A New Series of Webinars starting in November 2025, in Celebration of Creative Careers Month

Connecting Notts in colaboration with the Young Creative Awards have produced the following events in celebration of Creative Careers Month, including career related webinar, and an in person Skills Share event, date to be announced in the new year!

Please click here to join our mailing list to join the Young Creative’s Network, to be notified of all future events.

Learn how to fund your creative projects in this 90-min webinar with fundraiser Nick Lawford. Grants, tips & real examples.

This 90 minute interactive webinar aimed to demystify the process of applying for funding to support creative projects. Designed for emerging creative practitioners (across art forms), this session can help you to better understand the arts funding landscape, exploring opportunities including: Arts Council England (Developing Your Creative Practice and National Lottery Project Grants), bursaries, corporate sponsorship, trusts and foundations, National Lottery funds and crowd-funding. Packed with practical tips, real world examples and opportunities for discussion, this webinar will provide a valuable introduction for creatives who are keen to develop their and make great projects happen.

This webinar is brought to you by Connecting Notts, Nottingham’s Youth Cultural Partnership. This event is part of Connecting Notts’ celebration of Creative Careers Month, including more upcoming career related webinars, and an in person Skills Share event- date TBC. Please click here to join our mailing list to join the Young Creative’s Network, to be notified of all future events.

Nick Lawford is a freelance fundraiser who has nearly 20 years’ experience of raising money for charities, arts organisations and individual artists.

This webinar aimed to develop a creatives’ practical and realistic insight in how to build visibility, confidence and professional presence.

This session offered practical, realistic insights into how independent creatives can build visibility, confidence, and a strong professional presence. Attendees explored how to define and communicate their unique creative identities, and how to develop an authentic personal brand that aligns with their values. The webinar also covered effective ways to present your portfolio or practice, both online and in person and how to tactically use different platforms to promote your work. Participants gained guidance on networking and connecting with opportunities locally and beyond, approaching clients and commissioners professionally, and pricing their work with confidence. Drawing on real examples and personal experience, the session shared tangible advice for gaining visibility and growing as a creative freelancer.

This session was facilitated by Kristian Day, an independent curator, producer, and programmer with over two decades of experience working across the UK. For 25 years he has developed and delivered exhibitions and programmes in collaboration with numerous organisations. His primary interest is in supporting artists’ development and fostering meaningful connections between artists, audiences, and the institutions and networks that shape the arts.

Currently, Kris is Director, Curator, and Programmer of Haarlem Gallery and Studios in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, where he oversees a programme of exhibitions, commissions, and residencies. He is particularly engaged with regional arts ecologies, exploring how local and national networks intersect and how collaboration, exchange, and resource-sharing can strengthen these communities. Through initiatives such as Playing Fields, Kris examines how artists and curators can work within existing industry structures while also creating new, more equitable systems for the arts.