Leading figures from the cultural sector join Substrakt advisory board
We’re excited to announce that four leading figures from the cultural sector, Nick Starr CBE, Hilary Knight, Kati Price, and Nick Sherrard, will be joining our advisory board from July.
This new advisory board will offer guidance on the products, services and initiatives that we should be prioritising, exploring, and delivering for our clients and the wider sector, to make sure we can continue providing the arts with the most relevant and effective digital support.
Our Founder & Executive Chair Andy Hartwell, Managing Director Ash Mann and Technical Director Stuart Maynes will be joined by four sector specialists on the board:
Hilary Knight - Senior Consultant at AEA Consulting, previously Director of Digital at Tate and Head of Digital at Film4.
Kati Price - Head of Experience and Digital at the V&A, previously Head of Digital at the Design Council.
Nick Sherrard - Co-founder of Label Ventures, the global venture studio, and a trustee of Collective in Edinburgh. previously Managing Director at Deloitte Digital.
Nick Starr CBE - co-founder of the London Theatre Company, who built and run the Bridge Theatre and are a partner in the recently launched Lightroom; previously Executive Director of the National Theatre.
“What ‘digital’ means is a constantly evolving question”, says Ash. “What we did 10 years ago is different to what we do today, and what the sector needs in 10 years time will be different again. Standing still is not an option and this new board will allow us to have ambitious but informed future-focused conversations about the challenges and opportunities that the cultural sector faces around the use of digital. I’m really excited that Nick, Kati, Hilary, and Nick have agreed to join this new Board. They are some of the most insightful, curious and effective leaders I’ve encountered in my time working in and with the cultural sector. I'm looking forward to seeing where these discussions take us.”
“Board member Nick Sherrard adds that “True digital innovation in culture can seem both inevitable and impossible at the same time. Subtrakt have the ambition and the capability, as well as the relationships, to explore what the future holds. I’m excited to support that and am looking forward to seeing how this board can help the organisation accelerate change, and harness the new opportunities.”
This move will be accompanied by the launch of a new R&D department we are calling Substrakt Labs. This initiative, which will launch in the autumn, will specifically focus on testing new digital concepts and ideas - producing testable prototypes and Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) that allow us to validate or disprove ideas.
“Cultural organisations often want to explore new ideas but aren’t always able to invest in innovation and take the risk to pursue them”, says Andy. “Labs will derisk this for them and give them the opportunity to follow up on exciting and innovative ambitions.”
Our ambition with both of these initiatives is to make sure that our product and service offerings continue to be as innovative, ambitious and well-informed as possible.
If you’d like to find out more about Substrakt Labs or the new advisory board then drop us a line and we’ll be in touch!