Change On Our Streets
Tuesday 3rd & Wednesday 4th February 2026, Cambridge
Watch the Highlights Video Now!
The OutdoorArtsUK National Conference 2026 gave sector colleagues the space to come together and reflect on the ever-shifting cultural landscape.
By bringing creativity directly into the heart of communities, our artists, producers, and festival-makers work on the frontline of where art meets the public. We are continually navigating through the needs and aspirations of diverse communities to create work of meaning and resonance.
As devolution gathers pace, political, policy, and funding landscapes are changing, potentially fuelling the social tensions already playing out on our streets. What role can Outdoor Arts play within these complex social dynamics? What leadership can we show in uncovering common ground in this evolving world?
Delivered through the generous support of Cambridge City Council and Arts Council England
Morning Session Reflections
“Constructive Resistance and Radical Joy”: Clare Farrell’s Powerful Call to Artists at OAUK 2026
At the 2026 Outdoor Arts UK Conference, keynote speaker Clare, designer, activist and cofounder of Extinction Rebellion, delivered an electrifying and deeply human speech calling artists into a new era of collective courage, creativity, and constructive resistance.
Addressing a packed hall of outdoor artists, producers, festival makers and cultural leaders, Clare painted the current moment with unflinching honesty: a time of climate breakdown, democratic fragility, economic instability and rising authoritarianism. But within this “multifaceted, intersecting shit show,” she argued, lies a historic opportunity for artists to lead.
“Whether or not we win doesn’t matter as much anymore,” Clare said. “What matters is whether we are working as hard as we can to create the most beautiful world possible.”
“Joy, Belonging and Collective Power”: Inside the Launch of the New Outdoor Arts UK Strategy
Following Clare’s galvanising keynote, the 2026 OutdoorArtsUK Conference shifted gear into a major moment for the sector: the public launch of a new national Outdoor Arts Strategy . Wherever You Are, Whoever You Are, The Arts Are Yours: A Strategy for Joy and Belonging for, with and by the Outdoor Arts Sector is a shared, sector-led framework two years in the making.
Presented by Simon Chatterton, Sho Shibata,  Sud Basu, and Ralph Kennedy, the launch was not simply the unveiling of a document. It was a rallying call for unity, visibility, investment and long-term thinking in a sector that has long delivered extraordinary public value with few resources and little recognition.
This is the story they told — and the future they invited the sector to help shape.
Morning Panel Discussion
Strategy in Action: What Outdoor Arts Needs Next
At this year’s Strategy in Action morning panel, chaired by Amanda Parker, four cultural leaders (Adriana Marques, Chenine Bhathena MBE FRSA, Joe Mackintosh and Parmjit Sagoo) tackled a deceptively simple question: where can outdoor arts take leadership now?
Across provocation, debate and a very engaged audience, a shared picture emerged — one of a sector rich in purpose, but operating within shifting political, civic and emotional terrains. What follows is a snapshot of the themes that cut across the conversation.
Watch the Morning Session In Full
Afternoon Panel Reflections
Reimagining Participation, Power and Place
The Wednesday Afternoon Session, chaired by Antoinette Nestor, Portfolio Holder for Culture, Economy and Skills at Cambridge City Council, unfolded as a wide-ranging exploration of how culture, public space and community decision making might evolve in a moment marked by social division and institutional strain. What emerged was a portrait of a sector deeply aware of its civic responsibilities, and actively reshaping the ways it listens, collaborates and imagines. Speakers included Ali Pretty, Aretha George, Professor Flora Samuel and LaToyah McAllister-Jones.
Watch the Afternoon Panel In Full
Write-ups by Delegates
Image Credits:
Main Image – Rave New World by Revoluton,Tangled Feet & Pirates of the Carabina, Outside Marsh House Community Centre Luton, 2025, photo: Greta Zabulyte
Newcomers Induction: Zee and the City by Puppets with Guts at Bradford 2025, photo: Scott Salt, Big Blue Whale
Marketplace: Roots to Rise by Nandita Shankardass at Stockton International Festival 2025, photo: Stockton Council
Self Guided Networking Game: TRUTH! by Hijinx and Ramshacklicious at The Big Feast 2024, produced by Appetite, Stoke-on-Trent , photo: Jenny Harper
Silent Disco Tour: Red Herring’s Silent Disco, photo: Dawn McNamara for Stockton Borough Council, SIRF 2024
Artist Pitching: Rave New World by Revoluton,Tangled Feet & Pirates of the Carabina, Outside Marsh House Community Centre Luton, 2025, photo: Greta Zabulyte
Open Forum: PoliNations Trees by Trigger at Shangri-La Glastonbury 2025, photo: Giulia Spadafora
Networking Drinks, Networking Cafe & Welcome Speech: OutdoorArtsUk National Conference 2025
