Dr David Stokes has been the Chief Executive of The Halpern Charitable Foundation since March 2019.
The charity focuses on tackling mental health and social isolation through the arts, and also runs the well-known Nucleus Arts centres across Medway, supporting locally-based artists and increasing opportunities for creative business. David has a particular interest in the development of arts as a health tool, and developing standards in planning, evaluation and the communication of outcomes for arts practitioners.
Before joining The Halpern Charitable Foundation, David was the CEO of the Cleft Lip and Palate Association – the national charity for people affected by cleft; and prior to that had an extensive background in academic research and management, most recently running major collaborative research programmes at Imperial College London, including the MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, and the Digital City Exchange smart cities programme.
He is currently deputy-chair of the Chatham Town Forum, the Love Chatham initiative, and Creative Medway. He is the lead-member for the Love Chatham festival, and Chinese New Year Festival. David is a representative on a multitude of projects, such as the Social Isolation Forum, the Innovation Board, Medway for Business, Medway Artist Forum, the VCS Leaders group. He has recently been appointed to the board of the Institute for Inclusive Communities and Environments at the University of Greenwich, and as an Ambassador for Chatham Historic Dockyard.
Previously he was on the steering committees of a number of national research programmes and research centres including: SLUMBERS, Cleft Care UK, and the Centre for Appearance Research. He was part of the Council for Disabled Children, the Shared learning group on Public-Patient Involvement in research, the NHS Cleft Development Group, and chaired the steering group of the Appearance Collective in the UK. David was also until recently a course leader at Imperial College London.
Presentation: Community First, Culture Always – Lessons from Nucleus Arts
Regeneration is often measured in buildings, infrastructure and investment, but thriving places are ultimately created by people. This talk explores how arts and culture can become powerful tools for social regeneration, strengthening communities, improving wellbeing and creating opportunities for those who have traditionally been excluded from cultural and economic life.
Drawing on the experience at Nucleus Arts, this session examines how creative organisations can move beyond simply delivering cultural programmes to becoming trusted community anchors. Since 2002, Nucleus Arts has transformed its creative hubs in Medway into places where artists, community organisations, health partners, schools, businesses and residents come together to shape their neighbourhoods. Rather than viewing galleries, studios and community spaces as separate functions, Nucleus Arts has developed an
integrated model in which professional creative practice, community engagement and enterprise work alongside one another to generate both social and economic value.
The talk will demonstrate how this approach has been successfully embedded within some of Kent’s most disadvantaged communities, particularly in Chatham, where long-standing challenges around health inequalities, educational attainment and economic inactivity mirror those faced by many towns across the UK. Through creative health programmes, informal learning, artist development, youth engagement and community-led cultural events, Nucleus Arts has shown how creativity can build confidence, improve wellbeing, strengthen local identity and create progression pathways into employment, volunteering and education.
Central to this success is partnership. Rather than delivering programmes to communities, Nucleus Arts works with them, collaborating with schools, health providers, local authorities, voluntary organisations and informal community groups to identify local needs and co-design responses. Events such as the Chatham Chinese New Year Festival, Chatham Carnival and the nationally award-winning Medway Fun Palace demonstrate how large-scale cultural activity can celebrate local identity while encouraging participation, breaking down barriers and fostering civic pride. Young people and residents are active contributors, helping to shape programmes, influence decision-making and define what success looks like.
The session will also explore the importance of creating sustainable creative ecosystems. Affordable artist studios, exhibition spaces, cafés, community facilities and creative enterprise support are not simply cultural assets, they form part of a wider social infrastructure that generates economic resilience while ensuring that culture remains accessible to everyone. The talk will discuss practical approaches to balancing commercial
sustainability with social purpose, commissioning local creatives, measuring impact and maintaining flexibility to respond to changing community needs.
Finally, the presentation will consider how these lessons can inform future regeneration, particularly in the context of local government reorganisation and increasing pressure on public services. As organisations seek new ways to deliver place-based change with limited resources, arts and culture offer a unique opportunity to connect sectors, build trust and unlock the creativity that already exists within communities.
This session argues that successful regeneration is not simply about transforming places—it is about empowering people to shape the future of the places they call home. Through creativity, partnership and genuine community ownership, arts organisations can become catalysts for healthier, more resilient and more connected communities.
