Written by Lead Facilitator LaToyah McAllister-Jones
After launching the report from the Citizens for Culture Assembly on the 15th January, Citizens for Culture launched the next phase of the project, which is being delivered through a series of Citizens for Culture Roadshows.
We’ve now delivered 5 roadshows across the region, including in Thornbury, a regional meeting of the Cultural Compact National Trust and with Arts Council England, South West. It has been a really interesting experience to facilitate these sessions, each of which has been vastly different in terms of size, focus and understanding of the assembly process.
What are the roadshows?
The roadshows have been designed to encourage networks of cultural practitioners and organisations to come together to focus on how we deliver on the Cultural Plan, together. The format focuses on 3 main areas:
- Citizen voice
This is where people lean in. The roadshows centre the voices of the citizens from the Assembly; what it actually felt like to be in the room, to co-create a cultural plan with strangers, and what they hope happens next. - Leaning in
This is where it gets real. We start to surface the tensions and possibilities of working in a citizen-led way. For a sector used to knowing the destination before we begin, this is counterintuitive. We’re used to fixed outcomes, pre-set plans, consultation on our terms. This asks something different of us. The roadshows create space to sit with that discomfort and turn it into opportunity. - The priorities
This is about action. First, we map what’s already happening across the region; what we can share, what we can grow, and what we need to build to respond to the 13 priorities. Then we ask networks to step forward; which priorities matter most to you, and what are you willing to commit to, together?
Everywhere we go, people have been open, generous, and up for the conversation. There’s a real keenness to learn not just to listen, but to shape what comes next. And there is energy for this way of working.
But as the roadshows unfold, something is becoming clearer.
The story isn’t the same across the region but there is an emerging pattern.
In places like Thornbury, there is strong community-led activity and a clear sense of identity. People care deeply, and there’s pride in what already exists. But change is happening fast. New communities are arriving, and the infrastructure isn’t always keeping up. The challenge here isn’t a lack of culture. It’s how culture stretches to include everyone.
In organisations like the National Trust, the picture shifts. The assets are there, spaces, reach, resource, intent. There is a genuine desire to work in more inclusive, citizen-led ways. But the question becomes one of power. How far does participation really go? Who gets to shape decisions? And what does it take to shift organisational culture, not just improve engagement?
And then, at a regional level, another layer appears. There is collaboration. There are networks. There is ambition. But it’s not always clear how it all connects. For someone trying to engage, it can be hard to see where to go, how to take part, or how decisions are made. The system exists but it isn’t always visible or easy to navigate.
So as I reflect a picture is starting to come together;
- In some places, activity exists but needs to connect and reach further
- In institutions, assets exist but power hasn’t fully shifted
- At a system level, ambition exists but structure hasn’t caught up
- There is no shortage of energy but infrastructure is not equtiable
- Inclusion is intended but intention and outreach are not the same thing
- The system is active but not always legible from the outside
What we are being asked to do across all of this is not small.
To connect what already exists.
To build what’s missing.
And to share power in a way that feels real.
That last part matters.
Because from a citizens’ perspective, this isn’t about being invited in once decisions are made. It’s about shaping what culture looks like in the first place. And from a sector perspective, that requires a shift in how we work — how we listen, how we decide, and what we’re willing to let go of.
We know this is counterintuitive. It asks us to slow down, to open up, to work differently with each other.
So the question now is:
How do we lean in?
Not just individually, but collectively, across places, organisations and the wider system.
Because culture is happening all around us, all the time.
The work now is making it work for everyone.
