Business Planning

As Head of Communications and Engagement, I develop strategies and storytelling that help us to communicate with clarity, creativity and impact. Throughout my career, I have worked at the intersection of culture, communications and public engagement.  With my experience spanning iconic broadcast media, music and arts institutions,  I have led marcomms campaigns, events, partnerships and public programmes that bring people together through music, arts and shared cultural experiences. My work combines strategic communications with inclusive audience development, always with a focus on widening participation and creating meaningful connections with communities. I’m passionate about the power of culture to drive engagement, belonging and positive change.

Katrina is Finance and Operations Manager at people make it work, where she leads on financial management, operational systems and organisational planning across the organisation. She works closely with the team to ensure projects are delivered efficiently and sustainably, combining strategic financial oversight with practical operational delivery. Katrina specialises in financial strategy, business planning and organisational change for cultural and purpose-driven organisations. She supports organisations to bring clarity to complex financial and operational challenges through analysis, modelling and strategic planning, helping teams and boards make confident decisions and plan for sustainable growth. Katrina previously led her own design studio in the cultural sector delivering major museum and heritage projects across the UK and internationally. Working with organisations including the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Old Royal Naval College and National Museum of Ireland, she oversaw complex, multi-partner projects that combined creative ambition with strong financial and operational delivery. She brings a collaborative, values-led approach to her work, supporting organisations to strengthen resilience, improve performance and create lasting impact.

Amy Dalton-Hardy is a Midlands-based cultural strategist, consultant and producer working at the intersection of place, access, leadership and systems change. She supports artists, organisations and cross-sector partnerships to design projects, unlock funding and navigate shifting conditions in the cultural sector. Amy’s practice spans strategic advisory, organisational development, fundraising and facilitation - often working inside large, multi-stakeholder collaborations, from local authorities and universities to community-led collectives and national portfolios. She co-directs Propel Dance CIC (the UK’s only professional wheelchair dance company) and brings lived insight into inclusive leadership, freelancer pathways, distributed governance and equitable access to opportunity. Alongside consultancy, Amy mentors independent practitioners, supports emerging leaders, freelance artists and creative entrepreneurs. Driven by a belief that everyone should be able to thrive in the arts - regardless of postcode, background or pathway - Amy is passionate about building capacity, confidence and infrastructure across the ecosystem so that talent and community imagination can flourish.

Hi there, I’m Azieb, I’m a senior creative leader, arts strategist and writer, passionate about the power of culture to connect people, unlock hidden stories, and spark radical change. From 2019–2025, I led the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in Tottenham, north London, helping it become a nationally recognised home for bold, Black-led creativity. During that time, I secured Arts Council England National Portfolio status for the first time in BGAC’s history, founded the Tottenham Literature Festival and BGAC Windrush Festival, rebuilt relationships with the Local Authority, and built exciting partnerships with brilliant organisations like Talawa, Dance Umbrella, LIFT, Greater London Authority, National Youth Theatre, Punchdrunk, and major funders including Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Freelands Foundation and Barings Foundation.

Before BGAC, I was Senior Programmer at Southbank Centre, London, where I led Africa Utopia, an annual festival highlighting African and diaspora arts and ideas. I also played a key role in growing and expanding the Women of the World festival (WOW), including internationally to Somaliland, Nigeria, and Baltimore, USA.  I’ve also been a trustee of LIFT, an Artistic Advisor to Manchester International Festival, a patron of the SI Leeds Prize, and a member of the Mayor of London’s Black Cultural Events Advisory Group.

I began my career as a journalist, writing for The Guardian for over a decade and contributing to The Times, Stylist, and Vogue UK. I’m also the editor of Fashion Cities Africa and the author of My Fathers’ Daughter — reprinted in 2022 as part of Bernardine Evaristo and Penguin’s Black Britain Writing Back series. I believe that for work to be truly ambitious, it must be inclusive and collaborative. My specialist areas are; creative ambition, vision, artistic strategy, artistic development, racial and gender equity within the arts and embedding diverse practices.  I’m also a Hamilton superfan, but we’ll get into that another time. 

Hello, I'm Lily. I am a creative and cultural producer, consultant, coach,  and writer with a specialism in community and socially engaged arts. I believe that care is an aesthetic and creative practice and that the highest quality, most innovative work, which uplifts and inspires, creates joy and wonder, which takes risks, can only be made in a process which centres ethics and care. I love working with clients and companies whose work is rooted in socially engaged practices, in a sense of joy, in gentle disruption, in the belief that the work, the sector, the world, can be better. I love people who are willing to take risks, and I love to help them take them safely. I can help you to understand and articulate your mission and vision; develop your strategy; place participatory processes at the heart of your organisation; create collaboration between staff, artists, stakeholders, audiences and communities; mentor and coach your staff and teams, and help you design community and young people's programmes, shows and events. Organisations I have worked with include National Theatre, Complicité, Crafts Council, London Theatre Consortium, Theatre Royal Stratford East, English National Opera, Company of Others, Camden People's Theatre, 60 Miles, Young Vic, Down to Earth CPP, Krishna Istha. I’d love to talk to you.