Consultancy, Learning & Training

Exploring ideas for a new festival in a unique location? Looking to build support for an ambitious new project? We can help.

Our Creative Producers don’t just produce our shows. They also act as consultants to external artistic, creative and civic organisations, using their far-reaching expertise in festival and event management, sustainable production and the wider experience economy to develop new thinking, secure investment and build support among potential partners.

If you’re looking for guidance, please drop us a line. You’ll be following in the footsteps of European Capitals of Culture, local authorities and public sector partners, commercial companies and many others who’ve engaged us as consultants.  

Working with the British Council’s Cultural Skills team to develop festival management training in West Africa; reimagining public space in Manchester or Blackpool; advising the Canal & River Trust or the Port of London Authority – whatever your project, our team can help you take it to the next level. To find out more, send us a note – we’d love to hear your plans.

We’ve got three decades’ experience of staging innovative outdoor arts – and we’d love to share what we know with you. Our training and education programmes help you develop the tools you need to shape and develop your own creative practice.

Our training, learning and education initiatives are as varied as the work we make. From project-based work placements to cross-cutting internships, one-on-one mentoring to worldwide webinars, we provide practical advice that empowers artists, makers, technicians, producers and others to take their skills in new directions.

We offer training placement opportunities at our Salford headquarters and elsewhere, and regularly present learning programmes in collaboration with other organisations – from educational institutions to major cultural enterprises. As well as our ELEVATE masterclasses, a partnership with Manchester City Council, our recent work has included:

EU School of Participation (supported by Creative Europe), 186 creative practitioners from 11 countries develop new skills to build the capacities of new European Capitals of Culture.

Green Production Lab (in collaboration with Without Walls), production management professionals to explore ways to reduce the environmental impacts of outdoor festivals and events.

Emerging Creatives, six-month paid placements at our Salford headquarters that allow early-career artists to gain vital experience.

‘It’s been an invaluable experience – I've been constantly surrounded by a wealth of knowledge to absorb, and the focused sessions specific to supporting my needs have been really helpful in giving me clear direction’ – Lucy Laverty, Emerging Creative

Festival management training for the British Council, with young producers and festival managers in Jamaica, Nigeria and Ghana to build expertise and share ideas.

Collaborations with PrintCity at Manchester Metropolitan University and NERIC (North of England Robotics Centre) at the University of Salford, connecting freelance creatives with world-class facilities and expertise at both institutions.

You can find out about upcoming opportunities, workshops and other events by checking this page or signing up to our newsletter. If you’re interested in developing a new learning or training programme, please get in touch.