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Sustained Theatre Consultation

 

 

A call to artists, creative professionals and cultural agencies in the South East

 

Background

Sustained Theatre is the result of Baroness Lola Young's 'Whose Theatre...?' report, and is an informal network of artists and companies from the Black, Asian and minority ethnic sector (referred to as 'the Sector') tasked with taking forward the recommendations of the report.

The network ensures that artists transform the future of our national landscape to reflect the rich and vibrant talent that exists in British society.  Sustained Theatre keeps issues relating to artists and practitioners in the Sector alive and in the national debate.  It is led by a national core group, with nine hubs now established, one in each English region.  At present it is supported by funding from Arts Council England.

A coordinated strategy has been developed to raise the level of achievement for the Sector, which focuses on five principal work streams;

  • the development of international links
  • the creation of an archive for the Sector
  • leadership development
  • a website as a focus for critical debate
  • the development of physical spaces where work can be created and developed

Please take a look the Sustained Theatre website at www.sustainedtheatre.org for more information and further background reading on the related reports can be found if you click here.

 

Consultation on Sustained Theatre Priorities

The purpose of this consultation is to establish the views of creative practitioners from the Sector, and other cultural professionals, in response to the following four of the Sustained Theatre national priorities:

a) Internationalism
b) Critical Debate
c) Leadership
d) Spaces

For more details about each of these priorities please click here

Urbanflo has been commissioned to undertake the survey on behalf of Sustained Theatre South East Hub (STSEH).  We’re hoping to attain a holistic view of individual, collective and organisational perspectives on the issues, so anyone interested in participating is welcome to give feedback - your contribution to the debate will be highly appreciated.  We recognise that many of you work across artistic disciplines so the consultation will not be strictly limited to theatre practitioners.

The consultation is a very rare opportunity for you to be involved in the design and delivery of creative projects and spaces that genuinely engage with, and reflect the cultures and experiences of the UK’s changing and diverse communities, so please do take part.  We welcome your honest views on your experiences, priorities, needs and expectations.  Have your say and be part of the process that will hopefully make a real change in the region, to bring about a more equitable cultural sector that creates and maintains new opportunities for all.

 

How you can take part

We’d like to hear what you have to say about each of the Sustained Theatre priority areas - Internationalism, Critical Debate, Leadership and Spaces.  We would also like to learn more about your own experiences and perceptions of the regional arts arena regarding arts practice and delivery for and by the sector.  For your convenience there is a range of options available for you to participate:

  • You can complete the online Questionnaire below - as a guideline there are a few questions included.  However, these are just prompts to help you think about what you may like to say and it is completely up to you to decide how much information you wish to share.
  • You may also wish to give your feedback more informally by simply writing to us or emailing your comments to info(at)urbanflo.com (please replace (at) with @), saying as much or as little as you want to about each topic.
  • If you would prefer to have a one-to-one conversation to discuss your views then we will do our best to accommodate you.  Please contact us to arrange a mutually convenient time - if we cannot meet in person we can arrange to call you for a telephone meeting.
  • You are also welcome to join us at group workshop sessions - future dates to be confirmed

Responses

Please submit your feedback to us by 10 June 2010. You may also request a hard copy of the questionnaire by emailing info(at)urbanflo.com (please replace (at) with @).

 

Consultation Criteria

When this consultation ends, we intend to summarise the responses and send an evaluation report to Arts Council England and Sustained Theatre national office/regional hubs. Copies of the report may also be made available upon request.  Although your response will be made publicly available, please be assured that your name, contact details and any other personal information will remain strictly confidential. The report will include a list of names of organisations that responded but not people’s personal names, addresses or other contact details.

Questionnaire

It is not necessary to supply your name and address details but it would be extremely helpful to us if you did so.

Name Phone
Address
Postcode
Email Website: http://

 

SECTION ONE

1) For Individuals
Please tell us your thoughts about each of the Sustained Theatre priorities and how relevant they are to your own professional development or creative practice (if applicable). The priorities are International Working, Critical Debate, Leadership and Spaces (click here for more info). Please type your responses in each relevant box below.

2) For Organisations
Please tell us about the relevance of each topic to your organisational strategies and priorities . Please also tell us about any initiatives that you may have set up in relation to each theme.

 

 

SECTION TWO

1) For Individuals
Please use the box below to tell us about your own experiences as an artist working in the South East cultural sector - you can use the questions below as prompts, and you may also use this opportunity to let us know about any issues of interest to you that have not yet been mentioned.

  • Have you had the opportunity to work internationally? If so where?
  • Is international work an important aspect of your creative practice? If so why?
  • Are you involved in any decision-making cultural forums in the region?  If so which ones?
  • Do you feel part of the creative community in the region? Do you feel represented?
  • Do you have a senior position in an arts organisation or venue?
  • Do you lead a community organisation or any projects involving the community?
  • Are you on the board or committee of any mainstream arts organisations?
  • Are you on the board or committee of any arts organisations in the Sector?
  • Are you aware of any cultural leaders from the Sector in the region?
  • Do you feel you have adequate access to spaces that enable you to; create, learn, teach, rehearse, experiment, collaborate, perform or share your work?
  • Have you received any support from an organisation or venue in the region that has supported your professional development and/or the growth of your work?
  • Have you faced any barriers in the development of your creative practice?
  • Are there any effective formal or informal arts networks that you are part of?
  • Are you aware of any regional initiatives specifically for the development of your art form or discipline? If so do you have any opinion on how they work?
  • Are you aware of any regional initiatives specifically for the development of arts or artists from the Sector? If so do you have any opinion on how they work?
  • Do you participate in any cultural festivals in the region? If so which one(s)
  • Do these events serve a useful function in your area of practice?
  • Do you have access to information on regional cultural events, and on how you may participate?
  • Have you been awarded any grants for your work?  Are you aware of funding opportunities?
  • Could you give one example of something you would like to see developed in the arts sector in the future and your reasons why.

2) For Organisations
Please use the box below to tell us about your own experience and knowledge of culturally diverse arts practice, delivery and leadership in the region.  You can use the questions below as prompts, and you may also use this opportunity to let us know about any issues of interest to you that have not yet been mentioned.

  • Is your organisation involved in any international exchange programmes?
  • If yes – do these programmes target and include artists from the Sector or involve any African, Caribbean or Asian countries?
  • What do you feel are the main considerations, challenges or barriers you face when developing a strategy to diversify your artists, audiences, boards and committees?
  • Have you been involved in a cultural diversity project or audience development strategy for the Sector that has been particularly successful or unsuccessful?
  • What do you consider makes a cultural diversity project or activity good practice?
  • Have you developed any new creative programmes that specifically target artists from the Sector?
  • Do you commission creative work that raises issues about social and cultural diversity?
  • Do you host seminars or workshops with artists from the Sector to debate the relevant themes relating to their identity and creative practice?
  • Do you have any members on your boards and/or steering committees from the Sector?
  • Are any representatives from the Sector involved in the negotiations for your development and/or programming strategies?
  • Are communities from the Sector included as target audiences in your standard marketing campaigns?
  • Do you host or participate in any culturally-specific arts events/festivals to engage the public in the creative practices of artists from the Sector?
  • Do you offer professional support to artists from the Sector, eg mentorship, CPD programmes, artist networks, internships or work placements?
  • Do you feel your salaried workforce has a balanced representation of personnel from the Sector?
  • Does your organisation offer low-cost space for artists to think about, rehearse, collaborate, experiment, share and perform their work?
  • Does anyone in your organisation advocate for artists and/audiences from the Sector?
  • Are you aware of any cultural leaders from the Sector in the region?

Please use this box below for your feedback

 

Thank you for taking part

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