The Board is responsible for steering and supporting Family Arts Campaign to deliver and develop its strategy as part of Arts Council England’s Let’s Create national portfolio.

The Campaign’s mission is to work with arts providers across the UK to help every child and family access arts and culture. Each board member brings valuable skills and experience to support the campaign’s strategic work and advise on the development of the Campaign’s programmes, projects and activities.

Elaine is pleased to join the Family Arts Campaign’s Board at the beginning of the Campaign’s new journey. From April 2023, our organisation began operating as an independent company, and as one of Arts Council England’s Investment Principle Support Organisations

Elaine shared with us what it means to her to join the Board: 

“I’m extremely honoured to join FAC board at this important time in its development. Together we will be able to make significant changes on a national level for many organisations.”

Elaine believes arts experiences should be accessible to all, and her work supports theatre professionals to welcome diverse audiences. Her previous projects have included managing a unique family arts programme ‘Family First Nights’ at Go Live Theatre Projects for 16 years which had an important impact on family theatre-going for thousands of families across Greater London and the South East. 

The incredible impact the arts can have on families and young people is something Elaine feels passionate about. From the positive effect it can have on mental health for people of all ages, to the dreams it can inspire and the meaningful experiences it provides.

“Arts for families is important because everyone deserves access to high quality live experiences! Arts for families can be life-changing for the whole family, it enhances well-being and creates long lasting memories and can be aspirational for the young people and their futures.”

Zoe is excited by the national scope of the Campaign and the potential to have a big impact on how families access creative and cultural experience and improve inclusivity:

“There is such a lot of amazing, inclusive practice in the sector, but the need for creativity is greater than ever—with arts subjects being stripped from our school system and the impact of a decade of austerity, there are increasing numbers of children who have no access to creativity in any sphere of their lives.

As a sector we should be more explicit about the structural challenges that prevent families from accessing creative activity—structural racism, the impact of austerity, ableism—and how we can work to overcome and dismantle these. I’d like to see more guidance on audience segmentation and audience development for priority family audiences—we need to see a more targeted approach in order to shape an offer that is truly for everyone.”

Creative and collaborative work with families has always been important to Zoe professionally but becoming a parent has made this much more personal. She shared: “I will never forget the magic of seeing my sometimes-shy toddler make her way to the middle of the stage at the Half Moon Theatre and sit herself between the performers, completely transfixed.

My experience of taking my daughter to museums, galleries and theatres has also brought home how vulnerable you can feel as a new parent and made me more keenly aware of the privilege that allows me to access cultural spaces with relative ease. I’ve thought a lot about what we can do to make all families feel at home in cultural spaces— like a warm and inclusive welcome, free snacks or a quiet chill-out space away from a busy workshop. It can make all the difference.”

Find out who else is on the Family Arts Campaign Board on our Team Page and stay up to day with Family Arts Campaign news by subscribing to our newsletter.

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