In this episode Naomi talks to the Artistic Director of Strike a Light, Sarah Blowers. Sarah talks about the importance of never underestimating what people want to do. She notices that people are often taking a risk by coming along and getting involved. For Sarah, facilitation skills are really important to try to ensure that people feel safe. It is a tightrope of showing leadership, seeing potential and supporting people. It is really important to have an access budget to facilitate...

In this episode Naomi talks to Conrad Murray, Founder and Artistic Director of Battersea Arts Centre’s Beatbox Academy about the importance of leaders of co-creative practice having solid art form skills.  Conrad talks about how important it is for the young people who he works with to see him utilise his art form skills. He has been on his own journey with his art form, saying he used to be the worst, but he really wanted to do it and that has driven him to practice and refine his skills....

In this episode, London based theatre maker, Kane Husbands, discusses the leadership skill of inclusive language and its importance when leading co-creative practice. Naomi Alexander is the CEO and Artistic Director of Brighton People's Theatre . Her AHRC funded research Let's Create: Do we know how to? identified 20 qualities, skills and responsibilities that are important for artists leading co-creative practice. The report and illustrations are available here. X:...

In this episode Naomi talks to freelance artist Dan Thompson about the skill of listening and communicating when leading co-creative practice. Dan talks about the importance of listening first before making any artistic decisions, as he notes that a lot of participatory arts practice revolves around the artist's idea and getting people involved in bringing that idea to life. Deep listening when leading co-creative practice involves having no expectation of what you are going to do, not...

In this episode, Naomi has a conversation with her colleague at Brighton People's Theatre; Jack Parris. Jack talks about how people can suffer if the energy levels in a room are too high or low. He believes managing energy levels is absolutely integral to the process, nurturing an energetic journey that ebbs and flows over a workshop or creative process. Jack talks about the importance of managing the energy levels in the run up to a co-created performance. They reflect on the potential to...

In this conversation Naomi talks to Theatre Director Tanushka Marah about how she olds space in the work that she co-creates with young people. Tanushka talks about this skill when co-creating as being like 'foraging in the dark'. She describes the moments of holding space when the energy is potent and not being afraid of emptiness and to hold questions and silence. She talks about the importance of creating a shared vision in advance but not knowing what the content will be. She likes to...

In this episode, London based theatre maker, Kane Husbands, discusses the quality of patience and its importance when leading co-creative practice. He talks about how embodying the quality of patience in his workshops is very different to the often high energy theatre and dance performances that he co-creates. He notices that it requires him to find stillness in the busyness and that often this quiet reflection time enables him to really find the story that is emerging and explore why the...

In this episode, London based theatre-maker Conrad Murray talks about the importance of being true to himself. He asks himself, 'would my younger self like me right now? Would this be real to him?'. He wants to ensure that he hasn't changed himself to adapt to the dominant culture of arts buildings and the culture of the arts world. He wants to make art that appeals to the people he grew up with and to stay grounded in his community. He thinks it is important to be really true to yourself and...

In this episode Naomi talks to the freelance artist Kelly Green. Kelly reflects on how she is constantly being adaptable and flexible in her practice when co-creating. She talks about how she is in a state of high alert, observing and anticipating what is going on in a group. There is a discussion about how being adaptable and flexible shows up in the body; what happens when things go wrong and feelings of panic or dread show up for the artist leading the session. She is constantly ten steps...

In this episode Naomi Alexander talks to Tashi Gore about the quality of Empathy and Care for Others; how artists as leaders of co-created art embody this in their work.  Tashi reflects on how she embodies care and empathy in the different contexts that she works in, whether working with 2 people or 100 people.  She discusses the importance of the context and people feeling heard within the group both at the start and end of each session. She talks about conventions that she establishes in...

In this episode Naomi Alexander talks to Dr Sita Thomas about the quality of being Grounded and Energetic; how artists as leaders of co-created art embody this in their work. Sita reflects on how she generates energy in a room and how she channels energy by being grounded.  Sita reflects on how important it is to be grounded, to be calm and rooted in her practice so she can pick what kind of energy she would like to generate in a session. She also talks about the importance of self-care;...

In this episode Naomi Alexander talks to Ned Glasier about the quality of being Open and Humble; how artists as leaders of co-created art embody this in their work. Ned reflects on how being open manifests in the room and in the body of the artist leading the room. They discuss how an artist's body is almost porous in order to receive and respond during the creative process. Ned reflects on how important it is to be genuinely open, to genuinely not know the answer when exploring a question...