Together
Leeds, 15-17 July 2026
Together
Leeds, 15 — 17 July 2026
AMA Conference speakers lead by example
Sharing expertise and learning on a wealth of topics, we choose speakers who will help you focus on what matters most. It’s about you, your work, your organisation and your audiences — and what insight our speakers can help you unlock.
We’ll be updating this page regularly as we move closer to Conference, with more speakers to be announced.
You can also get a flavour of the type of experts we’ve brought to previous AMA Conferences in the videos at the bottom of the page.
Your AMA Conference 2026 keynote speakers
DK, Creative Producer & Speaker Coach
Justadandak Ltd
DK is a Creative Producer who ‘crafts delicious learning experiences’ online, in-studio or in-person. With nearly a decade as TEDxWellington and TEDxWellingtonWomen licensee, he is also the founder of the unique video podcast Creative Welly and the annual Creative Leadership NZ conference. DK brings rare energy and creativity to everything he does. In his session, he will explore how gathering people with intention can unlock creative productivity.
Session title:
Dynamic Models for Connecting Together
Shawab Iqbal , Chief Executive
Leeds Playhouse
Shawab Iqbal is Chief Executive of Leeds Playhouse, one of the UK’s leading producing theatres. With over 15 years of experience in senior and executive roles including at the Bush Theatre, Gate Theatre and Theatre Royal Stratford East. Shawab leads with a deep commitment to equity, commercial strength and long-term impact. His session will explore what it means for the arts sector to build connection, trust and belonging in an increasingly fragmented society.
Session title:
Still Together?
David Larbi, Poet, Author and Creator
SHFT
David Larbi is a writer, creator and poet from London. Through his experimentation with diverse platforms and forms of expression, he has built an online community based on introspection and emotional connection.
He has a deep love for words, and wants anyone who comes across his work to leave feeling better for it. Frequently Happy is his first book and was published in January 2025.
Session title:
Finding Happiness Together
Sarah Ogle
Interim Director of Audiences, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
A strategic arts leader with extensive experience in audience engagement and cultural transformation, Sarah has recently joined the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic as Director of Audiences (maternity cover).
Previously she spent over twenty years as Marketing Director at the Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, where career highlights include the re‑building of the Stirling Prize‑winning Everyman and the development of Young Everyman Playhouse. A Fellow of the CIM and RSA, she’s also a Trustee of Tmesis Theatre
Session title:
Horizon Scanning: what’s next for arts and cultural marketing
David O’Hara, UK Marketing Director
ATG Entertainment
Appointed ATG’s UK Marketing Director in 2025, David leads the strategic direction that drives commercial success across ATG’s 38 UK Regional and London venues.
With a strong ambition for innovation and modernisation of ATG’s most established marketing operation, he is focused on optimising the group’s marketing matrix model, spanning CRM, data, performance marketing and social media.
David brings a wealth of experience from Oxford New Theatre, Northampton’s Royal & Derngate, Cambridge Live and the Barbican Centre.
Session title:
Horizon Scanning: what’s next for arts and cultural marketing
Oghenetega Oke, Marketing Manager
Revoluton Arts
Oghenetega “Tega” Oke is an award-winning marketing and communications strategist with over a decade of experience leading high-impact local and international campaigns across FMCG, fintech, telecoms, aviation and the arts.
He is currently the Marketing Manager for a small but mighty arts charity, overseeing integrated marketing, PR, digital communications, brand advocacy and multi-channel audience engagement.
Session title:
Horizon Scanning: what’s next for arts and cultural marketing
Your AMA Conference 2026 speakers
Lizzy Maries, Head of Communications
Parents and Carers in Performing Arts (PiPA)
Lizzy Maries is Head of Communications at PiPA (Parents and Carers in Performing Arts), with 14 years across cultural campaigns, music, dance and museums. A certified coach, she’s driven by care and change—pushing for more inclusive arts workplaces. She’s the founder of Ray Collective and South Coast Family Theatre – and both a parent and carer.
Session title:
How We Make People Care About Care.
Paige Crosbie, Digital Community Manager
Parents and Carers in Performing Arts (PiPA)
Paige Crosbie is PiPA’s Digital Community Manager and the founder of Dulse Communications. She has 10 years of experience working in communications in the arts, political and charity sectors in the UK and Ireland. While she is proudest of her work with BAPAM (British Association for Performing Arts Medicine), Music Leaders Network and Irish Heart Foundation, everyone wants to know about the chocolate shop she ran in the seaside town of Kinsale, Ireland.
Session title:
How We Make People Care About Care.
Callum Madge, Access Manager
Edinburgh International Festival
Callum is a creative producer and access consultant, currently working as Access Manager for Edinburgh International Festival.
He has worked in disability arts for 10+ years, in roles with Birds of Paradise Theatre Company and Lung Ha Theatre Company, and as a freelancer producing work for Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival and Neurostages.
He has delivered access focussed workshops and training sessions to arts organisations across Scotland, as well organisations in Brazil, Mexico and Nepal.
Session title:
Communicating your access offer.
Sophie Waddy, Head of Marketing and Communications
The Albany
Sophie is Head of Marketing and Communications at the Albany, an arts centre in Deptford, South East London. As part of her role she oversees brand, strategy, and storytelling, and led on communications for London Borough of Culture 2022. She previously worked at Discover Children’s Story Centre and Little Angel Theatre, where she was shortlisted for an Emerging Digital Leader Award for her work on the theatre’s digital content strategy during the pandemic.
Session title:
New models for income generation and audience growth.
Maddie Risbridger, Head of Marketing & Sales
Turner Sims, University of Southampton
With 15 years in the creative industries, Maddie has worked with leading arts organisations across Australia and the UK, including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Youth Orchestras, Buxton Contemporary gallery, and Musica Viva Australia. A former violinist who trained at the Sydney
Conservatorium of Music, she also holds a Master’s in Arts and Cultural Management from the University of Melbourne.
She now specialises in marketing, communications and fundraising, and is Head of Marketing and Sales at Turner Sims, University of Southampton.
Session title:
Together we connect: building an organisation-wide marketing strategy.
Jo Borg, Marketing & Community Officer
Turner Sims, University of Southampton
Jo started in the Box Office at Theatre Royal Winchester many (many) years ago and has worked in event management and Arts Marketing ever since. She has been part of the team at venues including Salisbury Playhouse and the much-missed Tower Arts Centre, Winchester, and is now Marketing and Communications Officer at Turner Sims Southampton. She is passionate about connecting communities across generations and cultures through the absolute joy of live music.
Session title:
Together we connect: building an organisation-wide marketing strategy.
Alice Young, Managing Director
Spektrix
Alice started her career in community arts, moving into education programmes, fundraising and people/project management from within and for local authorities, schools, venues and charities.
Alice joined Spektrix in 2017 as Managing Director and alongside her responsibilities for ensuring UK and Irish clients’ exceptional experience with Spektrix, she plays a key role across people and culture work and in the development of the Spektrix team.
Session title:
The Highs and Lows of leadership in 2026 – navigating change, culture and risk.
Tom Bird, Chief Executive
Sheffield Theatres
Tom Bird is CEO at Sheffield Theatres, a complex comprising four theatres which is the north of England’s largest producing theatre organisation. Prior to that he was CEO at York Theatre Royal and Executive Producer at Shakespeare’s Globe, where he produced Globe to Globe Hamlet, which The Economist called ‘the greatest tour in the history of theatre’. He was also Director of the Globe to Globe Festival for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
Session title:
The Highs and Lows of leadership in 2026 – navigating change, culture and risk.
Nicola Barratt, Tech Champion, Social Media
Digital Culture Network
Nicola has worked in social media and digital marketing for around 14 years, across the arts, non-profit, university and private sectors. She’s highly experienced and skilled in organic social media content and strategy, along with social media advertising. At Arts Council England’s Digital Culture Network, Nicola supports organisations, individuals and artists to feel confident and informed in how to use social media to promote their work.
Session title:
Social Media SEO Made Simple: Reaching Audiences, Algorithms and AI.
Katy Farrell, Tech Champion, Social Media
Digital Culture Network
With ten years’ experience in digital marketing across public, private and freelance roles, Katy has delivered effective organic and paid social media campaigns for arts organisations, universities and a wide range of clients. As a Social Media Tech Champion with the Digital Culture Network, she supports the sector with organic strategy, content planning, paid campaign development, and guidance on navigating an ever‑evolving social media landscape.
Session title:
Social Media SEO Made Simple: Reaching Audiences, Algorithms and AI.
Liam Basford, Designer
Substrakt
Liam Basford is a Designer at digital agency Substrakt. He works across a range of client projects to deliver work that combines thoughtful design with clear, user-friendly experiences. He helps cultural organisations bring their ideas online through digital experiences that are simple, usable and impactful.
Session title:
Reopening together: How The Arts Theatre Cambridge brought its new brand to life online.
Nicky Hupe, Head of Communications
The Arts Theatre Cambridge
Nicky Hupe has nearly 30 years’ experience in theatre and the cultural sector, working across marketing, fundraising, strategic communications, and brand development. She leads communications for The Arts Theatre Cambridge and played a key role in the organisation’s recent redevelopment and repositioning. Nicky brings a broad, practical perspective on how arts organisations build stakeholder relationships, strengthen their identity, and navigate major organisational change.
Session title:
Reopening together: How The Arts Theatre Cambridge brought its new brand to life online.
Kerry Radden, Associate Director
Indigo
Kerry has 25 years of audience and visitor experience, spanning a range of arts, charity and commercial organisations. She has worked in cultural leadership roles including Marketing Director at Battersea Arts Centre and Head of Audiences & Marketing at the Royal Shakespeare Company.
At Indigo, Kerry has led projects including quantitative and qualitative research, audience segmentation, marketing and audience development strategies, evaluation and impact frameworks, and brand research.
Session title:
New models of membership: how do we give audiences what they need?
Katy Raines, CEO
Indigo
Katy is regarded as one of the UK’s leading consultants on audience-centred strategy for cultural organisations. She has developed and led research and audience strategy for large and middle scale organisations throughout the UK and Europe. Indigo’s collaborative research approach has delivered sector-wide research on sustainability (Act Green) and first time attenders (Tomorrow’s Audience), as well as UK-wide benchmarks on audience experience via a large cohort of participating organisations.
Session title:
New models of membership: how do we give audiences what they need?
Gracie Divall, Senior Programme Manager, Going Places
Art Fund
Gracie is Art Fund’s Senior Programme Manager for Going Places, a UK-wide
programme engaging local communities with collections through collaborative
touring exhibitions, with six networks of small to mid-sized museums and galleries
each producing two touring exhibitions over the next five years. She previously
managed national touring exhibitions for the National Gallery, the Natural History
Museum and Tate, held the position of Associate Lecturer at Camberwell College
of Art and curated the 2017 Peckham Craft Show.
Session title:
Creating cohorts: across museums, galleries and communities.
Zahida Din, Leadership, Mindset and Career Coach
Zahida is passionate about helping people to find happier, heathier ways of relating to work and the workplace; supporting them to be more fulfilled in their working lives.
After a 20 year career in Arts Marketing, including two senior leadership roles, Zahida now focuses on sector support as a Leadership, Mindset and Career Coach. She works with people at all stages of their career journey, helping them to overcome challenges so they can move forward with confidence. Her coaching style draws on positive psychology and explores power, agency, perspective, and vision.
Session title:
The Great British School Trap – How the patterns we learned at school might be preventing us from getting on at work.
Katherine George, Director, Oh So Social
Katherine George is founder of multi-award-winning agency Oh So Social,
specialising in paid social for arts and culture brands, from heritage projects to
theatres and touring productions.
A Meta, Pinterest and TikTok Agency Partner,
she is also one of just eight Facebook Lead Trainers in Europe. Katherine helps
arts organisations turn smart ad strategy into measurable ticket sales, visitors and
growth.
Session title:
Better Together: Unifying Meta, Pinterest and TikTok Ads for Arts Audiences.
David Reece, Chief Strategy Officer, Baker Richards
David Reece is Chief Strategy Officer at Baker Richards, where he works with cultural organisations on strategy, audiences and the economics of participation. Drawing on two decades of work with over 800 organisations, he helps teams understand the structural forces shaping their audiences, see how their own models distribute value and build models that serve both their mission and the people they exist for.
Session title:
The Age of “Worth It”: rebuilding casual audiences in the cultural sector.
Jo Taylor, Director, Fly a Kite
Jo co-founded Fly a Kite in 2024 to help arts organisations better understand their
audiences, build their brand, and broaden and grow their fanbase. She’s worked in
the cultural sector for 30 years, in a wide range of arts organisations including
Rambert, Welsh National Opera and Wales Millennium Centre and for 10 years as
a Director of Morris Hargreaves McIntyre (MHM).
Session title:
Revolution or evolution? Lessons from the Donmar brand refresh.
Abby Corfan, Director of Audiences, Donmar Warehouse
Abby is Director of Audiences at the Donmar Warehouse, where she oversees
marketing, press, ticketing and front of house. Before joining the Donmar she
worked for over a decade for arts organisations in Birmingham – including as
Director of Marketing and Digital at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Session title:
Revolution or evolution? Lessons from the Donmar brand refresh.
Guy Turton, Director, MHM
Guy Turton is a Director at MHM, a leading audience strategy and insight
consultancy for the cultural sector. Guy drives audience connection strategy for
world-leading cultural organisations such as Tate, BFI, National Trust, English
Heritage and SFMoMA.
He is a specialist in audience development planning,
programme strategy, segmentation, membership and brand strategy. He has been
the strategic lead for cross-sector projects for DCMS, is guest lecturer at
Goldsmiths University and a trustee of Kids In Museums.
Session title:
Programming, reframed: What a major study on exhibition programming tells us about how we may need to change our wider audience strategy.
Kate Mroczkowski, Strategy Director, Supercool
Kate has over two decades of experience in the culture and technology sectors. Kate supports cultural organisations with content strategies, new website projects and digital strategies.
Kate’s journey spans roles in ticketing and fundraising and an MBA with a digital sustainability focus.
In her spare time, she serves on the board of trustees at Northern Broadsides and Venture Arts, and plays the double bass in her local orchestra.
Session title:
Tackling the climate crisis together
Ruth Cooke, Executive Director and Joint CEO, Northern Broadsides
Ruth is an experienced arts leader, specialising in communications, audience development, and community engagement. She is passionate about regional theatre and ensuring that its power to inspire and entertain is open to all.
Northern Broadsides’ Iron People project brought together communities across Calderdale to explore the impacts of climate change through creativity.
Session title:
Tackling the climate crisis together.
Hannah Barton, Head of Digital Media, National Museums Scotland
Currently Head of Digital Media at National Museums Scotland, Hannah has over 10 years’ experience of leading digital departments within the cultural sector. She has delivered large scale digitisation programmes, root and branch website redevelopment projects, implemented content plans and channel roadmaps, and created business-level digital strategies and supporting governance models. She also has a PhD in internet memes.
Session title:
Tackling the climate crisis together.
Isabella Feros, Media Manager, Edinburgh International Festival
Isabella Feros is a media and communications specialist working at the forefront of international arts and culture. As Media Manager for the Edinburgh International Festival she leads global press strategy and media relations for one of the world’s leading performing arts festivals. Deeply passionate about communicating arts and culture, her previous roles include publicity roles at major Australian festivals Sydney Festival, Sydney Film Festival and a range of talks and ideas programmes at the Sydney Opera House.
Session title:
Tackling the climate crisis together.
Lauren Cowdery, Digital Marketing Officer, Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Lauren has a background in Fine Art, with over 15 years experience of arts marketing across the sector. In her current role as Digital Marketing Office for Yorkshire Sculpture Park, she focuses on all things digital. She has a personal interest in sustainability, working closely with SuperCool to make improvements to YSP’s digital channels which contributed to YSP achieving a Green Tourism Gold Award in 2025.
Session title:
Tackling the climate crisis together.
Dimple Meera Jom, Freelance Arts Marketing and Digital Content Creator
Dimple Meera Jom is a Malayali digital expert from India settled in the UK, a freelance creative marketer who turns stories into sold-out theatre campaigns with minimal effort. She founded Di Writers, a digital entertainment platform, achieving 2.1M organic engagements during India’s early social media boom. An Instagram creator herself, Dimple blends cross-continental perspective, inventive storytelling, and audience-first thinking to help arts organisations craft campaigns that truly connect and inspire.
Session title:
Rethinking UK Arts Marketing Through a Developing Country’s Lens.
Amy Sanderson, Head of Communications and Commercial, Leeds Heritage Theatres
Amy is Head of Communications at Leeds Heritage Theatres (LHT), leading the marketing, communications, sales and ticketing teams across its three iconic venues: Leeds Grand Theatre, City Varieties Music Hall and Hyde Park Picture House.
LHT’s mission is to connect people through live performance and film, spanning a diverse range of artforms and a thriving creative programme for young people, in some of Leeds’ most treasured heritage spaces.
Amy brings over 16 years of experience with LHT, and prior to this held marketing/ audience development roles at Northern Ballet, the National Archives, Bristol Old Vic and Fairfield Halls.
Session title:
The Friendly Tension.
Matt Collier, Head of Development, Leeds Heritage Theatres
Matt joined Leeds Heritage Theatres (LHT) in March 2025, as Head of Development – a newly created role leading on development and fundraising activity for the Charity.
Matt has over 10 years’ experience working in Arts, Culture, Heritage organisations – previously holding roles in fundraising, business development, and sales/marketing at English Heritage and Castle Howard.
Matt’s work is rooted in the idea that synergy between development and marketing activity is vital in establishing the authentic connections needed to unlock long lasting support, engagement, and opportunities to grow new opportunities.
Session title:
The Friendly Tension.
Helena Fewkes, Marketing and Audience Development Manager, Z-arts
Helena is Marketing & Audience Development Manager at Z-arts, the UK’s only dedicated arts centre for children and families, welcoming 80,000 people a year to the heart of Hulme, Manchester. With eight years’ experience across arts and charity marketing, Helena specialises in reaching family audiences through creative, community-rooted campaigns, including the sometimes brilliant, sometimes baffling world of Instagram influencer marketing.
Session title:
What Moves Family Audiences? The Real Impact of Instagram Influencers.
Rebecca Usher, Communications Manager, Clore Leadership
Rebecca joined Clore Leadership in April 2021 as Communications Manager. She is a creative marketing and communications professional with over ten years’ experience in the cultural sector, having worked with organisations including Theatre503, Polka Theatre and Theatre Peckham. Passionate about community, Rebecca specialises in branding and storytelling and is committed to inclusive communications that strengthen how cultural organisations communicate their values and impact.
Session title:
From audiences to community: What changes when you build together.
David Johnstone, Chief Growth Officer, CultureSuite
David Johnstone is Co-Founder and CGO of CultureSuite, leading the company’s mission to deliver a more sustainable approach to digital for the arts, culture and entertainment sector.
With over 20 years of experience in digital and more than 15 years specialising in the arts, David is responsible for CultureSuite’s growth strategy, identifying and developing strategic partnerships, sales, marketing and branding initiatives.
Session title:
We asked for a new website. We got something we didn’t expect
Shona Galletly, Audience Development Manager, Leeds City Council
Shona Galletly is a senior marketing and audience development professional with extensive experience across major UK cultural organisations, including the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, The Hallé, Opera North, and Northern Ballet. Passionate about classical music, she combines deep sector knowledge with strategic leadership. As Audience Development Manager for Leeds City Council, Shona directs Leeds Ticket Hub and oversees Tessitura, the Council’s ticketing and CRM platform, driving data-led strategies and expanding audiences for Leeds’ flagship arts events.
Session title:
We asked for a new website. We got something we didn’t expect
Jay Walton, Director of Audiences, HOME
Jay has been Director of Audiences at HOME since 2024, leading marketing, visitor experience, and contributing as part of the Executive Leadership Team.
He was previously Head of Marketing at The Dukes in Lancaster and worked in student recruitment marketing and brand management at the University of Cumbria.
Passionate about building brilliant teams and equipping them with the right tools, Jay is driven to deliver meaningful impact that puts people at the heart of decision-making.
Session title:
We asked for a new website. We got something we didn’t expect
Courtney Green, Head of Marketing, Reading Rep Theatre
Courtney is a marketing professional with over nine years’ experience in the arts sector. After graduating from the University of Chichester, she began her career as a Marketing Assistant at Norden Farm, progressing to Marketing Officer at The Watermill Theatre. Courtney is now Head of Marketing at Reading Rep Theatre, where she leads on audience development, campaigns, and brand growth for a dynamic regional producing theatre.
Session title:
New models for income generation and audience growth
Lydia Heald, Marketing Lead (Acquisition), Opera North
Lydia is Marketing Lead for Acquisition at Opera North. She specialises in combining highly targeted campaigns with creative experimentation to reach beyond traditional arts audiences. Her work spans everything from pay-what-you-can performances and pop-up operas to targeted digital advertising and third-party partnerships, all designed to make live music more accessible, relevant and engaging for a wider public.
Session title:
New models for income generation and audience growth
Kara Chatten, Marketing and Communications Manager, Henry Moore Institute
Kara Chatten has over twenty years’ experience in marketing and communications for visual arts organisations. She has spent the past six years as Marketing and Communications Manager at Henry Moore Institute, a leading sculpture research centre in Leeds.
Previously, she established the brand and led marketing and communications for the inaugural Yorkshire Sculpture International in 2019 and was a core member of the marketing team at The Hepworth Wakefield when it won Art Fund Museum of the Year in 2017.
She is passionate about developing imaginative, audience-focused campaigns that widen engagement with art, and particularly values building partnerships and collaborative ways of working.
Session title:
Nothing About Us Without Us: Creating Inclusive Communications with Blind and Deaf Audiences
Alice Evans, Marketing Manager, Wellcome Collection
Alice is Marketing Manager at Wellcome Collection, with over 15 years’ experience delivering audience‑first campaigns across the arts and heritage sector. Her work centres equity, accessibility and representation, using inclusive storytelling and community co‑creation to amplify underrepresented voices and shape welcoming visitor experiences. She leads strategic communications across campaign strategy, brand and reputation management, digital marketing, media planning and buying, partnerships and audience development, with a background in arts PR. Alice previously worked at the V&A, South London Gallery, Sadler’s Wells and Rees & Co.
Session title:
Nothing About Us Without Us: Creating Inclusive Communications with Blind and Deaf Audiences
Abbi Ollive, Visitor Attraction Director, Castle Howard
Abbi has been part of the senior team at Castle Howard, for 9 years. The role is certainly varied and has involved opening a new adventure playground, working on events ranging from BBC Countryfile Live through to Ellie Goulding’s wedding, growing an iconic Christmas event, doubling the Membership numbers and managing a fair amount of filming activity, from Bridgerton to an Arctic Monkey’s music video. Before Castle Howard, Abbi spent ten years working in theatre.
Session title:
We Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day
Georgie Sykes, Marketing and PR Manager, Castle Howard
Georgie is the Marketing and PR Manager at Castle Howard. Georgie’s background in theatre has informed creative marketing campaigns and strategies promoting cultural experiences that start at the very first interaction, and she has delivered award-winning marketing and brand campaigns across the arts and attractions industries. Georgie has worked in marketing and PR at Leeds Playhouse, Tapestry Opera in Toronto, and now Castle Howard, whose much-loved Christmas events have grown exponentially in recent years, delighting over 106,000 visitors in 2024.
Session title:
We Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day
Kadi Diallo, Tate Collective Marketing Manager, Tate
Kadi Diallo is the Tate Collective Marketing Manager and has worked at Tate for over four years. She joined without a background in arts, keen to connect with culturally curious audiences like herself.
Her work focuses on addressing a central question: how can we bring young people into gallery spaces? This means meeting young audiences where they are and bridging those worlds by presenting art as interdisciplinary, accessible, and relevant to young people through multiple entry points.
Session title:
Free Moments, Real Impact: Rethinking Youth Engagement Through Collaborations
Logan Kingsbeer, Senior Marketing Manager of Tate Collective and Partnerships, Tate
Logan is a Senior Marketing Manager at Tate, leading Partnerships and Tate Collective. They specialise in building partnerships that connect art and culture with young audiences through collaborations that are authentic, relevant and rooted in culture.
With over a decade of experience at organisations including Wellcome Collection and Tate, Logan develops campaigns that unite brands, artists and communities to reach new audiences and grow lasting engagement. Their work blends brand strategy, creative storytelling and audience insight to deliver measurable impact and cultural relevance.
Session title:
Free Moments, Real Impact: Rethinking Youth Engagement Through Collaborations
Chris Unitt, Founder, One Further
Chris is the founder of One Further, where he helps clients in the arts and culture
figure out how to deliver the best possible digital experiences.
One Further’s toolbox includes website analytics, digital audience research,
content strategy, and digital marketing.
Current clients include the British Museum, Royal Albert Hall, Sadler’s Wells, Tate
and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Session title:
When marketing and digital become revenue drivers
Ella Bailey, Digital Marketing and Content Specialist, Ticketsolve
Ella is Digital Marketing and Content Specialist at Ticketsolve, specialising in creating strategic content for the arts and cultural sector. With a background in agency account management and an MA in Museum Studies, she combines sector insight with commercial marketing experience to create engaging, results-driven communications.
Session title:
In Search of KPIs: Aligning Teams Around What Really Matters
Sarah Derbyshire, Chief Executive, Orchestras Live
Sarah Derbyshire MBE is Chief Executive of Orchestras Live, where she has advanced the organisation’s strategic role as a leader in inclusive co-production and sector innovation. Formerly Chief Executive of Live Music Now and the National Children’s Orchestras, she contributes widely to discourse on Creative Health, cultural policy, and organisational leadership.
Session title:
Making the Case, Together: Translating Cultural Impact Through Social Value
Nicola Dixon, Arts Manager, East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Nicola Dixon, Arts Manager for East Riding of Yorkshire Council. Nicola is an experienced arts professional working across both venue‑based non‑profit organisations and local authority settings. Her practice spans programme development, partnership working, and the delivery of public‑facing cultural initiatives that support community engagement. She is particularly interested in the role of arts organisations in fostering access, participation, and sustainable cultural infrastructure.
Session title:
Making the Case, Together: Translating Cultural Impact Through Social Value
Rachael Easton, Director, Regional Development EU, Tessitura
Rachael Easton is Business Development Director at Tessitura with over 25 years’ experience in the arts and cultural sector. Passionate about data, technology, and audience insight, she has worked with CRM providers and regularly speaks at industry conferences. Outside work, she’s an enthusiastic endurance walker, theatre‑lover and is deeply involved in her community – a reflection of her belief in resilience, curiosity, and long‑term commitment.
Session title:
Managing Change Together
Kat Collins, Head of Sales and Marketing, The Arts Theatre Cambridge
Kat Collins is a senior arts professional with a strategic focus on customer experience, CRM management, and data-driven marketing. She is Head of Sales and Marketing at The Arts Theatre Cambridge, bringing over a decade of experience across Box Office and Marketing functions within the organisation. Kat has led on a number of key projects for the theatre including overseeing the implementation of two CRM systems. She is currently working on a 3-year Audience Development plan following the theatre’s reopening after a major refurbishment in 2025.
Session title:
Reopening together: How The Arts Theatre Cambridge brought its new brand to life online
Munroop Kaur Panesar, Multidisciplinary Artist, Creative Producer and Teacher/Facilitator, Queer Coffee Link Ups
Munroop is a multidisciplinary artist and poet whose work explores otherness, belonging, and the unlearning of inherited narratives around identity, history, and power. Influenced by hip-hop and collective storytelling traditions, her practice moves between reflection, resistance, and self-expression. She founded and co-runs Queer Coffee Link Ups, serves on the Leicester Poetry Committee, and in 2025 was commissioned by The Football Association to write poem: This Is England commemorating the Lionesses’ European Championship win.
Session title:
From Keynote to Commercial Toolkits
Catherine Warwick, Client Partnership Lead, Numiko
With over 25 years in arts, culture and publishing, Catherine Warwick has held marketing and client partnership roles at the London Symphony Orchestra, the Financial Times and AKA Promotions. Now Client Partnership Lead at Numiko, she works with clients including the British Museum, Booker Prizes Foundation and Comic Relief. Her focus on turning website data into measurable, mission-aligned outcomes makes her ideally placed to show arts organisations how to define success, set meaningful KPIs and drive real improvement.
Session title:
Findability: how to get your content found by humans and AIs
Jaron Ghani, Innovation Director, Numiko
Jaron is one of the founders of Numiko and our Innovation Director. He leads Numiko’s studio on creative use of technology, ensuring we’re up to date on the latest trends and shifts, and working with the team to build proofs of concept, prototypes and demos across a wide range of technologies.
He also works closely with our clients on technology strategy, helping to navigate the challenges of an ever-evolving digital landscape, procurement and integration concerns, and programme management across multiple suppliers.
He’s delivered websites and digital transformation for high-profile clients including the Science Museum Group, the British Museum, the National Archives, Channel 4, the BBC, University of Oxford, the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, the British Academy and the Electoral Commission.
Session title:
Findability: how to get your content found by humans and AIs
Carol Jones, CultureHive Editor and Innovation Lead, Arts Marketing Association
Carol Jones is the Editor of the Arts Marketing Association’s knowledge exchange hub, CultureHive and Innovation Lead for a National Heritage Lottery funded project that is developing Goose, an AI and community-driven knowledge exchange platform.
Carol is passionate about knowledge equity and trying to make 2 + 2 = 6 or 7. She is an experienced lecturer and led the marketing module on the highly regarded MA in Arts Management at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff until 2024.
Session title:
Ideas into Action: AI is here, are you ready?
Paul Blundell, Head of Digital Research and Development, Arts Marketing Association
Paul is the Head of Digital Research and Development at the Arts Marketing Association (AMA). With over 30 years’ experience in digital transformation and IT in the membership sector, Paul excels at developing technology that empowers organisations while prioritising ethical practices and fostering positive workplace cultures.
As part of his role at the AMA, Paul works with cultural organisations on responsible and sustainable AI adoption. Drawing on his experience working in theatres and across the arts, digital projects, data science and AI, he has developed a methodology for helping organisations build responsible AI literacy from the ground up. He has trained over 250 arts professionals, runs sector governance roundtables, and delivers AI policy and leadership training. His work focuses on helping teams hold onto good judgement: when to say yes, when the right thing is to say no and how to stand behind decisions.
Session title:
Ideas into Action: AI is here, are you ready?
Previous Conference Keynotes
Helping you find focus
Making a Difference – AMA Conference 2019 Keynote
Lemn Sissay, Poet, Playwright & Broadcaster
Working to make a difference
Talking Brand – AMA Conference 2019 Keynote
Nadja Bellan White, Executive Partner, The Ogilvy Group
Finding motivation and energy
Play & The Oxygenation of the Workplace — AMA Conference 2018 Keynote
Emma Rice, Artistic Director, Wise Children
Celebrating the adventure
Sparking Change — AMA Conference 2019 Keynote
Richert Schnorr, Director of Digital Media, New York Public Library
With thanks to our Lead Sponsors:
With thanks to our Supporting Sponsors:
With thanks to our Conference Online sponsor:
With thanks to our Conference Media Partner:
With thanks to our Photobooth sponsor:
Image credits
- Header (left to right, top then bottom): AMA Conference 2025 (c) Micaela Karina; AMA Conference 2024 (c) Kitty Lineker, Lineker Photography; AMA Conference 2019 (c) Marion Botella; AMA Conference 2023 (c) AMA; AMA Conference 2019 (c) Marion Botella; AMA Conference 2025 (c) Micaela Karina; AMA Conference 2018 (c) Brian Roberts Images; AMA Conference 2017 (c) AMA; AMA Conference 2024 (c) Kitty Lineker, Lineker Photography; AMA Conference 2023 (c) AMA; AMA Conference 2025 (c) Micaela Karina; AMA Conference 2019 (c) Marion Botella; AMA Conference 2024 (c) Kitty Lineker, Lineker Photography; AMA Conference 2019 (c) Dani from AMA; AMA Conference 2022 (c) AMA; AMA Conference 2024 (c) Kitty Lineker, Lineker Photography
