Nottingham Contemporary

At Nottingham Contemporary we have made a commitment, as part of our five strategic objectives, to embed equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) across our work – in our workforce, audiences, programmes and partnerships.

Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan 2025 - 2026 sits alongside our business plan. It draws on data and reflections that highlight gaps in our perspectives and practice, alongside areas of developing practice to expand upon. The plan was developed last year in dialogue with staff, including our EDI Steering Group, trustees and Spotlight Inclusion.

This is a living plan, it evolves as we learn. The plan will be reviewed and then refreshed later in the year with the involvement of staff, trustees and community partners as part of an EDI steering group. Below, we share highlights of what we’ve achieved so far and what we’re working on.

Board of Trustees, Staff & Culture

We want Nottingham Contemporary to be a place where everyone feels they belong – whether they work here, lead here, visit or collaborate with us. That means making equity, diversity and inclusion part of everyday life across our culture, policies and governance, ensuring our team can thrive and is representative of the city and communities we serve.

So far

• Staff and board members have taken part in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion training and last year Senior leaders were involved in ongoing critical friend conversations with our EDI partner, Spotlight Inclusion.

• A member of the leadership team and two trustees have specific responsibilities for our EDI work. To try to ensure all trustees are connected to the work we are rotating EDI champion roles and ensuring EDI is part of the focus at each board meeting.

• An EDI steering group was formed of staff with lived experiences of marginalisation. The group contributed to the development of the action plan, created guidance documents, and a library of EDI learning resources.

• Each year, we collect and analyse workforce and recruitment data. Response rates are high, and as a result, we have developed a good understanding of our recruitment reach and areas of underrepresentation.

• This year we also introduced an anonymous staff survey, that provided a space for people to share their experience of being part of the team. Conversations about next steps are underway. We will repeat this survey each year.

• We’ve been developing and testing out ways of being more inclusive around recruitment. We offer open information sessions, which have been received positively by candidates. Our application packs make our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion explicit, and we are expanding where we advertise our roles. We are a Disability Confident employer. Candidates with a disability or long-term condition who meet the criteria for the role are offered an interview. Application forms are redacted of personal details and are shortlisted independently by three colleagues to reduce unconscious bias. Interview questions are sometimes provided in advance. We have involved more of the team and partners on interview panels.

• All our recent trustee appointments have been through open calls. We collect and review applicant data in real-time. During the last round of appointments, we halted the process to ensure we reached a diverse candidate pool before shortlisting and interviews.

Next steps

• An EDI Steering Group has been reformed as an accountability body to monitor the action plan and work alongside trustees to offer support and challenge. This group involves staff members and Ubuntu community researchers. In the autumn we are trialing a research and review process based on a Citizen’s Jury style approach.

• We will continue to develop the EDI learning resources and introduce regular reading and discussion groups for staff.

• We will better communicate plans and progress and develop more ways for staff to connect through the steering group, survey and feedback mechanisms and open-door discussions.

• Now that we’ve been part of an EDI training programme, we will adapt this learning and make it part of our induction processes.

• We’re working through a programme of policy development involving senior leaders, trustees and an employee forum. Key policies include recruitment, onboarding, learning and development, pay banding and wellbeing. We’re also taking additional steps to ensure that EDI is integrated into role responsibilities and guidance for trustees. We will build on the staff buddying scheme with a more comprehensive Neurodivergence policy.

• Analysis of recent recruitment campaigns and their reach shows that we haven’t been able to attract diverse candidates. We will continue to research and test approaches to attract and appoint more candidates from global majority and working-class backgrounds as these areas are underrepresented on our team.

• We will further our skills-based approach to recruitment, and, by addressing board diversity, strengthen the board composition.

Our workforce

At team level, 17% identify as global majority backgrounds, 22% identify as disabled, 48% identify as neurodivergent and 15% as coming from working-class backgrounds. (21% of the team didn’t respond to the ACE survey).

Our senior leadership team consists of three people. Within this team there are global majority, neurodivergent and working-class identities.

Following recent changes and recruitment at board level, 18% identify as global majority backgrounds; 9% as disabled; 9% as neurodivergent; and 9% as working-class.

Artistic and Engagement Programmes

We want to build on our ambitious and distinctive artistic and engagement programmes that bring together global and local perspectives, platform diverse artistic voices and are embedded in community and school settings. We will do this through collaborations and shared projects that bring our teams, community partners and international artists closer together, creating a sense of local ownership and connection. We want to embed accessibility within our building, galleries, and audience engagement and develop an inclusive, cultural offer for and with the communities we serve.

So far

• Over the last two years, eight of our nine exhibitions have displayed and highlighted the work and practices of artists from global majority backgrounds.

• Recent exhibitions, developed with local groups, have transformed the galleries into active spaces of hospitality and fostered a sense of connection. With the collective Assemble we transformed our gallery into a playground with play sculptures designed by local children and with Indonesian artist Julian Abraham “Togar” and Nottingham’s youth orchestra we created a participatory music studio, exploring the idea of ‘artist as host’.

• Our local engagement programmes use art and creativity to bring people together and increase access to the arts by developing inclusive approaches with local partners and teachers. Some of these local projects and partnerships can be seen here.

• Our long-term partnerships with Raleigh Education Trust and NEST have enabled is to develop engagement practice that is inclusive and trauma informed.

• We have committed to the Art of Belonging pledge for a cultural entitlement for refugees and asylum seekers, and developing and exchanging artist practice through partnerships.

• We have extended our access offer, which now includes large print, easy read, audio descriptions and a BSL tour.

• A recent partnership with My Sight Notts has developed the skills in the team to offer sighted guiding.

• A long-standing partnership with Rainbow Parent Carers Forum has informed a new SEND offer for families. The Big Room Family Film programme, a warm winter hub, has become a fixture within our programme.

Next steps

• In the year ahead, we plan to convert one of our gallery spaces into a space for learning activities, community hosting and participatory events. We will involve local partners and audiences in its development and explore how you create active spaces that people feel ownership of and connected to.

• Over the years, we’ve been developing a practice of community hosting – lots of local groups have had a home with us. We will develop this further with our new space.

• We want to further embed access into our programmes by training more staff in sighted guiding, developing our audio description offer and a visual story with community partners. We will also embed access into programme planning and dialogue with exhibiting artists.

• We will impact assess our Give What You Can campaign and other income generation measures for socio-economic exclusion and commit to retaining an offer that is accessible.