Presentations
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Presentations
Dive into two power-packed, hour-long sessions (10:30am–11:30am and 12:30pm–1:30pm) of quick-fire presentations. Hear from local creatives as they share 10-minute updates on their exciting projects, opportunities, and the latest ideas shaping the community. Below is the line-up, and we'll continue to populate this page with information over the coming weeks.
10.30am - 11.30am
1. Unlocking Our Region's Potential
Discover how CWX (Coventry and Warwickshire Exchange) are helping unlock the potential of the region's future in creative and immersive technologies. Led by Miriam Beresford, CWX Project Officer, this session unveils a shared vision to position the Coventry and Warwickshire as a leader in the UK’s creative economy. Explore trends in immersive tech and how these advancements are transforming industries. Learn about CWX’s ambitious goals—building a thriving innovation ecosystem, supporting SMEs, and forging impactful partnerships. Hear from a local creative studio director demonstrating the power of collaboration and innovation. Join the conversation and be part of the region’s creative revolution!
Speaker bio: Miriam Beresford
Mirimam is the Project Officer for Coventry and Warwickshire Exchange (CWX), an Innovate-UK funded cluster management organisation supporting the region's Immersive and Creative Technologies Launchpad programme. CWX is proudly delivered by the University of Warwick and Coventry University, in partnership with Warwickshire County Council, Coventry City Council, and the West Midlands Combined Authority.
2. Art Spaces: The Secret Formula
Lighthaus Arts, a Leamington-based CIC, will introduce findings from their recent research into creative hubs, funded by Warwick District Council's UK Shared Prosperity Fund. During the session, they will introduce a taster of their groundbreaking new film, which takes you on a journey through inspiring arts venues across the country and shares the wisdoms of the people who direct and run these spaces. The film also features voices of local creatives, organisations, and charities shaping the vision for a new community arts space in South Leamington Spa.
Speaker bio: Cassie Leedham
Cassie is an oil painter and lecturer in Graphic Design Illustration on both the MA and BA at Coventry University. She worked as a freelance Graphic Designer for 18 years and also ran her own photography business. In 2005, she was the co-founder of a design collective called Kin, based at the canal basin in Coventry. She went on to work on movies, branding, digital and print design for a wide variety of clients, freelancing in big agencies and working for private clients.
Speaker bio:Maddie Webb
Maddie is a contemporary fine artist who works from her studio in Jephson Gardens. Maddie’s career background is deeply rooted within education management, after successfully co leading a Creative Arts department within a specialist Arts College in Coventry for 15 years. There she developed partnerships with collaborators from neighbouring primary schools, Arts organisations such as Imagineer Productions, Vortex Creates, Creative Partnerships, Coventry City Council & Warwick University to deliver specialist creative and education training programmes.
Cassie and Maddie formed Lighthaus CIC in 2023. They aim to work with artists, organisations and the community to make art accessible and relevant to everyone. They have been working on the Makers Hub Research and development project since May 2024 in collaboration with Leamington LAMP. An addition project they are delivering is working with a group of students from LAMP on a sensory clothing project called Needs not Labels. Cassie and Maddie came together in 2022 in partnership with LSA to develop a business model for a pop up gallery utilising an empty retail space called The Art Room which they successfully co managed for 1.5yrs.
3. Kenilworth Revealed: Secrets of The Abbey
Join the session to discover the exciting launch of the Kenilworth Revealed experience in Kenilworth! Formed by the town council in July 2024, the Task & Finish group is on a mission to transform the local visitor experience with a cutting-edge, interactive journey that appeals to all ages. Through gamification, every visit will offer a fresh adventure, enticing both new and returning visitors. Learn how the foundation of robust internet infrastructure will support this innovative project, paving the way for a dynamic future in local tourism. Don’t miss the chance to be part of this forward-thinking initiative!
Speaker bio: Alan Chalmers
Alan Chalmers is a Professor of Visualisation at WMG, University of Warwick, where he leads a research group investigating multisensory virtual reality. He is also currently Mayor of Kenilworth. Kenilworth Revealed is his Mayoral Project, to bring a new, state-of-the-art visitor experience to Kenilworth and thereby bring increased footfall to the town despite the many disruptions caused by the nearby HS2 work.
Speaker bio: Jo Randall
Jo Randall, Strategic Economic Development Officer for Warwick District Council is responsible for the delivery of the South Warwickshire Economic Development Strategy across the district. The Digital and Creative sector and the Visitor Economy have both been highlighted as core sectors for growth in the strategy. Jo supported Kenilworth Town Council in its submission of a bid for funding from the HS2’s Business Local Economy Funding (BLEF) through Groundwork. Jo joined the task and finish group and the project team helping to bring the plans to fruition for the exciting new visitor experience, Kenilworth Revealed, an augmented reality experience to recreate Kenilworth Abbey as it would have been seen in Abbey Fields around 1538.
4. EcoGPX®: Creative People and Place-Based Technologies
The EcoGPX® Launchpad Coventry and Warwickshire was a successful six-month initiative, backed by a £100,000 Innovate UK grant and led by Intercultural Roots for Public Health (IR). Concluding at the end of October, it culminated in the beta release of the “PLACES by EcoGPX®” app on iOS TestFlight and Android Beta, alongside an independent evaluation. Building on this achievement, EcoGPX Ltd was incorporated as a charity spin-out at the end of 2024 and, in partnership with IR, has since submitted two Innovate UK funding applications totalling £700K, and is now seeking £500K in angel investment to further develop the “PLACES by EcoGPX®” app over two years. This transformative project applies embodied arts and place-based XR technologies to improve ecological well-being and social change, demonstrating how technology, creativity, and community engagement can powerfully combine to address environmental needs
Speaker bio: Dr Alex Boyd
Dr Alex Boyd (BSc Hons, PG Cert Ed, PhD, FRSA) is a plural social entrepreneur specialising in applied interdisciplinary embodied research. With over 25 years’ professional experience in digital, embodied and place-based technologies, he conceived and co-founded the Embodied Research Working Group at the International Federation for Theatre Research and founded and serves as CEO at Intercultural Roots for Public Health and EcoGPX Ltd. Expert in Residence at The Turing Way Practitioners Hub, core member of the Cross Pollination Research Platform and Honorary Research Associate at the University of California, Davis where he completed his PhD in Performance Studies, Alex has resourced and managed over £10M in not-for-profit projects. Having led the £100K Innovate UK 'EcoGPX® Launchpad Coventry and Warwickshire’ project in 2024, Alex will present findings including the “PLACES by EcoGPX®" app at Spark 2025.
12.30pm - 1.30pm
1. Technology Only Succeeds if it is Human
Leamington Spa brand strategy agency RBL will share the findings from new research conducted with over 100 tech businesses across the country showing that the greatest challenge for Silicon Spa isn’t creating innovation, it’s telling a humanising story about that tech. And this is how we (the creative industries) can help. So just as San Francisco was first the home of artists, writers, and free-thinkers, and then the largest tech ecosystem in the world, Silicon Spa (and the wider region) needs the springboard of creativity to succeed. As part of this RBL will also talk about how they developed the organising narrative for the West Midlands Tech Sector - “Making Tech Succeed in the Most Human of Places” – tapping into the unique strengths of the region to help it grow its value four-fold.
Speaker bio: Andrew Milton
Andrew lives in Kenilworth and is Managing Director and co-owner of Leamington Spa’s rbl brand agency. Having spent much of his thirty-year career working client side with FTSE 100 companies he’s seen the world of marketing and brand from both sides of the table, working with businesses at a global and local level to communicate with humanity and authenticity. Established in 2004 rbl work with complex organisations to help them tell their stories better, identifying shared beliefs as the starting point for brands that put meaning first. Their previous work includes the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and the rebrand for ZSL London Zoo, winning the Grand Prix as the best brand project in Europe at the prestigious Transform Europe Awards 2024. Increasingly working with clients in the world of complex tech, the agency bring their unique approach to helping find the human story that sits behind innovation, helping organisations achieve stronger connections, bigger impact and better results
2. Silicon Spa is Expanding into Audio…What’s Hollywood got to do with it?
From Godzilla’s composer in Fortnite, Ariana Grande’s dubbed voice replacement for Wicked, to Stevie Wonder’s guitarist, find out from the local executive recording producer who makes the music and voice sounds in our best-loved media projects how audio makes a world of difference to a brand, ad, game, TV show and film! Discover the process of getting a Hollywood composer and an underground emerging UK battle rapper involved in new projects and why it’s important to know that we respond quicker to audio than visual cues!
Speaker Biography: Verity Pabla
A multi-award-winning Executive Recording Producer & Composer/Voiceover Agent. With over two decades of experience in the music industry, the Leamington Spa-based former singer-songwriter turned Cannes Lions Grand Prix-winning industry exec brings a global audio network to household brands, games, TV, and movies.
3. Discover the South Warwickshire Literary Festival
The South Warwickshire Literary Festival celebrates and supports local talent, bringing unpublished writers and renowned authors with ties to the area together to inspire creativity and community. More than just talks and readings, the festival offers affordable, expert-led workshops across various genres, helping attendees develop their own writing skills. It’s also a unique chance to connect with established authors and join a vibrant creative network. In 2025, the festival moves to The Fold, a larger venue in Leamington Spa’s creative quarter, marking its growth and ongoing dedication to enriching the region’s cultural scene. Learn how this grassroots organisation is transforming the local literary landscape and find out how you can be part of its story!
Speaker bio: Jacci Gooding
Jacci Gooding lives and writes in south Warwickshire and is the originator and director of the South Warwickshire Literary Festival. A graduate of Oxford University’s Undergraduate Diploma Course in Creative Writing she is currently halfway through writing her second novel and has won or been commended in many writing competitions, including The Parracoombe Prize and The Bedford International Writing Competition. As well as being self-published Jacci has also written several non-fiction articles for magazines including Mayhem!, Town and City, Warwickshire Life, Kitchen Garden, Allotment & Leisure Gardener and Four Shires. Since 2022 Jacci has been developing and growing the South Warwickshire Literary Festival and is always on the look out for local writers. She is a member of the Society of Authors. I@alloftheoutside BS jaccigooding.bsky.social T@JaccigGooding
4. Lights of Leamington: Switched On Stories
Step back in time and rediscover the magic of the original Lights of Leamington Festival (1951–1961) with ‘Switched On Stories’. This inspiring oral history project, led by Leamington-based Whittle Productions, brings local heritage to life through captivating personal stories, photographs, and artefacts, all preserved in a permanent archive at the Warwickshire County Record Office. Find out about the programme, which features an outdoor and indoor exhibition, a film, podcasts, and more. Whether you’re a creative, a storyteller, or simply curious about Leamington’s history, this is your chance to be part of a community celebration made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with your local history and let your creativity be inspired!
Speaker bio: David Clargo and Carole Sleight
Dave Clargo and Carole Sleight set up Whittle Productions CIC in August 2022. Their focus and enjoyment developing and leading arts, heritage and cultural events made with and for their community. They have a wide range of experience and expertise from working as directors/producers at the BBC in radio and tv production, delivering festivals and workshops, instigating pop up experiences and local voluntary work.
Lights of Leamington; Switched on Stories, is their current oral history project which they secured funding for from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This project champions and celebrates a significant yet largely unknown and undocumented lights festival. They’d like to share their journey of this project and how with the help of many local creatives and partners are in the process of adding ‘The Lights of Leamington Festival to our towns’ heritage and cultural narrative. They invite you to visit the Exhibition and film at All Saints’ Church, on until Sunday 23 Feb, open daily 11 to 5 and Sundays 1 to pm. Entry is free and the Ukrainian Tisto cafe provide a warm welcome.
A Lights festival story taster can also be seen on the park railings at the clock tower entrance to Jephson Gardens now. Switch on your curiosity and enjoy this lights journey. Visit www.whittleproductions.co.uk or @Lightsofleamington on Facebook
Session Chair: Nicole Justice
Nicole Justice “can’t be put in a box,” as she expresses in her most recent single. A multi-hyphenate artist whose passion for music expands from the screen, stage, and studio to her company, Amber Music Group, where she facilitates music and media workshops for companies such as the BBC, The Southbank Centre, Steamhouse, Apple, and The Macready Theatre. Nicole shares her industry experience with adults and young people. Her workshops range from content creation, podcasting, and team building to media training and music production, providing adults and youth with industry skills to help shape their futures.
Nicole explained her business to Leamington Spa in 2023 and has since attended Spark 2024 as a delegate, hosting a stall for her business, Amber Music Group. Nicole has also been a guest on the WD Podcast with host and founder Johnathan Branson and has been a guest speaker at SAE University at The Fold, as well as a member of Millstreet through the Creative Futures programme.
For more information, please visit:
https://www.nicolejusticemedia.com
https://www.ambermusicgroup.com