Clare Thurman

Clare is a creative and passionate strategic leader with over 20 years experience in cultural education, leadership and organisational development. She has strong facilitation skills with extensive experience in leading peer learning programmes and evaluation.

Clare is the Director of Learning and Communities at people make it work, and the UK Movement Lead at What Next?; a national cultural movement which brings people together to debate and shape the future of the arts and culture in the UK. Clare is committed to peer learning and the power of networks, with a foundational belief that conversation, shared learning and collective problem solving can drive better practice and genuine collaboration across the arts.

As a trained dancer, Clare started her career at the Royal Academy of Dance and was the Ballet Education Manager at The Royal Ballet for seven years. She began working with Lizzie Crump at What Next? in 2014, following completion of her Clore Learning Fellowship. She has been involved in the development of key national initiatives such as; BBC Get Creative, the Risks, Rights and Reputations Programme and the Gulbenkian Inquiry into the Civic Role of Arts Organisations.

Over the last 12 years Clare has worked across the arts and education sectors delivering a National Peer Learning Programme for LCEPs, an organisation development programme for Jerwood Arts WJCB, the Coventry City of Culture Leadership Programme and Future Boards Accelerator commissioned by WMCA. Clare worked for several years with MB Associates (now JEM) on evaluation using SROI and Theory of Change methods. Clare has worked as the Director of Education for New Writing South, a CYP Relationship Manager with Arts Council England and as Executive Director for National Youth Ballet. As a legacy project to WJCB, Clare has worked with alumni fellows of the programme to develop innovative approaches to socio-economic inclusion in the arts.

Clare’s current projects include: Culture Central Collective leadership programme, Beyond the Visual evaluation with Henry Moore Institute, Art Fund Empowering Curators organisation development and the LCEP Support Programme commissioned by RBO.

Clare is a trained coach and action learning facilitator, and a primary school governor.