The Global Media Site for Entertainment.
Menu
I’ve been quite angry this week.
Anger is a basic human emotion, connected to our ‘fight, flight or freeze’ instincts – it prepares us to fight. Being angry about something can be quite useful – it can help identify problems or things we don’t like or feel are unjust, and it can motivate us to create change. When we feel angry and want to fight, this doesn’t have to be physical, we can fight by changing our behaviour.
I’m not generally a very angry person but Dominic Cavendish’s tweet (theatre critic, the Telegraph) certainly brought out my fighting instinct. It felt like a real slur on so many things – including the ‘regions’, arts centres and of course, decisions the Royal Court have made.
My challenge to explain what he meant and apologise to regional arts centres went unanswered. I wanted to tweet again and again, expressing more and more anger, but I knew it was pointless and wouldn’t actually achieve anything. Anger uses up energy, and I figured I could put that energy to better use.
It’s where I feel at home, and where I feel I can make the most difference. That’s why I work in the arts – to make a difference. To help tell some of the stories that we never hear. And that’s how I choose to fight, by helping to change the behaviour of the world by challenging the dominant norms.
So yes Dominic, I’m proud to work in a well-meaning regional arts centre. And I am not going to waste an ounce of energy being angry with you any more, instead I am going to channel that energy into making sure that slowly but surely, other people’s voices begin to drown yours out.
Building Relationships as a Long Term Strategy for Arts Centres
Embracing Disruption to Your Daily Routine
Annabel Turpin is currently Chief Executive & Artistic Director of ARC, a charity that uses arts and cultural activity to strengthen its local community. It works locally, in Stockton and the Tees Valley, and nationally, through leadership of networks and partnerships. ARC presents a year round programme of arts and cultural activity including live events, film screenings, workshops and classes, and works to ensure it engages people who might be socially excluded. Annabel is a board member of Tees Valley Local Enterprise Partnership, Sunderland Culture Company and the North East Culture Partnership, where she has helped develop the region’s Case for Culture strategy. She co-chairs Future Arts Centres, a national network of more than 100 UK arts centres, committed to championing the role of arts centres within the wider cultural and community sector. She launched and chairs Venues North, a group of 35+ venues from across the greater North committed to helping performing artists get their work seen more widely, and also chairs the North East Artist Development Network. As a freelance consultant, she has undertaken work around organisational development for a range of clients, including companies, venues and local authorities, as well as mentoring and facilitation at both executive and board level.
Read Full Profile
© 2021 TheatreArtLife. All rights reserved.
Thank you so much for reading, but you have now reached your free article limit for this month.
Our contributors are currently writing more articles for you to enjoy.
To keep reading, all you have to do is become a subscriber and then you can read unlimited articles anytime.
Your investment will help us continue to ignite connections across the globe in live entertainment and build this community for industry professionals.
