The RE:Present programme is delivered by Lara Ratnaraja and Creative Shift and is a new initiative aimed at developing leadership in emergent and established cultural producers and artists from diverse backgrounds who are currently under-represented in Birmingham. Re:Present is funded by Birmingham City Council and Arts Council England in a unique partnership with University of Birmingham, Birmingham City University and Aston Business School.

About Ariane Koek

Ariane Koek is an international strategic consultant curator and writer in arts science technology and arts residences. She created and initiated the first arts policy at CERN, the world's largest particle physics laboratory. This is now embodied as the highly regarded Arts@CERN programme.

As the cradle of the World Wide Web and home of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), CERN is an eminent centre of science and technology with great relevance in the culture of today. As an international centre of excellence in these fields, CERN is an inspirational place for artists, designers and creators of any kind to explore and extend their research in the fascinating world of particle physics.

Prior to CERN, Ariane was Director of the Arvon Foundation for Creative Writing, and had an award-winning career as a BBC producer and director in both radio and television, working across arts, science and politics. In 2009 she was selected to be a Fellow on the prestigious Clore Fellowship, a highly regarded leadership programme in the cultural sector.

She is known for working with big thinkers, ideas and knowledge, and creating and delivering high profile cultural engagement. In her own words, she describes her career as: “dedicated to the power of the imagination and knowledge for personal, creative, social, cultural, political change and innovation”.

Ariane lectures internationally on creativity, the arts and science and cultural leadership. This is your chance to find out more about a journey through science, creativity and thinking big.