ACAVA Talks: Navigating practice, values and person

Discover principles for navigating identity, values, and justice in your creative work, empowering you to move confidently across personal, organisational, and systemic spaces.

Many artists care about different forms of justice and, therefore, become anti- (e.g. anti-ableist, anti-racist). Rather than balancing, how do we fluidly navigate between different levels—interpersonal, organisational and systemic—of how power and prejudice function and impact our lives?

This talk will address this question. Recognising that our professional careers and creative practices are part of us, we will focus on the key principles of being ‘anti-‘, which can empower you to feel comfortable moving between these different levels without compromise. Together, we can acknowledge that these principles are scalable and start from radical thinking: how you view the world.

The session will conclude with a Q&A, where you’ll have the chance to ask Jade your questions directly. Scroll to read our FAQs.

Zoom link will be sent to all attendees the day before the talk

About Jade Foster

Jade Foster (they/them) is a British curatorial and business consultant, artist and art historian of Afro-Caribbean heritage based in Yarm, North Yorkshire, and born in Sandwell.

Jade is the Public Programme Curator at Primary and a Trustee / Board Member of Nottingham Contemporary (since 2020). They were the former Curator at DASH, where they led on initiatives aimed at systemic change. Their focus was on strategic leadership and clearly establishing and communicating the vision and mission for programmes rooted in Disability Justice. Their work included employing experimental and creative methodologies as part of the Future Curators Programme (FCP) Network, a consortium of eight prominent visual arts organisations. At Primary, they lead the development of Studio A4, an artist development residency programme; exhibitions; and digital commissions, focusing on brokering international collaborations, most notably, curating Human Life in Motion in 2025 and Imagining Otherwise in 2024, featuring artists Ashley Holmes, Turner Prize 2024 winner Jasleen Kaur, and Jala Wahid.

As an avid public speaker, in recent years, they were a panellist for ‘Time Will Tell: Future Museum and Contested Objects’ at Tate Britain and Governance Now, a flagship conference by Clore Leadership and the Cultural Governance Alliance (CGA). Jade is a member of the British Art Network. They completed an MA in History of Art at UCL and is currently studying for a Cultural and Creative Leader MBA at Teesside University.

https://jadefoster.squarespace.com/

About ACAVA Talks

This event is part of ACAVA Talks our professional development events programme for creative practitioners. Whether you’re looking to refresh your practice, take risks, make a change, or simply reconnect with purpose — this programme is for you.

Through knowledge sharing and skills development it aims to support, and foster connections between creative professionals navigating a shifting and complex cultural landscape

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