The Art of Festivals
The clocks going forward signifies the beginning of spring
and the new season of arts festivals springing up all across our fair county.
Some
festivals have been with us for a long time while others are in their infancy.
Some are
aligned to a particular place, others to an art form and some both! But
what they all
have in common is a need to be sustainable and to be viable.
Come along to the Pump Rooms in Tenbury on Thursday 8th
May from 1.30pm for the latest in Worcestershire Arts Partnership's 'Free Range
Arts' Events.
The event will look at how arts/cultural festivals, in
particular those in rural locations, are developed and made sustainable. You
will be hearing from a range of guest speakers as well as having an opportunity
to meet up with artists and arts organisations from across the county and
beyond.
Our Guest Speakers
Sian
Thomas - brief biog:
Sian Thomas worked as a dancer, choreographer (with companies including STOMP and Divas) and teacher of percussive dance theatre before becoming a programmer of outdoor work and as such returning to her family roots in street theatre and festivals. She was the Director of Hat Fair in Winchester for eight years before leaving to return to creating shows. Sian is a Creative producer, dramaturge, director, choreographer and advisor on artistic development specialising in the street/outdoor sector. She is a co-director of Lucid Incident outdoor arts company and sits on the board of the Independent Street Arts Network. In 2013 Sian was processional co-choreographer and finale co-director for the Walk The Plank show ‘ The return of Colmcille as part of Derry – UK City of culture 2013. She is creative editor for Walk The Plank’s anniversary book.
Sian Thomas worked as a dancer, choreographer (with companies including STOMP and Divas) and teacher of percussive dance theatre before becoming a programmer of outdoor work and as such returning to her family roots in street theatre and festivals. She was the Director of Hat Fair in Winchester for eight years before leaving to return to creating shows. Sian is a Creative producer, dramaturge, director, choreographer and advisor on artistic development specialising in the street/outdoor sector. She is a co-director of Lucid Incident outdoor arts company and sits on the board of the Independent Street Arts Network. In 2013 Sian was processional co-choreographer and finale co-director for the Walk The Plank show ‘ The return of Colmcille as part of Derry – UK City of culture 2013. She is creative editor for Walk The Plank’s anniversary book.
Caroline Palethorpe
Caroline Palethorpe is a specialist project manager and
consultant for the education, community and voluntary sectors having spent six
years working for Worcestershire County Council as an Extended Services
Coordinator across all Malvern Hills schools. During this time Caroline
was instrumental in developing and coordinating a wide range of diverse
projects that targeted identified vulnerable groups with the primary aim to
raise achievement. One of the most memorable was Trace & Place, a
school and community cohesion project that used art as the medium for
understanding more about the young person’s identity growing up in a
predominantly white British community. The final production including
dance, drama, music and digital media was performed at The Regal Cinema on
Tenbury Mistletoe Festival day in December 2010. Caroline
enjoys using the arts as a vehicle for many of her projects and recent
successes include:- Festival manager of Tenbury Mistletoe Festival for 2012 and
13. Caroline successfully enrolled the UK Poet Laureate - Carol Ann
Duffy to perform on the evening of the Festival in 2013 and commissioned a host
of professional artists such as Cat Weatherill, Dancefest and Ben Haggerty
Loz Samuels
Loz is the Artistic Director of Kidderminster Arts Festival
and Arts and Play Development Officer for Wyre Forest District Council.
Loz has a background in Theatrical Design, is a costume and
prop maker and spent many years as a performer and aerialist with a diverse
range of companies at events from festivals, film, corporate, and international
contemporary circus. She has been Assistant to the Director, and production
assistant on 2 feature films. She also spent a number of years working in
Community Regeneration in Westminster, London, playing a key role in
consultation, developing community education projects such as First Step.com, a
digital media centre in the heart of a large estate with a diverse ethnic
population and managing a large community centre and all its events. Her
interests lie in the public realm and changing environments through
commissioning site specific works, she has directed and produced KAF for the
last 9 years.
Date and Time – 8th May at The Pump Rooms
Tenbury, from 1.30 (for 2pm start to 5pm)
This is a free event brought to you through The
Worcestershire Arts Partnership.
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