ISV Member Connect - July 2026
Arts as Social Infrastructure: The Missing Layer in Social Value
Date: 16 July 2026
Time:
12:30 - 1:00pm | Presentation (open to all)
1:00 - 1:30pm | Member-only Q&A
Social value often focuses on what we deliver. This session explores what makes those outcomes possible in the first place.
Amanda Kelleher will share why the arts should be viewed not as decoration but as social infrastructure: a powerful way to strengthen the social foundations that help communities thrive. Drawing on examples from health, education and industry, she'll demonstrate how creative approaches can help organisations increase engagement, deepen participation and create the conditions that make social value outcomes possible, from wellbeing and employability to inclusion and social cohesion.
Expect practical examples, fresh thinking and a new lens on how social value can be created to reach underserved communities and have more impact.
Speaker Bio
Amanda Kelleher is an award-winning theatre maker, social value practitioner and co-founder of Cor, a social enterprise that delivers epic arts projects for social value. With more than 20 years' experience, she has designed and delivered over 500 workshops reaching 7,500+ people across education, health, community and corporate settings.
Amanda specialises in using creativity, rhythm and participation to remove barriers to engagement, strengthen social infrastructure and improve outcomes for people and communities. Her work spans wellbeing, employability, education, inclusion and community development, helping organisations deliver meaningful and measurable social value.
She is an Associate Fellow in Contemporary Theatre at Birkbeck, University of London, and is currently part of the NHS Health Innovator Programme, where she is piloting Rhythm to Regulate™, an innovative programme that uses rhythm to build emotional regulation, social cohesion and wellbeing.
IMPORTANT: Only current members who are logged in to their membership account are able to register for Member Tickets.
