UK Creative Community Fellows is an online and in-person learning experience which brings together artists, community organisers, administrators and entrepreneurs from around the United Kingdom to explore new tools and frameworks around driving physical or social transformations through arts and culture. You’ll learn to make deeper connections with your community and build key partnerships with local organisations that will see your project thrive. It’s an opportunity to be part of something bigger, to learn life-changing skills, and to see dreams become reality.

25 arts and culture entrepreneurs have been selected for the 2021 UK Creative Community Fellows. Click here to meet the new cohort of Fellows for 2021.

Applications to UK Creative Community Fellows are currently closed. Sign up to receive program updates and be notified when applications open for the 2022 cohort!

Have a question? Reach out to us at info@artstrategies.org.

You are… a creative change maker in your community. You’re an artist, community organiser, administrator or entrepreneur using arts and culture in a project to drive equitable social or physical transformations in your world.

You have… a good start, but want to take your project to the next level. You’re curious, collaborative, have an open mind and are determined to tackle the challenges ahead.

You want… to join a community of practice that will hold you accountable. Fellows are an incredible community dedicated to learning from and sharing with each other long after the programme has ended.

You’ll gain… understanding of strategy, design thinking and leadership from faculty at the United States’ prestigious University of Pennsylvania, NAS, Derby Museums, local mentors and practitioners in the field, as well as your peers. You’re eager to contribute your skills and take the time to apply what you learn.

You’ll use… your new knowledge right away. Together, we’ll test, adapt and build on your work. You’ll walk away with clarity…and a game plan.

Your journey begins with a virtual welcome party to meet the other members of your cohort and look at your goals, followed by a four-month focused online learning curriculum centred on:

• Strategy: Clarifying your project’s unique value and position in your community
• Design Thinking: Learning a people-centred, cyclical process for developing and testing new ideas
• Leadership: Developing a growth mindset and a way of leading that stems from your values

The programme culminates with the Creative Community House, five days of living and learning alongside one another at an incubator-like environment in Yorkshire!

July 2021
Welcome Party (Online)

August 2021 – October 2021
Online Learning Modules

10 – 15 November 2021
Creative Community House (In-Person*)

December 2021
Winter Retreat (Online)

2022
Reunions and alumni activities

* Pending guidance on COVID safety protocols

94 % of Fellows said they gained new skills relevant to their work

90% of Fellows shared learnings from the programme with their collaborators and organisations

Thanks to the generous support of Arts Council England and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch), all programme fees (£10,000) are completely underwritten.

Fellows are responsible for their transportation to and from the in-person Creative Community House in November 2021.

UK Creative Community Fellows is about action and we recognise that this work happens in stages. The most competitive applicants will be those who already have a good start and are working alongside local partners in their community.

No more UK Creative Community Fellows webinars are scheduled, however we invite you to watch a recording of our most recent session!

View the UK Creative Community Fellows Webinar

UK Creative Community Fellows is a partnership between Derby Museums; NAS, a United States-based organisation that builds and supports diverse communities of cultural leaders; and the Center for Social Impact Strategy at the University of Pennsylvania. The programme’s faculty and facilitators are drawn from all three institutions.