The Diverse-C-Tea Leadership Podcast

Welcome to Diverse-C-Tea, the podcast where leadership meets honest conversation - over a cup of tea. Each episode invites leaders from across the arts, heritage and creative sectors to share honest reflections, bold ideas and personal stories of navigating leadership through the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion.

The most recent episode is at the top of this page.

Live at #AMAconf: Why is that Leader Dancing Around that Royal Seat? / Showing up as a Leader.

A live episode recorded at the AMA Conference 2024 in Brighton. Keisha Thompson speaks to Magdalen Bartlett, CEO & Creative Practitioner of Afrocats and Cath Hume, CEO of the Arts Marketing Association, about how we can show up authentically as a leader whilst also not claiming to know it all.  How do we sit comfortably in those quiet moments to take stock and breathe? And the importance of looking across your team or freelancers to build in a succession planning process and pathways.

Negotiating and Sharing through Co-leadership

Keisha Thompson speaks with Euella Jackson, Co-Director of Rising Arts Agency in Bristol.  Hear first-hand about the benefits – and honest challenges – of two different leadership styles uniting for one clear organisational purpose.  Euella unpacks the essential co-journey of implementing an embodied approach that minimises harm, revealing how this collaborative and learning approach can strengthen resilience and drive intentional outcomes. If you’re curious about distributed power, or seeking senior-level insights, this conversation is a must-listen.

The Sound of Communities Collaborating to Work it Out

Keisha Thompson shares an insightful conversation with Gina O'Kelly, Executive Director of the Irish Museums Association. Discover the practical magic behind fostering an environment where every voice across the membership contributes to clear outputs and solutions to encompass a whole Ireland approach.

A Cultural Strategy Means All of Us

Keisha Thompson sits down with Tom Bird, CEO of Sheffield Theatres in South Yorkshire who is participating in a groundbreaking initiative.  Tom shares how a bold new cultural strategy for the city is bringing together both grass roots organisations and larger institutions to imagine what the culture scene should look like for the people of Sheffield (and beyond) in 5 years’ time.

Cultural Intelligence through Citizens Leading the Way

Keisha Thompson chats to Saad Eddine Said, CEO and Artistic Director of the New Art Exchange - a visual arts gallery in Nottingham, East Midlands.

Discover how Saad is bravely redefining leadership to foster true cultural intelligence by handing over significant control to the world's first Citizen's Assembly model. This engaging, informal chat offers invaluable insights for leaders navigating the future and arts marketing professionals seeking a fresh perspective on senior-level thinking.

From Uncomfortable Collections to Contextual Conversations

Keisha Thompson and Edward Appleyard from the Thackray Museum of Medicine share an engaging, informal chat exploring  the museum's past, its collections' ties to Western medicine and its present efforts towards ethical recruitment.

Live at #AMAConf Brighton, 2024. Leadership, Acknowledgement and Breakthrough

Grab a cuppa and join us for a special live episode recorded at the AMA conference in Brighton (2024). Our host Keisha Thompson is joined by Amanda O'Reilly, Creative Director and CEO of Worthing Theatre and Museums, and Trish Wheatley, CEO at Disability Arts Online.

Over a bright yellow teapot, these industry leaders share their insights on building strong teams and driving change.

This discussion draws connections to the cultural leadership and SMT programme, Breakthrough and the resource on Culturehive that invites you to take in and shape up for the UK Acknowledgement Statement. Get practical takeaways from a truly insightful conversation.

In this trailer, get a taste of what's to come as we sit down with bold and brilliant voices from across the arts and culture sector.

We'll explore what leadership really looks like when it embraces diversity, equity and inclusion at its heart. If you're ready for real talk, fresh perspectives and meaningful change - this is the space for you. Pop the kettle on and press play.

Diverse-C-Tea podcast is an Arts Marketing Association production.

Editing and post-production work of this episode was provided by University of Bedfordshire (Culture and Community Engagement Team & RadioLAB)
Design work of this episode and the podcast was provided by the University of Bedfordshire (Culture and Community Engagement Team & RadioLAB)

Series host: Keisha Thompson

Series editors: Emma Stigter and Joel Atkinson

Series artwork: Anett Farkas