WHO OWNS CULTURE NOW? Summit 2026
Who shapes culture? Who funds it? Who gets access - and who gets to decide what comes next?
Art Voyage returns with the second edition of its annual cultural summit, Who Owns Culture Now?
Who Owns Culture Now? Summit 2026
📍 Location: Pillar Hall, Olympia Way, London, W14 8UX
🗓️ Date: 27 November 2026
30+ VOICES. ONE DAY. FIVE PANELS. ONE DEFINING QUESTION.
At a moment when cultural institutions, funding models and audiences are rapidly changing, Who Owns Culture Now? brings together voices from across the cultural sector to examine how power, ownership, access, stewardship and capital are shaping culture today and what these shifts mean for its future.
WHO YOU'LL MEET
Artists · Curators · Museum & Gallery Leaders · Collectors · Cultural Entrepreneurs · Philanthropists · Researchers · Policymakers · Creative Professionals · Emerging Cultural Leaders
Explore the Panels
Panel 1. Who Decides What Becomes Culture?
How museums, collectors, markets and institutions shape cultural value, visibility and the stories that define our shared heritage.
Panel 2. Culture, Capital and the Public Good
Exploring how philanthropy, public institutions and private investment work together to shape the future of culture and expand public access.
Panel 3. Custodians of Culture: Philanthropy and the Future of Asian and Middle Eastern Art
Examining the role of collectors, foundations and cultural leaders in supporting artistic practice, preserving heritage and strengthening global cultural exchange.
Panel 4. Who Owns Digital Culture: Artists, Platforms, or Data
Exploring how artificial intelligence, digital platforms and emerging technologies are transforming authorship, ownership and cultural value in the digital age.
Panel 5. Beyond the Canon: Rethinking Global Collections and Cultural Narratives
Examining how museums, collectors and cultural institutions are reshaping collections and narratives to reflect a more diverse and interconnected world.
✨ YOUR SUMMIT EXPERIENCE ✨
Full-day access to five panel discussions
Opening keynote
Curated roundtable conversations
Welcome breakfast
Networking throughout the day
Live performance and cultural showcase
Evening celebration
Drinks and canapés
Summit Programme Outline
MORNING
09:00 Welcome Reception & Breakfast
09:30 Opening Keynote
09:45 Panel 1
10:30 Panel 2
11:20 Short Break
MIDDAY
11:45 Panel 3
12:30 Lunch Break
AFTERNOON
13:30 Curated Roundtable conversations & Networking
14:30 Panel 4
15:15 Panel 5
16:15 Closing Keynote & Liver Performances
EVENING
17:00 Evening Celebration - Live Music, Drinks and Canapés, Cultural Showcase & Networking Event
20:00 Summit Closes
BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION
Who Owns Culture Now? is designed not only around what happens on stage, but also through the conversations that unfold beyond it. From the welcome breakfast and curated roundtables to the evening celebration, the programme creates space to meet, exchange ideas and build relationships across the cultural sector.
Why Attend?
Hear directly from cultural leaders about the forces reshaping institutions, funding, collecting, access and cultural influence.
Join conversations bringing together voices from across museums, galleries, the art market, philanthropy, academia and independent cultural practice.
Meet artists, curators, collectors, cultural leaders, emerging professionals and decision-makers through dedicated opportunities for conversation throughout the day.
Take part in curated roundtable conversations where audiences become participants and ideas can be questioned, exchanged and developed.
Contribute to a wider conversation about who shapes culture today and how a more ambitious, connected and sustainable cultural future might be built.
Ticket Information
All tickets include access to the Summit’s daytime programme, including the Welcome Breakfast and Lunch, Keynote, five panel discussions, Curated Roundtable Conversations & Networking, and Live Performance.
Student - £75
A reduced-rate ticket for current students, providing full access to the daytime Summit programme from 9:00-17:00. Valid student ID may be required.
Early Bird General - £179
Full access to the daytime Summit programme from 9:00-17:00.
Book early and save £50 · Limited tickets available.
Early Bird VIP - £229
Full access to the daytime Summit programme, plus the Evening Celebration from 17:00-20:00, featuring live music, drinks and canapés, cultural showcase and extended networking.
Book early and save £50 · Limited tickets available
General - £229
Full access to the daytime Summit programme from 9:00-17:00.
VIP - £279
Full access to the daytime Summit programme, plus the Evening Celebration from 17:00-20:00, featuring live music, drinks and canapés, cultural showcase and extended networking.
Support an Emerging Voice
Help an emerging artist, curator or cultural professional join the Summit. Choose your contribution and help us provide subsidised or complimentary places for those who may otherwise be unable to attend.
A £75 contribution can support a full subsidised place, while contributions of any amount will be combined to help us offer more places.
This contribution does not include an additional ticket for the purchaser.
About the Art Voyage Summit
The Art Voyage Summit is an annual platform for dialogue, exchange and connection across the cultural sector. Bringing together artists, curators, cultural leaders, institutions and emerging professionals, the Summit creates space to explore urgent questions shaping contemporary culture and to build new relationships, ideas and collaborations across disciplines and communities.
Partners / Supporters
AWITA · Contemporary LYNX · ArtKōrero · Contemporary Identities
Culture is never neutral. It reflects who has the power to create, collect, fund, preserve and share it.
On 27 November, join us in London for a day of ideas and conversations about who owns culture now - and who will shape what comes next.
Book your place now.
Discover more about Who Owns Culture Now? on the Art Voyage website.