Facilitation in the Cultural Industries: Enabling Social Change in the Leeds City Region

Throughout 2024, Dr Matthew Elliott  and Dr Ben Dunn led a series of workshops funded by the Cultural Institute at the University of Leeds, which centred on the role of facilitation in the cultural industries and its ability to enable social change.

Building on a 2023 Masterclass that brought together 29 arts facilitators from the Leeds City region, the project was developed in partnership with representatives from Mafwa Theatre, Mind the Gap, Utopia Theatre, and Fall into Place. The workshops provided a space for partners to reflect on the practice, purpose and value of facilitation within the creative sector.

Workshop participants explore the role of facilitation in the cultural industries

A key element of the workshops was to find positive ways of responding to challenging experiences that had been identified by masterclass attendees, including an absence of formal training for arts facilitators, isolation from others working in this field, and a lack of opportunities for professional development. Drawing on the expertise of project partners the workshops supported envisioning new ways of understanding and practicing the relationship between facilitation and the cultural sector.

The sessions were co-delivered by Dr Elliott, Dr Dunn and arts partners, and focused on personal histories of facilitation, wider contextual factors that impact practice, as well as ideas for future partnerships. The project culminated with a public event in September held at the Workshop Theatre, University of Leeds. Attendees from across the arts and academic sector shared initial findings, explored potential collaborations and considered next steps.

Sarah Shaw, Director and Lead Community Facilitator of Fall into Place, an arts charity that provides creative workshops to empower and inspire schools, businesses and communities across Leeds, said:

'Participating in this project was a great experience for my own practice. As a facilitator you can sometimes question if your practice is making a difference or if you effectively deal with conflict that inevitably arises within a community group. Through sharing experiences, values and methods of dealing with conflict I was able to reflect on my own strengths in my practice and gain insight and ideas as to how I could improve it, not only developing my own confidence but also improving my skill for my community groups. I am very grateful to have been a part of it, and the recognition of the importance of our work and dedication to learn how to best create positive change through facilitation really inspired me.'

Dr Elliott and Dr Dunn spoke about their work on facilitation at the Cultural Institute’s annual Summer Celebration event in June 2024. Nick Barley, Director of the National Poetry Centre, also spoke at the event, which was attended by over 200 cultural sector workers, artists, and researchers from across Leeds.