Are we building community power or just co-opting it?

An invitation from Julie Hawksworth, Relationship Manager Museums & Cultural Property (London), Arts Council England; Lauren Parker, Head of Engagement and Community Partnerships, London Museum; and Jo Chard, Senior Producer for DISRUPT, Guildhall School of Music & Drama

We’re living in a time when “community empowerment” is on everyone’s lips - from funders to policymakers to arts organisations. But behind the buzzwords, something more complex is unfolding. Are communities really being empowered? Or are institutions parachuting in, performing “sustainable practices,” and calling it progress?

When projects end, relationships fade. Communities are left uncertain, trust erodes, and the legacy of the work is lost. Community building depends on long-term commitment - continuity, accountability, and collaboration across disciplines, sectors, and communities to build more inclusive and resilient cultural ecosystems.

Yet too often, cultural organisations position themselves at the centre of cultural life, rather than as part of a broader ecosystem. Without community-led or grassroots-informed practices, efforts toward sustainability and equity risk becoming top-down processes, shaped by funding cycles and policy agendas, driven more by institutional survival than collective care.

This needs to change.

On the 24th of July 2025, an open space event will bring together people from across sectors and experiences. Whether you're a funder, artist, cultural worker, activist, policymaker, or simply someone who’s tired of seeing power misused or misunderstood, this is your space to speak, listen, challenge, connect, and imagine.

This is not a conference. It’s a conversation. It’s not about answers. It’s about asking better questions.

Why this question?

“Burning the parachute” is a provocation. It asks the cultural sector to confront the ways in which well-meaning interventions can sometimes replicate the very power structures they aim to dismantle. It’s about radical honesty, radical accountability and radical imagination.

What is an Open Space?

Open Space is a format where there are no panels, no keynotes, no gatekeepers. Just a big room, a big question, and the people who care enough to show up. You bring the topics, you choose where to go, and you decide what conversations need to happen. The space will be open and friendly - if you want to listen and not speak, that’s okay too. Join us for lunch, refreshments and good conversation.

What's Next?

On the 2nd September we will be hosting another Open Space event, based around some of the conversations that come up during this event. For updates on how to book this event, email Iona at aW9uYSAhIG1jdGFnZ2FydCB8IGdzbWQgISBhYyAhIHVr.

Travel Bursaries

We have a limited number of travel bursaries available, for further information on eligibility and how to apply, click here

Dietary Requirements

During the Open Space event we will be providing a light lunch. If you have any dietary requirements, please let us know by clicking here

What is DISRUPT?

DISRUPT is co-produced between Guildhall School of Music & Drama and a range of arts, cultural, and community organisations across the UK. Running in three-year cycles, each phase tackles a complex challenge facing the cultural sector, offering provocations and practical tools in response.

The first cycle (2021-2023) explored community-led governance through a festival, a toolkit, and a series of open space events.

The next cycle will focus on community power and sustainable practices, including the systemic and organisational blockers that get in the way of community building and what needs to happen to enable long-term change.

DISRUPT is intentionally iterative. Rather than prescribing solutions, it gathers insights through Open Space events - bringing together funders, artists, organisations, activists, policymakers, and communities - to share challenges, insights and ideas. These conversations will shape the upcoming programme and toolkit, ensuring it reflects real needs and lived experiences.

Partners

Arts Council England

Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We help people in every corner of the country to experience and benefit from creativity. We provide funding, advice and sector advocacy, and our team have expertise in a variety of art forms such as music, theatre, visual arts, literature, museums and libraries.

Guildhall School of Music & Drama

The Guildhall School of Music & Drama is a world-leading conservatoire with a growing reputation for innovative, socially engaged research and practice. Committed to exploring the role of the arts in civic life, the School supports projects that connect creativity with community impact. DISRUPT is one of these initiatives - bringing together artists, cultural organisations, and communities to co-develop tools and ideas that address complex challenges in the arts sector through collaboration, dialogue, and experimentation.

London Museum

London Museum tells the ever-changing story of this great world city and its people, from 450,000 BC to the present day. Our galleries, exhibitions, displays and activities seek to inspire a passion for London and provide a sense of the vibrancy that makes the city such a unique place.

A fixture on London’s cultural scene since first opening in 1976, London Museum is moving house. It has now closed doors at its London Wall site in preparation for its relocation to a new home at Smithfield, where it will occupy historic market buildings and open up to millions more visitors from 2026.

London Museum Docklands remains open Monday - Sunday 10am – 5pm and is FREE to all. You can explore London Museum with collections online – home to 138,000 objects with more being added regularly. https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/.

Getting to the event

London Museum Studios

First Floor

Studio Smithfield

1 East Poultry Avenue

EC1A 9PT

Tube & bus

Farringdon (Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Thameslink, Elizabeth line) – 4-minute walk.

Buses 40, 63, 341 all stop close to London Museum Studios.

Car and minibus

Loading bays are on East Poultry Avenue for vehicles dropping off visitors.

Car parking can be found at Smithfield Car Park – 3-minute walk.

Bike

There are public cycle racks on West Smithfield – 2-minute walk. Please note that bikes are left at visitors’ own risk.

Access:

London Museum Studios is a fully wheelchair accessible venue, found on the First Floor of Studio Smithfield. There are two lifts available and accessible toilets.

Members of staff will be available for any additional assistance you may need.

If you have any access needs that you'd like us to be aware of, please let us know ahead of your visit by emailing Iona at aW9uYSAhIG1jdGFnZ2FydCB8IGdzbWQgISBhYyAhIHVr

Webpage:

https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/studios/

Also check out other Arts events in London, Performances in London, Theatre events in London.