D&D Satellite: Artist Support: What Is It, Where Can We Find It & How Can We Improve It?

 

30 July 2016

 

D&D Satellite: Artist Support: What Is It, Where Can We Find It & How Can We Improve It?

 

Bathway Theatre, The Bathway Theatre, Old Baths, Bathway, Woolwich, SE18 6QX

 

An invitation from GLYPT's Young Creative Board

 

As Greenwich & Lewisham Young People’s Theatre celebrate the return of Progression, the programme’s Young Creative Board invite you to have your say on support for artists. Progression supports creative young people, as well as emerging and established artists - and we want to talk about how we (and the wider industry) can do it better.

Cuts to public arts funding are getting deeper, education is getting more expensive, the UK has voted to pull out of the European Union (endangering funding for international arts projects), and creative young people and artists are faced with increasing barriers and hurdles in their carrier paths. GLYPT and the Young Creative Board want to know how we, as an industry, can help artists and companies to build resilience, overcome obstacles and weather the storm. We want to talk about what good support means to you – whether you are a young person looking for your first taste of the industry, an emerging company trying to get a foothold, or an established artist interested in how support can continue throughout your career. We find ourselves asking:

How can artists, venues and organisations support one another, and what links can be made to connect us all better?
Why is artist support important right now?
What does good / bad support look like?
Where can artists find support? How can organisations do it better?
What are the barriers for young people trying to enter the arts industry for the first time, and how can these be overcome?
How can support for artists (and audiences) with disabilities be improved?
Are there new and innovative ways to support artists, companies, venues and organisations? What opportunities are there to do this through new technologies or methodologies?

These are some of our questions, but we want to know what you think too - bring your ideas, questions, burning issues and big dreams. We invite voices from all areas of the arts to join us to work together in Open Space; young people (16+), artists / companies (at any stage of your career), venues (theatres, arts centres, galleries…), organisations (arts charities, funders, young people’s organisations), teachers / lecturers / facilitators... We are particularly keen to hear from artists with disabilities about how the whole sector can help to remove barriers, reduce stigma and enable artists with disabilities to create great work (and for audiences with disabilities to access it).

Artists and companies need help, now more than ever, to continue making work and building careers. This will not just be a discussion, but a show of unity, of coming together and of showing our support for fellow young people, artists, companies and organisations. How can we sustain ourselves? How can we sustain each other?

We hope that you can join us.