A Remote Thinking, Learning & Development Pilot Programme for Freelancers in the Live Performance Sector in Wales
Who is it for?
This pilot programme is for freelancers working in the live performance sector in Wales who intend to continue, or begin, creating and producing their own work in the future. It is a paid opportunity to develop your learning and expertise, be mentored and for freelancers to engage in dialogue with core funded organisations. Session topics you can choose from include Fundraising, Budgeting, Producing, Touring, Business Structures and Business Management, Networking, Influencing, Collaboration, Partnerships, Access, Equality and Inclusion and Branding, Marketing and more.
This programme is for those who believe they would benefit from knowledge and skills sharing AND who are keen to join others in thinking about how freelancers could/should be part of the thinking, programming and strategy of organisations and the wider sector going forward. All freelancers who take part will be paid to invest the time in their own learning, development, upskilling and thinking.
We welcome applications from those who have just graduated to those who have had a long career in the arts and cultural sector. We want to hear from freelancers who seek learning and development opportunities to progress on their self-producing/creating journey and want to be part of wider sector thinking and for whom the lack of access to sharing of knowledge, skills and experience within the sector has been/ is a barrier.
How accessible will it be?
An access budget is available for disabled/Deaf freelancers. A Welsh/English simultaneous translation service will be available. Please get in touch if you wish to discuss your disability/Deaf access requirements How will people be selected?
This programme is specifically targeted at Freelancers who can demonstrate they meet ALL the following criteria:
- You work in the live performance sector in Wales
- You have past and/or future plans to create and produce your own and/or others work within the live performance sector in Wales
- You can explain how this programme could support and enable those plans
- You have identified knowledge and skills gaps which this programme could help address
- You have met barriers previously to investing in your own learning, development, upskilling and thinking.
- You have a strong desire to join others in thinking about how freelancers could/should be part of the thinking, programming and strategy of organisations and the wider sector going forward.
- You live and work in any region of Wales
- You are available for all the specified dates below
- You are registered as self-employed
We are particularly interested in receiving applications from freelancers who
- were unsuccessful or who did not feel able to apply for Arts Council of Wales Individual Stabilisation Funding
- identify as having protected characteristics/from group(s) currently under-represented in the sector. This includes freelancers who identify as black and non-black people of colour, disabled, working class and female.
This programme is specifically created for self-producing freelancers and freelancers running small project funded organisations in the live performance sector. You may be a director, designer, performer, technician, stage manager, producer, musician or all or more. You may have already made your own work. You may just be about to begin. You may have been running a project funded company for years or just be getting together with other freelancers to create a collective or organisation.
Nb.This is not a top-down programme. A key feature of the programme is shared learning and an open two-way dialogue between the freelance participants and those salaried professionals gifting their knowledge, skills and experience. There is also space for the programme to respond and be shaped to meet the needs of the freelance participants
PROGRAMME CONTENT
1. Welcome and introductory session (1 hour)
2. Choice of one four hour blocks. All participants get to choose four modules from a menu of topics. See below.
3. Final two hour deep thinking session exploring together how freelancers could/should contribute to the thinking, programming and strategy of organisations and the wider sector going forward.
4. Mentoring (1 hour). Every freelance participant will be matched with a mentor of their choosing from the list of supporting partners and will agree a mutually suitable time for a one hour mentoring session before December 18.
ONE HOUR BLOCKS MENU Everything I know/I wish someone had told me about….
A) IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY – Where is it and how do we get it? -Fundraising, Project Funding, Grant Application Writing, Trusts & Charitable Foundations, Crowd Funding, Match Funding, In-Kind Funding, Arts Councils, Funding sources in Wales, Commercial Models.
B) PRODUCING – venue producers, producing companies, self-producing, budgets (setting and managing), legal stuff, risk, insurance, contracts, contingencies, catastrophes & complaints
C) BUSINESS STRUCTURES & MANAGEMENT – What is the difference between a Managing Director, CEO, Artistic Director, Executive Director? Which business model is right for me? Charitable status. Tax Returns. Legal Responsibilities. Governance. Planning. Resilience. Policies
D) NETWORKING & INFLUENCING Plugging into networks in Wales or not? Getting inside the tent to grow it or rebuild it
E) COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS– seeking partners beyond the cultural sector. Unlikely alliances. Co-producing. Intellectual Property.
F) ACCESS, INCLUSION & EQUALITY – Best Practice. Audio description. Captioning. Integrated access models. Interpretation and Translation. From policy to practice.
G) To be decided to meet the specific needs of the cohort
TIMELINE & SCHEDULE
MON 9 NOV Welcome and introductory session 5-6PM
TUES 10 NOV Choice of one hour blocks. 4-5pm or 5.30-6.30pm
TUES 17 NOV Choice of one hour blocks. 4-5pm or 5.30-6.30pm
TUES 24 NOV Choice of one hour blocks. 4-5pm or 5.30-6.30pm
TUES 1 DEC Choice of one hour blocks. 4-5pm or 5.30-6.30pm
TUES 8 DEC Shared Thinking Session 4-6pm
Plus a one hour mentoring session during or after the programme
WHO IS RUNNING THIS PROGRAMME?
Yvonne Murphy, a freelancer theatre director, producer and consultant (www.omidaze.co.uk) has used an individual ACW stabilisation grant to create this programme and paid for her time, access costs and 16 freelancers. The programme has been made possible with the support of partners (individuals and organisations) across the live performance sector giving their time for free. Partners including Arts Council of Wales will help select the freelance participants based on the criteria above.
The plan is to shape and share this initial programme and the subsequent feedback, learning and evaluation in the form of a prototype framework or example of best practice of systematic knowledge and skills sharing in the sector. This prototype includes paying freelancers to upskill AND look at how freelancers could/should contribute to the thinking, programming and strategy of organisations and the wider sector going forward
