So far…

I co-founded Creative Dundee as a blog and creative network, centring creative communities as catalysts for collective good. Over 15 years I’ve led it to become a social enterprise and charity built around community wealth — key connective infrastructure that didn’t exist before — sustained through a recession, pandemic and a challenging funding landscape. 

As Executive Director, alongside our small, ambitious team, I’ve shaped city strategies, influenced policy and connected people with their place, with equity and Fair Work principles at the core. Throughout, I’ve designed with people, communities, businesses and civic agencies — weaving the conditions, networks and platforms where possibilities take root and grow. 

Much of what I do is spotting potential early, building momentum with people, and making complex things legible. This work is relational and long-term – navigating multi-partner projects to earn trust and hold the shared vision throughout, so that what’s promised reaches the people it’s meant to.

Working locally, nationally and internationally has taught me what travels, what scales, and what’s best grown locally, increasingly across interconnected policy areas — from climate to wellbeing, digital to social purpose — where culture sits at the intersection but rarely gets named. 

Earlier, seven years with Nesta grounded me in designing funds and piloting programmes to strengthen creative and social capacity across Scotland, the UK, and leading their first international partnership. Before this, I worked across the third sector creating access routes in education, employment and enterprise — working directly with people facing long-term unemployment, communities navigating new beginnings, and young people facing barriers in underserved places — learning to find the gaps and design around people’s real needs and ambitions.

This work showed me that strengthening networks and ecosystems is critical — and that doing so means reimagining how resources flow — to develop models that reach further into communities, practices and places. My training in design has been a core grounding thread throughout.

Now and next…

I work best when the path isn’t yet clear. As we face growing systemic strain and increasing division, I believe in democratic, equitable creative collaboration — working with intention and attention to experiment, test and bring regenerative alternatives into the world, across communities, regions and borders.

I’m drawn to finding better alternatives. Shaping systems with others, I work in-between, nurturing the conditions and connection for this to happen. I have built through uncertainty before, and also bring lived insight of complex health and social care systems which shapes how I co-design support where care and equity matter most.

I’m moving on from Creative Dundee later in 2026, and open to new collaborations and adventures — you can find some emerging threads here.

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Homepage and above profile image: Lydia Smith