My role was to contribute to the strategic development and management of the British Council sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Art Connects Us programme, a three-year, £3.6 million project. I worked in collaboration with partners and colleagues in Literature, Performance, Music, Film, Architecture, Design, and Fashion across the Council's 19 offices in SSA. I designed programmes that increased the knowledge, networks, and opportunities for contemporary African arts professionals and their peers in the UK.

As Head of Partnerships and Programmes, I identified partners to create projects that responded sensitively to local opportunities and contexts. I also provided the connection to our international partners and the UK creative sectors, using my wide-ranging knowledge of contemporary arts practices and networks to provide specialist advice, and participating directly in project design, implementation, management, and evaluation.

Key achievements:

• Drafted rigorous Theories of Change for the British Council’s Overseas Development Aid-funded projects initiated within the region, alongside a strong UK-managed programme that supported new partnerships and opportunities. I led the process, drawing on expertise and insight from both the UK and SSA region, and delivered a programme that brought new opportunities for UK and SSA arts organisations, with a yearly £130,000 budget for which I had sole accountability.

• Initiated a partnership with the Mayor of London and joined the Africa in London Steering Group, supporting a city-wide annual programme showcasing African culture in London.

• Initiated a partnership with the Prince Claus Fund to support the mobility of SSA creatives across the Global South.

• Led the partnership with the Royal African Society, which aimed to increase UK audiences’ access to contemporary African art. Projects included the publication of the report Contemporary African Arts: Mapping Perceptions, Insights and UK–Africa Collaborations and the Film Africa grant scheme.

• Collaborated with founding editor Nana Ocran on People's Stories, a project that spotlights new and evolving trends in contemporary arts across Africa. A core element of the project is commissioning young writers from the continent to talk about their cultural scenes—tapping into the real conversations that artists are having, and the peer-to-peer online influencers driving the creative ecosystem.

• Worked with Monitoring & Evaluation consultants Tom Fleming Consultancy to draft an evaluation framework for Art Connects Us, with a set of clear outcomes reflecting the programme’s aims. I also provided recommendations for measuring the sustainability and long-term impact of the programme, using the evaluation framework developed through this project.

• Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee member.

My role as Programme Manager was to develop culturally sensitive performing arts activities in the regions I was responsible for (Latin America, SSA, and EU Europe — a total of 59 countries) by liaising with a network of innovative British and international arts practitioners. I also advised cultural organisations — both in the independent sector and government — on strategies for international development, as well as providing mentorship to arts professionals and organisations. It was my responsibility, following consultation with the local arts sector and colleagues, to help shape the performing arts strategies in countries where the Council operates.

Key achievements:

• Drafted and supported the implementation of the Council Nigeria’s performing arts programme, which included four editions of the Lagos Theatre Festival (LTF). LTF has become the biggest performing arts festival in West Africa, employing 613 people with a reach of 26 million through print, radio, and television. In 2018, it was voted by AMEX as one of the top 10 festivals in the world. In recognition of the impact LTF has had, an MoU was signed with the Federal Government of Nigeria to co-fund a Festival Management training programme open to participants across West Africa. Additionally, the Lagos State Government, in recognition of the festival’s impact on the local creative economy, has committed to building six new theatres.

• Initiated the department’s UK artists & producers identifying with being from the Global Ethnic Majority programme and forged strategic partnerships with Arts Council England (initially with Nike Jonah and later with Abid Hussain), IETM (International network for contemporary performing arts), and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Together, a range of bursaries, networking, and professional development programmes were launched, such as:

  • The Edinburgh Fringe Emerging Producers Programme – a development initiative for emerging producers in partnership with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

  • International Network Bursaries – supporting practitioners to attend major international performing arts and networking events.

  • Edinburgh Artist Development Programme – introducing early-career artists to the Fringe and to international programmers during the Edinburgh Showcase. (Read article in Disability Arts International and blog.)

• Co-curated four editions of the Edinburgh Showcase, which featured approximately 30 performing arts companies and attracted, on average, 250 international delegates.

• Worked with a wide range of festivals including Théâtre de la Ville (France), Panorama Festival (Brazil), Noorderzon Performing Arts Festival (Netherlands), Le Festival d'Avignon (France), Tempo Festival (Brazil), National Arts Festival (South Africa), Berliner Festspiele (Germany), and Festival de Otoño (Spain).

• Collaborated with the French organisation ONDA on their 2012 Salon d’Artistes, which featured Andy Field, Quarantine, Hetain Patel, Claire Cunningham, and Lundahl & Seitl.

• Worked on Acting Together, a capacity-building workshop for community development in conflict areas.

As Projects Manager for Sadler’s Wells, I worked on the theatre’s in-house productions and international tours. I was responsible for the overall financial and managerial functions of the productions, as well as contract negotiations. In addition to working on productions in the theatre’s main house, I provided production support to the artistic programme in the Lilian Baylis Studio, off-site projects (such as Latitude Festival, Tate Modern, and South London Gallery), the Jerwood Trust artist development programme, and other bespoke Sadler’s Wells presentations.

Key achievements include:

• Project managed the first international tour of Sutra by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui & Antony Gormley — a co-production with Festival de Barcelona Grec, Athens Festival, Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, La Monnaie Brussels, Festival d’Avignon, Fondazione Musica per Roma, and the Shaolin Cultural Communications Company.

• Produced Jérôme Bel’s retrospective, and actively helped to bring the Paris Opera Ballet to London for the first time in 20 years.

• Programmed a monthly Danceclub event, which allowed audiences to learn different styles of dance in a club environment. This format proved so popular it was taken to Glastonbury Festival and filmed by the BBC.

• Companies worked with include: The Forsythe Company, Alvin Ailey, Mark Morris Dance Group, Jonathan Burrows and Matteo Fargion, Ballet Preljocaj, Carlos Acosta, Russell Maliphant, Northern Ballet, BalletBoyz, Hofesh Shechter, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, and Akram Khan.