Murmuration: WM Culture Summit 2026
Join Culture Central and the RSC as we continue to collectively strategise for culture in 2026
Date: Wednesday 18th March 2026
Time: 10:00am-4:00pm
Location: Royal Shakespeare Company, The Other Place, 22 Southern Lane, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 6BH
'Perhaps it is that we commit to murmuration and leadership that shapeshifts.
Perhaps it is that we commit to building strong friendships between leaders so that we can fall on each other when we need to.
Perhaps our leadership looks like living a rich and fulfilling civic life, so that we know that all of our activisms, all of our standing up to and for and against doesn’t have to come from one source, rather, it can come from many.’
Selina Thompson: The Challeng-portunities of leadership in 2025
Two years on from Collectively Strategising Culture we have taken action together in the West Midlands to deliver:
A Growth Enquiry into the Future of Cultural Investment in the West Midlands
A Workforce Strategy for the West Midlands Cultural Sector
A Creative West Midlands – looking at all forms of creative and cultural participation across the West Midlands
Charter for Equity – A framework for making the cultural sector in the West Midlands the best place to work.
We’ve built capacity, developed knowledge and created resources for us to deliver England’s first sector-led cultural strategy for the West Midlands. As a sector we’ve set out what our priorities are, and we continue to make change in the different contexts we work in, from commercial to social value, as venues, organisations, networks, artists and creatives. Although we all work in different parts of the ecology, we have a shared ambition to create opportunities through culture for the people and places of the West Midlands.
Murmuration 2026 is a space to report back on what we’ve achieved, as well as driving forward our collective impact, innovation and ambition. Through the lens of systems change, together we’ll be exploring what other sectors and leaders have done to innovate with audiences, workforce and equity; to inspire us to realise our collective ambition for the people and places of the West Midlands and take actions back to our work and organisations.
Why Murmuration?
We’ve chosen the theme of Murmuration for our 2026 summit to describe our collective leadership, at different levels and capacities, as a metaphor for our shared regional ambition. Our strength as a region is in our networks, knowledge and support for each other.
Who will be there?
This event is for those leading culture and interested in place-based sector change including CEOs, Executive and Artistic Directors in all scales of organisation, as well as individuals leading change in the sector. For the first time our regional summit is open to those working in other places wanting to learn more about what has been happening in the West Midlands, as well as contribute their learning from their places.
Our definition of leadership at Culture Central is not limited to experience or seniority. We welcome anyone who has an interest in the role of creativity and culture in regional development and strategy.
The summit is our annual members' conference, developed and guided in partnership with them. We also welcome non-members, affiliates and freelancers.
Cost: (non-members)
£125 (including VAT) for organisations
Member Spaces:
Band 1-3 Members - Turnover £1-4m
Four free places*
Band 7-4 Members - Turnover Under £1m
Two free places*
Individual member
1 free place* **
Outline Programme
10.00am Arrivals & Networking
Registration and networking breakfast
10:55am Ecology to murmuration
Welcome
11:00am Collective futures for culture
Baroness Hodge of Barking & Selina Thompson Artistic Director & CEO Selina Thompson Ltd.
11:45am A collective response
12:30pm Lunch
1:00pm Our role in innovation and systems change
Julie Temperley, Senior Associate, Innovation Unit
1:15pm Innovation for audiences, skills and equity
2:15pm Our roles in murmuration
Workshop/Breakouts
3:15pm Where next?
3:30pm Networking & Refreshments
4:00pm Close
Speakers
Baroness Hodge of Barking
Baroness Hodge of Barking
Margaret spent twenty years in local government, thirty years as a Member of Parliament and now sits as a member of the House of Lords.
She was a Minister for most of the Blair/Brown years serving in six roles. She was the U.K’s first Children’s Minister when she was responsible for developing New Labour’s Sure Start programme. She also served as Minister for Universities, Minister for Disabled People and Minister for the Arts.
She chaired the Public Accounts Committee from 2010-2015 and wrote a book on her experiences in that role: ‘Called to Account.’
She then established and chaired an APPG on anti-Corruption and Responsible Taxation that campaigned for a fair taxation system and fought to tackle economic crime.
She successfully fought off the BNP in her constituency in the 2010 General Election. She was a leading campaigner in the battle against antisemitism in the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
She chaired the Council at Royal Holloway University for seven years. She is a Professor of Practice at Kings College London and has been a Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute at Kings and a Visiting Fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government. She sits on the boards of a number of research bodies and think tanks. She also chaired Joan Littlewood’s renowned theatre, Stratford East.
She is the Prime Minister’s Champion on anti-corruption and has just completed a review of the Arts Council for the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
Margaret has four children, twelve grandchildren. She enjoys playing the piano, and often goes to the theatre, concerts and the opera. She loves cooking, gardening, travelling, family and friends.
Selina Thompson
Selina Thompson
Selina is an artist and writer, and the Artistic Director of Selina Thompson Ltd, whose work has been shown and praised internationally. Her practice is chiefly concerned with grief, love, and the world to come, and she seeks to make work that is visually striking, and lyrical, even while grounded in the grit of politics. She has led the company since its inception in 2016, and is primarily concerned with it centering those historically excluded by the arts, without compromising on rigour or experimentation.
She won the ISPA Distinguished artist award in 2023, and her credits, both with and outside of the company include BBC4, BBC Radio 3, The Royal Court Theatre, The Public Theater and BAM as well as theatres across the UK, Europe, South and North America and Australia.
Julie Temperley
Julie Temperley
Julie joined Innovation Unit as a Senior Associate in 2010 with a background in research and evaluation as part of large scale change programmes. As a learning partner in innovation projects and programmes, Julie makes data and evidence of different kinds inspiring and useful to practitioners and leaders working to transform the lives of the people they serve.
*Our events are often over-subscribed, and we want to make sure everyone who would like to attend can join us. Please note that non-attendance or cancellation of a free place with less than 48 hours’ notice (with reasonable exemptions) will result in us issuing your organisation with an invoice for £50 for irrecoverable venue and catering costs.
**We have 5 bursaries of £100 available to support individual freelance members to attend. These are prioritised for those who face financial barriers to attending and will be available on a ‘trust based’ first come first served basis. Please email info@culturecentral.co.uk if you would like this bursary.