Aberdeen Cultural Summit
Join artists, organisations and professionals from across Aberdeen’s cultural sector on 21 October 2026 at Aberdeen City Campus, North East Scotland College.
North East Scotland College is hosting a day of cultural connection, workshops and discussion at its city centre campus. Working in partnership with the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University (RGU), this year’s summit focuses on bringing together local artists, organisations and people working across the creative industries.
The annual event provides an opportunity to share updates, discuss priorities and strengthen collaboration across the creative sector. By meeting each year, partners can reflect on progress, identify opportunities and help shape future cultural activity across the region.
The summit aims to share ideas, encourage collaboration and promote opportunities through local networks. The University of Aberdeen, together with RGU and NESCol, sees the Aberdeen Cultural Summit as an opportunity to bring cultural partners from across the North East of Scotland together to make new connections, share knowledge and learn from one another.
Register
Register to join artists, organisations and professionals from across Aberdeen’s cultural sector for the Aberdeen Cultural Summit on 21 October 2026, 10am – 4pm at Aberdeen City Campus, North East Scotland College.
Schedule
Welcome and introduction to NESColRobin McGregor, Vice Principal |
10:00am |
Report and discussion on Mapping the Creative Industries in the North EastDavid Officer will report on the Fifth sector mapping exercise recently commissioned by Aberdeen City Council, followed by an opportunity to discuss the findings. |
10:15am |
Updated report on North East Screen StrategyLast year’s Cultural Summit focused on discussing the North East’s screen sector: since then, Screen North East has been working to develop a joined-up action plan to build a thriving regional sector, across screen industry and production, education and skills, and cinemas and festivals. We’ll hear from Screen North East about the action plan, and how more people can get involved. |
10:45am |
BreakRefreshments and opportunity to visit the Planetarium. |
11:15am |
Morning workshopGuests to choose one workshop. |
11:45am |
Lunch & networking opportunityChris Croly will facilitate a lunchtime networking session using the visual format of Pecha Kucha. Attendees who take part will also be given training before they present during the lunchtime session. |
12:45pm |
Afternoon workshopGuests to choose one workshop. |
2:00pm |
Wrap up & feedback |
3:00pm |
Close |
3:30pm |
Guests to choose one workshop from:
Workshop 1: The Intersection of Creativity and Technology: Creative Projects in Print, Film and Digital Innovation
Interdisciplinarity enables new collaborations and creative outputs. Across three inspiring projects, unexpected opportunities intersecting creativity, visualisation and technology are presented. A partnership between communication design and engineering; film, media and exhibition projects with oil companies; and the use of innovative scanning technologies to visualise complex and diverse data sets provide a showcase for the possibilities of creativity and technology together.
Workshop 2: Social Media Marketing for Creatives
How to build your creative brand with tone of voice and content. A practical workshop with Lisa Rattray NESCol‘s social media marketing Lecturer. A workshop for creative practitioners to help build audience engagement across social media platforms.
Workshop 3: From Collaboration to Co-Creation: How Universities and the Creative & Cultural Industries Can Generate Shared Value
Universities, creative practitioners and cultural organisations often come together around shared ambitions for innovation, place-making and public engagement, but collaboration is not the same as co-creation. Join us to explore what makes partnerships succeed, where tensions emerge, and how different sectors can work together more effectively to generate shared value and create lasting impact.
Guests to choose one workshop from:
Workshop 1: The Story So Far – from Grampian TV to TokofTheDeen
How can we promote local storytelling, intergenerational filmmaking and marginalised voices to share stories?
This workshop delivered by Sara Stroud, will use the Grampian TV archive, shmu archive and past productions that were locally made. Why is it important to support local filmmakers across the city and share local narratives? Sharing our local cultural past, we will also celebrate the evolution of online work that it is being created about Aberdeen.
Workshop 2: Preparing the Next Generation: Integrating AI Competency, Criticality and Confidence in Creative & Cultural Industries Graduates
GenAI is a controversial issue in the Creative and Cultural Industries, affording new possibilities while simultaneously threatening opportunities. This session explores how RGU is embedding GenAI into creative and cultural projects across design thinking in diverse disciplines, including Architectural Technology, Product, Ceramic and Jewellery, and Fashion Business; empowering students to explore where and how GenAI might be relevant to their practice.
Workshop 3: Navigating Film Festivals
Navigating Film Festivals is an industry-led workshop funded by Screen Scotland’s Screen Education Fund. Designed specifically for Scotland’s new filmmaking talent, it bridges the gap between production and professional development.
History
The Aberdeen Cultural Summit first ran in 2023 and has been hosted by RGU and the University of Aberdeen since then. This year NESCol has joined with the two universities and partners across the region to host the event and support a thriving creative sector and help shape the cultural future of Aberdeen and the North East.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about the Aberdeen Cultural Summit, please email Sara Stroud at s.stroud@nescol.ac.uk.