinity.
Source: Exhibition wall text