NewBridge Gallery is now closed until Friday 16 October.
You can join us on 5 September and 3 October for Saturday Social. You can still shop NewBridge Books throughout the weekdays!
How do you build useful professional relationships without feeling like you’re constantly selling yourself? How can freelancers support each other, advocate for better working conditions and have a voice in the wider cultural sector?
This Freelance Foundations session with North East Cultural Freelancers explores networking, advocacy and collective voice; helping you build the confidence and practical skills to connect with others, develop professional relationships and participate in wider conversations about the creative and cultural sector.
This workshop takes place across two connected events.
Part 1: Networking, Advocacy & Collective Voice
Wednesday 16 September, 1.30–5pm
The NewBridge Project
We’ll spend an afternoon exploring:
There will be a mixture of discussion, practical activities and opportunities to think about your own networks, relationships and professional goals.
We’ll be joined by Annie Rigby from Unfolding Theatre for an informal in-conversation session in the first part of the event, ahead of the second at the Newcastle Culture Partnership event. This will be an opportunity to hear more about Annie’s career and experiences, ask questions, and explore the relationships, networks, and collaborations that have shaped her work. You’ll also get the chance to get to know Annie before joining her and the Newcastle Culture Partnership team at the networking event in October, helping make that second part of the workshop feel more familiar and welcoming.
Part 2: Put it into practice
Friday 2 October, 10am–1pm
Northern Stage
We’ll then take our learning out into the real world at a Newcastle Culture Partnership event, which we are co-hosting with Unfolding Theatre.
This will be a chance to meet people from across Newcastle’s cultural sector, put some of the session’s ideas into practice and experience networking in a supported, welcoming environment.
You won’t simply be sent into a room and told to “go network”. We’ll provide some guidance and prompts to help you make the most of the event.
This session is for freelancers and aspiring freelancers working across the creative and cultural sector, at any stage of their career. Whether you love networking, avoid it at all costs, have a well-established professional network or are still figuring out where you fit, this session is designed to give you practical tools and confidence to develop relationships on your own terms. Light refreshments will be provided at the NewBridge session.
This is a free, ticketed event.
By booking a ticket, you are agreeing to attend both dates of the workshop.
Book your ticket below. You’ll receive further information in your booking confirmation.
North East Cultural Freelancers (NECF) is a freelancer-led organisation supporting more than 6,100 freelancers working across the North East’s creative and cultural sector. Through advocacy, research, training and community-building, NECF works to improve conditions for freelancers while championing the vital role they play in the region’s cultural ecology.
Leila d’Aronville is Founder and Director of Strategic Partnerships and Advocacy at NECF. A connector, facilitator, producer and consultant, she is a values-led cultural leader with extensive experience developing networks, building partnerships and championing the needs of freelancers across the creative and cultural sector.
Sam Brimer is Director of Marketing and Engagement at NECF and a freelance marketing consultant specialising in arts and culture. She supports creative organisations and freelancers to communicate their value, build meaningful connections with audiences and develop sustainable approaches to engagement and impact.
Annie Rigby is Artistic Director & CEO of Unfolding Theatre, a theatre director and producer based in Newcastle. She has spent more than two decades developing work that brings artists, communities and audiences together to tell stories that aren’t always heard. Her work has been commissioned by organisations including the National Theatre, Northern Stage and the University of Liverpool, and she has led Unfolding Theatre since founding the company in 2010.
We have an access budget available and are able to offer a small number of access bursaries to support people to take part in Freelance Foundations.
This can cover costs towards circumstances that might otherwise make it difficult for you to attend. For example: travel costs to get you to and from the event, child-care costs, percentage toward loss of income for attending the event.
This is a no questions asked process and we can support requests of up to £50 per person, and they will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis. To claim the bursary, you will need to provide an invoice.
Please get in touch with us on admin@thenewbridgeproject.com to make a request for support or if you have any questions.
Our building has lifts to the gallery, accessible and gender-neutral toilets, baby changing and breastfeeding facilities and two accessible parking bays. You can watch a walkthrough of our building and learn more about accessibility here.
Contact admin@thenewbridgeproject.com if you have any questions or need support to take part in this event.
NewBridge has a Safer, Braver Spaces policy. Everyone here treats each other with respect and consideration. Transphobia, misogyny, racism or harassment of any kind is not welcome.
Northern Stage is fully accessible. The theatre has three lifts providing access to all parts of the building, including the accessible toilets, baby changing facilities, stages 2 & 3 and the backstage area. More about Northern Stage’s accessibility can be found here.
Freelance Foundations is supported by the North East Strategic Mayoral Authority‘s Create Talent fund, a major new programme helping local people develop the skills, networks and opportunities needed to build careers in the North East’s creative sector.
Wednesday 16 September 2026, 1–5pm
Friday 2 October 2026, 10am–1pm
The NewBridge Project
Shieldfield Centre
4-8 Clarence Walk (off Stoddart Street)
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE2 1AL
The NewBridge Project is accessible. You can find out more here, or feel free to contact us prior to visiting if you require additional information regarding access and facilities.
The NewBridge Project is a charity, registered charity no. 1173849.
We are grateful to our funders, including Arts Council England, Newcastle City Council, Garfield Weston Foundation, Jerwood Foundation, Community Foundation North East, Newcastle University and the The North East Mayoral Strategic Authority.
We are proud to be a Gallery of Sanctuary.
