Spotlight On: Kate Foster, Head of Development at the Royal West of England Academy

Every so often we like to shine the spotlight on our members, and in this case one of the members of the West of England Initiative. We sat down with Kate Foster, Head of Development at the Royal West of England Academy to talk about her life at the RWA and their relationship with the West of England Initiative.

Business West: What's a typical day like for you at the RWA?

Kate Foster: On arrival, I check in with the Visitor Experience Team to see that everyone is happy with what we’ve got going on that day; that we’ve got enough volunteers coming in to help us welcome the public and ensure the security of the major art works that we’ve borrowed from the major London galleries.  The part that the public see, the exhibitions in the upstairs galleries, is a huge part of the organisation, but there are also the parts that people are less aware of - the charitable work that we do in engaging under-represented people, and ensuring that we raise enough money to enable us to do this.  We may have a Tuesday Teatime Tour for people living with dementia, closely followed by a networking event in the galleries. We’re a small team, so it’s usually all hands on deck clearing up from one event and then setting up chairs and a bar for another.

In between that, I’ll be working on grant applications trying to get Trusts and Foundations to fund the £5,000 a year it costs to run Scribble & Sketch in each venue in Hartcliffe, or in Redcliffe, Easton and Southmead.  We’re not funded for our outreach work, so can only do what we can raise the money for, which is challenging.

Seeking sponsors for our exhibitions and outreach activity is my job too.  This isn’t something that is new to me as I started my career in the arts as Sponsorship Officer at The Scottish Ballet in Glasgow too many years ago now to mention.  Coming from a marketing background as well, I really enjoy talking to the business community about what it is they are looking to achieve through partnering with us and - between us - coming up with creative and unique ways to reach and engage target markets and to offer a sponsor exposure to the RWA’s wide audiences.

BL: What does the RWA do and why do I like working here?

KF: The RWA is an amazing building to be working in and I’m hugely proud of what we’ve managed to achieve through the recent Light & Inspiration capital project – the biggest refurbishment of the building in 100 years.  For me, being able to improve the first impressions of the building and the visitor experience was crucial and I think it really does look great now, outside and in.  I’d been trying to persuade Spicer & Cole to take on our café since 2017 and thankfully, once we opened up the entrances directly into the café, they agreed. Managing the relationship with the café on behalf of the RWA definitely has its perks as well!  

BW: What are the key agendas that you’re looking forward to getting involved with? 

KF: I feel really strongly about the impact that being creative and visiting galleries can have on wellbeing and it’s something that we’ve been able to evidence through the evaluation of all the outreach work that we’ve done with our Lottery-funded capital project.  The challenge will be to continue to fund this, and we need to raise awareness of how valuable it is for communities who are very underserved.

I can’t help feeling that the RWA currently punches under its weight as part of the Bristol tourism offer and I want to change that, through working with the team at Visit Bristol and Meet Bristol. We need to put the RWA firmly on the tourism map and look at what ‘creative twists’ we can offer for meetings and conferences.  

With arts audiences still not back to pre-Covid numbers, making sure that we can sustain ourselves and our outreach work will always be a challenge.  

BW: Where is your favourite place to visit in Bristol?

KF: The harbourside is where I am usually found, whether at Wapping Wharf, on the water or on my bike cycling up the hill to work. I’m happiest being active and outside.

If you are a member of a Business West Chamber of Commerce and would like to be featured in a blog just like this one then you can get in touch. You can find out more about the RWA, and the incredible art they showcase, at their website: https://www.rwa.org.uk/