01
Opening the door
How do we create fairer, clearer routes into creative and digital careers — especially as traditional ladders disappear?
Presents
Foot in the Door
One room. Many routes in. An honest conversation about opening the next 35 years of opportunity for young creative and digital talent.
29·09·26
White Tower, MediaCityUK, Salford M50 2NT
Tuesday
29 September 2026
Time
11:00am — 4:00pm
Place
White Tower, MediaCityUK, Salford M50 2NT
Why now?
35
years creating chances
The right chance.
At the right time.
For 35 years, Peshkar has helped young people in Oldham find their way into the creative, arts and digital industries. We know what happens when a young person gets the right chance — and what’s lost when they don’t.
Foot in the Door puts young artists and creatives at the centre of the table, alongside the businesses that could hire them, the funders who back them and the leaders shaping the places where they live and work.
The conversation
Three big topics
02
A changing industry
New tools and new ways of working are arriving fast. What should young creatives learn, question and make their own?
03
The next 35 years
What can artists, businesses, funders and decision-makers do together to turn potential into lasting opportunity?
Meet the facilitators
Peshkar
Jim Johnson
CEO of Peshkar
A cultural leader, international presenter and podcast host who describes his job simply: bringing interesting people together. Few people know Oldham’s creative story — or how to get a room talking — better.
Agent42
Lauren Tauben
Founder + CEO of Agent42
An agency founder whose career spans Gap, Topshop, Nintendo, adidas and PlayStation. Lauren brings hard-won insight into building a creative career, growing roots and making opportunities come to you.
The day
Make
your mark.
Roundtable conversation and live podcast recording, built around the people in the room.
The event
11:00
Arrive + connect
Breakfast pastries, tea and coffee, and time to meet the room.
11:30
The conversation begins
Three focused roundtable sessions shaped by the people taking part.
13:30
Lunch
A pause to connect, compare notes and carry on the conversation.
16:00
Close
Take the ideas, connections and next steps beyond the room.
Podcast recordings
- 01
Episode
- 02
Episode
- 03
Episode
- 04
Episode
- 05
Episode
Recorded at moments across the whole day — episodes announced after the event.
Bring an artefact
One object that says something about you and your path — a photo, a flyer, a piece of work, a ticket stub or something else entirely. No creative career required.
Your story starts us off
Everyone gets
a door.
We’re asking every guest to bring one object with them. It might mark the moment you got your foot in the door, a person or place that shaped you, or something that matters to you about culture and creativity. If you have a link to Peshkar or to Oldham, it could connect to that too. And whatever you do — the arts, a business that backs young people, something else entirely — everyone has a foot in the door moment. Your artefact will help open the conversation and show just how many different doors there are.
Limited places