Figurative

Who we are

Who We Are

Figurative is an independent charity finding imaginative ways to grow the cultural and creative sectors’ financial resilience and social impact. We experiment with funding models and technologies, support organisations to explore new impact and business models and help them take creative risks. We believe in the potential of cultural and creative organisations to benefit society, and connect them with the people, funds and resources they need to succeed.

Our Mission

Our mission is to offer a full spectrum of support enabling the cultural and creative sector to innovate in order to achieve its goals. We will build on our expertise within impact, investment, innovation, research and advocacy, with the following strategic aims: 

• Bring in significant new capital to the cultural and creative sector in the UK and beyond
• Structure that capital to deliver maximum economic and social impact
• Use innovative methods to transform how the sector operates

We will work with organisations to develop, test and scale ideas, identify and solve sector challenges and develop new business, funding and impact models.

Our Story 

Figurative started life as Arts & Culture Finance, a division of Nesta, before merging with New Philanthropy for Arts & Culture and launching as an independent organisation in 2024. We are backed by major funders and have a proven track record of bringing new money and ideas to the sector. We have supported the cultural and creative sector in imaginative ways since 2015.

Our culture and values

Our Approach

Our approach is bold, imaginative, collaborative and open-minded. We take time to build strong and lasting relationships with our partners, and encourage them to take risks on creative ideas. We explore opportunities as a network, keeping abreast of sector-wide developments, adapting to changing scenarios and sharing the evidence and learnings we amass along the way.

Our People

Our team combines extensive investment and impact experience with deep knowledge and appreciation of art and culture. We are uniquely positioned to spot opportunities and forge links between funders and organisations, and have a genuine passion for what we do.

Our Values

Valued - Funders, policymakers, and individuals recognise the impact of creative organisations and are invested in their activities – literally and figuratively.

Confident - Organisations have the capital and capacity to take risks, testing and evaluating ambitious ideas, building on their successes and learning from their failures.

Collaborative - Shared learning and cooperative action becomes the norm, so that everyone can benefit from new ideas and ways of working within the sector and beyond.

Connected - Organisations are embedded in their communities, with strong links into other sectors, and are supported by a global network of impact-driven cultural colleagues.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Our statement of intent

We are committed to being an equitable and inclusive advocate for the cultural and creative sector. This means that we seek to ensure fair treatment, access, and opportunities for the diverse people and organisations that we aim to serve, as well as to identify and eliminate barriers to participation, so that everyone has an equal opportunity to engage with our offer. It also means that we aim to foster a culture of respect in both words and actions, so that all people and organisations from across the arts and cultural sectors can be and feel welcomed, heard, and supported when they work with us.

What we are doing on equity and inclusion

It is important to us to work proactively to embed a culture of equity and inclusion. We have an equity and inclusion action plan that lays out concrete steps for how we will achieve this, and we regularly review and update this plan to ensure that we are continually learning, developing, and progressing in our approach.

We collect data about the make-up of the organisations that we work with to help us understand who we are reaching and ensure that we are providing equal opportunities for diverse people and organisations from across the arts and cultural sectors to engage with our offer. This includes using the data to identify where there may be barriers to equal access and participation, so that we can work to address these barriers.

We also look to invest in and support organisations that are committed to equity and inclusion. Our approach to investment due diligence and social impact assessment looks for evidence of how an organisation has already embedded these principles into their work, as well as what steps they are taking to improve. Where appropriate, we also use our relationship with our investees to support their progress on equity and inclusion.