On day 8 of the Festival we were joined by Alexandra Strelcova (Sash) from https://www.haenke.cz/ – she spoke about her collaborations that work to raise awareness of biodiversity for medicine and    health of people and    the planet. She spoke about the complexity of developing relationships that were respectful of all involved, including plants and    the planet, and    how her work included public space art installations, forums for debate, workshops, education and    combined traditional plant knowledge with evidence-based research and    innovation. The work she and    her partner Julian do in using arts, design and    creative expression as a way of interpreting and    communicating complex messages and    as a vehicle for social change is incredibly impressive.

Sash gave insight in to the fragility of their business model, and   how they continuously reviewed whether their business model met their values and worked to find a way in their cultural context to ensure a thriving and    anti-fragile model.

Guy Baron – Semiprecious – spoke of his work in founding a record label and    creating his own music. He talked of his aesthetic of the work having a “bedroom production” feel, and that this together with his collaborators’ in the label Squareglass values and    aesthetic led to the business model for the label. One focus for their label was how to create supportive opportunities for artists who were either marginalised because of their approach to music or their protected characteristics. Finding ways to support artists in a sector that is often brutal and    pushes artists is rare. Guy spoke about how he had worked to find his place in performance, collaborating with museums and    Queer artists to create the best space for his live work.

Both of the talks gave insights in to interdisciplinary work, and    how to look for new opportunities rather than be nostalgic for a past that perhaps didn’t exist.

Frances du Pille and  Gabriella Román González spoke about their work, sharing their successful models for collaboration, creating teams and    facilitating talent.

BAFTA award winning Fran, shared how she had started her Higher Education in her late 20’s and    worked to make every role she gained as an opportunity to understand more about the sector, the business models and  how to build strong networks. She talked about how she had seen how to move from performing arts to producing TV series as a puzzle, that she approached with curiosity, and    found ways to learn while doing as well as taking formal learning. Fran showed her humility in terms of what elements of her work required creative risk-taking and  how she supported her team to be in service of great creative products. Fran expressed her approach to creating trusting, comfortable work environments that enabled people to create strong work that met their passion.

Fran also reflected on the need to remove work emails when on holiday, to have the support of her social network and  the importance of nature (particularly the sea) as something that restored her. There was further reflection on the role of connectors in the creative industries, and    for Fran, gaining an agent had been key. In reflecting on common themes in the work she is drawn to producing, the theme of human fragility is clear and  the desire for connection.

Gabriella spoke about her two enterprises, Mentoras Creativas – an organisation in Havana founded to support female artists to gain the skills, confidence and    needed to successfully navigate the art market and    Not The Owners – a curator-led gallery presenting work made by Latin American artists and    artists from the global majority.

She spoke about the business models she had developed for each organisation, and  how her financial model for Not The Owners enabled her to not only pay artists appropriately but to give donations to further the work of minoritised artists.

Gabriella reflected on how artists from the global majority and    Latin America are often expected to make work that reflects very stereotypical views of these artists living conditions, and    how she was working to show art that has a strong aesthetic rather than a feed in to cultural tropes. She spoke of the time she took to build trust with artists, government departments, and    the wider ecosystem needed. How that investment in people led to the successful work, risks and    impact.

On the face of it Kosby Fu and Drew McOnie are very different, but they shared their experiences of running their own companies and then taking on leadership roles with organisations and  adapting their entrepreneurial approaches and  creative skills to leadership and  intrepreneurial approaches.

Kosby spoke about the way he had developed understanding collaboration and  the power of diversity of thinking in teams. How he deliberately learns something new each year, leaning in to “megatrends” and    asking himself “what opportunities does this give me?” and   “how can I be art of supporting positive change. His work in moving from branding and    as a designer to an expert in innovation, scaling and    supporting social change inspires.

Drew gave us insights in to his moves from self-employment in his teens, to founding his company when he was 20 to now being Joint CEO and  Artistic Director of Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. He reflected on the work he does to shift the centre of power, to create environments and  schedules that enable a broader more inclusive for performers and  those involved in making work. He spoke about his original motivation in founding his own company was to tell stories for audiences and    provide sustainable careers for dancers.

Drew spoke about how he was using the opportunity that working in an open air theatre gave him to embed concerns about the climate in every part of his work. He reflected that he was constantly asking “what space do I take up in the system. He expressed his approach to making work and bringing teams together with strong authenticity, constantly asking “what if”.

Powerfully Drew said that “risk taking is a privilege” – encompassing both that you are often in a position of privilege and    one he wants to provide people with an opportunity to have.

As themes of fragility, the complexity of remaining optimistic and    the importance of curiosity in creating sustainable enterprises inch change emerge, we step in to week 2.

Monday sees Kosby Fu talking about his work in innovation, and  his journey from designer to leading the development of community programmes for DBS bank.

Drew McOnie will talk about how he has evolved an inclusive, decanted approach to leadership, and    how he balances his creative work.

The week continues with contributions from speakers on how art, nature and  science can collaustainable enterprises. collaborate, and  need to, approaches to bringing more diversity to the art world, producing award-winning work for the BBC as well as poetry, theatre writer and  so so much more as we explore how to created sustainable enterprises. Tickets free – events on and    offline information via Eventbrite.

Composer Anna Meredith talked with great honesty and  shared the fragility of her work as a composer and  collaborator with commissioners and  the work she does as leader of her band. She talked about her approach to composition as knowing the final feeling or goal that her work has and  her work, then, is to choose and   find the most surprising way to reach that. She spoke about how curiosity was key to her approach.

Her music is always created with authenticity, and    she told us how she finds ways to find empathy with the subject and    people that she is commissioned to work with. There was much in the way she spoke about collaboration, power, the sense of self and    her creative output that encouraged reflection on McRobbie’s work on creatives, as well as Foucault’s writing on power and  authorship. Anna also shared the need for strong social networks – social and cultural capital, and    how her collaborations relied on this.

Amir Rizwan completed our first week of the Festival speaking about the work he is leading to develop social ventures from London universities. He gave detailed insights in to the way  impact investment works, but also how impact investors work with founders. He spoke with passion about the potential of the social innovation and    enterprise sectors, the need to find new ways of creating change, and how business models were key to sustaining and    developing this form of societal change.

Amir also spoke about the importance of curiosity to his work – “how we collectively solve problems – collaboration is motivating”.

Both Amir and    Anna spoke about reasons for optimism being few and    far between, but within this, both saw that great ideas continue to grow, that Festivals and  opportunities to talk together such as SELFestival helped fuel their optimism. We are so grateful to them for their insights.

We will reflect on the complexity and  fun of being a composer with Anna Meredith  and    her ability to straddle contemporary, classical, pop music as well s work in collaboration with film-makers, creating rich and    vibrant scores, to making work for site specific art work and    dodgems.

Amir Rizwan will join us to talk about the new London Studio Venture Fund, and    his experiences in impact investment. This week has already prompted us to consider the balance of profit and    purpose, what makes a business a social enterprise, and    also the curiosity around how many creative enterprises have social purpose at their core.

More to come tomorrow.

Norma Banton joined the SELFestival and spoke about her work to change systemic inequalities through the craft of her work as a jeweller, and in developing new jewellers and providing training and    sales points for Black jewellers as well as opportunities to address the injustices of the value chain.

Giving clear advice on the finances of a jewellery business and    how she had started with the business model, rather than the work as well as having the ambition and    willingness to employ others.

Memories, telling histories and    recontextualising storied is part of Rezia Wahid’s practice as w weaver, teacher and    performer. She reflected on how her work balanced the fragility of materials while using the threads to show human vulnerability and    how her work was about different forms of visibility. How “the red thread of fate sometimes created work that could be perceived as damaged, but was work that was made the way it was meant to be – that mistakes bring a different quality to work.” Her work shows how identities are connected and  woven together.

Day 3 of the Festival began with Daniel Carpenter outlining hhis work on safeguarding heritage crafts – and    working to celebrate skills of artisans as well as pass them forward to the future. The complexity of making when using materials can mean that everything doesn’t go to plan, and    yet makers are perfectionists was explored, together with the societal benefits of craft.

So many crafts are now endangered and    becoming extinct in the UK, the session left us questioning how to innovate in the business of craft and    develop new audiences as well as financial models for it.

Rose Kue spoke of her work as a researcher and    user designer for Care and    as a death doula. She talked about how curiosity was a key skill and    approach in all of her work, that curiosity is the root of empathy, and    that she then worked to move from empathy to equitable experiences for others. She asked us to question what it might be that prevents us from being curious – whether there is fear, or unwillingness to step in to optimism and    connection with the world. She talked about how she is driven by what she can do to reduce individuals suffering.

Rose articulated good leaders as being able to constantly confront their own fears and    not shy away from being shown the truth, to not see people as broken but see the potential. She also reflected that leadership is different to power and  power exchanges.

Day 2 started with Ginny Kim, from Seoul,  talking about her work as Producer, Associate Producer and    co-Founder of a restaurant.

The similarities between her different work became clear, creating experiences that people would value so highly they would give time, travel to and  leave with new memories. She spoke about her work giving fresh perspectives on ingredients – whether these were the literal ingredients of the food served in the restaurant, or working with creative teams to ensure work was culturally relevant, or in supporting team members to see their strengths.

Ginny shared many inspiring insights – “never negotiate what you truly believe in” and  taking a pragmatic approach to risk. She shared that she had learned to share her vulnerable moments, as well as achievements, and    that strong collaborations were built on Communication, Transparency and    Acceptance.

Jim Pope from Playing On delivered a workshop to support us to find ways to ensure people often marginalised found a voice. Ensuring this was through authenticity, co-creation, creativity, personal growth and    communities.

Two words keep resonating this Festival, Kindness and    Community – finding your community, honouring it (and  the community’s history and all members) and  bringing work to them. Kindness through compassion, empathy and    an active response to what is possible.

Tomorrow, Day 3, we will hear from Rose Kue – a designer and  death doula and    Daniel Carpenter from Heritage Crafts.

Today the SELFestival started with speakers from Zimbabwe and  Uganda. Rudo Nondo (pictured) spoke about the work she has done as a cultural entrepreneur, activist and    leader of an organisation, one that is built on voluntary labour. Letaru Dralega talked about her own practice that showed how mixed mediums reflected her messages about the dynamics of displacement and     her work with others to create new forms of support structures to develop artists and    the markets/audiences.

Both inspired with how they are designing approaches that support creatives, not following Western models, but creating work that reflects the needs, ambition and    potential of their communities. Leturu spoke of the emotional labour of her work.

Community was a word that was present throughout the day, and  the ingredients for collaboration were summed up by Rudo as “Respect, Honesty, Trust and    keeping promises”. Rudo also shared when working to ensure complex systemic transformation “I want to change the world and    its outcomes, I will do it in bits and    pieces.” – The impact Rudo makes, and    how she prioritises joy as she develops value together uplifted.

More tomorrow, from two different approached to the performing arts. https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/selfestival-2024-3461069?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=creatorshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=odclsxcollection&utm-source=cp&aff=escb