Creative Director VISION AND STRATEGY
Based in Leicester UK, with extensive experience in the Arts and Cultural Industries, Lizzie Soden has worked within the voluntary, public, Social Enterprise and SME sectors. With an emphasis on community collaboration, she is passionate about using creativity to unite communities and bridge divides to create social impact. Whether as an artist filmmaker, a freelance creative consultant, a local authority arts development officer or a community arts practitioner her passion is people.
Always a trailblazer she seeks out new processes and technologies. Her knack for staying at the forefront of innovation, ensures her work remains inspirational, and uniting people remains dynamic even after 40 years of experience. She is inherently curious driven by creativity not conformity.
Her eclectic journey as a Creative Director began as an art student in Coventry where she produced 2 pop videos for Jerry Dammers, founder of Two Tone Records. This early spark set the tone for a career blending creativity, opening minds and challenging prejudice.
Most recently, Lizzie directed and produced a string of sociable, provocative and fun Art of Thinking Events>> hosted by co-founder and philosopher Dr Greg Scorzo. A creative conflict resolution process emerged and was honed over 70 plus events, with eclectic and diverse audiences. At the core was the focus on using empathy, clarity and courage.
These events abruptly stopped due to the pandemic.
The spirit and commitment to the Art of Thinking vision and process, is now being resurrected and supercharged by the possibilities afforded by Ai.
Key Skills:
Strategic Vision and Leadership: Directed creative and strategic initiatives for COTO, and three SMEs as well as Leicester City Council’s community arts strategy, building partnerships and leading pilot projects.
Creative Direction: Designs thought-provoking events, courses, and media content, blending moving image arts, philosophy, and technology.
Video Production and Editing: Extensive experience as an indie video creator (IVC Studio, Lizzie Soden Productions), producing music videos, club visuals, community videos, event documentation, podcasts, and heritage archives.
Fundraising: Secured funding for various cultural projects through successful bids and partnerships.
Project Management: Managed Arts Council, Local Authority and HLF-funded projects (Soft Touch Arts, Leicester City Council Big Difference Company, CICD.)
Community Engagement: Led community arts initiatives (Soft Touch Arts, Leicester City Council) and educational outreach, fostering inclusivity.
Digital Media and Content Creation: Designed websites, managed social media, and created content for COTO, Key Events Company, and book tours.
Education and Facilitation: Lectured at De Montfort University (Media Industry Management) and produced Art of Thinking Events independently and with other cultural organisations.
Partnership Building: Collaborated with venues (Attenborough Arts Centre, Barbican, Leicester Creative Business Depot,) and sectors (education, health, voluntary) for a wide range of creative arts projects, latterly combined with contemporary philosophical dialogues.
Education: Diploma Art and Design (credit) Epsom School of Art. (1975-77) BA Hons Fine Art (2:1) Coventry Polytechnic (1977-1981) MA Art and Design Studio Practice (distinction) Loughborough University 2008-2009)
Embracing neurodiversity and Mental health. The opportunities afforded by the shift in work practices due to the digital revolution has been life changing for the neurodiverse. Liz’s visionary temperament is fuelled by her ADHD and bipolar. This has not been without challenges within traditional formal employment structures. Instead of trying to fit into a system that was not designed for her, she can now juggle diverse innovative projects flexibly making the most of her highly productive, but less regular routines. Her ability to hyper-focus means she can explore strategies for creative solutions.
Her natural ability to connect with people from all walks of life, and connect ideas, leads to sparking unique solutions for collaboration and cohesion.
Giving people a voice, who would otherwise not be heard, is her passion. Ai gives her the opportunity to scale this work in a way she could never dream possible.
+44(0)7841-342952
www.linkedin.com/in/lizzie-soden-aot-ai