Culture West: Cultural Summit - Celebration Event - West of England Combined Authority - 12th May 2026 - Bristol Beacon

Culture West: Cultural Summit - Celebration Event - West of England Combined Authority - 12th May 2026 - Bristol Beacon

Where: Bristol Beacon

When: 12 May 2026

When: 12:00 – 17:00

As a celebration of the ground-breaking three-year Culture West programme coming to a close, this day will bring together live performances, film, discussion, and interactive workshops, all designed to spark ideas, foster meaningful connections, and create lasting impact. With a particular focus on looking at the Citizens' Assembly Cultural Plan. 

The summit will feature a vibrant series of live performances and films that showcase emerging talent and artist development work, including contributions from Creative Power Town Artists, Diverse Artists Network performers, Creative Youth Network cohort members of the Creative Futures programme and Artists who took part in Black South West Network's CultureBiz Connect programme, creatives that have worked with Boomsatsuma to produce a film from North Somerset, a showcase from the artists who took part in the Value of Artists from Bath Spa University with further showcases from CreativeShift CIC, West of England Music & Arts, Noods Levels CIC, Free Ice Cream, MUTI Live and WECIL. 

Alongside the performances, the programme includes a series of speakers, short talks including from the Mayor of the West of England, plus a premiere screen of a Culture West film created by Latent Pictures, highlighting the impact of Culture West and its partners.

Join us for an inspiring afternoon of creativity, collaboration and conversation at the Cultural Summit, bringing together artists, partners, and communities to celebrate the impact and future of culture in the West of England.

Who is this day for?  Creative Freelancers, Cultural Organisations, Cultural Funders & Cultural Leaders. 

Exhibitions & Showcases by our Culture West partners, including:

Workshop Sessions Available:

As we have limited space in both our Philanthropy Panel Discussion and Citizens Assembly Workshop we are asking attendees to select their priority of workshop they would most like to attend on the day. Please specify when booking. 

• Philanthropy Panel Discussion - Chaired by Samir Savant, CEO of St George's Bristol alongside Lottie Donovan who is a Fundraising Consultant and Philanthropy Advisor and Dawn Bebe Founder and CO-CEO of CrowdFunder. In this panel discussion our incredible panel will discuss supporting Cultural Organisations & Creative Freelancers to explore funding opportunities, narratives and relationships.

• Location: Third Floor, Terrace Bar, Bristol Beacon
• Time: 12:00pm - 12:55pm 

• Hear directly from Culture West Delivery Partners on their experiences of the programme and the Mayor of West of England. This includes West of England Music & Arts, Creative Youth Network & Super Culture, Bath Spa University / Little Lost Robot and Black South West Network.

• Location: Ground Floor Stage, Bristol Beacon
• Time: 1:00pm - 2:30pm

• Citizens' Assembly Workshop: A look into the Citizens' Assembly Roadshows and exploring the Citizen's Assembly Cultural plan. With the opportunity to hear from some of the Citizens involved in this amazing project.

• Location: West Stage, Bristol Beacon
• Time: 3:00pm - 5:00pm 

Networking Opportunities!

Looking forward to seeing you soon! 

Please email Zahra.Hoccom@westofengland-ca.gov.uk for any questions about the event.