Each year, 12 cultural leaders are awarded a fully-funded place on Future Connected’s 12-month intensive programme. With inspiration offered first hand by national and international experts, the cohort will refine and imagine new models for their businesses. A panel of independent judges selects the best business plan to win the £10,000 Future Connected Award. All participants who complete the programme receive £1,000.
Each year, 12 cultural leaders are awarded a fully-funded place on Future Connected’s 12-month intensive programme. With inspiration offered first hand by national and international experts, the cohort will refine and imagine new models for their businesses. A panel of independent judges selects the best business plan to win the £10,000 Future Connected Award. All participants who complete the programme receive £1,000.
Each year, 12 cultural leaders are awarded a fully-funded place on Future Connected’s 12-month intensive programme. With inspiration offered first hand by national and international experts, the cohort will refine and imagine new models for their businesses. A panel of independent judges selects the best business plan to win the £10,000 Future Connected Award. All participants who complete the programme receive £1,000.
Throughout the year, new influences and ideas are shared at gatherings designed to build deep connections between the leaders of larger-scale organisations and the Future Connected cohort, contributing collectively to London’s vitality.
Future Connected is a collaboration between Arts Ideas Realised, Act IV and Lambeth Council and will create lasting resources for small-scale organisations by founding a Borough-wide Board Bank and Patrons’ Group launching in 2024.
Future Connected and the London Borough of Lambeth have announced that Rachel Nelken, is the winner of the Future Connected £10,000 Award. The finalists included leaders of 10 Lambeth-based grass-roots cultural organisations who were awarded a place on the first Future Connected Programme as Fellows.
Louise McKinney, Director
Louise is recognised as a thought-leader, with in-depth experience of developing high-profile cultural initiatives in the public and private sectors. Among her extensive international network, she is regarded as a strategic force with the stamina to overcome deep-rooted challenges. Her approach is about clarity, rigour and flair. She founded her own cultural consultancy, A-I-R in 2005 and advises clients such as the Black Cultural Archives, British Council, Camden Arts Centre, Chisenhale Gallery, The Factory, Louvre Abu Dhabi, and the Victoria Miro Gallery on vision development, organisational transformation, and strategic income generation.
Louise has several decades’ experience with leading organisations such as the Serpentine, Whitechapel and Lisson galleries, overseeing multi-million capital campaigns and markets, brokering partnerships with brands, philanthropists, collectors and artists. Louise devised Future Connected, a values-led leadership development programme, giving Directors of grass-roots and smaller-scale organisations based in London, tools to grow dynamic businesses that inspire and represent their communities. The programme is a collaboration with Lambeth Council. She is a regular visiting contributor to the School for Curatorial Studies, Venice, and is a Trustee of arts charity Queer Circle.
Rebecca King Lassman, Year 1 Co-Director
Rebecca co-founded the arts and charity fundraising consultancy, Act IV with Joyce Hytner in 1999. Act IV helps clients raise income through fundraising events and connects those raising money with new prospective supporters. Rebecca is recognised for her ability to enable businesses to build creative relationships with arts organisations, artists and charities. Clients range from large national institutions like the British Council, National Gallery or the RSC to smaller organisations such as Artangel, Poet in the City and Polka Theatre and global financial companies, hotel chains and luxury brands. A pioneer, Rebecca played a pivotal role in establishing Bloomberg’s arts sponsorship programme and the peer-led Louis Vuitton Young Arts Project. Rebecca began her career at the Arts Council, prior to becoming Head of finance, administration and fundraising at the Serpentine Gallery in 1987. Rebecca has been on the Boards of Space Studios, New Contemporaries and the South London Gallery.
Renée Trumpet, Programme Co-ordinator
Renée understands the power of creativity, communication and community. As the co-founder of the cultural platform, All Purpose LDN, Renée designs and delivers an intergenerational programme of conversations, events and workshops that act as a hub for black communities across London. An experienced project manager, Renée has run many sold out events which connect creatives to academics, creatives to business and creatives to creatives. Renée began her career at Rich Mix, Shoreditch which is now an Associate Partner to All Purpose LDN. Performing under the name, SÁSHI, Renée has received wide-spread media acclaim for her DJ sets and radio shows. She was listed as a Foundation FM 2021 “Ones to Watch” for her alternative and underground sound selections.
Tilly Leris, Programme Co-ordinator
Tilly recently graduated from the University of Leeds with a BA in History of Art, including a year studying abroad in the Arts and Culture department at Erasmus Universiteit, Rotterdam. Before this, she worked as a research assistant for Act IV/A-I-R on a fundraising strategy for the British Council. She has worked at various cultural organisations including the Sir John Soane Museum, Victoria Miro Gallery, Leeds International Film Festival, The World Around Summit ‘22 at the Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam, and currently at the Design Museum.
To be invited to our Gatherings and hear more about Future Connected, please sign up here.
