Northumbria Professor will champion cultural collaborations at online festival

Director of Cultural Partnerships at Northumbria University, Professor Katy Shaw, is preparing to speak at the first ever Festival of Cultural Knowledge Exchange, organised by the organisation that works to support collaboration between Higher Education and the UK’s arts and cultural sector. 

The National Centre for Academic and Cultural Exchange (NCACE) was established in 2020 to evidence and showcase the social, cultural and economic benefits of knowledge exchange, thanks to The Culture Capital Exchange (TCCE) and funding from Research England.

Northumbria University was named as one of four regional NCACE hubs due to its experience in bringing together artists, practitioners, students and academics to generate new ways of thinking and creative practice.

Now NCACE has launched the Festival of Cultural Knowledge Exchange, due to take place between 10 and 14 of October, as a space for generating fresh considerations and perspectives on collaboration between Higher Education and the arts and cultural sector.

Evelyn Wilson, Co-Director NCACE and Director TCCE, said: “The festival aims to present a range of timely discussions, workshops, debates and other activities designed to bring together researchers, academics, artists, arts professionals, policy-makers and anyone with an interest in exchanges of all kinds between universities and the arts.”

Professor Shaw was appointed Director of Creative Communities for the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) earlier this year after being chosen to lead a £1.5m project to explore how culture can help address regional inequality. She will speak on 11 October at an event which aims to explore the role of higher education in fostering place-based cultural and artistic ecologies.

“Northumbria University is one of the founding members of NCACE so I am especially delighted to be speaking at this year’s festival,” said Professor Shaw. “Supported by Arts Council England and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, cultural compacts support the local cultural sector and enhance its contribution to development, with a special emphasis on cross-sector engagement beyond the cultural sector itself and the local authority.

“Since 2019, compacts have undergone a period of radical transformation and proliferation in response to the rapid changing contexts and challenges of the contemporary world.  Our panel will consider their past, present and future, and profile the diversity of the compacts landscape as a strength for future success.”