Cultural Funding Ecosystems: Rethinking Value in the Arts
Queen Mary Centre for Creative Collaboration is pleased to have co- hosted a half day symposium on Cultural Funding Ecosystems with Arts Council England and Theatre503.
The event brought together cultural leaders, funders, and practitioners to explore how small and medium-sized arts organisations can articulate, retain, and build on the value they create for the wider creative sector.
The morning session introduced Theatre503’s innovative fundraising model, The Slate, which invites audiences to invest in supporting the development of new writing talent with the potential to see returns if plays go on to future success. The session then opened out to include group discussions on how organisations generate value—through skills, networks, and creativity—and how that value is often lost or under-recognised, sparking further reflection on sustainable talent pipelines.
The afternoon session, Holding on to Value, featured a panel of leaders from other creative sectors: Sophie Brownlee (Music Venue Trust), Julie Lomax (a-n The Artists Information Company), Elizabeth Robertson (Wasafiri Magazine), and Kinsi Abdulleh (Numbi Arts). They explored how different sectors articulate value, what lessons can be shared across ecosystems, and how grassroots organisations might collaborate to tell a more unified story about the cultural sector’s impact.
This event was organised as part of Queen Mary Centre for Creative Collaboration’s partnership with Arts Council England and brought together leaders from 27 arts organisations for vital cross-sector dialogue on shaping more resilient and imaginative funding futures.
Organisations attending included: Bush Theatre, Gate Theatre, LADA, New Diorama, Extant, Stratford East, GLA, Theatre Deli and many more.