Who are you?
I split my week between two roles. As Arts Award Regional Development Coordinator I'm based at Curious Minds in Liverpool, and I'm responsible for promoting and developing the use of the young people's Arts Award in schools, cultural organisations and other educational settings across the region.
For my other two days I work at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester as Learning and Participation Coordinator for a growing community and education programme. I moved to Manchester in February so I'm new to both posts and am busy discovering the range of work that's already happening in the North West.
Where have you been till now?
An MA in Applied Theatre at Manchester University convinced me of the importance of sharing the arts with the widest possible community, and after it I returned to my native North East to set up an outreach 'Shed' working with Chickenshed Theatre in London and following their acclaimed inclusive creative method. Alongside freelance facilitation and technical theatre I stayed with Steam Shed for two years before moving on to coordinate a cultural volunteering programme for young people not in education, employment or training. This provided volunteer placements and practical training in museums, theatre and film companies in County Durham.
So what are you up to at present?
I'm busy building contacts with key partners for the Arts Award (www.artsaward.org.uk) and finding new opportunities to build it into young people's work across different artforms. Because young people work towards an accredited qualification by gathering evidence of their own development in their chosen arts activities, it's suited to all skill levels and ages from 11-25. There's training (www.artsaward.org.uk/training) in Salford next month for advisers running the Award with young people with learning disabilities, and we're looking at different ways to make it easier for advisers across the region to get started with the Award through local networks, web based support and buddying. I'm also talking to several venues including some of Liverpool's leading museums about creating an Arts Award Welcome (www.artsaward.org.uk/welcome) offer, which might give young people working towards the Award access to behind-the-scenes tours, work placements, exhibition spaces or discounted tickets. The Welcome programme is designed to help organisations build young audiences, share information about some of the opportunities already open to young people and to build on that success.
At the Bridgewater Hall I've been looking at how we can best communicate with family and community audiences about the Learning and Participation programme, particularly through the website (www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk) and a new e-newsletter. May sees the start of A Little Bite Music, a series of free lunchtime concerts at the Hall throughout the summer, and I'm working with these artists to programme a parallel series of concerts in community venues in Greater Manchester.
What are you most excited about?
I'm excited by the potential for organisations to work together to make a joined up offer to young people through Arts Award Welcome, and even to think creatively about delivering the Award in partnership to make the most of each centre's expertise. There's a whole range of exciting work happening in the region, both at individual venues and through initiatives like Find Your Talent in Bolton and Merseyside. I see young people's work leading the way in using new media and innovative technology to make and maintain connections between organisations and audiences, and to share news about what's going on with the widest possible community.
What inspires you?
I've always been excited by theatre, and I am particularly inspired by work that combines different artforms onstage. I love Kneehigh Theatre's use of music and dance to retell classic stories like Brief Encounter and Rapunzel, and recently I've been impressed by several companies' use of digital projection alongside live performance; it's vital to keep exploring new ways of working in professional arts and in the community.
Who would you like to meet?
This is a difficult one, but I'd have to say Angela Carter. Nights at the Circus has remained my favourite novel for many years, and I'd be fascinated to talk to her about some of the questions that remain when you close the book and about the sources of her ideas for this and other work.
What’s the best thing you’ve ever made?
The experience I've gained through community and youth theatre has been as important as qualifications in getting where I am today. In sixth form I directed Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa, and clearly remember my pride at seeing audience members in tears at the end of the play. A 1930s radio is central to the story and I still have the wooden version I made for that production, alongside puppets, banquets and gingerbread houses made for a long succession of plays that followed it.