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Open Session: Mid-Career Town Hall Meeting

Young vic

Mid-Career Town Hall Meeting

Monday 26th October

7.00pm – 9.00pm

 

This town hall meeting, led by designer Louie Whitemore, is open to all mid-career artists who have 8 years plus experience of working in the arts sector.

 

The session will start with an open discussion. We all work in a sector that is one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. Life has changed for us all since March. How have you found it and what’s happening at the moment?  

 

  • As an artist who has worked in the sector, do you feel you can continue your work in the current climate?
  • If your work has returned, is it the same as before? Do you feel safe returning to work?
  • Have you been able to find the support and information you have needed during this time?

 

Much has happened to our sector and it is now looking at how it may re-emerge. As our industry re-builds how can we as experienced freelance artists be included? We will consider:

 

  • What separates us from emerging and established artists? How do we ensure there is a place for us and the skills that we have?
  • How can we make our voices heard?
  • What can arts organisations do to help support mid-career artists moving forward?

 

To finish the session we will be introduced to the Five Guiding Principles; a proposal of how we can collaborate with arts organisations to help them re build and ensure our voices are heard and skill sets incorporated. This work has been produced by sub-groups working within the Freelance Task Force.

 

  • How can we introduce the 5GPs to the organisations/companies that we work with and support them to adopt and develop their practice to align with the 5GPs.
  • How can we adapt our working practices to align with the 5GPs, collaborating as freelancers moving forward? 

 

Please confirm you are attending this session by clicking the sign-up button above.

 

Closed captions will be available for this session via Otter AI and details on how to use this will be provided on the day.

 

We will ensure that access provision is in place for all participants. Please let us know if you have any access requirements using the space on the sign up form so we can get appropriate provision in place.

 

Zoom details can be found below: 

https://zoom.us/j/96315560442?pwd=MTVuclpLUVUwcTNtbmxvUEJpZGlNQT09

Meeting ID: 963 1556 0442 Passcode: 452839

 

Open Session is an initiative for directors, designers or producers on the Genesis Network to run a one-off session, discussion, or initiative.

 

This is a peer-led session that is not curated by the Young Vic.

 

Louie Whitemore  

Originally from the Lake District, I am a freelance set and costume designer and over the last 14 years I have been lucky enough to work in Opera, Ballet and Theatre, and I have also created a number of installations and site-specific productions. I have worked all around the UK and abroad, with productions in Germany, Italy and Lithuania as well as further afield in America, China, Pakistan and Palestine. 

As lockdown hit I lost all my foreseeable work. Since March I have been continuing my work with Jermyn Street Theatre in my unpaid position as Associate Designer, working with the Public Campaign for the Arts and the Freelance Task Force.

Some recent career highlights include : DANCE : Nora / She Persisted (English National Ballet); The Nutcracker (Shanghai Ballet);  Egle  (Lithuania National Ballet).

THEATRE:  Krapps Last Tape / Eh Joe / Old Tune (Jermyn Street Theatre); Handbagged, Lady Killers, Little Voice, Dear Uncle, Single Spies, Bold Girls, Miss Julie, Creditors, (Theatre by the Lake); The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson (The Park Theatre, UK Tour); Stewart Lee: Content Provider / Snowflake / Tornado (UK tour and BBC 2); The Daughter-In-Law, (Arcola Theatre); Blythe Spirit (Beijing); Original Death Rabbit, For Services Rendered, Tonight At 8.30, (Jermyn Street Theatre); The Minotaur, My Father Odysseus (Unicorn Theatre); The Winter’s Tale (NAPA Karachi); Lost Land (Jenin, Palestine).

OPERA : Messiah (Danish opera, Frankfurt opera);  Serse / Der Kaiser (RSC Glasgow).