Unexpected Leaders
Changing who gets to lead – A decade of Unexpected Leaders.
Great leaders do not all follow the same path.
Some learn through lived experience, becoming experts at navigating barriers and finding creative solutions to problems that others rarely see.
Since launching in 2015, Unexpected Leaders has supported a growing network of disabled and marginalised people to develop confidence, careers and leadership across the Arts and beyond. Originally, a partnership between Extraordinary Bodies and Clore Leadership Programme, based on the recognition that those overcoming barriers implicitly embodied leadership qualities. By making these links explicit, beneficiaries become empowered, began to understand themselves as leaders and take up leadership-roles previously considered off-limits.
Unexpected Leaders has been supported by partners including Clore Leadership, Arts Council England, National Lottery Community Fund and Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Working alongside Diverse City and Extraordinary Bodies’ productions, the programme has brought together venues, collaborators, community organisations, artists, activists and allies across the UK. Connecting Communities, our last iteration, was delivered through our place-based working, ensuring our cohort of leaders shaped their own futures alongside the communities and places they lived.
Our alumni of Unexpected Leaders include artists, producers, photographers, trustees, facilitators, campaigners, community leaders and cultural advocates.
We believe…
Leadership isn’t about job titles or authority.
It’s about creating change.
It’s about bringing people together, challenging assumptions, making space for others and imagining better ways of doing things.
Too often, those with experience and insight around inequality and injustice are excluded from making decisions about it. Unexpected Leaders exists to counter this.
As we often say:
“Society doesn’t change. People change society.”
What does the programme include?
Every participant’s journey is different, but Unexpected Leaders combines practical experience with bespoke support, designed around the individual’s needs and aspirations.
Beneficiaries can access a number of opportunities, including:
- One-to-one coaching and mentoring
- Leadership development programmes
- Paid creative opportunities
- Co-evaluation and research
- Peer learning and networking
- Public speaking and advocacy
- Creative projects and community leadership
- Access support and bursaries
- Connections with artists, venues and cultural organisations
Rather than teaching people how to become leaders, we help people recognise the leadership qualities they already possess and build upon these.
Where are they now? Meet some of our Unexpected Leaders
Unexpected Leaders is designed to create lasting change. Many of our alumni continue to work with Diverse City, while others have gone on to build careers across the arts, education, community development and social justice.
Their journeys are all different, but they share something in common: confidence, connections and a belief that their lived experience has value.
Rachel Lambert
Rachel joined Unexpected Leaders with a passion for photography and an interest in disability arts.
During the programme she gained confidence, professional commissions and international opportunities, photographing performances, influencing accessibility within other organisations and discovering new career ambitions.
Today Rachel works as a Volunteer Officer, is a trustee of Together We Can Do and continues to champion disability, volunteering and inclusive culture.
“Diverse City has had a big impact in my life.”
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Ayad Al-Ani
When Ayad joined Unexpected Leaders, he was rebuilding his life in the UK after seeking asylum. Through the programme he found opportunities to develop as both a creative practitioner and community leader, using art to explore identity, belonging and social change.
After taking part in Unexpected Leaders, Ayad established his own business, became an advocate for refugees and asylum seekers, advised Parliament on asylum policy, joined the board of another arts organisation, and now delivers workshops on cultural inclusion and diversity. He also became a valued Trustee of Diverse City, serving on our Board for nine years and helping shape the organisation’s direction during a significant period of growth.
Although his term as a trustee has now come to an end, Ayad remains an important part of the Diverse City family, and his leadership, insight and generosity continue to inspire our work.
“The positive impact and support you embraced me with is so ardent and is cherished dearly… I’m very much contented and actually thankful for the hands reached out for me and helped me to overcome the transitional limbo.”
Kezia
Kezia joined Unexpected Leaders shortly after graduating from university, unsure how to build a career that reflected her values.
Through coaching, mentoring and paid opportunities, she developed skills as a facilitator, choreographer, photographer and community artist, going on to work with organisations including Wyldwood Arts, Prema Arts, Extraordinary Bodies Young Artists and TwoCan Theatre.
Looking back, she writes:
“From the moment I became an Unexpected Leader… I have had so many incredible experiences… every single one can be credited to my experience with Diverse City.”
Farah
Farah’s journey with Diverse City shows how the right support, opportunities and access can transform isolation into confidence and leadership.
As a Deaf artist, Farah often found herself fighting for basic access and struggling to find creative environments where she truly belonged. She joined Unexpected Leaders feeling unsure of her place in the sector.
Through tailored mentoring, leadership development and a life-changing residency, Farah experienced what genuinely accessible and inclusive practice could look like. That experience gave her the confidence to see herself not just as an artist, but as a leader.
Today, Farah is a community worker, artist and facilitator, contributing to access-led projects and helping create the inclusive environments she once struggled to find. She also works with Diverse City to inspire and support the next generation of d/Deaf artists.
“I felt supported by everyone I met… I learned so much and now feel more empowered.” — Farah
“"The coaching was really important for me and has been a big impact on my confidence and self-esteem as an artist." ”
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“"It led to regular work and friendships for the last ten years." ”
Unexpected Leader
“"I learned that there are many ways to be a leader." ”
Unexpected Leader
“"It was valuable for me to feel less alone and part of an artistic community of people who understand barriers." ”
Unexpected Leader
Looking ahead
Unexpected Leaders continues to evolve alongside Diverse City’s place-based approach to making work.
As we build long-term relationships in communities across the UK, we want to identify, support and invest in local people who can shape creative activity, influence cultural decision-making and create lasting change long after a project or performance has ended.