Derby Theatre Will Host Culture Cares Conference 2025

Derby Theatre, in collaboration with care-experienced young people, and with guest talks from Olympian, Fatima Whitbread MBE, will play host to its third Culture Cares Conference on Wednesday 2 July, a fascinating and insightful day packed with lively conversations, presentations and workshops which brings the cultural and care sectors together.

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."