Cultural Consultant
Lara is a freelance cultural consultant specialising in diversity, innovation, leadership, collaboration and cultural policy implementation within the HE, cultural and digital sector. She develops and delivers projects and policy on how cultural and digital technology intersect for a number of national partners as well as programmes around leadership, resilience and business development for the arts and creative industries.
She co-produced RE:Present and ASTONish, two leadership programmes supporting the development of cultural leaders from diverse backgrounds. She is currently co-producing AD:Vantage which places the vantage point of d/Deaf, neurodivergent and disabled creative practitioners at the heart of leadership. She is also the Co-Curator of Hello Culture, an ongoing series of events that explores how digital technologies and media are disrupting the way cultural and heritage organisations can produce, interact, create, curate content, transforming how audiences can connect and engage with cultural experiences.
She is on the Derby Theatre, Vivid Projects and the Advisory Groups of SHOUT Festival and Coventry Biennial. She is also a Member of Arts Council England Midlands Area Council and the Equality Monitoring Group for Arts Council Wales, and the Centre for Cultrual Value Covid-19 Policy Reference Group.
Photo credit: Ian Davies Photo
Industry Champions
Sarah Ellis
Director of Digital Development at Royal Shakespeare Company
Tom Chalmers
Founder and Managing Director at Legend Times Group
Tom Adeyoola
Entrepreneur
Sade Banks
Founder and CEO of Sour Lemons
Mandy Barker
Founder of Sail Creative
Lucy Bayliss
Head of Creative Programmes at DanceEast
Charlotte Beevor
Entrepreneurial Designer and Stylist
Stephen Bennett
Joint Head of Policy Lab and Visual artist
Jennifer Johnston
Head of Learning at Into Film
Vikas Kumar
Founder and Director of GemArts
Amanda Maxwell
Community Manager and board member of shesaid.so
Jo Morrison
Director of Digital Innovation at Calvium
Dave Moutrey
Director and CEO at HOME
Laura Pye
Director at National Museums Liverpool
Lara Ratnaraja
Cultural Consultant
Will Saunders
Consultant and Executive Producer
Jaswinder Singh
Director of Asian Arts Agency
Amy Smith
Head of Talent at Framestore
Tolu Stedford
Development Producer at the Independent Film Trust and CEO of Creative Lions Productions
Maria Tanjala
Co-founder of Big Couch and FilmChain
Annie Warburton
Chief Executive at Cockpit Arts
Sharon Watson
CEO and Principal of Northern School of Contemporary Dance
Claire Whitaker
Bid Director, Southampton City of Culture 2025
Nia Williams
Director of Learning and Engagement at National Museum Wales