Murmuration 2026 - our collective future(s)
Join CEO of Culture Central Erica Love and Culture Central Leadership Associates Cara Pickering and Kat Hughes to reflect on what we heard at our 2026 summit Murmuration, what it means for the next year, the responses to the Hodge review of Arts Council England, and to collectively shape our future actions.
As Head of Creative Places at The Audience Agency, Cara works nationally to design and deliver place-based strategy, development, and projects. Her recent consultancy projects include co-creating a Cultural Strategy for Staffordshire County Council, evaluating the Mayor of London’s Borough of Culture programme, and leading the Creative Industries Council’s ‘Place Forum’. Most recently, Cara was the project lead for a collaborative research project, with the Centre for Cultural Value, focused on understanding and measuring cultural vitality across the UK.
Kat Hughes is a cultural strategist and creative producer with a knack for turning big ideas into lasting arts infrastructure. She leads the Stoke Creates Exchange Forum, a fast-growing network that brings artists, educators and community partners together to strengthen Stoke-on-Trent’s creative life. Under her guidance the Forum has blossomed into a go-to space for collaboration, mixing sector-wide networking and Creative Health partnerships with tailored support for early-career producers.
Getting involved
These meetings take place online at 9.30-10.30am on the second Tuesday of every month. If you would like to join the learning sessions, please sign up using the form linked below or email info@culturecentral.co.uk.
We aim to facilitate and accommodate all accessibility needs. Please do let us know below if you have any specific questions, needs or comments and we will do our best to meet them.
About WMCRU
Set up during COVID, our regular West Midlands Culture Response Unit (WMCRU) meetings were a vital lifeline for the sector in connecting, sharing and getting practical information and advice. WMCRU has continued to be a useful space for organisations and individuals that Culture Central continues to support as a collective and collaborative space for all those that are interested in the cultural ecology of the region. In 2024-25, WMCRU meetings will explore key strategic challenges and opportunities that affect the sector and the region.