Creative Lancashire celebrates 115 years of International Women’s Day with a special event at the Harris Museum, Preston.
23 February 2026 by Michelle
To celebrate the 115 anniversary of International Women’s Day, Creative Lancashire is hosting a special IWD26 Creative Women Networking Event entitled “Give to Gain: Women shaping Culture, Place & Possibility.”
The event, taking place in the recently reopened Harris Museum in Preston, features a Creative Women Networking Lunch session followed by a Conversations in Creativity Panel Discussion featuring women who are reshaping the creative, cultural, and digital landscape through courage, collaboration and community-led impact.
Creative Lancashire has a long history of supporting International Women’s Day, including publishing feature articles and hosting events about trailblazing women with a connection to Lancashire and working in creative or cultural industries.
See past events and features dating back to 2020, and watch highlights from the 2024 and 2025 events.
Aligned with the IWD 2026 theme, #GivetoGain, this year’s Conversations in Creativity discussion will explore how removing barriers, redistributing opportunity, and investing in women’s leadership doesn’t diminish success, it multiplies it.
The session will look at how ideas, resources, visibility, generosity and support can act as a powerful catalyst for equity, inclusion, and long-term change, and how women – and how their collaborative projects help to shape place, culture and community, and empower underrepresented voices.
The speakers are leaders from arts practice, cultural production, technology innovation, and place-making, including Elena Jackson, Director of Deco Publique who co-founded the National Festival of Making and is now launching Morecambe Bay Triannual, Tamima Mulla-Shah, Regional Manager of IN4 Group, and Karen Green of Creative Spaces Burnley.
Jenny Rutter, Chair of Creative Lancashire, commented on the need for these conversations and for further action:
“Even as we celebrate the achievements of trailblazing Lancashire creative women, we can’t ignore the need to work harder to increase representation and diversify our creative and cultural industries. Too often women, particularly those from underrepresented communities, face barriers to entry and advancement within our sector.”
This Conversations in Creativity event is being hosted at The Harris Museum in Preston on Friday 6th March 2026, and is free to attend, but booking on Eventbrite is essential as places are limited and ticket access to the event will be managed.
Creative Lancashire is a business support service, provided by Lancashire County Council. It is dedicated to helping raise the profile of Lancashire's creative talent and to harnessing the economic potential in organisations and practitioners working in the cultural and creative industries.
Conversations in Creativity is Creative Lancashire’s series of talks and insightful interviews, where creatives and cultural professionals from across the disciplines explore how inspiration, often from around the world, informs their process. Previous contributors include Lubaina Himid, Halima Cassel, John Puttick, Hemingway Design, Nick Park, Keith Brymer Jones, Patrick Grant, Lemn Sissay and Jeanette Winterson to name a few.
International Women's Day is an annual global event celebrating women and their achievements.
First initiated in 1911, IWD is celebrating 115 years in 2026. IWD is a movement encouraging us to stand up for a more diverse, equitable and inclusive world, free of discrimination and stereotypes.
#IWD2026 #GiveToGain