The Future Talent steering group is a newly formed group of members who manage and support arts, health and wellbeing programmes in Gloucestershire including Create Gloucestershire, Artlift, Art Shape, Open Arms Artists’ Collective and University of Gloucestershire. 

The group has come together to take pro-active steps to diversify the Creative Health workforce in Gloucestershire and ensure those currently under-represented in the sector are able to benefit from opportunities equitably.

By working collaboratively on joined-up initiatives, we want to help develop the skills, confidence and wellbeing of existing and/or emerging artists and improve career pathways into the sector.  We believe that while opportunities in Creative Health are many and varied, we need to ensure our pool of artists and practitioners is reflective of the communities we work with. It is equally important that artists feel supported, nourished, connected, and have access to the training they need, at whatever level.

Our research will start by gathering information on current activity, on who is delivering this work and what professional development opportunities are currently available within the sector in Gloucestershire (or beyond).

We want to gather knowledge, insights, and experiences from a diverse and wide range of people (working independently or as part of an organisation) who engage in arts, health, and wellbeing interventions across Gloucestershire to identify:

• Who is currently engaging and who is missing?

• What gets in the way of starting or sustaining a career?

• What professional development, training and support is available? 

• What are the future opportunities?

Alongside 2 creative labs with invited artists and organisations across Gloucestershire and an on-line survey, we will prioritise who is missing from the sector using targeted field research to capture a diverse mix of voices, types of work, art forms, locations and levels of experience including those with lived experience, who volunteer, emerging and those who are currently underrepresented in the sector.