Spotlight on Arts – What Does It Mean to Lead Leicester’s Creative Future?

This week on Spotlight on Arts on Soar Sound, we bring you a special edition recorded at the Leading Leicester: Connecting Creativity Conference, hosted at the Phoenix Cinema and Arts Centre. In this episode, Rob Watson and John Coster speak to a wide range of people shaping the creative and cultural life of Leicester—artists, organisers, business leaders, academics, and activists—about the opportunities and tensions emerging as Leicester looks to redefine its creative strategy.

From heritage and fashion to digital art and civic engagement, this episode captures a live moment of civic and cultural reflection. With the UK Shared Prosperity Fund channelling £6.7 million into the region’s creative economy, the question isn’t simply how we spend the money—but how we ensure it serves Leicester’s diverse communities, voices, and ambitions.

The podcast features conversations with participants and contributors including:

• Sally-Ann from Leicester Fashion District CIC, advocating for a new, ethically grounded, creative-led fashion sector.


• Harmeet Singh of Axis Digital, discussing how local suppliers and networks can keep investment circulating within Leicester.


• Chris White (De Montfort University), exploring the role of universities in rethinking cultural engagement from the bottom up.


• Mohamed Jussab, organiser of Leicester’s first Historic Iftar, on culture as everyday community-making.


• Ali Sinclair and Bill from All In Leicester, speaking about inclusive design and accessibility as more than just compliance.


• Nick Hamer, documentary filmmaker, offering a realistic view of the cycles and challenges of cultural planning.


• Chris Shaw from Ethical Business Exchange, reflecting on what creative business support in Leicester used to be—and what it still needs to become.

What emerges is a complex portrait of a city in transition. Some see momentum and optimism. Others warn against repeating top-down strategies that risk leaving people and ideas behind. What everyone agrees on is the need to nurture real relationships—across sectors, generations, and neighbourhoods.

As Sally-Ann puts it: “I’m the moment.” That sense of immediacy—of local creativity asking for recognition on its own terms—resonates throughout the episode.

Listen in and ask yourself:

What does leadership in culture really look like? Whose voices are heard, and whose are still waiting?

Catch the full podcast on Soar Sound or wherever you get your podcasts.

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