Colette Bailey
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), WOW – Women of the World
Colette is CEO at WOW – Women of the World and a creative producer, with an established history and over 25 years experience of leading SME organisations and teams in the UK. Previously she was Artistic Director and CEO of Metal (2002-2021) and Managing Director at the Royal Society of British Sculptors (1998-2022). Her work has always been purpose-driven, creating arts programmes that are underpinned by social change, community participation and nurturing talent within people of all ages.
She is a passionate advocate for the transformational power of the arts to create change – for both people and places – and equally passionate that access to culture should be available to everyone. All her work to date has been to find ways to advocate for, develop and deliver this.
“Time and again I have seen first hand how the arts can transform possibilities for people, places and ideas. A warm welcome; exposure to a multitude of stories; feeling represented; and multiple entry points for getting involved can really begin to shift embedded behaviour, foster understanding and change hearts and minds in a way that traditional education or doctrine does not.”
