Arts & Culture at the Core of Philanthropy

Please join us for this online event, exploring arts and culture in relation to philanthropy.

RSA Fellows and guests, and all those interested in philanthropy, are welcome to join this event, at which Lucia Patuzzi will present on Philea’s report “Arts & Culture at the Core of Philanthropy”.

Lucia Patuzzi, Senior Knowledge Development Manager, joined Philea (then the EFC) in 2012. She worked initially for the Professional Development and Communications departments of the organisation while also working as a Fundraiser officer for the ERAB Foundation, a research foundation based in Brussels. Since 2014, she has worked with the knowledge team, where she collects and analyses data from Philea members, responds to research requests and produces mappings on different themes at the heart of European foundations’ work. On the side, and after working for documentary festivals and cultural associations in Italy, Lucia has founded a cultural association based in Brussels, and sits on the board of AIF+, the Flemish umbrella organisation of intercultural associations in Belgium. Lucia holds a MA in Linguistic Science for Intercultural Communications from Universitá per Stranieri di Siena.

The report is at: https://philea.issuelab.org/resource/arts-and-culture-at-the-core-of-philanthropyvolume-2.html and the Philea site also shows other reports of interest to those working in culture and its relevance to people, place and planet.

The presentation will be followed by succinct responses offered by a panel of three RSA Fellows, then by facilitated discussion between the speaker and panel members followed by Q&A with the audience. The registration process allows submission in advance of a question or questions.

Jane Morrison-Ross is the CEO of South of Scotland Enterprise, the first development agency to focus on community, environment and economy. She is also the Chairman of Culture and Business Scotland and the NSET Entrepreneurial Advisory Board. Her background is in strategy, technology and (originally) fine art. She is passionate about the power of creative and cultural capital to transform our approach to economic growth.

Shonaig Macpherson CBE chairs the Edinburgh International Culture Summit Foundation. She has undertaken non-executive roles in the culture and heritage sector including the National Trust for Scotland, The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Dunedin Consort, the Royal Lyceum Company, the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Scottish Chamber Orchestra Trust. As a former chairman of Scotland’s largest grant making foundation distributing £20m+ per year, she has a strong interest in the role of philanthropy in effecting societal change. She has served on the governing bodies of the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh College of Art, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Open University, Heriot Watt University and Edinburgh Business School. She was a member of the UK Government and Scottish Parliament’s Commission on Scottish Devolution, the Scottish Executive’s Culture Commission and its Knowledge Economy Task Force. Her executive career was in the legal profession where she specialised in advising clients whose core assets were intellectual property. Shonaig is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Graham Bell, Director of the Cultura Trust, describes himself “as an alchemist, extracting meaningful benefits from improbable raw materials: discarded buildings, marginalised people, vulnerable traditions and overlooked potential”, continuing by saying “my feet are on the ground of sustainable development whilst my thoughts roam the world of WHAT IF?”. In the context of this event, he has spent decades procuring resources (funding and in-kind support) to deliver repurposed landmarks, inter-generational succession through handing on skills, and building community capacity. He does this also as a board member of Europa Nostra, through European projects, governance roles in Hungary and Bulgaria, and as project manager for the Iona Community.

Sylwia Spooner spent ten years as Head of Cultural Affairs at the Polish Consulate in Edinburgh, where - since 2020 - she has held the role of Head of Communications, Diaspora Funding and Public Diplomacy. Sylwia has worked with the RSA on events in Scotland in the past.

Dr Ines Fialho Brandao is Head of Cultural Mediation and Digital Strategies at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon. She is an award-winning trilingual educator and curator whose interests include museum ethics.