THE EVENT:

This online roundtable will explore some of the ways that those in the creative and cultural sectors are adapting in order to continue to make, sell and create in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

We will hear from three speakers who have found a way to keep moving, with honest reflections on how, why, where and when.

There is no expectation that business is usual - and we will recognise the very real practical, financial and emotional barriers that suddenly appeared in March.

But we will focus on what the future looks like and what happens when people buy/sell locally, covid-safe spaces open up again for making and exhibiting, what customers and audiences might crave and need over the next few months, the positives that online creativity can bring and how people can work together to minimise risk.

There will be the opportunity for attendees and guests to discuss and debate the key themes, and share expertise, experience and advice.

At the end of the event, participants will leave:

- with increased confidence to make decisions, even when there are no answers about the future

- knowing where to ask for help

- owning their own creativity and being able to put a value on their work and sell it again

- feeling ready to test new ideas and experiment where necessary

SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKERS:

LUCY PAINE (always possible / CHAIR)

Lucy is a business support, marketing and organisational development specialist. She loves identifying, creating and nurturing collaborations in business to facilitate growth with experience in payments, education, technical and training – it’s all about people.

Lucy has a proven record of supporting SME growth in a range of sectors – from a pre-IPO start-up in Silicon Valley, a multibillion-dollar multinational to helping growing companies at Sussex Innovation Centre and Bath’s Inspire Elite and Swindon’s TechSPARK.

RACHAEL PERRIN (SOUNDCASTLE)

Rachael is a coach, facilitator and social entrepreneur. Her happiest moments are those spent in the company of others, sharing stories and exploring possibilities. Her creative practice is founded in supporting people to discover and reach their potential, through music-making and coaching.

She is co-founder of Soundcastle, a creative music company promoting wellbeing, resilience and community. They support communities to create their own music and support other artist practitioners to grow and thrive through their personal development programmes. Soundcastle is a space in which Rachael feels challenged, inspired and encouraged to experiment.

SARAH LEWIS (WRITER'S HQ)

Sarah is one half of Writers' HQ. She writes a lot of short bios about herself.

AMY ISLES FREEMAN

Amy Isles Freeman is a Brighton based artist, who works across many mediums including print, murals and clothing, as well as her signature hand turned, hand painted wooden bowls.

After graduating from Falmouth with a degree in drawing, Amy found herself immersed in a group of young makers on an old cattle farm. Itching to make the jump from two dimensions to three, she was taught how to wood turn, and she began painting her wooden bowls, cups and small pieces of furniture. Through the power of Instagram, London Design Fair offered her a stand in 2016, and this was the launch of her business. Soon after this she made collections for Liberty London and Le Bon Marche in Paris.

In 2018 Amy moved to Brighton and her collections have evolved. Themes of female sexuality and joyful freedom have been a mainstay of her practice, with her colourful illustrations now adorning walls and clothing, as well as exciting collaborations with small businesses and other makers.

Alongside her creative practise, Amy teaches workshops both privately and with corporate clients, bringing colour and play to homes, festivals and cultural spaces.

ALASTAIR WHATLEY

Alastair is the Artistic Director of the Original Theatre Company.

Alastair is a director, producer and actor. His work has been performed all over the world. Setting up The Original Theatre Company in his university rooms in 2004, it is now an organisation with one of the UK's leading touring theatre companies with a multi million pound turnover.

Directing credits for the company: The Night Watch, Caroline's Kitchen (Monogamy); The Importance of Being Earnest, Wait Until Dark; all 4 firstclass national and international tours of the acclaimed, record-breaking production of Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong; The Private Ear and The Public Eye; Our Country's Good; Twelfth Night (2011); Dancing at Lughnasa; The Madness of George III; Journey's End; Shakespeare's R&J The Taming of the Shrew (2006) and Twelfth Night (2005). Other directing credits: Shadowlands (Birdsong Productions); The Importance of Being Earnest Henry V and The Merry Wives of Windsor for South Hill Park Arts Centre. Acting credits: Invincible (UK tours and New York); Birdsong, Three Men in a Boat, See How They Run, Dancing at Lughnasa, Vincent in Brixton and A Midsummer Night's Dream (all for Original Theatre Company); Henry V (RSC) and A Desire to Kill on the Tip of the Tongue (Edinburgh Festival).

He is the recipient of the Max Cary Award for Innovation presented by the University of London and the Stage One Bursary for Producers.

THEMES OF THE DAY:

Collaboration, Creativity, Problem-solving, Recovery

FUNDED BY

Brighton & Hove City Council and the London borough of Merton

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

always possible, in collaboration with the Brighton & Hove Arts & Creative Industries Commission and Merton Cultural Advisory Group