Explore the key principles embedded in three different organisations in terms of co-creation and community led decision making for culture.

The Chairs Forum is a confidential regular meeting for those in voluntary governance positions in cultural organisations in the West Midlands with the goal of working collectively on challenges and opportunities facing boards.

Are you an artist, creative or organisation wanting to find out the latest in creative placemaking and wanting to put it into practice in Birmingham? Culture Central is working with Dr. Cara Courage, Birmingham City Council and key thinkers and ‘do-ers’ working in creative and cultural placemaking to deliver a day or practical information sharing and inspiration.

This one day workshop, with a follow-up online support session will support peer exchange, share contemporary placemaking practices in Birmingham and workshop a set of city placemaking principles through an active and exploratory workshop in Balsall Heath.

Following the recent autumn budget announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, the first Labour budget in 14 years, many are wondering how this will affect the cultural sector and the region. Take a deep dive with Professor Rebecca Riley MA (Econ) BA (Hons) and explore the potential impacts.

Culture Central and United By 2022 are teaming up to celebrate Black History Month with the Inclusive Network and UB22 Family. This will include a mix of wellbeing activities, panel discussions and networking.

In this upcoming CRU session, Passions, (I)Property, Pounds, intellectual property game-changer and Managing Director of Lola Media, Erica Wolfe-Murray will race you through new ways to look at IP and how it can change what you offer, own, earn.

This Inclusive Network ‘Late Takes’ session is a collaboration with the Art Riot Collective and friends of ‘Third Thursday’ in FarGo Village, Coventry. Art Riot Collective will host the Network for an informal evening of networking and knowledge sharing. We will then go and enjoy some of the open studios around the FarGo village as part of the ‘Third Thursday’ offering.

Join our next WMCRU session with Rebecca Davies, Co-Director and co-founder of The Portland Inn Project CIC (PIP) based in Stoke on Trent. This CRU session will offer the opportunity to deep dive into the values and principles, practice and partnerships of an organisation cited as an exemplar project of people led change.

Join us to find out further information on West Midlands Combined Authority's Activate Skills Development Grant programme and how you can apply.

As part of our Inclusive Network programme and the ‘Space Invaders’ strand of activities around skills, jobs and opportunities, this CPD offering will be a visit to A New Direction, an award-winning not-for-profit organisation that generates opportunities for children and young people to develop their creativity. We will hear presentations from the senior leaders of the team and learn more about their programmes, partnerships and networks and their innovative approach to engagement and training with young people.   

Through a facilitated conversation hosted with Culture Central, Imperial War Museums would like to establish a commissioning opportunity in the West Midlands region in consultation with local organisations and artists.

The Inclusive Network invites you to join us at: BCU Pathways

On behalf of the Schools of Art, Design and Media (ADM) at BCU, we are delighted to invite you to Pathways, an opportunity to explore how cultural organisations, creative industries and artists can collaborate with researchers to engage communities in impactful projects and experiences.

We invite you to join our vibrant, dynamic space where creativity meets activism and transformation. The Inclusive Network is a catalyst for change and sector transformation in the West Midlands, made up of new and seasoned professionals and a launchpad for the next generation of cultural leaders. Join our first event on 9th July at 12 pm to learn more about the programme and feed into how the network will develop as we move forward.

Richard Hayhow, CEO and Company Director of Open Theatre joins us alongside the Open Theatre team to share the practical resources created through the Culture Volunteer WM Access Champion programme. Join this session to delve into the resources and continue the discussion on how collectively we can create a sector that is truly accessible for everyone.

As part of our series of sector support activities for Cultivate Heritage, we are holding an exciting networking event bringing together arts/cultural organisations and heritage groups to spark new partnerships and cross-sector collaborations.

We want to support and facilitate innovative, multi-disciplinary approaches to interpreting and celebrating local heritage.

As part of Culture Central’s project development support within the Cultivate Heritage programme, we are delivering an informational webinar highlighting one of The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s investment principles 'Inclusion, Access and Participation' encouraging organisations to hold this principle as a high priority in the development of their heritage project. 

The Chairs forum is a confidential regular meeting for those in voluntary governance positions in cultural organisations in the West Midlands. After the success of our initial Chairs forum in Coventry in April 2023, we will be hosting three more in 2023-24. Join us for the full series of events.

Culture Central would like to raise awareness of the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s new 2033 strategy and Open Grants programme and support the development of creative programming approaches to heritage as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival Legacy offer through a series of events.

Join us for Culture Central’s first annual summit where we will hold space to acknowledge the past challenges, using them to build a consensus on how we lead for our future.  

Join Culture Central and people make it work to find out more about Collective. This is a space for potential applicants to the programme, for people interested in nominating other people to the programme or for those who are interested and want to contribute to the development of the programme.

Chairs and Vice Chairs of arts, culture and heritage organisations in the West Midlands are invited to meet to discuss the opportunities and challenges for culture in the region, and consider how we can share practice more effectively.

Culture Central are excited to be joining the ACE National Portfolio as an Investment Principles Support Organisation, with activity happening across the West Midlands.

We will be holding an online briefing session about what that means, what we will be delivering as part of our programme of work over the next three years, and what you can expect.

Are you a cultural organisation in the West Midlands that works with volunteers or would like to work with more volunteers?

Quarterly meetings are for all organisations who have signed up to the More Than A Moment Pledge (either in full or in principle) to come together and share their experiences of putting it into action within their organisations.