Global perspectives: learning from other models, with Nadine Patel
Arts funding in the UK has been repeatedly squeezed over the past two decades, with standstill funding, cuts, redundancies and fewer opportunites. With arts council grants growing ever-more competitive, how can you make creative work? Nadine Patel brings a wealth of international expertise to explore how artists and creatives across the world find ways to make their art, without government funding, without a culture of philanthropy or during unstable political times. With case studies and learning from across the globe, Nadine will help you to rethink your creative practise or project for the current UK climate.
Ticket price includes lunch and refreshments. There is one £10 ticket available for a Midlands-based freelancer and one half-price place available for a Scotland-based freelancer – these are designed for people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend; please only apply for a reduced-price ticket if you need one. Please email hello@many-hats.org to enter the lottery for these places, which will be drawn one month before the workshop date.
About Nadine Patel
Nadine Patel is a creative consultant and cultural strategist with a long-standing track record at the intersection of culture and society in the UK and internationally. She has extensive experience across institutions, grassroots initiatives, academia and policy, offering specialist advice and hands-on support in curation, project design, implementation, research and evaluation. Nadine brings deep knowledge of contemporary arts practices and has developed a strong network across Europe, Latin America, and Africa. As a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, she is part of a global community of changemakers addressing pressing social and cultural challenges.
Nadine is regularly invited to contribute to panel discussions and industry conversations. Recent highlights include: an Arts Industry Q&A on careers in the arts as part of CREATE! 2025, a talent development programme delivered by b-side, Activate Performing Arts, Arts by the Sea and Bridport Arts Centre; How to Be More Entrepreneurial About Where You Find Funds as a Producer, organised by Producer Top-Up and Producer Gathering; and Making Sh*t Happen: Bypassing/Challenging Structures, hosted and curated by Valerie Ebuwa and Dance Umbrella, where she joined peers to discuss policy, barriers within the independent arts scene and strategies for navigating precarity in making and presenting work.