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
125+ 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.
Industry-specific solutions
Generic tools make venues work around their limitations. The arts and culture sector has unique needs – from ticketing integrations to onsales traffic spikes. We build specifically for those challenges.
Evolutions, not revolutions
Change shouldn't mean starting from scratch. We improve the platform continuously, and every update reaches every venue automatically – no rebuilds, no extra cost.
Real people, not robots
Multi-lingual support comes as standard. You'll always reach a human who understands the sector. No automated chatbots or a billable-hours clock.
Inspire and be inspired
The best ideas come from the people using the platform every day. When one venue solves a problem, we build it in, then every other venue benefits from 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.
