Programming for Diversity in Arts and Cultural Events: A Personal and Professional Perspective

This event has been cancelled
We hope to reschedule this event at a later date.

A public lecture with guest speaker, Richard Foster (Associate Director of the Lakes International Comic Arts Festival) as part of the Picturing Others research theme at the School.

Abstract

Richard Foster will offer a personal perspective on the challenges and positive benefits of developing cultural programmes that engage and involve participants from across a diverse range of backgrounds. Richard has led a variety of cultural organisations, ranging from commercial performing arts venues and cultural consortia to Arts Council England funded festivals and combined arts venues.

His presentation will explore how the particular demands of these various organisations shaped their programmes and projects engaging diverse audiences. Biography Richard Foster trained as an Art Historian at the University of Manchester and subsequently gained a postgraduate diploma in Art Gallery and Museum Studies at the same university.

After several years as a curator, working for regional museums and the National Trust for England, Richard became General Manager of a visitor attraction and professional theatre in the Lake District, gaining valuable knowledge of the performing arts and attraction management within the private sector.

For nine years Richard Foster was Chief Executive Officer of the Brewery Arts Centre, a mixed arts cultural centre, working across five art forms but with specialisms in music, theatre and the visual arts and with a large participatory programme for adults and young people. Richard oversaw a major increase in the range and diversity of the exhibition programme and an increase in visitors to 250,000 per annum. Richard also established the Brewery as a founder partner of Lakes Culture, an organisation seeking to promote Cumbria's cultural offer to visitors and the Lakes International Comic Arts Festival.

In 2019 Richard embarked on a freelance career and has worked for clients including the Lake District National Park Authority and Full of Noises Festival. He is also Associate Director of the Lakes International Comic Arts Festival, where he leads on the academic programme (Comics Up Close), international project development, fundraising and the Comics Hothouse project. He also leads on the festival exhibition programme and curated the noted exhibition, Let’s Go Camping with Tom of Finland, in association with the Tom of Finland Foundation.

Richard is also Chair of the Cumbria Arts and Culture Network and is a printmaker, specialising in drypoint etching, with numerous exhibitions and awards to his name (www.rfetchings.co.uk)

Simultaneous Translation

The event will be delivered in the medium of English. You are welcome to ask questions in the medium of Welsh during the Q and A session. If you intend to do this, please contact mlang-events@cardiff.ac.uk by Thursday 12 March to request simultaneous translation.

Please note that 10% or more of those planning to attend will need to request this provision in order for it to be sourced and will be subject to resource availability.

We apologise that the entire registration page is not available in the medium of Welsh.  Unfortunately, the platform we use does not offer this service.