Adrian De La Court

Originally trained as an artist and dancer, Adrian has developed a strong portfolio career in the creative industries

Staff details

Position

Director, MA Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship and Director, SYNAPSE

Department

Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship

Email

a.delacourt (@gold.ac.uk)

Goldsmiths Research Centres/Groups

The British Councils Cultural Skills Academy and Erasmus +

Adrian is the Director of MA Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship. As a critical practitioner, Adrian has worked as a lecturer at many Universities and colleges. Prior to Goldsmiths, he was Head of Physical Theatre, Contemporary Dance and Outdoor & Site Specific Performance courses at Northbrook College (University of Brighton). Adrian joined the Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship (ICCE) at Goldsmiths as MA Lecturer in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship, and as the Director of SYNAPSE a programme developed to deliver entrepreneurial thinking, explore ambition, turn potential into action and approaches to creative and critical practice, across all departments at Goldsmiths. He is also engaged in delivering this training with outside organisations and creative practitioners within industry in the UK and Europe.

Teaching and supervision

Research interests

Developing and delivering training packages for Cultural and Creative organisations around Audience Development, Business Modelling and Financial streams.

Adrian has worked for the Cultural Enterprise Office, Glasgow as an Enterprise Advisor, and was commissioned to write some of their first factsheets on planning and financial management for cultural entrepreneurs. He has delivered training and consultancy to creative industries, organisations and practitioners across the UK and Internationally.
Adrian has been a freelance arts consultant and trainer for many years, with clients including: Copenhage School for Entrepreneurship (Copenhagen Business School) Scottish Enterprise, NESTA, Business Link and Artworks MK. Adrian is also a qualified life coach (Trained through CTI) and still works as a producer, freelance arts consultant, director and choreographer and visual artist.

Featured publications

How to write a DBACE plan
co-author the guide for their Awards for Creative Enterprise

Publications and research outputs

Conference or Workshop Item

Cultural Enterprise and Leadership Prime, Sian; Turner, Nicola and De La Court, Adrian. 2024. 'Cultural Enterprise and Leadership'. In: Cultural Enterprise and Leadership: Iraq. Erbil, Iraq.
Migrant Enterprise and High Streets Prime, Sian and De La Court, Adrian. 2023. 'Migrant Enterprise and High Streets'. In: Level Up: Insider Knowledge on Stepping into the Creative and Tech Industries. Migration Museum, Lewisham, United Kingdom 11 November 2023.
Bridging the Gap: Addressing the Educational Institutions' Failure to Prepare Students for Solopreneurship Prime, Sian and De La Court, Adrian. 2023. 'Bridging the Gap: Addressing the Educational Institutions' Failure to Prepare Students for Solopreneurship'. In: Bridging the Gap: Addressing the Educational Institutions' Failure to Prepare Students for Solopreneurship. University of Surrey, United Kingdom September 2023.

Additional Activities

Adrian initially worked as a professional dancer and performer, touring nationally and internationally, including work for The Featherstonehaughs, Josef Nadje, The People Show, Billy Cowie and Divas Dance Company. In addition to his performance work, Adrian gained commissions for his environmental art in Sussex. Adrian formed the first of a number of his visual performance and dance theatre companies in 1998, and has won choreographic commissions from South East Dance and the Brighton Festival 2009. His work was part of the first season held at the re-developed Corn Exchange in Brighton. He received the only Millennium Award given to a dance artist in South East England