Why Take the Space Training

Its been 6-months since I left Revoluton Arts as CEO & Creative Director and during my 5-year tenure at this most amazing organisation, I was so honoured to have led diverse teams, commissioned diverse artists, enabled and enobled a culture of inclusivity as leader, team colleague, artist commissioner and community activist.  The results spoke for themselves, an outstanding programme of work, talent that kept innovating the organisation by setting up new festivals, delivering new programme, introducing new artists, young people that taught the organisation new digital innovation, success in fundraising because of our authentic reflection of the super-diverse town and an increase (pre-pandemic) by 10% of audiences from ethnically diverse communities. 

It was an opportunity for me as a leader, to embed some of the practices that I had advised organisations of in the past - inclusive leadership, inclusive organisational cultures, inclusive marketing, inclusive recruitment, inclusive programming, inclusive commissioning, inclusive storytelling in fundraising and on our socials - it really does lead to increased audience reach.  

Of course, we know that 2020 saw great shifts, and for me the protests of 2020 and Black Lives Matters movement shifted my practice.  As someone that has seen diversity and inclusion work in the arts and cultural sector as my life's work - I wanted to find a way of returning to my own practice.  It's a time of action and reinvention, and innovation and renewal in this world of inclusion - and I want to be a part of it.

And so along with lots of other arms of my work (you can find out more about my creative practice at www.takethespace.com) I have set up Take the Space Training to support organisations make anti-racism a reality.  I am always asked how do we put this into action, how do we move from intention to great work, and how does anti-racist intention transform into great practice.

So here's what I know - anti-racism belongs to everyone in the organisation - and in order for it to work leaders need to embrace this shift, and everyone needs to be part of the transformation.

Where do we start?  We need the pillars of knowledge, understanding and language - then action can follow.  For me, this work is my something I am passionate about, and I hope that you come on this journey with me to make this work - real, meaningful, authentic and transformational - for your organisation, for your workforce, for the sector and for our audiences.