I help places fund, govern and find space for culture – turning what a community values into models that work and last. After twenty years running cultural venues and programmes, I bring practical, real-world experience to developing sustainable cultural infrastructure.
See Money, Governance, Space and Impact for recent examples of this work in practice.
How I work
I don’t see projects as one-off interventions but as part of a longer arc. I start by listening – to the people, politics and existing relationships already in a place – because governance and funding are rarely built from a blank slate. From there I bring together strategy, engagement, financial planning and impact so that short-term wins and long-term resilience pull in the same direction. My aim is always to leave a client with something they can act on: a model a finance director can sign off, a structure a community can own, a case an officer can take into a budget round.
Who I work with
I work across the cultural and night-time ecosystem – local authorities securing the future of cultural assets, developers and landowners integrating community use that creates lasting value, and organisations and communities building partnerships, plans and the evidence to access funding. The work usually sits in one of four areas: money (new and sustainable funding models), governance (structures that are fair, representative and durable), space (affordable, flexible access to the places culture needs), and impact (evidence that goes beyond the numbers).
Background
Before consulting, I spent twenty years in cultural management – across a music school, a dance studio, a theatre and an art gallery, and managing performing arts programmes for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. My roots are in performing arts, events and operations management: the practical business of putting on work, balancing budgets, managing facilities and looking after audiences and artists. I’ve also worked inside the funding system itself, as a UK-based officer for the EU Culture Programme helping UK organisations access European funding. I hold a Masters in Cultural Policy and Management from City St George’s, University of London.
I’m a member of New London Architecture and Born or Made network in Brixton, co-chair of Spark the Noise, a charity promoting women and gender-diverse people in the music industry, and a Purple Flag assessor for night-time places.