CultureSuite exists because arts and culture venues have been stuck in the same cycle for too long – expensive rebuilds, generic platforms, and digital tools that weren't built for the sector. We understand the funding pressures, the small teams, and the unique demands of running a live events website. That's why we built something different.
Coen van der Poll, Jack Rubin, and David Johnstone at TLCC – a conference we've attended for years.
How we got here
In 2019, David Johnstone and Coen van der Poll met at a ticketing conference. They'd never met before, but they'd been having identical conversations with venues for years: the same frustrations, the same funding pressures, the same cycle of expensive rebuilds that left venues back at square one. David had built After Digital in Glasgow into a specialist digital agency for UK and US venues. Coen had been building Peppered in Rotterdam since 2000, working with over 80 European arts organisations on a platform built specifically for the sector.
Between them, they had 45 years of experience in the sector. And they'd both reached the same conclusion: the way arts and culture venues were building and managing websites wasn't sustainable.
That conversation became CultureSuite – the merger of After Digital and Peppered – bringing together strategic design expertise and deep technical knowledge to build something the sector actually needed: a platform that improves continuously, and adapts to the changing needs of the sector.
26+ years in arts and culture
130+ venues in our Community
Operating in 8 countries
3-weekly platform updates
"From its striking design through to its accessibility and speed, the website meets the multitude of overlapping needs of the business...."
These are the principles that have guided us for over 25 years.
Sector-specific solutions
Arts and culture venues work differently to other businesses, so we build for that difference rather than adapting a generic tool.
Evolutions, not revolutions
A website should be able to adapt as a venue does, without needing to start over.
Real people who love arts and culture
Support comes from people who understand the sector, included as standard rather than billed separately.
Shared knowledge, shared growth
When one venue's idea improves the platform, that improvement is there for every venue using it.
Shared challenges, shared solutions.
When Nationale Opera & Ballet needed a way to track and engage with ticket sharers – not just primary buyers – they came to us. Together, we built a solution. Now every venue on the platform has access to that feature, at no extra cost.
That's how we work. One venue's challenge becomes the whole Community's solution. 125+ venues across eight countries are shaping the platform right now.
Our team are a beautiful blend of digital professionals and personalities, with a passion for all things digital. They work closely together to share knowledge, ideas, and inspiration.
