The event invited attendees to look beyond the capital and explore the vibrant creative ecosystems flourishing across the UK, with nearly half of the Creative Industries being located outside of London and the Southeast (Creative UK, 2025). The panel featured contributions from: 

Louise Button, the Innovation and Regeneration Co-Ordinator working for Make CIC in Merseyside, who draws on her theatre and arts production background to lead the development of a cultural offer in Birkenhead. 

Annabel Turpin, currently CEO of Storyhouse Chester and the co-founder of Future Arts Centre, whose previous work at ARC Stockton continues to have a national influence on the way in which arts centres serve their communities.  

The Fabulous Josh, Artistic Director of queer theatre company Downtown Pompey whose practice is firmly rooted in the UK’s only island-city and now one of the leading figures in a bid for City of Culture 2029.  

Shabina Aslam, Artistic Director at Bradford’s Theatre in the Mill whose programming strategy reflects the make up of the city by featuring 70% Global Majority artists each season. For her, this approach is in part about resisting the national narrative that innovation only happens in the capital. 

Annabel opened the event by reflecting on her 15-year tenure at ARC Stockton and shared that being away from the scrutiny of working in a large city allowed her to experiment with new ways of working including setting up approaches to Pay What You Decide financial models being emulated by other organisations, setting up Venues North and investing in housing for artists developing new work. She also spoke about the diverse range of artists she got to support, and whose career trajectory were influenced by working at ARC and boldly concluded with the provocation that ‘London doesn’t need more cultural leaders, but the rest of the country does.’ 

Louise Button’s introduction followed and she shared how her early-career opportunities were shaped by her life in Lancaster. She connected with cultural leaders soon after graduation and went on to work with the city’s major Light Up! festival and LitFest. She was able to build out her network early on, and adopted a ‘say yes, and then figure out how to do it’ approach to the opportunities presented to her at the start of her creative journey.  

The Fabulous Josh’s work in Portsmouth is rooted in the lives and identities of local people, drawing stories from their community to build a portfolio of creative practice including club nights to mainstage theatre and now a major exhibition at the City Museum.  

All panellists acknowledged that working outside of London can be challenging, with the majority of financial investment remaining in the Southeast, although strategic projects including Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places programme and the wider Levelling Up for Culture agenda are aiming for better balance. For individual artists, the support infrastructure outside of metropolitan areas can be sparse but working as collectives and sharing resources can enable you to develop key leadership skill and grow your influence.  

To conclude the event, our contributors shared their top tips for emerging creative leaders which can be summarised as:  

1. Build your network 

Seek peers, mentors, and collaborators across cities and sectors. 

2. Be generous 

Support others, share resources, and open doors: collective success strengthens whole regions. 

3. Seek out models in other places 

Don’t reinvent the wheel. Find organisations doing what you admire and learn from them. 

4. Don’t underestimate your region 

Your hometown or adopted city is full of stories, people, and possibilities. 

5. Make your own opportunities 

In small cities, a single idea or a single email can set your career in motion.