Thinking Like Leaders
Led by Andrew Vaughan, Learning Manager at The Whitworth, the session explored what critical thinking really looks like in leadership positions within a gallery setting. How do leaders make decisions? Who do they consider? What tensions exist between creativity, access, and commercial reality?
To get brains buzzing, we kicked off with a fast-paced game of ‘Who Am I?’ Sticky notes featuring iconic creatives — from Frida Kahlo to Beyoncé — were placed on foreheads, and the questioning began. Some identities were cracked quickly. Others? Not so much. But what mattered was the process: asking the right questions, thinking critically, and refining ideas.
Discovering BEAUTIFUL
Next came a self-directed gallery challenge. Armed with just 20 minutes and the acronym BEAUTIFUL, the group set off to find artworks that fit different prompts such as blue, ugly and topical.
The result? A fascinating reminder that interpretation is personal. Back in the studio, each young person shared different selections — proving that perspective shapes meaning.
From Viewer to Visionary
After watching short films about the value of the arts and their role in developing critical thinking, the Creative Leaders took on their biggest challenge yet.
Working in pairs, they selected an artwork they would exhibit in their own gallery. But this wasn’t simply about taste. They had to consider:
- Who is the audience?
- Why this artwork?
- What conversations does it spark?
- What would the public programme look like?
- How much is it worth?
Each piece was given a financial value, and teams prepared a professional pitch to justify their curatorial decision.
Just before presenting, every participant was assigned a specific gallery role to embody — curator, creative education practitioner, marketing lead and more. This added a new layer of complexity. Suddenly, decisions had to be filtered through responsibility, budget, audience engagement, and institutional vision.
Three Galleries, Three Visions
The final challenge saw the group divided into three imagined galleries:
- A civic, community-led space
- A youth-focused gallery
- A commercially driven gallery reliant on ticket sales
Each had a different scale, budget, and purpose. Teams had to negotiate, compromise, and think strategically about which artworks to include in their exhibition.
What followed was a series of thoughtful, imaginative presentations. Each group shared:
- Their exhibition concept
- Their public programme
- Their budget breakdown
- A visual drawing of their gallery space
The level of detail, debate, and critical reflection was impressive — balancing artistic ambition with real-world constraints.
A Day of Critical Thinking in Action
This was more than a gallery visit. It was a day of stepping into leadership, weighing competing priorities, defending ideas, and imagining new possibilities for creative spaces.
A huge thank you to Andrew and everyone at The Whitworth for hosting the MADE Creative Leaders. It was a powerful day of discussion, decision-making and daring to think differently.
