As 2025 comes to an end, we’re taking a moment to reflect on a year of real growth for Diverse Artists Network (DAN) — a year that brought both momentum and challenge, and a strong reminder of why this work matters.
Just over a year into our residency at Arnolfini, the difference that stability and trust can make is clear. The support from the Arnolfini team has allowed us to properly settle into the space, host regular Artists Gatherings, and encourage DAN members to approach the venue with their own ideas and workshops. Sharing office space with Curiosity UnLtd and Lets Make Art, has also been important, creating room for conversations, shared thinking and new collaborations to grow naturally.
Over the course of the year, our team expanded so we could deliver more of what we set out to do. We now have the capacity to work across memberships, agency activity, community development and one-to-one mentoring, and it’s been powerful to see how much difference that has made. Looking back, we feel proud of how far we’ve come — and more aware than ever of how vital stability is for artists, organisations and communities.
2025 brought some major milestones. We launched new membership tiers and welcomed more than 75 members. We also set up the DAN agency, onboarding 40 artists working across music, dance, visual arts, workshops and facilitation. Through the agency, we worked with partners across Bristol and the South West, including Team Love (FORWARDS Festival), Arnolfini, Weston Arts + Health Festival, Bristol Harbour Festival and Superculture. Alongside this, we’ve been preparing our agency web page so our artists can be more visible and easier to find.
Artists Gatherings continued to sit at the heart of what we do. These sessions have provided space for artists to meet, share ideas, reflect and feel supported, often in ways that are hard to find elsewhere. Our mentoring work has run alongside this, helping artists build confidence, sharpen ideas and strengthen their networks. Behind the scenes, we’ve also been quietly building our organisational foundations so we’re better equipped for what’s ahead.
This year’s Mini-DIASPORA! was a real highlight, reinforcing DAN’s role in celebrating cultural diversity and community-led creativity in the city. We were also part of a wide range of festivals and events, including DIASPORA! at Shambala, helping us reach new audiences across the region. We continued developing our Artists Spotlights, celebrating the talent within the network while supporting emerging journalists from the RISE Collective, and refreshed our branding and communications with the support of a social media volunteer.
Like many arts organisations, we’re still working within a difficult funding landscape. Things remain precarious, but we’ve responded by strengthening our core team and spending time exploring new income streams. We’re actively pursuing sponsorship for DIASPORA!, from supporting individual artists and exhibitions through to the festival’s opening and closing moments.
The wider context we’re working in — shaped by rising prejudice and increasingly polarised conversations — has only reinforced the importance of DAN’s work. Creating space for marginalised voices, supporting artists to be seen and heard, and working in care-centred, inclusive ways feels more urgent than ever.
Looking ahead, our focus is firmly on 2026 and the return of DIASPORA! as a ten-day, region-wide celebration of cultural diversity through the arts. There’s a growing sense of excitement around what’s coming next, and we’re looking forward to working closely with artists, partners and communities to make it happen.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of DAN this year — our artists, members, partners, venues, funders and supporters. This work doesn’t happen without you, and we’re excited to keep building together.
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