Culture Forward workshop sparks new collaborations across arts, culture, and academia

Birmingham’s creative and academic communities came together on Thursday 11 December for Culture Forward: Pitching for Projects, a full‑day workshop held at The Exchange. The event marked the first gathering of its kind for the Culture Forward network, designed to help artists, cultural organisations, community groups, and university academics form new partnerships and explore collaborative project ideas.

The workshop was open to both sides of the culture–university landscape, organisations or individuals interested in developing new work with academic partners, and academics seeking to build research collaborations with cultural, creative, or community organisations.

Framed as an opportunity for participants “to present proposals, ideas and projects … and explore opportunities for collaboration”, the day delivered exactly that. Attendees pitched concepts spanning community arts initiatives, research-driven public engagement, creative wellbeing projects, and more.

By the end of the workshop, several promising outcomes had emerged. Attendees formed links that are already developing into potential research partnerships, artistic collaborations, and co-designed community projects. Many attendees noted that meeting aligned partners in one place helped accelerate ideas that might otherwise take months to develop.

Senior researchers and experienced cultural practitioners offered ongoing mentorship to early-career attendees. These emerging relationships are expected to support project development, skill-building, and future funding bids.

Several pitches were identified as strong candidates for joint funding applications, with Culture Forward planning to provide continued support for refining proposals.

To ensure the event remained responsive and participatory, we used Vevox to collect live, anonymous feedback throughout the day. Participants shared reflections on the pitches, offered suggestions for collaboration, and commented on the structure of the workshop. The instant feedback helped facilitators adapt the pace, clarify questions, and support inclusive discussion.

One participant summed up the atmosphere of the day with a message submitted via Vevox:

“Thank you again for organising such a positive and community‑oriented event!”

The Culture Forward team plans to build on the success of this inaugural workshop with further events designed to strengthen the region’s cultural–academic ecosystem. With new partnerships already forming and several project ideas moving forward, the workshop has laid the groundwork for long-term collaboration benefiting both the University and the broader cultural community.