The team have expertise in many aspects of cultural entrepreneurship, arts programming, developing innovative strategies and partnerships, and connecting cultural initiatives with regeneration to strengthen communities.
Directors
Mark Dunford
Dr. Mark Dunford brings a high level of expertise in the business and creative side of cultural, media and digital industries, with a focus on entrepreneurship and evaluation. He has a particular talent in bringing partnerships together around innovative projects in these areas, especially involving higher education. He has worked at the BBC, British Film Institute, Arts Council England and as Executive Director of the media charity Hi8us Projects. His time in Higher Education includes teaching and research at Goldsmiths, University of Brighton and UEL. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He balances his time at Culture in Flux with academic development of the higher education programme at Morley College and participatory media production through DigiTales, a research company hosted by Goldsmiths.
Shreela Ghosh
Shreela has worked in the creative industries for more than 30 years in senior executive and/or governance roles. As a CEO, Shreela has led companies like Iniva (Visual Arts) and she was the founding director of the UK’s first Literature House Freeword. Shreela is Chair of Dance East, the home of contemporary dance in the East of England. Shreela is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of Edinburgh. Currently, Shreela is the Secretary (part-time) of the Charles Wallace India Trust, a grant-making charity that fosters links between the UK and India. For Culture In Flux Shreela has led on several assignments including the Governance Review of Without Walls and the Organisational Development of Tamasha Theatre. Previously, Shreela had worked in a senior role at the British Council (2011 – 2018); based in New Delhi, Shreela provided leadership to the Arts team and she had a strategic overview of British Council’s programmes across the South Asia region.
Sarah Macnee
Sarah brings a sharp focus on business planning, financial sustainability and organisational robustness with a focus on strategic development, evaluation and change management. She balances her time between Culture in Flux consultancy projects and championing the work of creative producing company Crying Out Loud as part-time Executive Director. Sarah joined the company as they rapidly expanded in order to deliver larger scale projects, including for the Cultural Olympics in 2012. In 2023, the company moved to Portsmouth and expanded their portfolio of national and international work to include developing local talent and infrastructure in the Solent area. Over the years, both independently and through Culture in Flux, she has provided management, business planning, fundraising advice and support to many organisations across a wide range of art forms; supporting them through the change process; the development, delivery and evaluation of international projects; festivals and building-based development. Sarah has also played a key role in developing national strategic programmes at NESTA and Arts Council England, including developing NESTA’s approach to evaluation across its support programmes. She was a Creative Industries visiting lecturer on post-graduate degrees at Goldsmiths, University of London for 6 years.
Associates
Tricia Jenkins
Tricia has worked as a creative practitioner, private consultancy and further and higher education. She currently works part-time on Goldsmiths, University of London’s MA Arts Administration and Cultural Policy, and leads on Fundraising and Development at InsightShare. She is a Director of DigiTales research and participatory media company, having founded the company with Mark Dunford and Robert Smith in 2008. As a successful fundraiser, she has designed, fundraised for and delivered significant multi-partner transnational projects. She was Head of Fundraising training at Arts & Business , running a national programme of master classes and an annual conference for arts and cultural fundraisers. As a senior manager at Film London and grants manager at Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, she has extensive experience in policy development and grants management.
Nadine Patel
Nadine has worked in the UK and international arts sector for over 25 years supporting artists and arts organisations to develop and strengthen their opportunities and growth. As a freelance creative consultant she draws upon her wide-ranging knowledge of contemporary arts practices and networks to provide specialist advice, as well as participating directly in project design, implementation, management, research and evaluation. She brings a wealth of experience and expertise working with international cultural agencies and is adept at working on transnational partnerships and programmes. She has strong international experience and is able to activate a wide network of contacts, both in institutional and grassroots organisations across Europe, Latin America and Africa. Nadine also works regularly for a range of UK higher education creative institutions, such as the Royal College of Art and University of the Arts London.
Polly Rodgers
Polly Rodgers is a researcher and facilitator whose work has spanned three major areas: community arts and heritage; community conflict capability; and community building and development. In all three areas she places narrative practices and participatory values at the heart of her work, foregrounding the impact that cultural stories have on our lives and our relationships, and breaking down the distinction between storyteller and audience, to democratise our shared history, and to build collaborative new possibilities for marginalised communities. She has worked with diverse organisations including Locality, Royal Opera House, Pascal Theatre Company, historypin, DigiTales and deep:black London.