Between 2013 and 2015 I was fortunate to be a Fellow on the Clore Leadership Programme. It is usually a one-year programme but I had my second baby in the middle.
Clore invests in the education and development of current or potential leaders in culture – spanning museums, galleries, heritage, archives, music, literature, performing arts and lots more – to strengthen the future of the sector.
Through Clore I’ve developed a network of outstanding professional friends and contacts across the cultural sector, and gained a new understanding and clarity of language around the challenges and opportunities facing the arts at the moment. I’ve learned to recognise my own strength in formulating new ideas, and I have more confidence to articulate a vision and make it heard. I’ve honed my skills in communication, and learned how better to enable others to reach their full potential.
As part of my Fellowship I was mentored by the wonderful Sir John Tusa, spent three months on secondment at Southbank Centre, attended two two-week residential courses, built relationships with dozens of other Fellows, attended conferences, had coaching, visited cultural projects around the UK and Europe, and completed several independent courses (listed below). In addition, Clore provided workshops, masterclasses and seminars on topics including Reputational Damage to Arts Organisations, Crisis Management, Diversity and Access, Digital Strategy, Organisational Memory, Branding, Working with Boards, Coaching in the Workplace, Change Management and working with the EU (held in Brussels).
If you’re considering applying for a Fellowship and would like a conversation, please feel free to contact me. My fellowship was supported by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, to whom I’m very grateful.
Courses Completed include:
Charity Finance, Statutory and Management Accounts, Insurances, Tax, Strategy, Risk and Governance – taught by Counterculture
Effective Fundraising Practice – Directory for Social Change
An Overview of Parliament – Westminster Explained
IT Skills – Happy Computers
Media and Communication Skills – Sounds Right
Introduction to Emotional Intelligence – Snappy Seminars, Southbank Centre
Activating Social Change – DiverseCity/ Extraordinary Bodies
How to Run Effective Meetings – Snappy Seminars, Southbank Centre
Organisational and Production Finance – Mark Rhodes, Finance Director, Sadler’s Wells
Working With and Understanding Local Government – Westminster Explained
HR for Non-HR Specialists – DSC
Conferences Attended Include:
Keynote Seminar: Developing arts, culture and the creative industries in London: funding, tourism, access and education – Policy Forum for London
WOW Women in Creative Industries Day – Southbank Centre
Motherhood and Creative Practice Conference – South Bank University
Developing a Digital Toolkit for the Arts Sector – NESTA
Arts and culture in the UK: Priorities for Funding, Partnerships and Access – Westminster Media Forum
I also went on study visits to The European Commission in Brussels, The Creative Quarter in Folkestone, and Krowji, Cornwall’s largest creative hub, to meet folk, look around and see how they do things.