Where are we...? Invited thoughts on WalesLab and the future of Artist Development at NTW

I've been spending the last year looking in detail at what WalesLab does, how it supports and how it contributes to the wider arts scene in Wales. As part of that work I recently asked Gerri Moriarty, an experienced facilitator and arts practitioner in to the NTW office to host a day where artists who had run WalesLab projects or been on Summercamp were asked to talk about their experiences and share thoughts on how they would like to see artists development work evolve at NTW.

The notes below are taken directly from Gerri's report and give a flavour of what was said – if you weren’t able to come, please join in the conversation here!

"On 30th May this year, artists who had undertaken WalesLab projects or who had been a part of Summercamp gathered together with some of the NTW staff to talk about their experiences and to think about what might happen in the future. It was a lively afternoon, with people discussing how they had benefitted from WalesLab and what had been difficult about their experiences. 

They thought that WalesLab and Summercamp provided opportunities for artists to explore without having to know where they were going and to meet artists from other disciplines; this freedom for artists was seen as invaluable. Many people felt there was potential for a network of artists, specifically to support on-going collaborative practice and artist development in Wales.


What is the relationship between NTW and WalesLab/Summercamp artists?

  • Artists wanted to be clear about the frame of the relationship with NTW – are WALESLAB or Summercamp standalone experiences or were there potential pathways to a seeding commission or to a main production? Was it possible for NTW to use its connections to introduce artists to producers and producing houses? Could they help broker relationships with other artists or companies? These questions were asked in the understanding that NTW had its own priorities and programmes – they were about the potential for linkages, not asking for cast-iron commitments from NTW
  • There was a feeling from some artists that Summercamp made a tighter connection to NTW than the artist led projects.
  • Artists wanted there to be a sense of WalesLab as a core, integral part of NTW, relevant to everyone’s job description. A comparison was made between TEAM and WalesLab; TEAM was perceived as being integral to NTW, whereas WalesLab felt more peripheral.
  • Many artists were keen to have an ongoing sense of relationship with NTW and didn’t think this was necessarily about a financial relationship – it could be about conversations, gatherings like this, a greater emphasis on sharing work

Developing the WalesLab/Summercamp model

  • NTW’s model for supporting artists’ development at present privileges project development and although this is a vital part of artists’ development, it isn’t everything – mentoring, skills development and advice and information were mentioned as other important elements
  • There was a suggestion that It might be really useful to have a ‘Summercamp 2’ at the point where ideas were more developed and that was perhaps more rehearsal based
  • There was a developing sense of WalesLab as a growing network of artists interested in collaboration and in supporting artist development in Wales. There might be ways that artists could support each other, with NTW providing minimal levels of support, such as occasional space to meet

Response from NTW

John McGrath (Artistic Director) said that all these points resonated with him and he thought it was an accurate reflection of the first phase of the programme. The comparison to TEAM was a good one and suggested an aspiration; there had been a deliberate decision to find ways of integrating TEAM because of the company’s commitment to community engagement and there was no reason the same could not apply to the community of artists in Wales.

The comparison between WalesLab and Summercamp also pointed to a way of thinking about the future. Summercamp was an effective way for him to meet quite a lot of artists and hear about their work; it was more difficult with multiple labs, so certainly potential for a newtwork to play a role here.

NTW had put their initial stake on project development and on spaces to make work with other artists; this now needs a balance, looking more at artist development and guidance, how to use networks ( for example around mentoring and reimbursing people to do that) linking presenters and producers. There could be different ways to support project development that were more like Summercamp and also cheaper ways of supporting the development of an idea. There could be opportunities to co-share resources with other organisations to develop a more joined-up approach to artist development.

It had also been important for NTW to set this programme up as a space for artists to develop ideas which could end up anywhere, with no expectations around specific outcomes. It wasn’t intended as a hothouse for NTW. However, he could see that if there were 10 years of WalesLab and no cross-over between that and NTW’s main programme, it could feel very frustrating. NTW did also have a separate R and D fund to support the development of work.

He could see that what was beginning to develop was a more distinct network of artists and a culture of sharing and there was potential for developing this further.

The initial funding for this programme was now tapering down and there was a need to identify new resources for it. There needed to be a plan for what NTW could do if it hadn’t got any money, what it could do with limited resources and what it could do with a good level of resources. The conversation to-day had been useful and focussing and provided a really good context for the company to think about how best to move forward. It felt do-able.

Simon Coates (Creative Associate for WalesLab) explained that he had now developed a more structured journey for WalesLab. As new artists come on tot the project they are introduced to eachother and forma cohort. They are also introduced to company members who discuss with the artists how they will be able to help them with their projects. Thye also have a structured debrief with him where they discuss what support NTW may be able to offer in the future. Often this is about resources and contacts rather than money unless the artists is interested in future development time through WalesLab.

Simon was pleased to hear many of the comments particularly around additional support outside of the residency model as explained that he is working on a new pilot of work that will support the more business oriented end of artists development – skills, advice, mentoring. He is also establishing an emerging producer initiative that will work side by side with WalesLab and WalesLab artists.

Simon was particularly interested to hear more from artists about how they thought a potential network might operate and thoughts on peer-to-peer mentoring.

The programme is now developing an international aspect and international artists will be attending this year’s Summercamp plus twojapanese projects this Aug and a Wales/Canada collaboration earlier in the year. Simon Is interested in finding ways to maintain relationships with those artists and how they might feed into the network.

Additional points made in discussion

  • Gerri asked a question about the 2 year contract for the Creative Associate for this programme and whether this had an impact on an overall sense of continuity. John explained that the company had been keen for this post to have a 2 year duration, so that the company benefitted from new thinking and new approaches. It also offered an opportunity for career development to more than one individual – however, it was possible that at this point, it wasn’t the right way forward for the programme and that would be discussed at a Board Away Day
  • There was some discussion of how a WalesLab network might work. At the moment, it isn’t clear who in the on-line community has been a WalesLab or Summercamp participant. Should the community of artists be open or closed? At this point, people generally felt it should start as a closed network with a clear membership to enable it to form and then it could look at how to extend further over time – otherwise danger of feeling too abstract
  • Practical ideas included a pop-up calendar of events and emails about public showings to make it easier for people to support each other’s work and to enable car sharing/travelling together if work is happening outside Cardiff"

This conversation isn't over and we’d welcome your thoughts on the ideas expressed above. In particular any thoughts you may have on

  • How would you describe your experience of WalesLab or Summercamp? 
  • Would you like to be part of a WalesLab network?
  • What ideas do you have for what the network might do?

Here's what some of the others thought on the day:

‘WalesLab gave me the opportunity to start work, the freedom to play and not worry about the end result.’

‘The Lab was bespoke, designed to fit my own experience and context. It helped me reconnect with the arts landscape in Wales.’

‘I’m a visual artist. Collaborations at Summercamp were wonderful and collaboration is necessary for my visual practice. It helped me find the right set of questions and refine those questions further.’
‘WalesLab gives you permission to not know where you’re heading.’

‘Summercamp had allowed me to be free to do what I wanted and 5 to 6 pieces started life in the studio. I’m working on a voice piece for another artist. Arts Council Wales have started to take me seriously and I have been able to flag up to them other artists working in North Wales.’

‘It gave our company a chance to look at how to collaborate, to look at practice and work with others. There is no way a theatre would have funded this process, but it kick-started something which could end up in a theatre.’

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Comment by Ailsa Richardson on September 8, 2014 at 1:22

Ditto to the value of opportunities to meet other artists and producers and having the freedom to develop new work without necessarily knowing where its heading ( this has applied more to summercamp than waleslab artists projects for me).

I can understand why Walelab is not as clearly integral to NTW operations as TEAM because of its potentially finite funding stream, I think that's right isn't it? 

And yes I think there's space to support a more ongoing network though this does also happen organically here on the 'community' site, on facebook and face-face (up mountains etc!). I also really like Rebecca's idea of the 'points of encounter' in the post below, I can imagine that could really help me to push work on a stage further and be seen by producers/funders that it might otherwise be difficult to get to see my work in development. Or the 'conference' (I agree its not quite the right word!)  as you suggest Simon, is another possibility which could fulfil a similar function maybe for more people in one place. I would always want artists to have some payment for their involvement in these sorts of follow on projects or that the 'exchange' between the artists and NTW is clear. I don't imagine that the support and development offered by waleslab can function effectively without a reasonable level of funding and I can see that this might present a challenge in the future.

Another aspect that I have noticed mixing with other artists and makers is the levels of stress and often mental ill health that many deal with along with their creative making. Building in aspects that recognise and develop strategies for dealing with this and developing a toolkit for  'surviving as an artist and staying healthy' would be really valuable. 

Lastly the new developments and involvement of international artists is really exciting - I enjoyed meeting the Japanese artists and seeing their work recently and would be interested to develop more international collaborations in the future.

Comment by Rebecca Louise Collins on August 26, 2014 at 2:26

I have a few thoughts from the perspective of a WalesLab artist and from the perspective of an artist who provided creative support during summercamp:

Firstly, I'd describe my experience of WalesLab as a supportive environment to explore your own creative process, ideas, gain confidence and professionalise your practice in a multitude of unexpected and fluid ways.

I found that it provided an infrastructure to accommodate uncertainty, innovation and experimental practice privileging artist development over artistic product, though allowing the space and potential for both.

I had a very positive experience but the emphasis seemed to be more on your own individual trajectory and I would agree with Catherine Dyson that this at times can be lonely.

What I observed occurring during summercamp was the creation of a safe environment amongst a group of committed individuals and the emergence of a common vocabulary giving support to work from multiple perspectives. 

So I wonder... if it might be possible to have 'points of encounter' two or three times a year where several WalesLab or Summercamp artists might be able to share and exchange their practice - emerging producers and other industry professionals could also be invited to attend. This might then lead to further development of the work and allow for further professional networks to develop.

I then wonder (thinking BIG) if once a year (funding depending) if there were international groups of artists that the work could then come into dialogue with. For example, I have been working with a group of artists in Madrid and we have been looking into European funding to set up exchanges between artists in the UK and artists in Spain.

Comment by Simon Coates on August 21, 2014 at 6:11

Catherine I totally encourage people to ask for BIG things, too big in fact. The bigger, the better.

Comment by Catherine Dyson on August 21, 2014 at 5:54

Yes, sorry, I probably got a bit carried away there! I appreciate that you don't know what the resources will be, or what will be possible. I guess aside from the network idea my main interests in the near future would be how to find programming opportunities, initially within Wales.

Comment by Simon Coates on August 21, 2014 at 5:31

HI Catherine - great to her that those ideas are exciting but I really encourage people to ask for the things that they really want. I can't guarantee that we can make it work (i have no idea what the resources will be after funding from Esmee ceases) but unless people ask...

Comment by Catherine Dyson on August 21, 2014 at 5:18

Hi Simon, I am interested in all of that! The potential for international opportunities and making connections with artists further afield would be really exciting. It's great that WalesLab is already developing that aspect, I'm looking forward to meeting the Japanese artists next week and seeing some of their work.

I want to make work in Wales, but I don't want it to begin and end there. It would be great to find more programming opportunities both here and elsewhere. To think big!

I'm interested in working creatively with a producer at some point and would welcome the opportunity to start those kinds of conversations. I guess here on the community is a good beginning. How will the emerging producer initiative work alongside WalesLab?

Comment by Simon Coates on August 21, 2014 at 2:16

Thoughts on networks are great! But what else is missing? Anyone interested in international opportunities? Or more platforms?? Or programming opportunities in Wales/further afield??

What about a conference on developing work? (maybe a festival is a better word for that - but an opportunity to profiling, performing, networking and sharing discourse with the industry around the direction of emerging work in Wales). Maybe we could use the word 'extravaganza' or 'jamboree'? Maybe not.

What about Producers in this mix?

Any thoughts that have the power to change, not just support?

Comment by Catriona James on August 20, 2014 at 11:23

Hard to describe my experience of Summercamp succinctly... it shaped how I think of myself as an artist (easy to lose sight of, as an actor working on other people's projects), and in an intensely short period, exposed me to many other artist's work and ways of working. It also gave me the chance to work in an open-ended way; I can't overstate how precious this is. Re: the connection to NTW - I felt I had some of that already from previous work.

I suppose I would like to be part of a WalesLab network, but I'm not sure in what way. I suppose I am, already, in that my experience of Summercamp means I will prick up my ears whenever I hear WalesLab mentioned in future in connection to an artist's work. I would like to know about future work and happenings from other WalesLab artists (but that's something that happens already through the community here).

Sorry I don't think have very useful thoughts on the network! 

Comment by Simon Coates on August 19, 2014 at 0:27

Hi Catherine - thanks for your thoughts - good ones!

It really does feel like a more structured network will be emerging.

Any thoughts from anyone else?

Comment by Catherine Dyson on August 18, 2014 at 23:26

WalesLab gave me a great platform not only to start a project but to move from working as a collaborative theatre maker into making solo work. I have found ongoing support from NTW very helpful in terms of advice, help with a funding application, and just in knowing there is an interest in my work. I hope this will continue when Simon finishes in the role. Perhaps there could be a way of the ongoing connection being more structured, eg an invitation for WalesLab artists to give an update on their work once or twice a year?

The idea of an artist network is very appealing, and perhaps this would help with more of a WalesLab/Summercamp crossover. By it's very nature the WalesLab experience can feel a bit lonely (especially if you are working on your own), so it would be great if the experience could then feed into being part of a network, which would also help give a sense of continuity. Personally I would really welcome a way of finding more opportunities for collaboration and sharing work and a network like this could help a lot - perhaps a specific place online and a chance to meet up now and then.

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