Looking back at the week in Manchester
We would like thank all who made Showcase 2011 and the Creative Case Symposium such an inspiring and constructive event – the best yet! The thrilling performances and challenging discussions will soon be uploaded for Showcase Online. We will also share news of the collaborations, tours and new ventures that have been developed.
In the meantime here’s a media round-up of the week in Manchester:
Creative Case Symposium video - follow this link to watch interviews and keynote speeches
The Creative Case for Diversity - read articles, case studies and keynote speeches on this purpose built mini-site
Disability Arts Online – the team from DAO were in Manchester all week to cover the Creative Case and decibel Performing Arts Showcase. Follow this link to read extensive reviews, interviews and discussion summaries
The Stage – decibel Performing Arts Showcase review – reviews of performances by Pen-ultimate, Brian Lobel, Crying in the Wilderness Productions, Sunday Driver, Shock and Awe Tours and Performance Anxiety
Telegraph.co.uk - Culture - Hassan Mahamdallie states the Creative Case for Diversity
Arts Professional - Observations - Tony Panayiotou, Head of Diversity, sets out Arts Council England's vision for a diverse future of the arts
The Stage - Up the Volume - Jo Caird interviews Nike Jonah, decibel Performing Arts Showcase Project Manager, Sara Cocker of The Eggs Collective, Gareth Lloyd Roberts of Wales Millenium Centre, Hetain Patel and Bill Bragin of Lincoln Centre, NYC
Arts Hub - Nike Jonah, decibel Performing Arts Showcase Project Manager, and Magdalena Moreno CEO of Kultour, Australia, discuss embracing diversity in arts policy
The Stage - ACE launches revamped diversity strategy - read the news story
International Arts Manager - Diversity at heart of ACE planning - read the news story (subscribers only)
Speak to Strangers - read all of Gemma Seltzer’s wonderful 100-word Speak to Strangers stories written in Manchester during the week at Showcase
What people are saying about decibel…
Registration for the 5th decibel Performing Arts Showcase closes this Sunday, 4 September.
decibel is a chance to witness a snapshot of the vibrant and innovative hotbed of diverse talent that make the UK’s performing arts scene famous worldwide. But don’t just take our word for it, here’s why other people see Showcase as an unmissable event in their calendar:
“decibel delivered something unexpected: a genuinely intriguing and eclectic performing arts showcase with work attracting healthy international interest.”
Jon Pratty, Guardian.co.uk
“Showcase should be on the schedules of every festival producer wanting to engage with a broader range of artistic voices from the UK. It is a market place not only for talent but also for ideas, networks and potential future collaborations.”
Ismail Mahomed, Festival Director, National Arts Festival, South Africa
“I can't recommend this showcase more highly. It's been one of the pivotal points in my professional development. Brilliant for networking, witnessing some fabulous talent and checking out new work.”
Julie McNamara, artist
“decibel gave me a great opportunity to discover a broad variety of diverse British art, especially work coming from artists with disabilities. Being there expanded my thinking about how to include the work of artists with disabilities in our programming more generally.”
Bill Bragin, Director of Public Programming, Lincoln Centre, USA
“decibel is a rare chance to experience the creative diversity that the UK offers in one city. As the Artistic director of a producing and presenting venue it is a key festival to find exciting new shows and artistic collaborations.”
Baba Israel, Artistic Director, Contact Theatre
“I attended the last showcase to write reviews and realised it was the only place I would want to pitch new work at. It's a gem of an opportunity for artists and programmers.”
Sarah Pickthall, artist
10 Questions - Anya Ustaszewski
Published 26 April 2009
Continuing our new 10 questions series which digs a little deeper into the hearts and minds of some of the artists taking part in this year's showcase. This week: Anya Ustaszewski
'''Ten Questions'''
'''Name:''' Anya Ustaszewski
'''Role:''' Composer/Sonic Artist/Musician
'''Showcase Performance:''' Metallicum
'''1. Where do you find inspiration for your work?'''
Everywhere! I’m autistic and have hypersensitive hearing so I hear a lot of sounds that other people don’t really notice. I also tend to notice the very musical qualities that can be present in every day sounds and I like to make use of these in my music so that people can experience sound in the same way that I do.
Some of my favourite sound sources include metal cake tins, ornamental bells, fizzy drinks cans, gravel and heavy doors.
'''2. What has been your most memorable performance?'''
I performed some of my dance music at Liberty 2008 in the Heart n Soul Club Zone. It was a wonderful day and I felt so privileged that I was asked to perform at such a high-profile event.
I also very much enjoyed the final performance of Drake Music and Furtherfield’s Connecting Across Difference project. We worked with 3 different schools who performed brilliantly on the day and I feel so lucky that I was able to be a part of this project.
'''3. Where in the world would you most like to perform… and why?'''
I’d like to perform in any location that would make interesting changes to sound - so that I can use the venue itself as an instrument in the performance. Some of my ideas for this include submerged under water, underground caves, nuclear bunkers, outer space…..
'''4. Who/what has been the greatest influence on your creative output?'''
I am very much influenced and inspired by the work of Stockhausen, IRCAM, Jonathan Harvey, Aphex Twin, and the lovely Beethoven!
I am also fortunate to have had some wonderful music tutors including the composers Martin Butler and Sam Hayden and the late Professor David Osmond-Smith.
'''5. What has been the highlight of your career so far?'''
Performing at Liberty 2008 was a wonderful experience. I also performed a flute and piano recital at the House of Commons. It is an incredibly beautiful building and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to perform there.
(It also amused me when the security staff scanned my bag and said “Stop! You have a large metal object in your bag!”. I replied, “erm, that’s my flute…..”)
'''6. Who would you most like to work with…and why?'''
It would be amazing to work with IRCAM. They do such amazing work and make incredibly innovative use of technology and have fantastic facilities. If I could work at IRCAM, ideally in collaboration with Jonathan Harvey and Aphex Twin, that would be a dream come true!
'''7. What is the best job you have ever had?'''
I’ve really enjoyed all of the opportunities that I’ve had to perform my own music and also to participate in autism advocacy. I really hope that I will be able to continue my work in these areas and hopefully have increased opportunities for this in the future.
'''8. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?'''
Well, it is difficult to say as the performing arts isn’t exactly known for its job security! Ideally, I would like to be a (successful!) well-respected full time freelance composer / sonic artist and musician and I would also like to have made progress with my autism advocacy and hopefully have at least one book published.
I’m particularly interested in experimental and modernist music, so if I could become well established in this field (and be able to make a liveable income from it!) that would be wonderful.
'''9. What makes you happiest about performing?'''
When I’m performing, I sometimes feel like I’m transported to a different place. I feel like I’m part of the music - almost like I’m an instrument - and I like being able to hear and feel my music around me and to blend in so that I am part of that sound.
I also like the excitement that I get from performing and I like seeing other people enjoying my music.
'''10. What concerns you most about the state of the Performing Arts Sector in the UK?'''
My two main concerns are lack of funding and barriers that can be faced by disabled artists.
It can be very difficult for the performing arts sector to find funding. I have to admit that I never quite understand why. I know some people might argue that performing arts is not a ‘real’ job and is not a necessity for life.
I fundamentally disagree with this. We need to be able to express ourselves creatively and to be able to sometimes escape and lose ourselves in art or performance - I strongly believe that this is important for mental and emotional wellbeing and, if evidence is needed, it is well know that music and art therapy can be of great benefit to a variety of people.
As a disabled artist, I experience a lot of problems with barriers. For me personally, a large part of the problem is that a lot of people achieve well in music by ‘networking’, but this is difficult for me as my autism means that I have significant difficulty with socialising tasks and also with communication - sometimes I have episodes of involuntary mutism.
10 Questions - Julius Ayodeji
Published 16 April 2009
Our new 10 questions series digs a little deeper into the hearts and minds of some of the artists taking part in this year's showcase. We begin with...Julius Ayodeji
'''Ten Questions'''
'''Name:''' Julius Ayodeji
'''Role:''' Writer
'''Showcase Performance:''' 57 Images of My Father
'''1. Where do you find inspiration for your work?'''
Public transport, dreams and reading books, newspaper combine usually leading to images first and then story second.
'''2. What has been your most memorable performance?'''
Seeing the correctly exposed 16mm film footage for the first time sticks in my mind.
'''3. Where in the world would you most like to perform… and why?'''
I like local, out of the way places where it really feels like the audience want to be there and therefore give the work a chance to connect, so anywhere like that really.
'''4. Who/what has been the greatest influence on your creative output?'''
The habit of reading so much has led me to writing so the public library has probably had the most affect.
'''5. What has been the highlight of your career so far?'''
Having my debut play, written on a whim after seeing a playwrighting competition poster, published by Methuen drama and then seeing my name in same catalogue as Pinter and Beckett is the best moment so far.
'''6. Who would you most like to work with…and why?'''
Mixture between Robert Lepage who's work I absolutely love and a member of the public who I don't know.
'''7. What is the best job you have ever had?'''
The best jobs I have ever had are the ones that make me realise that what I do is a privilege. So pulling cables out of pipes for a factory soon to be demolished was a good job, digging holes in grounds was a good one. Production line jobs were also good as the physical rhythm left time for my mind to wander, an important part of my creative process. So smashing eggs for mayonnaise, dodging the mouse nestled in the cardboard boxes was a good one, stuffing pork into pork pie cases as they flew past was another!
'''8. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?'''
More writing than teaching
'''9. What makes you happiest about performing?'''
Writing is what I do. Expressing myself to myself first and foremost is important to my life.
'''10. What concerns you most about the state of the Performing Arts Sector in the UK?'''
I would like the idea of risk, unfinished, experimental, undecided, to be more valued, more prominent and to be valued as such by audiences, moneyholders and critics.
