Day 7

Two very different speakers and  sets of experiences in the SELFestival today.

Robin Braum, co-founder of Squareglass and  Head of Label Management at !K7 Music talked through the experiences he has gained as an artist, label owner and  now employee at a label. All of his work has been characterised through his approaches to collaboration, being open to being wrong and  surprised. Reflecting on the need to be patient, he also was clear that things never felt static. He spoke about how he built relationships with listeners, developing the authentic connections that would lead to more sustainable practices being possible. The need to be respectful to music forms, creators and  how to acknowledge the inputs from inspiration to sampling.

Deborah Williams also gave her insights from being an artist, cultural leader, venue manager and  now lead of Creative Diversity Network which exists to enable the UK Broadcasting industry to increase diversity and inspire inclusion. She spoke about the various ways she engaged people in the broader vision and  mission to achieve the aims of a more diverse creative sector. She showed in her way of listening to us that she sincerely valued everyone’s experiences, the clarity that once you have seen diversity you cannot unsee it, needing to listen  to people to be an ally in the space. “Compassion – it frees you. Because I have responded to someone on their own terms.”

Tomorrow we have Bobby Kolade speaking about his disruptive sustainable fashion business in Uganda – Return to Sender, speaking with Rasheeda Nalomoso – dramaturg and  British Council Arts Officer. In the afternoon Ashley Evenson and  Chris Stokes will run a storytelling workshop to help us release the main character in our own stories. https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/selfestival-2023-2286519