The Culture Cares Conference will once again aim to provide attendees with inspiration to extend their practice through examples of inspirational work and to explore what is making a positive impact on the lives of young people in care and care leavers.
The day will consist of keynote speakers, breakout sessions, performances and interviews. Joining the conference for 2025, we are thrilled that Fatima Whitbread MBE will join us at Derby Theatre. Fatima is care-experienced and will share stories, reflections and insights with the delegates.
Fatima Whitbread MBE, Olympian, on why it’s important for people in the care system and the arts world to work more closely together, said: “[Because] together, they can open doors that have been shut for too long. The care system can feel institutional – often reactive rather than empowering. The arts offer a completely different environment: imaginative, expressive, and transformative. Bringing these worlds together helps make sure care-experienced young people aren’t just surviving – they’re thriving.”
Workshops on the day will include Derby City Virtual School hosting sessions sharing their creative offer as a virtual school, showcasing some of their young people’s work and more. Blue Cabin will present breakout sessions in creative aid and ‘This is the Place’. The Verbatim Formula Project (TVF) will lead an interactive workshop, sharing creative methodologies and exploring the positive impact of the arts on care-experienced young people. A presentation from Literati Arts will look at empowering voices through poetry. This talk will explore the transformative power of creative expression for children in care, touching on reflective writing and performance. It will delve into the themes of identity, belonging and self-actualisation, highlighting how poetry can serve as a powerful tool for self-discovery, healing and processing. There will also be breakout sessions from Care to Dance, alongside a variety of performances.
The Culture Cares Conference is a perfect opportunity for artists, policy makers, care sector workers, arts professionals and educationalists to join us for this incredibly inspirational and insightful event.
Caroline Barth, Creative Learning Director at the Derby Theatre said: “We are so excited to be curating our third Culture Cares conference at Derby Theatre alongside our wonderful partners. No matter what sector you come from, the day will be inspiring, informative and packed with great ideas! We are all responsible for supporting care experienced young people, so this conference will, once again, bring amazing people together to make change happen.”
Tom Craig, Community and Learning Producer said: “Our Culture Cares Conference is a unique opportunity for creatives and service providers to come together and explore the profound impact of culture on individuals with care experience. We are thrilled to welcome this year’s esteemed guest speakers, including the inspiring Olympian Fatima Whitbread, the brilliant Poet Ty’rone Haughton and Musician Lucy James. The day will be filled with enriching workshops from our fellow Esmée Fairbairn Foundation-funded partners Blue Cabin, in addition to Derby City’s Virtual School, Dance company ‘Care to Dance’, and The Verbatim Formula. There will be many more performances and valuable networking opportunities throughout the day, and we sincerely hope you can join us.”
Images of young people in care, care leavers, panellists and attenders at Culture Cares Conference, 2021. Photos: Chris Webb.
TICKETS AND MORE INFO
Earlybird tickets £50. Full day tickets are £75. Afternoon only tickets are £25. Places can be booked by calling the Box Office on 01332 593939 or online at www.derbytheatre.co.uk
For more information and Culture Cares Conference updates, visit the Derby Theatre website here: Culture Cares Conference 2025 – Derby Theatre or follow us on social media (Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube – @derbytheatre).
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Organisations
Fatima Whitbread, MBE is a British retired javelin thrower who broke the World Record in 1986. She overcame a traumatic childhood in children’s homes and now campaigns for care leavers.
Derby City Virtual School is a service provided by a team of dedicated professionals to co-ordinate the educational needs of children in care and children previously in care.
Derby Virtual School – Derby City Council
Blue Cabin develops and strengthens relationships between Care Experienced People (CEP) and the people and organisations in their lives through trauma informed creative activities.
Blue Cabin: Improving Outcomes For Care-Experienced People
The Verbatim Formula is a practice research creative collective based at QMUL. Their co-researchers form a diverse intergenerational collective, with members who bring an understanding of living in the care system as well as being part of ethnic minority, diasporic and working-class communities.
The Verbatim Formula – Making listening visible
Care to Dance is a social enterprise, led by qualified social workers and dancers, that supports care-experienced young people through dance and helps them feel a sense of belonging, freedom and connection. They find creative ways to help them process their experiences and learn how to express themselves in a positive way, in a safe environment free from fear of judgement and among others who understand their experiences.
Literati Arts harnesses the power of poetry to unite people and amplify the voices of those often unheard. They believe that poetry fosters authentic self-expression and provides a safe space to process complex emotions. Their mission is to utilise the cathartic potential of poetry and performance to enhance the lives of individuals with Care Experience.
Audiences are able to donate to Support Plus One. Plus One is a scheme which provides looked after young people, care leavers and families access to free tickets and enriching, life-changing creative experiences through donations received. Plus One – Derby Theatre