Cultures of Change: Arts and Humanities As a Space of Invention

NCACE invites you to join us on 10 December 2025 at 2:00pm (UK time) for a hybrid discussion exploring what sustainability and entrepreneurship mean in the context of arts and humanities research collaborations with the arts and cultural sector.

This session will showcase the ingenuity, innovation and creative approaches already shaping research collaboration. We will consider the wide range of values this work produces and reflect on how these might be more effectively articulated in narratives around “commercialisation and dynamism.”

Speakers include:

Professor Claire Gorrara, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Public Engagement) and the Dean of the School of Advanced Study (SAS)

Anna Disley, Executive Director (Programme & Impact), New Writing North
Dr Helen Williams, UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Associate Professor of English Literature, Northumbria University

Chris Fellingham, Co-founder and Director of Kindling Ventures & Director of ARC Accelerator

Matthew Harle, Curator of Artistic Programmes, The Warburg Institute

This event is aimed at setting the scene for The Collaboration Lab , a new, co-designed pilot programme to support existing partnerships between universities and arts or cultural organisations. The Collaboration Lab will help partners explore creative, practical ways to sustain their collaboration and impact beyond project funding, through a mix of in-person and online workshops, shared learning, and peer-to-peer support. It will be designed to encourage shared, cross-sector thinking across the cohort, building collective learning and collaboration, while also supporting individual projects and ideas that partners want to develop to help make their work more sustainable in the future.

The Collaboration Lab pilot will formally launch on 21 January 2026 with an Ideas Pool event designed to help participating partnerships identify the aspects of their work that have the potential to become sustainable, reflect on their shared goals, and begin shaping the Lab’s co-designed programme. If you are interested in participating in The Collaboration Lab, you can read more about the pilot here and register your interest in this short form.

Format: Hybrid (in person + online)

If you would like to contribute a short case study on your collaboration, please contact .

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