Dan Baxter

Background

About Dan Baxter

I am a arts executive dedicated to proving that the arts are a vital public good, not a luxury. My leadership is defined by a unique blend of high-level commercial rigour and a deep commitment to social equity—bridging the gap between 'elite' cultural spaces and community access.Currently, as Interim Venue Director at TRCH Nottingham, I am leading 400+ staff through a 169% financial turnaround, delivering over over 600 live performances across 200+ productions every year and a major governance transition. In 2024/25 we delivered the most profitable year on record — generating over £2m reinvested directly into city services. I came to the arts as a first-generation graduate. I know what it feels like to walk into a grand concert hall and wonder whether it's for people like you. That experience shapes everything I do as a leader: building organisations that are commercially resilient enough to take bold artistic risks, and genuinely open to everyone. My career has taken me from Live Theatre in Newcastle and Hull Truck Theatre during a full leadership transition, to the Barbican in London, to leading cultural strategy in Watford and now Nottingham and I'm increasingly drawn to cultural policy: how institutions like ours shape cities, communities and lives at a systems level. I'm always glad to connect with people working at the intersection of arts, equity and public life.