Resources

Arts Emergency is an award-winning mentoring charity and support network. They work long-term with young people in London, Brighton, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.

The mission of Creative Access is to support talented people from groups that are under-represented in terms of ethnicity, socio-economic background and disability, or facing significant barriers to employment, to not just enter the creative industries, but to thrive when they get in. Only then will the industry truly reflect and engage broader society.

Creative Future nurture underrepresented artists in their creative development. They provide skills training, mentoring, exhibiting, promoting, and publishing opportunities.

Profiling children & young people's voice in creative & cultural learning, Amplify is made for professionals working in the cultural, education & youth sectors. Each episode shares evidence from a range of contexts designed to inspire & give practical tools to support your work with amplifying children & young people’s voice.

Creative Lives in Progress is a creative careers resource, on a mission to transform the way emerging talent access, understand and connect with the industry.

ArtsHub UK is part of the Creative Hubs Group network. The Creative Hubs Group is a network of award-winning digital media destinations including ArtsHub, ScreenHub and ArtsHub UK, attracting a global audience interested in the arts, events, culture, entertainment and gaming.

ArtsHub is a leading destination for the Arts Industry, artists and arts and entertainment lovers. Industry news, reviews, events, jobs, courses, grants and opportunities.

Arts Professional is the UK’s leading independent arts publication for industry professionals.

Arts Professional readers work in a wide variety of organisations and contexts ranging from large national institutions to small community arts charities. They work across a variety of artforms including theatre, music, visual arts, dance, digital, heritage, literature and more. Others work in education, in local and national government, for funding and policymaking bodies, in sector support, in trade and membership organisations and for consultancies and service providers.

From PR to publishing via advertising and design, Creative Careers Club is here to help you get started in whichever creative profession you've got your heart set on. They've got stacks of job search advice, tips on what recruiters are looking out for, and training courses that'll supercharge your job applications.

At Creative Mentor Network, they believe in a future where there is no class ceiling in the UK's creative industries.

They focus on socioeconomic diversity, supporting young people aged 16-25 from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, whilst training people in the industry to be inclusive leaders to give them the tools to create more accessible spaces in the creative industry.

I LIKE NETWORKING is an award-winning career platform for women and non-binary people in the creative industries.

Their mission is to help individuals thrive in their creative careers, and connect companies and organisations with diverse talent and resources so that they can better support their workforce.

The Arena is a not-for-profit creative community and mentoring platform.

They’re on a mission to arm aspiring creatives with the tools, inspiration and confidence needed to kickstart a creative career, live up to their potential and eventually lift as they climb, holding the door open for the next generation of talent.

In this podcast, you can hear stories from before, during and after your time at Leeds from fellow alumni who have gone on to make a world of difference.

In this episode, Leeds student, and Creative Life Stories intern Siza Dube, chats to special guest Sola and discuss their shared experience of being black women and the things they have had to navigate in their education, being in white spaces, black spaces and why it's important as an activist to set boundaries.

A podcast developed and produced by Selina Thompson Limited Documenting Failure’ takes its name from a quote from Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha's book Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice, that clearly outlines that a success rooted in Disability Justice often looks like mainstream failure. It invites artists from across the UK and beyond to reframe such failures on their own terms, and in so doing move towards new models of success, access and sustainability.

Prominent figures in the arts say class is a key factor that determines who can make it in the creative industries.

Nish Kumar, Emmy the Great, Samuel Ross and Bridget Minamore explain how they broke into an industry where BME people are significantly underrepresented.

The creative director of Leeds 2023 on seeing ‘beyond the chapati pan’ of her working-class background and how British theatre reflects diversity now.

In the very first of our Black History Month spotlight series, we interview Melanie Eusebe MBE, chair and co-founder of the Black British Business Awards (BBBAwards), I&D Lead for Accenture Europe and UK, and esteemed entrepreneur and author. During our conversation, we go back in time to the very beginning of the BBBAward’s conception, as well as looking into the future to get a sneak peek into Melanie’s bustling 2022 pipeline. We also tap into Melanie’s perception of how attitudes in the I&D space have evolved over the past decade, and find out how her own personal experiences motivate and steer her work.

Aimen Mahmood (Leeds alumna, BA English Literature, 2019) talks about her experiences of imposter syndrome and uncertainty and provides tips for how you can map out your future.

Artists, novelists, actors, poets: from the Venice Biennale to Bridgerton, Black women in their 50s and 60s are finally getting the recognition they deserve, says the pioneering Booker winner.

Young Talent Fisola reflects on the cost of living crisis and the pressure to find a profitable career.

Many of the young people in our community are impacted by this year's record cuts, so we commissioned Young Community member Abrehet to reflect on how.

Too many people still face the prejudices I had to confront as a working-class Liverpudlian when I tried to become a journalist.

This report engages with the work, perspectives, and experiences of artists working across the UK Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) with a focus on “cultural diversity” and representation.

"The Fabian Society’s Arts and Creative Industries unit was set up in November 2023 to develop bold new ideas for culture policy inspired by progressive values. This pamphlet draws together some of the unit’s most innovative and influential ideas, from a ‘new deal’ for libraries to a progressive tourism charge.

The proposals, including several that helped inform Labour’s Sector Plan for the Arts and the Creative Industries and its election manifesto, are shaped by the belief that the arts have an essential role to play in the new government’s project of national renewal and in the delivery of its five core missions. Along with health, education and technology, the authors argue, the arts are one of the cornerstones of a fair and flourishing society and an open, dynamic and innovative nation – not to mention remarkably powerful engines of economic growth and regeneration, transforming the everyday lives and fortunes of places and people."

This report makes suggestions how to improve much needed social mobility in the creativity industries. "The class crisis in

the creative industries has been apparent for decades, and while universities and creative employers have made notable efforts in

diversifying the arts, the data in this report shows there is a fair way to go. There is only so much higher education institutions and employers can do to diversify their cohorts if from an early age, disadvantaged young people are shut out from unaffordable private lessons and visits to cultural settings. From early years education to recruitment and retention from creative employers, a joined-up approach is urgently required to get real change in the sector."

Panic! Social Class, Taste and Inequalities in the Creative Industries is the first sociological study on social mobility in the cultural industries, and was released by Create London and Arts Emergency on April 16th, 2018.

The paper is part of the wider Panic! project initiated in 2015, that takes an unprecedented look at social mobility and inequality within the cultural and creative industries in the UK. Led by academics Drs Dave O’Brien, Orian Brook, and Mark Taylor from the Universities of Edinburgh and Sheffield, the paper highlights the significant exclusions of those from working class origins, women and those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds across the cultural and creative industries, which include the arts, music, publishing, advertising and IT.

This report concludes phase 2 of the PEC’s 'Class in the Creative Industries' programme. Led by PEC researchers at Work Advance, the University of Edinburgh, and the Work Foundation, and co-funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the research provides definitive evidence on the causes of class imbalances and sets out an ambitious and wide-ranging programme of change to enhance social mobility into Creative roles.

There is a hard economic case for the creative industries to diversify their workforces - and action could be taken now.

This survey of available data confirms the creative industries are failing to reflect the diversity of the populations where they are based, but suggests they stand to benefit even more than most organisations if they do.

This case study explores ‘Be SMART’, a black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) staff-student collaboration to enhance graduate employability, piloted at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. It provides a novel insight into how students, staff and external organisations working in partnership can successfully engage BAME students in enhancing their employability skills and experiences. Be SMART offered BAME students the opportunity to access mentoring, leadership and professionalism workshops and also flexible paid internships. We explore the impact of Be SMART by means of a questionnaire and a series of semi-structured interviews with participants. Our findings show that participants, who widely reported significant improvements in their self-confidence, acquired a range of professional-level skills from their engagement. They also developed a stronger sense of belonging to the University, enhanced their peer network and were subsequently more likely to engage with the Careers Service. Our case study critically explores the success factors of Be SMART to facilitate wider uptake of BAME-targeted, co-created employability initiatives in United Kingdom higher education.

This article analyses national university applications and admissions data to explore why ethnic minority applicants to Russell Group universities are less likely to receive offers of admission than comparably qualified white applicants. Contrary to received opinion, the greater tendency of ethnic minorities to choose highly numerically competitive degree subjects only partially accounts for their lower offer rates from Russell Group universities relative to white applicants with the same grades and ‘facilitating subjects’ at A-level. Moreover, ethnic inequalities in the chances of receiving an admissions offer from a Russell Group university are found to be greater in relation to courses where ethnic minorities make up a larger percentage of applicants. This latter finding raises the possibility that some admissions selectors at some Russell Group universities may be unfairly rejecting a proportion of their ethnic minority applicants in an attempt to achieve a more ethnically representative student body.

Despite substantial prior research on higher education choice, top universities in the UK continue to stand accused of favouring socio-economically advantaged students, to the detriment of those from poorer backgrounds. The objectives of this study are to test whether students with the same or equivalent entry scores are more or less likely to enter a top (Russell Group) university based on their social class background, parental education, occupation, age and racial group. Are students from disadvantaged backgrounds achieving the same entry grades or scores as other students, and based on their grades, are they equally likely to be studying at Russell Group universities?

The research is based on primary data from a national (UK) survey with 10,723 respondents from 140 universities and higher education institutions. The findings from binary logistic regression show that prior schooling (private schooling) and high entry grades are the best predictors of attendance atRussell Group universities in the UK. The model with twelve predictors is significant using the full sample and the random sub-samples, and four key variables are strong predictors for all models:schooling, entry scores, age (under-19) and non-widening participation status predict the likelihood of attending a Russell Group university in 70% of cases. The respondents in this study who attended a private school are one and a half times more likely to attend a Russell Group university than students who attended a state-funded school. Black students are also underrepresented in Russell Group universities, but their entry scores are significantly lower.

Why do people from privileged class backgrounds often misidentify their origins as working class? We address this question by drawing on 175 interviews with those working in professional and managerial occupations, 36 of whom are from middle-class backgrounds but identify as working class or long-range upwardly mobile. Our findings indicate that this misidentification is rooted in a self-understanding built on particular ‘origin stories’ which act to downplay interviewees’ own, fairly privileged, upbringings and instead forge affinities to working-class extended family histories. Yet while this ‘intergenerational self’ partially reflects the lived experience of multigenerational upward mobility, it also acts – we argue – as a means of deflecting and obscuring class privilege. By positioning themselves as ascending from humble origins, we show how these interviewees are able to tell an upward story of career success ‘against the odds’ that simultaneously casts their progression as unusually meritocratically legitimate while erasing the structural privileges that have shaped key moments in their trajectory.

The relationship of elite schools to economic capital is central to understanding the maintenance of their cultural power and institutional longevity. Since Glennerster and Wilson’s analysis in 1970, there has been little analysis of how private schools in England manage their wealth or how they are differentiated hierarchically by the composition and scale of the capital they hold. Research has explored the financing of elite universities, with less attention on schools. Using detailed Charities Commission financial data, I examine the finances of 216 English private schools in the Head Masters’ Conference association. The analysis entails a Principal Components Analysis followed by a Hierarchical Clustering on the Principal Components to reveal the economic hierarchy amongst elite schools in England. I then draw on the schools’ published accounts to examine this hierarchy further. These analyses show how the economic field of elite schools is dominated by just five schools with almost unassailable levels of wealth in property, investments and fees. Beneath them sit a wealthy group with smaller capital holdings and more diverse incomes including lucrative satellite campuses in Asia. These wealthier schools are largely boarding schools located in southern England. The provincial day schools of northern England and less prestigious boarding schools have much lower incomes and almost total reliance on tuition fees. Proximity to and control over capital allow schools to maintain their dominance, underlining how the material basis for elite cultural and class power in and over education is ultimately economic.

Significant divisions have emerged out of the political turmoil of the past three years or so.  Yet, out of this unrest has come an increased attention to the virulent racism and racial injustices that still exist in UK society and overseas.  In the UK, a number of reports have facilitated more nuanced and evidence-based discussions on BAME underrepresentation, the achievement gap, and the racism experienced by BAME students and staff in universities.  This article will summarise the findings of these reports and reflect on their impact for the humanities.

The Working Arts Club, which aims to help people from working-class backgrounds secure jobs in the arts.

Founded in 2024 as an independent initiative in London, it has collaborated with the likes of the V&A, Royal Academy, Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Frieze London.

Now the club, which hosts events such as career meetings, panel discussions and private exhibition tours, is planning to expand throughout the UK, launching in Manchester on 24 March 2026 and then branching out to other cities.

The Leeds Arts Health and Wellbeing Network (LAHWN) supports people working in creative arts, culture, health, care, and academia to work collaboratively, share ideas and maximise resources.

Hosted by University of Leeds’ Cultural Institute and funded by the city’s health and care organisations, the Network is open to all individuals and organisations interested bringing arts, health and wellbeing closer together.

The Middle Floor is an independent producing hub based in Leeds. Dedicated to supporting independent artists and organisations across the UK, The Middle Floor works across a range of disciplines, including dance, theatre and more.

CVAN England leads a collective agenda for policy change across the visual arts. They campaign to be heard, valued, and recognised so that the sector can thrive now and in the future.

Culture& Arts and Heritage is an independent arts and education charity formed in 1988 and based in Stoke-on-Trent and London. Formerly known as Cultural Co-operation, they work in partnership with arts and heritage institutions and artists to develop programmes that promote diversity in the workforce and expand audiences. They aim to open up the arts and heritage sectors through workforce initiatives and public programmes.

Check out the episode to hear Represent contributors Gina, Theo and Hannah talk about what youth voice means to them. Vanessa Mudd from @heritagecornerleeds and @leedsmuseumsandgalleries Chris Sharp also share their reflections on the positive changes work with young people can bring to our museums and heritage sites.

“It’s just not fair that certain people... get certain kinds of opportunities and other people don’t.”

Actor Michael Sheen tells Jon Snow why he’s started a creative arts scheme for people from working class and under-represented communities.

We are aware that the ideas of Change and Making Change, can mean different things to different people and practitioners, and take many forms and approaches. Following on from the set of Case Study presentations and facilitated group discussions, Artists Make Change has commissioned a series of artist-to-artist conversations as a way of diving deeper into the subject. We invited one artist to choose their conversation partner(s) and set their own agendas, to create a conversation space to explore personal experience, and dig into shared concerns and the pressing issues challenging artists today. In each of these in-depth, wide-ranging, evocative and provocative discussions, the sentiment is explored in a variety of ways - all urgent and contemporary - but offering different and differing perspectives of whether, how and why Artists Make Change.

Growing up as a comic book fan, artist Shawn Martinbrough rarely saw people of color depicted positively (or at all) in the stories he loved. So he headed over to New York Comic Con to wrangle himself his first assignment for Marvel Comics. Now, as a successful artist who has worked on "Black Panther" and "Hellboy," he shares the importance of diversity -- for creative teams and character stables alike.

Designed to keep you up-to-date on the hottest design, advertising and web projects, it also links to the most thought-provoking articles we’ve found on the web. Delivered to your inbox every business day, it’s a quick read and just what you need to stay informed and inspired.

From sharing the latest industry news, to showcasing their most popular articles, the It’s Nice That newsletters will keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.

Join 55,000 creatives to enjoy a regular dose of inspiration and motivation, delivered to your inbox every Tuesday.

This article explains that because of absent social, cultural and practical conditions and because of gender stereotypes and other structures in a patriarchial society, females are underrepresented in art history.

A new online exhibition exposes the financial and cultural obstacles working-class artists face breaking through – and offers a reminder of the distinctive perspective workers bring to the arts.

This report outlines the challenges of widening access to creative arts and design HE courses in London, what is being done to address these challenges and how we can address them better in the future. It draws on analysis of secondary data, surveys with higher education institutions, cultural organisations and schools and colleges, as well as interviews with students on undergraduate arts degrees in London.

The Incluseum advances new ways of being a museum through dialogue, community building and collaborative practice related to inclusion in museums.

The Incluseum is:

Culture& Arts and Heritage is an independent arts and education charity formed in 1988 and based in Stoke-on-Trent and London. Formerly known as Cultural Co-operation, they work in partnership with arts and heritage institutions and artists to develop programmes that promote diversity in the workforce and expand audiences. They aim to open up the arts and heritage sectors through workforce initiatives and public programmes.

From networking and events, to career development support, to the latest jobs, news and other opportunities, ICON has all you'll need to stay in the know, develop new skills, and champion high standards of cultural heritage conservation.

Cultural organisations are increasingly turning to trading to generate essential funds, and extend the visitor experience. This Podcast from the Cultural Enterprises Academy explores the latest thinking, with tips and tricks for people working in the cultural sector.

Documentaries, artist interviews, panel discussions and more from Cultural Collections & Galleries at the University of Leeds.

Every month they’ll send you a newsletter with the latest from the Arts Council and the arts and culture sector. They’ll also send you occasional additional emails when there’s big news or an event you might be interested in - you usually won’t receive more than three of these per month.

The latest news and features from the museums and heritage sector.

Museums Association campaigns for socially engaged museums and a representative workforce. They advocate for and support museums and everyone who works in and with them so that the value and impact of museums and their collections is realised.

This article considers the challenges that new entrants will need to tackle and offers advice to those considering this area of work.

The project aims to deepen understanding of the impacts Covid-19 is having on cultural organisations, the cultural sector workforce, and audiences. It will also identify the implications for how and what policy decisions are made in response to the crisis.

We are sharing the research findings as they become available so they can inform responses in real time.

The Black Music Coalition is dedicated to eradicating racial injustice and establishing equality for Black executives, artists and their communities within the music industry.

Black Lives in Music addresses the current inequality of opportunity for black people aspiring to be involved in the music industry. Through research, advocacy we support the music community to act on and achieve diversity and inclusion objectives for a truly representative music industry.

The Middle Floor is an independent producing hub based in Leeds. Dedicated to supporting independent artists and organisations across the UK, The Middle Floor works across a range of disciplines, including dance, theatre and more.

West Yorkshire is brimming with talent. Talent that deserves a united voice. Talent that deserves joined-up support from all the key players – from freelancers and venues to communities and supply chains. That is what the Music Network offers.

Explore the widest range of workplace-delivered placement, training and apprenticeship opportunities of any organisation in the creative arts.

The music industry reacted with a surge of outrage to the death of George Floyd. Artists and labels alike posted black squares on social media, standing in solidarity with people of colour. Following #BlackoutTuesday, a social media campaign led by two black music executives, grime artist Saskilla asks, what have music powerhouses done in the year that has followed, and have significant changes been made in the world of music?

"What is The White Card about? [...] It is a way of thinking about how philanthropy works, especially when white male patriarchy holds the money [...] whatever is offered can be taken away" - Claudia Rankine Watch as The White Card director Natalie Ibu speaks with writer Claudia Rankine about what the show means to her, and the emotions and conversations she hopes to inspire in audiences. Written during an increasingly racially divided America and shortly before the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests rippled across the globe, a wealthy, privileged white couple invite a talented Black artist to dinner. Tensions run high and a heated debate uncovers some uncomfortable truths that can’t be ignored about white privilege, cultural appropriation and representation. Be an ally, be in the room, be in the conversation. Join us for the UK and European premiere of The White Card as we are all posed the question: can society progress when whiteness remains invisible? The White Card invites us all to play our part in the debate.

UK Music is the collective voice of the UK’s world-leading music industry. They represent all sectors of the industry – bringing them together to collaborate, campaign, and champion music.

Freelancers Make Theatre Work listen, support and advocate for ALL freelancers in the arts. They are an inclusive, independent community for the 200,000+ self-employed and freelance workers from all areas of theatre, opera and live performance, who make up 70% of the UK theatre workforce.

Fascinating article about University of Leeds alumni and trailblazing choreographer, WayneMcGregor, who wants to bring diversity to professional dance.

Survey of 1,718 performers, creatives and staff reveals microgression, pay disparities and discrimination are rife.

The Middle Floor is an independent producing hub based in Leeds. Dedicated to supporting independent artists and organisations across the UK, The Middle Floor works across a range of disciplines, including dance, theatre and more.

Journo Resources is here to help you make it in the media. Free-to-access tools, resources and more so you can break in.

The Society of Young Publishers is a volunteer-run organisation supporting junior and aspiring publishing professionals across the UK and Ireland. They are open to anyone, of any age, interested in publishing or a related trade – or who is hoping to be soon. Run by a team of dedicated volunteers, their aim is to assist, inform and encourage anyone trying to break into the industry or progress within it.

"What is The White Card about? [...] It is a way of thinking about how philanthropy works, especially when white male patriarchy holds the money [...] whatever is offered can be taken away" - Claudia Rankine Watch as The White Card director Natalie Ibu speaks with writer Claudia Rankine about what the show means to her, and the emotions and conversations she hopes to inspire in audiences. Written during an increasingly racially divided America and shortly before the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests rippled across the globe, a wealthy, privileged white couple invite a talented Black artist to dinner. Tensions run high and a heated debate uncovers some uncomfortable truths that can’t be ignored about white privilege, cultural appropriation and representation. Be an ally, be in the room, be in the conversation. Join us for the UK and European premiere of The White Card as we are all posed the question: can society progress when whiteness remains invisible? The White Card invites us all to play our part in the debate.

Why Should You Sign-Up?

We catch up with Dr Lisa McKenzie—academic, ethnographer and author—following the recent launch of her new book, Lockdown Diaries of the Working Class. We discuss how the ‘Working Class Collective’ who collaborated on the book came to be and how the group is united in championing equality for working-class creatives.

We explore Lisa’s perspective on social capital, class inequality and a class system that is “deep, perversive and damaging”. We also find out more about her fresh perspective on what it means to be working-class with no desire to follow the rules of social mobility in order to open doors and access opportunities.

Powering the skills to build a world-leading, inclusive and agile workforce for the UK screen industries.

Limit Break is the leading mentorship program for people from marginalised groups seeking to progress their careers within the UK video games industry.

Journo Resources is here to help you make it in the media. Free-to-access tools, resources and more so you can break in.

A weekly podcast speaking to a diverse range of industry professionals from across the media industry who share their stories, as well as tips and advice for entering the industry.

The Media Careers Podcast is delivered in partnership Into Film, supported by the BFI, awarding National Lottery funding.

The ScreenSkills podcast, in partnership with The Adobe Foundation, goes behind the camera to explore the UK screen industries with the help of those working in it. In each episode, they’ll be touching on different themes and hearing how they impact the workforce.

The Media Mentor podcast explores how to create effective media CVs, cover letters and have successful job interviews. It also look at changing sectors, how to maximise an internship, the world of media freelancing and everything else that makes up the tough world of job applications and career progression.

A social media newsletter full of news, updates and tools. Trusted by 30000+ professionals.

The Screen Industries Growth Network (SIGN) exists to support and grow the TV, film and games industries in Yorkshire and the Humber, and to make the region the UK’s centre for digital creativity, and a model of diverse and inclusive activity.

GamesIndustry.biz is the market-leading website and community for news and information about the global video games industry.

"We’ve been here for a really long time, so 2017 seemed pretty late in the day to start noticing British Asian actors.”

In this Guardian Article from May 2025, Lanre Bakare writes how Industry figures say conditions are worse now than before the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

In our latest Spotlight, we chat to Dom Shaw, EDI Coordinator at Ukie and one of the key leaders at the helm of the #RaiseTheGame initiative designed to make the UK games industry more inclusive. We find out more about how Dom became involved with Ukie and #RaiseTheGame, then dig deeper into what the pledge is all about and how it’s uniting organisations, shifting strategies and facilitating the knowledge-sharing required for meaningful change. We also get Dom’s advice for underrepresented talent looking to start a career in the games industry today.