Some people are driven to create, make, design and help us see the world differently. The challenge is finding a way to make this creativity pay - as a sustainable enterprise. As part of Intangible Cultural Heritage Project, funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund, it is our mission to support African, African-Caribbean and South Asian heritage organisations in the region with their needs to thrive and be sustainable and connected in the sector. In this workshop, the attendees had an opportunity to consider which income streams and funding sources are appropriate for their creative heritage enterprise, and what they need to do to position your enterprise on a path towards success.

The workshop covered aspects of:

Enterprise values and mindset as a creative entrepreneur
Access to funding and generating income
Planning a path towards achieving key goals
Mapping business processes and building key relationships
Showing impact and raising profile
Strategies to build a creative enterprise
Time management, defining next steps and pacing yourself

The session was attended 10 creative heritage organisations, as well as guest speakers Deb Joffe, Quartet Community Foundation and Paul Goddard, Arts Council England as part of an interactive session with funders who provide funding for the arts and heritage sector locally and in the region. The funders were able to share insight into their perspective on applications and what they are looking for in a creative enterprise that could be a successful applicant.

One of the attendees summarised their experience of the workshop by saying: “ The workshop provided a great opportunity to develop deeper understanding of my own practice as well as the practice of the other creative practitioners attending the workshop.”