Exploring women’s resilience and leadership in the creative industries

Drawing together women from film, visual art and music, the Centre for Euro-Asian Studies hosted a workshop exploring women’s experiences across the arts.

On 13 July 2026, Henley Business School hosted a Centre for Euro-Asian Studies (CEAS) international workshop exploring women’s experiences of resilience, leadership, visibility and professional success across the arts.

The workshop, held both in-person and online, brought together women from a range of creative industries. It featured contributions from film, art and music to examine the opportunities and challenges facing women as they build sustainable careers, strengthen their professional visibility and exercise leadership within their respective sectors.

Participants on the workshop were a mix of creative practitioners, researchers and international partners from as far afield as Hungary, Turkey and Kazakhstan, all gathering for an exchange of experiences, evidence and practical insights. Delivered as part of the CEAS’ wider programme of research, impact and international engagement on the creative industries and resilience, the workshop built on past projects that CEAS faculty and collaborators had worked on, such as the research presented to the United Nations in February 2026 and the resilience of creative industries in the UK,Turkey and Kazakhstan following the COVD-19 pandemic.

Talks were given by:

Natalia Lobko, an award-winning film director, who led a presentation on the topic ‘Women in Film: Building Resilience, Visibility and Professional Success’.
Visual artist Ceyda Erinç was next to present to the assembled audience, exploring the topic ‘From Canvas to Gallery: Resilience, Leadership and Creative Success in Visual Art’.
Martabe Abdilda then shared her experiences of the British Council’s Creative Spark project, with her presentation titled ‘Women’s Leadership in the Music Industry’.
Professor Assel Jumasseitova, Professor of Economics and Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs at the Kazakh-British Technical University (KBTU), led the next presentation on the topic ‘Experience of Tumar Orchestra and the KBTU Cultural and Educational Project’.
Dr Dana Issakhova, who covered the topic ‘A Digital Platform for the Development of Music Entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan’.

Coaching sessions from Henley PhD student Irina Turaliyeva were offered to participants to reflect on resilience, confidence, visibility, professional identity, financial confidence, income sustainability, pricing creative work and communicating value, with the end goal of setting a concrete personal development action.

Dr Olena Klystova, who coordinated the workshop, commented:

“The workshop created an important space for reflection, dialogue and the development of new professional connections, while identifying opportunities for continued collaboration across the CEAS’ international creative industries network