Our Partnerships & Development Manager, Charlene Carter-James, leads on our exciting Inclusive Network programme. Learn more about what the programme is and how to get involved in her overview below:

Our Inclusive Network unites trailblazers, leaders, and creative activists to support, empower, and provide opportunities for traditionally excluded groups within the creative workforce. Through a mix of structured, semi-structured and informal activities, we aim to create a safe and nurturing environment for a diverse community of creatives.  Culture Central delivers an activity programme consisting of 12 co-created sessions focused on networking, care and wellbeing, safety and sector change. 

Join the Inclusive Network 

We invite you to join our vibrant, dynamic space where creativity meets activism and transformation. It's a catalyst for change and sector transformation, made up of new and seasoned professionals and a launchpad for the next generation of cultural leaders.

If you’re interested in being a part of the Inclusive Network, please complete the registration form.  

What makes Inclusive Network different? 

The Network aims to disrupt the patterns that reinforce exclusion by interrogating and challenging traditional networking approaches and democratising access to skills, jobs, and opportunities. We're creating a space where traditionally excluded groups can develop and thrive not just by opening doors but by knocking them down. 

Not being afraid to challenge the status quo - Our network is a breeding ground for radical ideas and disrupting the sector.

Nurturing leadership – Developing the skills, confidence, and connections to rise to the top and be the change. 

Critical friendship – Culture Central isn’t the authority, you are. Your voices will directly shape Culture Central's work. From EDI and cultural strategies to practical and tangible sector development opportunities, the network will be at the heart of how we shape what we do. 

Creating safe spaces – We want to create a nurturing environment where you can be your authentic self while pushing boundaries and taking risks. 

Keeping it chill – Fighting the power is exhausting. Let’s be radical in how we take care of ourselves too. 

Who is Inclusive Network for?

Our Inclusive Network aims to bring together individuals ‘traditionally excluded’ from the sector with an interest in personal development and sector change. 

By ‘traditionally excluded’ groups we mean:  

  • People from racialised identities 

  • People who are (d)Deaf and disabled 

  • People who identify as neurodivergent  

  • People from LGBTQ+ Community 

  • Individuals who are care-experienced 

  • People from disadvantaged migrant communities  

  • Refugees 

  • People from working-class backgrounds 

What does Inclusive Network involve?

The activities are a mix of inspirational and experiential activities, skills development and peer learning opportunities as well as the group acting as a critical friend to support the development of an upcoming Charter for Equity. A priority developed in discussions at our Collectively Strategising Culture Summit 2024 and included in Collectively Strategising Culture: Our Plan, the Charter for Equity aims to establish principles and commitments for cultural organisations to promote equity, fair treatment, and inclusion within the cultural workforce as well as Culture Central’s wider strategic activity.

Your Network, your voice

It's your network, shaped by your needs and your vision for change. (Y)our Inc Net sessions include:

  1. Space Invaders - Where we look outward with trips, visits, and guided excursions. Where are the thriving arts and culture scenes in the country? Who/what/where can we learn from? Or is it a picnic for the group at a heritage site? Let’s take up space and go visit! 

  2. HeadSpace – Tell us how you want to unload some of the emotional and mental baggage we accumulate navigating the sector in the current climate.  Lets retreat! 

  3. Late Takes – Anything from intimate fireside talks with your favourite thought leader, artist, or innovator, to a group of us crashin’ the party at an upcoming cultural event.  

  4. Upskill and Upgrade – How can we support your development and what does it look like? Masterclass, workshops, webinar? You tell us. 

  5. Random Socials – Initiated by you, keep it low-key and informal with networking drinks/eats at your favourite spot. You don’t need Culture Central hanging around all the time… unless it’s to buy the first round!

2025/2026 Events:

Inc Net 2025 Briefing (Online) - Thursday 8th May, 12pm-1pm
Theme: Welcome to Year 2
An online session to introduce the refreshed Inclusive Network offer. We'll outline this year’s themes, upcoming opportunities, and how members can get involved in shaping the network’s direction.

7th May - Late Takes: Inc Net x Stoke Creates
Theme: Local Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
A creative exchange connecting Inc Net members with peers in Stoke. An opportunity to build relationships, share practice, and explore future collaboration across the region.

20th May - Co-Work with Culture Central
Theme: Peer Support in Practice
A relaxed, drop-in session for Inc Net members to work side-by-side with peers. A space to pause, focus, or bounce around ideas with others.

3rd June - Co-Work with Culture Central
Theme: Community and Creative Routine
Designed for freelancers and creatives who need a flexible space to work and connect. Bring your laptop or notebook and join the Culture Central team for the day.

16th-20th June - Radical Listening Week 2025
Theme: Radical Inclusion
This week-long programme explores what radical inclusion looks like across the sector. Using the 10 Principles of Disability Justice as a framework, this week invites the sector to reimagine access beyond compliance.

Each Radical Listening session offers a different way to engage – with talks, takeovers, and creative provocations shaped by the lived experience of traditionally excluded groups and will also build on the research and recommendations for the Charter for Equity by Dr Lucy Lopez, pushing for deeper reflection and practical action on equity in the arts.

The week includes a symposium in partnership with Open Theatre, highlighting the creative potential that inclusive practice can unlock.

16th June - Radical Listening Week Launch – A Symposium: Opening Up Access
Theme: Innovation Through Access
In partnership with Open Theatre, we are making the case for access as a driver of creative innovation. This symposium is the launch of Radical Listening Week 2025, introducing the themes that have emerged from the Charter for Equity research by Dr Lucy Lopez and centring the voices of (d)Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent voices. We will share real-world examples of how inclusive practice can unlock talent and shift the sector with Open Theatre’s ‘Opening Up Access’ Framework and then take a look at the provocations set to be explored by other traditionally excluded groups for the rest of Radical Listening Week.

19th June - Radical Listening Members’ Breakfast
Theme: Leadership, Equity, and Accountability
A peer-led session where seniors leaders from our member organisations explore how to embed equity in their in their working conditions and practice that aligns with the Charter for Equity proposition.

8th July - Co-Work with Culture Central
Theme: Holding Space for Creative Thinking
Join other Inc Net members in a quiet, focused space. These monthly sessions are about keeping momentum and having time to think, write or plan with others around.

23rd July - HeadSpace: Care Without Permission: Co-Creating the Inc Net Radical Care Manifesto
Theme: Radical Wellbeing and Cultural Health
An evening of reflection, conversation, and collective authorship as we create our first Radical Care Manifesto, a shared commitment to how we work, rest, and support each other.

22nd August - Random Social: Summer Picnic
Theme: Collaborate, Connect, and Decompress
Join us for a chilled afternoon in the park with fellow Inclusive Network members.

9th September - Co-Work with Culture Central
Theme: Holding Space for Creative Thinking
Join other Inc Net members in a quiet, focused space. These monthly sessions are about keeping momentum and having time to think, write or plan with others around.

24th September - Late Takes: Creative Circle
Theme: New Economies: Creative Sustainability and Alternative Models
A group discussion exploring how creatives are building sustainable practices, community wealth, and alternative economic models.

3rd October - Upskill & Upgrade: Creative Scratch
Theme: Developing Your Practice
A practical, interactive event where Inc Net members can lead taster workshops, test new ideas, or facilitate creative conversations. Open to all levels of experience.

8th October - Upskill & Upgrade: Arts Council England Developing your Creative Practice (DYCP) Application Workshop
Theme: Developing Your Practice
Thinking about applying in the next round? Join a focused workshop to shape your idea and plan a strong and compelling application. Watch the recording here.

14th October- Co-Work with Culture Central
Theme: Holding Space for Creative Thinking
Join other Inc Net members in a quiet, focused space. These monthly sessions are about keeping momentum and having time to think, write or plan with others around.

11th November - Co-Work with Culture Central
Theme: Holding Space for Creative Thinking
Join other Inc Net members in a quiet, focused space. These monthly sessions are about keeping momentum and having time to think, write or plan with others around.

27th November 2025 - Space Invaders: ‘Stories That Made Us’ Dinner Party
Theme: Reframing Creative Identities

A focus on creative identity, migration narratives, belonging and storytelling through diverse creative practices - Inc Net members are invited to a ‘dinner party’ to experience and discuss the exhibition ‘Stories That Made Us - Roots, Resilience, Representation’.

Background and Context

The roots of the Inclusive Network programme for Culture Central can be traced back to the Convene, Challenge, Connect sector development programme, which we delivered for the Birmingham 2022 Festival. This initiative was a response to research carried out by Coventry University through freelancer focus groups which aimed to support the development of traditionally excluded creatives in the West Midlands. 

Building on this foundation, the work of equity, diversity and inclusion-focused sector development has since evolved into various other Culture Central programmes, including: the Collective leadership programme, and the 'Diverse Artists, Diverse Audiences' strand of our B2022 Festival Legacy programme in which we partnered with More than a Moment to deliver a Radical Listening Week event in 2023. Collectively, this work has led to the creation of our current Inclusive Network programme.

The power of the Network

We recognise that the sector still operates within a system of hierarchy and elitism, and within the arts and culture sector, networks equal social and cultural capital. This reality has historically allowed certain individuals to thrive while others face barriers.  

Bringing together traditionally excluded groups has profound implications for the arts and culture sector. When we come together collectively, our experiences of exclusion and isolation can spark real creativity and innovation, artistically leading to fresh perspectives and boundary-pushing works that challenge the status quo. Culturally, it celebrates our collective experience by amplifying diverse voices and stories, whilst creating a platform for advocacy, representation, and systemic change. 

This project is funded as part of our Arts Council England IPSO work.

Header image: Young people rehearse as part of the CBSO’s Project Remix ensemble. River Rea