Beyond Bloomsbury
Seeding Art in The Global South
10th to 14th December 2025
Clos de Gaye, South West France
The arts aren’t merely aesthetic appreciation and entertainment, but a potent, underutilized force for geopolitical dialogue, cultural diplomacy, and imaginative problem-solving, capable of transcending traditional political impasses. Transforming Clos de Gaye into the "new Charleston," we will redefine the arts' impact on global affairs.
We will build on the legacy of the famous Bloomsbury group to redefine the role of the arts in global leadership, peace-building, and the relationship between the individual and society. We explore themes encompassing the arts' capacity for global leadership, peace-building, and cultural shaping through intergenerational and intercultural dialogue, involving participants from regions such as Nigeria, China, India, Palestine, the Middle East, Iran, and Europe.
The Challenge
Humanity faces a spiritual crisis. While we've mechanized progress and worshipped convenience, we've abandoned the very essence that makes us human. Our educational and cultural systems have reduced the arts to mere entertainment, stripping away the fundamental practice that cultivates human character, explores our souls, and feeds our deepest intellectual and emotional capacities.
We live in a fractured global narrative where artistic voices from the Global South remain marginalized, their profound contributions to our collective human story systematically silenced.
The result? A dangerously impoverished tapestry of human expression that fails to mirror the breathtaking richness of our world—and a leadership paradigm that operates without the wisdom, beauty, and depth that only artistic practice can provide
We all have intrinsic artistic capability; its exploration is paramount to growth and human flourishing
Why ‘Bloomsbury’?
The Bloomsbury group were an influential group of artists, writers, economists and thought leaders - Virginia Woolf, Roger Fry, JM Keynes - who wished to raise the profile of the arts in our world. Inspired by their vision, we seek to build on their legacy to shape a new way of thinking of the role the arts can play in global leadership, peace-building and reframing the relationship between the individual and society.
What We Will Create
Together, we will architect a revolutionary platform that decolonizes global artistic discourse and transforms how the world understands creative leadership.
Core Mandate:
Visibility Revolution: Create an artistic residency for artists from the Global South at Clos de Gaye, creating unprecedented access between marginalized voices and Western cultural power structures
Epistemological Shift: Legitimize indigenous and non-Western problem-solving methodologies through artistic practice and cultural exchange
Leadership Incubation: Develop artistic activists—particularly women—who will reshape global conversations on planetary crises through creative intervention
Deliverables:
Year-Long Residency Program: Launch comprehensive support system for Global South artistic leaders with:
Direct curator and collector engagement protocols
Skill development within activist artistic communities
Platform amplification for critical planetary discourse
Decolonization Blueprint: Concrete model for Global South artist empowerment that can be replicated worldwide
Global Leadership Framework: New paradigm positioning arts as fundamental to solving humanity's greatest challenges, not peripheral entertainment
Execution: Transform this summit into the catalyst for systemic change through our Clos de Gaye Innovation Hub. Ultimately, we will build projects that prove that authentic global leadership emerges not from boardrooms, but from the profound human wisdom embedded in artistic practice across all cultures.
As the old global order breaks down in our turbulent times, this will be an opportunity to come together and support the emergence of the next generation of artist-change-makers, reimagining the role of the arts in shaping the future of humanity.
Beyond Bloomsbury will be co-hosted by Caroline Watson and artist Rebecca Taber, along with artists, global thought leaders and cultural shapers from Nigeria, China, India, South Africa, Palestine, the Middle East, Iran and Europe as we transform Clos de Gaye into the new Charleston.
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Rebecca Taber
Rebecca Taber is an artist and curator working with painting, drawing and film. In her best works her lightness of touch become a perfect metaphor for the transcience and yearning of memory and the dream like state that is at the root of her concerns.
Rebecca has shown extensively in the UK, Europe and USA. Represented between 2005-2009 by Danielle Horn (Associate Director of Carroll Fletcher London). In 2009 Rebecca was awarded a 4 year work visa by WESTAF California Arts Council. Working as artist in residence at KALA Arts Institute Oakland California. Recent exhibitions include, Studio Baustelle, Berlin 2018, Proud Archivist Gallery, Haggerston London 2016 in conjunction with Rimbaud & Verlaine Poetry Foundation for National Poetry Day. She is the Director and Founder of arts association CAB Lectoure, France. -
Caroline Watson
Caroline Watson is a social entrepreneur and leader whose groundbreaking work in China transformed the lives of over 32,000 migrant workers and their families through her organization Hua Dan. Known for her commitment to leadership grounded in humanity, she has built initiatives at the grassroots level, working side by side with those most affected by economic and social transition. With global experience spanning emerging and transition economies, Caroline champions bold, disruptive thinking paired with grounded action to reimagine how leadership can shape a more equitable and sustainable future.
Learn More About Caroline Watson’s Work
Following the retreat, we will transform what we discuss into concrete action with measurable impact. Over 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, we’ll work alongside you to bring your vision to life, leveraging a world-class network to ensure your experience creates real change in the world. You’ll also have access to bi-monthly networking sessions with your cohort to deepen learning, share progress, and integrate transformation into daily life—along with lifelong membership in our Higher Order Leadership community, offering ongoing support, connection, and opportunities well into the future.
Beyond Bloomsbury is part of The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership’s annual ‘action summit’ programme that aims to address core issues facing our world right now with bold and imaginative thinking about both the personal leadership necessary and the larger systemic and structural issues that need to change to allow humanity to flourish
Beyond Bloomsbury is lead by Caroline Watson, visionary founder of The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership, and the Global Arts Impact Agenda.
An award-winning entrepreneur and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, Caroline is the owner of Clos de Gaye and a masterful hostess and creator of extraordinary experiences.
Read Caroline’s manifesto and her vision for Beyond Bloomsbury
