Event type: Talk

Annabel Croft: From Tennis Balls to Glitter Balls

Annabel Croft is a national treasure. After announcing herself by winning the Wimbledon and Australian Girls’ Tournaments in 1984, she went onto represent Great Britain in the Fed Cup while enjoying a glittering career.

Moving into broadcasting, she replaced Anneka Rice on Channel 4 Treasure Hunt before moving into the commentary box and working as a presenter and pundit for Eurosport, Sky Sports, and the BBC.

More recently, she enjoyed a thrilling run to the final four on Strictly Come Dancing, with dance partner Johannes Radebe.

Her intimate new show will share tales of famous friends and faces, from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to the stars of Strictly.

It’s a genuine must-see show.

Creativity for Evaluation Training

Are you seeking new approaches to evaluation which put the communities you are working with at the heart of the process?

Understanding and demonstrating the value and impact of creative work in and with communities is vital to the sustainability of participatory and community arts. This training will focus on how artists, practitioners and project managers can enable participants to evaluate their own experiences of arts and cultural projects through creative exercises.

This training will:

Introduce ideas around participatory creative evaluation. Support practitioners to find the right questions and engaging ways to ask these. Share ideas on how creative data can be captured, analysed and disseminated.

Length: 3 hours

This training will take place online, via Zoom.

Ticket Cost:

For attendees supported by their organisations the full price of a ticket is £40.00 For freelancers and non-regularly funded organisations, the price of a ticket is £30.00 For those on low income the ticket price is £18.00

We also have a small number of bursary places available for those with limited funds, please email admin@collective-encounters.org.uk

Access: This event will use live transcription. If you require BSL interpretation, please get in touch no later than two weeks in advance of the training.

Mike Joyce “The Drums” Book Tour

Future Yard is excited to welcome Mike Joyce, legendary drummer of The Smiths, to celebrate the release of his long-awaited memoir, The Drums – My Life in The Smiths.  As a founding member of one of the most influential and beloved bands in British music history, Mike offers a fresh and deeply human perspective of the band’s brief but brilliant story.

Mike’s honest and entertaining memoir details what it felt like to be a member of the Smiths. Mike’s love and admiration for the band is prevalent throughout his storytelling which will resonate with fans of The Smiths. Mike will reflect on his time with the band through the eyes of a passionate observer, as well as being a trusted backbone of one of the greatest groups of all time.

About the author

Mike Joyce is an esteemed English drummer who has played with Sinead O’Connor, Public Image Ltd, Buzzcocks, Suede, Julian Cope, Pete Wylie and most recently has been occupying the drum seat with Peter Doherty, as well as being a member of The Smiths for the entire duration of the lifetime of the band. Mike also has a successful DJ career playing clubs worldwide.

Copies of Mike Joyce’s book The Drums will be available to purchase on the night.

POP3 – Climate Conference

Future Yard is proud to host our latest annual climate conference. POP3 powered by Ecotricity Business is a day of debate, conversation and collaboration, exploring the power of culture in the quest for climate justice.

With panels featuring industry experts, interactive roundtable discussions and opportunities to connect with leading figures from across the UK, POP3 is the sustainability conference for the grassroots and community culture sector.

Coinciding with the UN-convened COP Climate Conference, this interactive day will see venue owners, business leaders, creatives, academics and sector professionals collaborate through workshops and panels to help shape a greener future for our industry. People in attendance will range from nationally significant arts organisations and major players in the green transition, to local artists and businesses passionate about sustainability.

Sustainability is at the heart of Future Yard’s mission. This is the third such event we have held, alongside the publication of our own Sustainability Roadmap. In 2024, we announced our intention to achieve operational net zero by 2030 and net zero by 2035. At this year’s event, we will be updating our Roadmap to outline how we intend to achieve this.

The daytime conference runs between 11am and 6pm, and takes place in Future Yard’s Live Room and workshop spaces. Tickets are FREE to attend this event.

The conference will be followed by an evening live show headlined by Anna B Savage. Doors for this event open at 8pm, tickets available separately.

Messy Grief: Grief Gathering with Brendan Curtis

For Grief Awareness Week 2025, At The Library presents Messy Grief! A week of arts programming as part of Loved and Lost, a programme of work exploring grief, how we talk about it and how we live well with it.

This Grief Gathering is a welcoming space for everyone—whether you’ve experienced grief or not – to connect, share feelings and experiences around love & loss. It’s for people who have experienced grief, and for people who haven’t.

Monday 8th December

1pm – 3pm

Crosby Library

This gathering is an inclusive space, open to people of all ages, genders, backgrounds and beliefs. You’re invited to share your experiences and reflections around death and grief—but there’s no pressure to speak. Listening and being present is enough.

This Grief Gathering is hosted by artist Brendan Curtis and Debbie Chan, with support of librarian Emma Latham who has experiences of grief. Refreshments, including both hot & cold beverages and cake will be provided.

Please tell us your access or dietary requirements when booking, so we can make the day comfortable & welcoming for you.

We keep gatherings small, limited to 12 people maximum, so booking is essential.

POP3 – Climate Conference

Future Yard is proud to host our latest annual climate conference. POP3 powered by Ecotricity Business is a day of debate, conversation and collaboration, exploring the power of culture in the quest for climate justice.

With panels featuring industry experts, interactive roundtable discussions and opportunities to connect with leading figures from across the UK, POP3 is the sustainability conference for the grassroots and community culture sector.

Coinciding with the UN-convened COP Climate Conference, this interactive day will see venue owners, business leaders, creatives, academics and sector professionals collaborate through workshops and panels to help shape a greener future for our industry. People in attendance will range from nationally significant arts organisations and major players in the green transition, to local artists and businesses passionate about sustainability.

Sustainability is at the heart of Future Yard’s mission. This is the third such event we have held, alongside the publication of our own Sustainability Roadmap. In 2024, we announced our intention to achieve operational net zero by 2030 and net zero by 2035. At this year’s event, we will be updating our Roadmap to outline how we intend to achieve this.

The daytime conference runs between 11am and 6pm, and takes place in Future Yard’s Live Room and workshop spaces. Delegate and audience tickets are now available.
The conference will be followed by an evening live show headlined by Anna B Savage. Doors for this event open at 8pm, tickets available separately.

Liverpool’s Cultural Workshop: Panel Discussions & Talks

Part of Liverpool’s Cultural Workshop Expo 2025, Liam Kelly (CEO of Make CIC) will be hosting a number of panel talks & presentations.

Make CIC & Invisible Wind Factory invite you to Liverpool’s Cultural Workshop Expo 2025; a carnival of culture, art, education & conversation.

The North Docks of Liverpool is the workshop of the city’s culture & creative sector We plan to showcase the amazing talents and outputs of the creative community across a weekend filled with exhibitions, workshops, conversation, food, drink, & an artisanal market on the 15th & 16th of November taking place at Make North Docks & The Invisible Wind Factory.

We want to invite you to a conversation on culture, regeneration & the politics of living in an ever-developing city.  

We will be presenting two panel discussions & an interactive workshop dissecting the issues faced by the cultural sector, establishing and reimagining solutions to the negative effects of gentrification, corporate development, and political uncertainty:

  • Can arts & culture be the patriotism of unity?

Britain’s creative industries are one of the country’s remaining international soft powers. We’ll be exploring how arts & culture could offer an alternative form of patriotism that makes people feel welcome and challenges negative ideas about national identity.

  • How can arts & culture be heard amongst large scale regeneration and political headwinds?

In the shadow of a £800 million stadium development, we will discuss how arts & culture generates value that can supercharge regeneration and the challenges associated with individuals and organisations being taken seriously in the conversation.

We will be welcoming speakers from across the creative industries.  From grassroots venues & festival operators, to educators, policy makers, funders, artists, & more.

Liam Naughton (Managing Director, Invisible Wind Factory) & Liam Kelly (CEO, Make CIC) will also be giving presentations detailing the stories of IWF & Make, the struggles they have faced and what the future holds for the North Docks Cultural Cluster.

Queer Book Club: December 2025

Queer Book Club is an inclusive reading group open to anyone from St Helens to come together to read and discuss LGBTQIA+ literature. Founded in Autumn 2023 by a group of local queer artists, producers and book-lovers, Queer Book Club is a space to share a love of queer novels, memoirs and writing.

This month we’re reading…

Bored Gay Werewolf, by Tony Santorella is a smart take on the doomsday logic of late capitalism and the complicated meeting point of masculinity and sexuality. It’s a buddy novel about finding your pack, the power of friendship, and learning how to be comfortable in your own, shaggy werewolf pelt.

Queer Book Club is drop-in, meaning you don’t have to have been before to take part, but we encourage you to read the book ahead of the session.

Queer Book Club: March 2026

Queer Book Club is an inclusive reading group open to anyone from St Helens to come together to read and discuss LGBTQIA+ literature. Founded in Autumn 2023 by a group of local queer artists, producers and book-lovers, Queer Book Club is a space to share a love of queer novels, memoirs and writing.

This month we’re reading…

Upside Down, by N.R. Walker; a romance novel about an asexual protagonist whose world is turned upside down – or the right way up – by a new friend, in a new town.

Queer Book Club is drop-in, meaning you don’t have to have been before to take part, but we encourage you to read the book ahead of the session.

Queer Book Club: November 2025

Queer Book Club is an inclusive reading group open to anyone from St Helens to come together to read and discuss LGBTQIA+ literature. Founded in Autumn 2023 by a group of local queer artists, producers and book-lovers, Queer Book Club is a space to share a love of queer novels, memoirs and writing.

This month we’re reading…

The Luminous Dead, by Caitlin Starling; a sci-fi horror novel in which a caver on a foreign planet finds herself on a terrifying psychological and emotional journey for survival. Nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel.

Queer Book Club is drop-in, meaning you don’t have to have been before to take part, but we encourage you to read the book ahead of the session.