The Barbican Centre Board convened to address a range of topics, including the annual review of their terms of reference, updates on sub-committee activities, and the chief executive officer's report. A significant portion of the meeting was scheduled to be dedicated to non-public reports, covering areas such as the music department, Barbican Immersive, and the Barbican Renewal Programme. The board was also expected to consider a motion to exclude the public for items involving exempt information.

Barbican Renewal Programme

The Barbican Renewal Programme was scheduled to be discussed, with a quarterly report and a change control regarding scope inclusion listed on the agenda.

According to the CEO report, the planning application for the first phase of capital works was submitted in July 2025, and validated by the City of London Planning Department in August, with public consultation taking place from 1-28 September. Letters of support had been received from Historic England and the 20th Century Society.

RIBA Stage 4 (Technical Design) had begun on the major projects due for delivery up to 2030 (Conservatory, Foyers, Lakeside, Catering Block, infrastructure) and this design stage remained on programme for completion in May 2026.

The Barbican Centre had recently been classified as a Higher Risk Building (HRB) under the Building Safety Act.

A soft market testing exercise exploring potential future uses of the Exhibition Halls closed on 1 September, with 20 expressions of interest questionnaire submissions received.

CEO Report

The Barbican Centre Board was scheduled to receive the public CEO report, which included updates from July, August, and September 2025, structured around six shared goals.

The report highlighted marketing efforts across three tiers of campaigns: Barbican Brand Campaigns, Themed Campaigns, and Event specific Campaigns. The seasonal tier was supporting three themes: the natural world/environment, fashion, sustainability and ethics, and dystopia.

In August, the Barbican Centre welcomed academics from Deakin University researching how arts organisations can diversify their audiences. The workshop explored researching audiences, programming responsive to target audiences, evaluation and reflective practice, and changing the organisations usual way of operating.

The Director for Audiences and members of the Comms Team attended the Barbican Residents' Summer Party.

The Barbican Shop exceeded its period target by 14% in July, and achieved 97% of budget in August. A retail press event was held on 4 September to preview products launching in the Gallery Shop and Foyer Shop.

The report stated that feedback is critical to the success of the organisation, and that the Barbican Centre continues to welcome audience feedback through various channels. During the reporting period, the Barbican Centre received an average Welcome Score of 8/10 and a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 45.5.

Other items mentioned in the report included:

• Theatre productions including Goodnight, Oscar, Lacrima and Rohtko.
• Music events including Serious Summer Jazz, and performances from Ganavya, Hand to Earth collective with Shabaka Hutchins and Balimaya Project.
• Creative Collaboration with City of London Academy Highbury Grove and Sydney Russell School.
• The Play, Make, Do families Festival.
• Young Barbican members events.
• The Barbican Immersive Feel The Sound and In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats.
• Visual Arts exhibitions including 'Encounters: Giacometti x Mona Hatoum' and 'Dirty Looks: Desire and Decay in Fashion'.
• Cinema screenings including Penda's Fen and Steve.
• Business Events, with the sales team handling enquiries worth over £10.5m since July 2025.
• Commercial Development in restaurants, bars and car parks, including a collaboration between Benugo, Darbar and Jikoni for a festival takeover of the Barbican Kitchen.
• Development, including partnerships with Mastercard and Culture Mile BID, and renewed Corporate Memberships from Bank of America, Macfarlanes, and Standard Chartered.
• Organisational Efficiency, Data and Knowledge, including evaluating the full Microsoft Copilot AI product and the rollout of nearly 500 new laptops to staff.
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, including the submission of the six-monthly EDI strategy update and the completion of anti-racism training for staff.
• Staff Culture Engagement and Wellbeing, with the launch of 'The Barbican Way: Values and Behaviours' as part of the inaugural Barbican Awards.

Annual Review of Terms of Reference

The board was expected to conduct its annual review of its Terms of Reference. The Barbican Centre Board's Court Order (Terms of Reference) document was included in the report pack.

The recommendations included that the members:

• Consider the Board Terms of Reference and agree whether they sufficiently encapsulate the responsibilities of the Board.
• Consider the Board Composition and agree whether the Membership is appropriate for the exercising of these duties.
• If amendments are required, agree that Delegated Authority be given to the Town Clerk in consultation with the Chair and Deputy Chairs, to consider the final wording of the revised terms of reference, for consideration by the Policy & Resources Committee and Court of Common Council.

Exclusion of the Public

The agenda included a motion to exclude the public from the meeting for certain items. The reason given was that these items were expected to involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972¹.