Work With Me
I’m not for people who are happy to stay where they are. I work with artists and organisations serious about what they want to build, and I help them get there with strategy, honest advice and hands-on delivery.
Every client and project is different, so I start from where you are now and tailor the work to fit. You get over 20 years’ sector experience, a strong fundraising record, and someone who will tell you how it is, kindly.
I believe creativity can and will change the world. Let’s get on with it.
What I do
I’ve split my work into two areas, Consultancy & Fundraising and Mentoring & Advisory, with workshops alongside. My work isn’t linear, and I rarely wear just one hat (who does as a freelancer?), but these are the areas I deliver in. I bring all of my knowledge and experience to everything I do. I’m a communicator, enabler and maximiser: assertive and compassionate, always pushing artists and organisations to reach their potential in a fun, down-to-earth way.
Consultancy & Fundraising
I am incredibly passionate about people and culture and developing these within organisations to bring them to the next level. I also want to use my role across the sector to inspire change through key leadership.
Do you need help with:
Business planning and strategy
Project scoping, idea shaping, research and mapping
Organisational development
Fundraising and bidwriting, including Arts Council England NPO, Project Grants and Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP)
Board visioning and away days
NPO readiness
Research, consultation and facilitation for local authorities, universities and cultural partnerships
ACE Access Support
Mentoring & Advisory
This is the part of my work where we make it happen. As an experienced producer, programme manager and former performer, I have the skills, toolkit and connections to deliver projects, performances and programmes of any scale smoothly and brilliantly. I get it, from the inside out.
Do you need help with:
Advocacy
Accountability
Personal development
Career advice: purpose, vision, pathways, progression, or routes into and out of areas of the arts industry
Making it happen: anything that needs to take place to get your project, show, event, festival, activity or programme off the ground
Critical friend support
Leadership and CEO coaching
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“Amy has an extraordinary knack of taking on board a lot of information from an artist and refocussing them, helping them find solutions to barriers they are working with.”
Penny Dixon, Penny Jane Designs
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“Working with Amy has helped me turn complex ideas into clear, fundable projects, secure over £30,000 in funding, and gain the confidence to support and mentor other artists myself. She combines genuine industry knowledge with a calm, practical approach that makes difficult decisions and overwhelming processes feel manageable.”
Hal Mayer, Director and Artist KNOTGRIM
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“You have a talent with words - taking beautifully unruly, imaginative ideas and weaving them into prose that are clear, compelling and persuasive. You bridge artistic possibility and the practical language of funding with real instinct and elegance, distilling bold ideas without ever losing their spark or soul.”
Jules Merrison, Impact Director, Invictus Games Birmingham 2027
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“Always love working with you! You bring such energy, positivity and knowledge, but most importantly UNDERSTANDING of the challenges and difficulties people face when trying to fundraise. We always have such great feedback from the sessions.”
Yvonne Gregory, Fundraising Manager, Creative Black Country
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“Amy is approachable and gives guidance freely and without confusion. She speaks plainly about the reality of funding, the difficulties in obtaining it, but also that it is not an impossible task; it needs dedication and hard work to succeed, plus a few top tips and pointers to set the ask out clearly and with the funding organisations goals in mind as well”
Rick Sanders, Co-Director, Verve Poetry Festival CIC
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“You are very down to earth and easy to work with, I tend to have too many ideas and you seem to be able to describe what I'm trying to do very succintly.”
Jude Hanly, Jude Hanly Art
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“Amy listened to our aims and made them a reality.”
Amy Coulson, Sponsorship, Event & Project Manager, It's in Nottingham
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“Focused on my strengths and gave me a clear list of what I could do independently. Supported my challenges without highlighting them, working collaboratively rather than leaving me feel patronised or overwhelmed.”
Milly Best, freelance dance artist
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“Your support has helped me to feel more confident and secure in what I'm doing and how I'm doing it. Your encouragement has made my ideas feel not only more possible, but valuable. … Your ability to draw out what fires us, what sets us apart, and where we sit within the ecology of the UK theatre scene is invaluable.”
Corrinne Curtis, Founding Director & Producer, The Nornen Project CIC
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“Easy to relate to. Professional approach. Knowledgeable. Fun”
Tracy Radford, Artistic Director & CEO, Unanima
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“Amazing, would recommend to any creative regardless of experience or background”
Ryan Sinclair, Director, Empower Poetry CIC
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“Been working with Amy for the past year. She is very supportive, genuine and will help you achieve your goals and ambitions. She is very knowledgeable within the creative world to help you to develop as a person and also within your organisation. In our sessions we have worked on achieving the basics of running a cic and ensuring these are effective before applying for any funding. We have built on achieving confidence, growth mindset. Developing a thick skin to situations which are out of my control. Creating positive collaborations and partnerships to support me on my journey.”
Sekia Blye, Founder of S&K Creative Arts Kidz CIC
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“In instances where Amy proposed innovative solutions to complex challenges, she was highly adept at reading and digesting NPO activity and IP plans and then editing down complex topics into 2 hour interactive training sessions.”
Katy Culbard, Programme Manager Open Doors NPO Programme at Newark & Sherwood District Council
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“Amy is well-conversant with the arts and culture terrain that she speaks from – which pretty much encapsulates most of England northward of London. As a sharp and bold presenter, she skilfully shifts from one topic to another, intuiting the vein of the conversation as she draws from policy-based, business and funding experience. She is a warm and eloquent purveyor of knowledge. In group consultancies, she has a terrific ability to guide all the personal transformations that come from a one-on-one discussion. I simply couldn’t have been more impressed with Amy and the future of the region keyed into her expertise.”
Dr Claire French, Asst Professor of Performance & Creative Practices, University of Birmingham
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“I highly recommend Amy for any project that requires an arts council application. In my experience of working with Amy, she has been incredibly supportive, knowledgeable, and able to help me clearly formulate my ideas and present them in a comprehensive manner. Her understanding of my needs and her ability to provide valuable guidance throughout the process was invaluable. I hope to have the opportunity to continue working with Amy in the future and build a long-term professional relationship with her.”
Wayne Sables, Director & Founder of Wayne Sables Project
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“Amy’s approach is one of care and authenticity, it was invaluable to have her within the process. Her professionalism, skills and knowledge of the arts sector, project management, leadership not only elevated the project but enabled it. As a critical friend, Amy is adept at creating supportive, reflective spaces for meaningful and empowering discussion. It helped us even in the busiest of moments to maintain balance and perspective to tackle the project as a whole. We can't wait to work with Amy again in the future.”
Cat Butler & Jessica Barber, Co-Directors of LYNNEBEC
“Been working with Amy for the past year. She is very supportive, genuine and will help you achieve your goals and ambitions.
She is very knowledge in her skills within the creative world to help you to develop as a person and also within your organisation. In our sessions we have worked on achieving the basics of running a cic and ensuring these are effective before applying for any funding.
We have build on achieving confidence, growth mindset. Developing a thick skin to situations which are out of my control. Creating positive collaborations and partnerships to support me on my journey.”
-Sekia Blye, Founder of S&K Creative Arts Kidz CIC
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“In instances where Amy proposed innovative solutions to complex challenges, she was highly adept at reading and digesting NPO activity and IP plans and then editing down complex topics into 2 hour interactive training sessions.”
-Katy Culbard, Programme Manager Open Doors NPO Programme at Newark & Sherwood District Council
***
“Amy is well-conversant with the arts and culture terrain that she speaks from – which pretty much encapsulates most of England northward of London. As a sharp and bold presenter, she skilfully shifts from one topic to another, intuiting the vein of the conversation as she draws from policy-based, business and funding experience. She is a warm and eloquent purveyor of knowledge. In group consultancies, she has a terrific ability to guide all the personal transformations that come from a one-on-one discussion. I simply couldn’t have been more impressed with Amy and the future of the region keyed into her expertise.”
-Dr Claire French, Asst Professor of Performance & Creative Practices, University of Birmingham
***
“I highly recommend Amy for any project that requires an arts council application. In my experience of working with Amy, she has been incredibly supportive, knowledgeable, and able to help me clearly formulate my ideas and present them in a comprehensive manner. Her understanding of my needs and her ability to provide valuable guidance throughout the process was invaluable. I hope to have the opportunity to continue working with Amy in the future and build a long-term professional relationship with her.”
-Wayne Sables, Director & Founder of Wayne Sables Project
***
“Amy’s approach is one of care and authenticity, it was invaluable to have her within the process. Her professionalism, skills and knowledge of the arts sector, project management, leadership not only elevated the project but enabled it. As a critical friend, Amy is adept at creating supportive, reflective spaces for meaningful and empowering discussion. It helped us even in the busiest of moments to maintain balance and perspective to tackle the project as a whole. We can't wait to work with Amy again in the future.”
-Cat Butler & Jessica Barber, Co-Directors of LYNNEBEC