Richard Hawley (he/him) is a cultural strategist, consultant, creative producer, and coach with 30 years of experience in the arts and cultural sector. He is driven by a belief in the power of building strong and impactful relationships between artists and audiences.

As Director of FRY Creative since January 2023, Richard leads on demystification of evaluation for all stakeholders and embedding of learnings and data-driven decision making in organisations: helping to foster stronger cultures of transparency, learning and reflection, whilst helping partners to develop their activities using evaluative practice.

Richard holds an M.Mus in musicology from the University of Melbourne and a B.Mus (Hons) in bassoon performance from the University of Queensland.

He provided support to the Evaluation team at Birmingham 2022 Festival and was Senior Impact and Evaluation Manager for UNBOXED. Between 2012-2019, Richard was Head of Artistic Programming at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall & Town Hall (now B:Music), where he was responsible for the leadership, vision, and strategic direction of artistic, learning, and participation programming. Previously, Richard was Director of Arts Administration at London’s Southbank Centre and Director of the Lichfield Festival.

Richard’s intimate strategic knowledge of the arts, culture and heritage sectors is underpinned through decades of experience working on the ground as an artistic producer and advisor. This has included work as producer, executive mentor, diversity and inclusivity advisor, and strategic consultant for a variety of arts organisations across the UK.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, has been Chair of Open Theatre (2018-2025), and a school Governor (2020-2024). He was a 2009/10 Clore Fellow, supported by the Cultural Leadership Programme, with placements at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, People United and National Theatre Wales.