RSA Southern Creative Catalyst: Winchester Meetup

The South Coast has long been home to a thriving creative commercial scene, with creative agencies, architects, designers, music makers, marketers, filmmakers, creative technologists and more shaping industries and driving economic growth.

At a recent RSA Southampton event, ‘Supporting Our Creative Businesses’, local practitioners made it clear—it’s time to connect, collaborate, and push the sector forward with more focus. These first gatherings are the first step in that mission. It’s for leaders and practitioners of creative businesses—those who make their living from selling creative output—to meet, discuss opportunities, explore collaborations, and strengthen the industry in our region as a whole.

This Winchester event will be hosted at the legendary South Downs Social, right in the heart of Kings Walk—an area currently working towards Creative Enterprise Zone status as part of the Central Winchester Regeneration. Winchester isn’t just geographically central to the South—it’s also a thriving creative and cultural hub, with a dynamic concentration of advertising, marketing, and architectural practices, alongside exceptional academic institutions, as highlighted in recent reports commissioned by the University of Winchester.

We're hoping this is the start of a movement to unite and amplify the creative commercial sector right across the Central South. If you’re in the business of creativity, we’d love for you to take a couple of hours to meet others who share your passion. Except for a few words about our ambition for the Southern Creative Catalyst the time will be spent meeting and building connections and sharing experiences across the commercial creative sector

Creatives from across the region are welcome at any of the events, so feel free to mix it up a bit!

Tickets are free, but it is essential to register - follow 'reserve a spot' above. The first 40 attendees will receive a free drink, courtesy of the University of Winchester.

If you would like details of this - or any of our future events - please sign up to the Southern Creative Catalyst

This event is organised by the RSA in collaboration with Creative Network South, VentureFest South, The University of Winchester and the South Downs Social.

Our first event in Southampton was enjoyed by over 80 people - so much so we’re going to hit repeat and host events in Winchester (15th May), Portsmouth (June, TBC) and Southampton (June, TBC).

To participate in this event, you will need to register for a ticket so that we can manage capacity. Our events are frequently oversubscribed so if you are subsequently unable to attend, please cancel your Eventbrite booking so we can make room for others on the Wait List.

Accessibility and Inclusivity

At the RSA, we strive to create an inclusive and supportive environment for all Fellows. We ask that you fill out the accessibility requirements box in your Eventbrite booking form in advance of our events to ensure that we can accommodate such requirements.

Join Circle and connect with others who attend this event

Join Circle, the RSA’s community platform, to stay up to date on the latest events, connect with Fellows across the world, and engage with the RSA Design for Life mission. To get started on Circle, you need to have a My RSA account. If you already have a My RSA account, your account details will be the same for Circle.

Data and Personal Information

By registering for this event you consent to receiving communications about this event, both before and after, and you agree to the sharing of your name, organisation & title with the Fellow(s) and/or partner organisation(s) hosting this event. Attendees also agree to the sharing of their name and organisation with other delegates at the event so that they might contact you. If you do not wish this information to be shared, please let us know by emailing: ZmVsbG93c2hpcCB8IHJzYSAhIG9yZyAhIHVr.

The information you provide when registering for an event will be retained by the RSA and will be used to record attendance at the event. To understand more about how the RSA uses your data, please see our Privacy Policy.

Please be aware that registrations will close two hours before the event is due to start.

Also check out other Meetups in Winchester, Arts events in Winchester.