We believe that the quality of culture and the creative industries is undermined if a significant proportion of current and potential creators, collaborators, and audiences are alienated from it and are unable to effectively and safely participate. We recognise those with identities that now hold significant cultural capital, and whose voices are critical to addressing systemic inequality, due to their lived experience, are more likely to remain at risk of sector drop out without sustainable mechanisms and models to support them.

STAF develops processes and ways of working from knowledge and insights gained from our combined experiences to:

• Support artist and artist-led organisations, offering consultancy to help drive forward the ambitions of leaders with lived experience of disadvantage.

• Design projects, supported by partner commissions, which aim to extend their work and embed inclusive practices across sectors.

• Develop initiatives which actively engage with issues of inequity that continue to create challenges and barriers for the artists and communities we support.