Third Angel

In December we said a fond farewell to our Exec Director Laura Holmes, as she moved on to an exciting and challenging new full-time role. Laura applied her formidable organisational, analytical and strategic skills with thoughtfulness, tenacity, good humour. 

Thank you Laura, for the systems you devised, the order you created, and the values you embodied. Not forgetting the next-level spreadsheet formulae, the music, and of course the cake! We’re very definitely missing you already.

These are the thoughts she left with us to share.

 How do you evaluate the life of a General Manager*? Let me count the ways…

After 4 years with the company, I’ll be handing back my keys and my laptop and closing the door for one last time today. It’s been a uniquely challenging period for Third Angel. I joined just after their brilliantly ambitious performance Inherited Cities, a piece devised and co-created with more than 50 young Sheffielders, and before their hugely successful 3 week run of The Department of Distractions at the Crucible Studio at the start of 2019. 

Much of the rest of that year was spent preparing for a national tour of The Department due to take place in March 2020… Having to cancel half of that tour was a crushing blow, but the impacts of the pandemic on our families, our loved ones and the sector, have been deeper and more wide-ranging than any of us could have imagined at that point. The reverberations are still being felt. Nevertheless, I’m super proud of how we have supported each other through these challenging times.

But for me personally, the other ingredient bubbling in the pot over the past couple of years has been my increasing awareness of the urgency and importance of addressing the interconnected issues of social justice and climate justice. When the opportunity arose to work with one of the organisations whose writing and thinking had been inspiring me (MAIA Group in Birmingham, you can read more about their approach here), it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

 So how DO you evaluate the life of an Executive Director or General Manager?

·       In business plans? In a period of unprecedented uncertainty, it felt like we were constantly being asked to write new business plans; an exercise of the imagination that stretched even the most creative members of the team. Maybe we’ve only written 4 in that time, but it felt like a LOT more!

·       In funding applications? Since bringing the fundraising activity in-house in 2019, I’ve personally written 29 funding bids. 9 of these were successful, which approximated to around £40k in trusts and foundations support for our work with young people and community groups. A 30% success rate feels pretty good to me.

·       In recruitment? In just four years, we’ve done seven different rounds of recruitment, resulting in five new staff (some on fixed term contracts so not all at the same time) and five new trustees. At one point at the end of 2021, we had eight staff members, the biggest the Third Angel team has ever been.

·       In board papers? Looking at our files, we have created a whopping 656 Board papers in the 4 years since I joined! Allowing for duplicates, agendas and papers written by other members of the team, I think it’s likely I’ve written between 2-300 papers for our Board during that time. Phew!

Actually, the measure that I care about most doesn’t really lend itself to being counted. I’d love to be evaluated by how the team have felt about working for Third Angel during the time that I’ve been here. I guess you’d have to ask them…

*and latterly Executive Director

Well, as she asked: the team felt they were in safe, reliable, wise and friendly hands! We wish Laura the very best as she deploys her outstanding talents with MAIA Group, and look forward to watching them go from strength to strength.

 

Since the summer of 2020, the team at Third Angel have individually and collectively been listening, learning and reflecting on how racism continues to impact upon our sector and our society, and the role that we can play in making positive change. These conversations have largely been taking place behind the scenes, and it is time we started to share where our learning has taken us and how we see this work continuing.

During this time, we have received training from brap and MA Consultancy; explored the Race at Work Charter, Race Equality Code and Inc Arts Unlock toolkit; established an Equity Working Group led by our trustees; reviewed and updated all of our recruitment paperwork and processes for both staff and trustees; appointed four new trustees bringing new perspectives into our decision making; given time to thinking about and discussing the role we want to play when others in our sector experience discrimination and injustice, and how we can learn from the mistakes of other organisations.

Our conversations around racial equity have inevitably led to us thinking more about the experiences of people with other marginalised identities: those who are d/Deaf or disabled, or who identify as LGBTQ+. So although our focus over the last two years has very much been on issues of race, the outcome has been a sharpening and refocusing of the company’s values and beliefs around social justice as a whole. The first step that we are going take in communicating our journey is to share our Social Justice Commitments

This statement reflects a shift in our approach. We understand that striving for equality or equal opportunities is not sufficient to make the changes we believe are needed in society, we need to step up and challenge the structures that uphold racism and other forms of oppression. This means striving for equity, advocating for social justice and taking specific actions on our journey to being an anti-racist, disability and neurodiversity positive, and trans-inclusive organisation. We are taking, and will continue to take, time to read, listen, learn and digest the experiences and knowledge of those whose experiences are different to ours. This is a long term commitment to change, for our organisation, our leadership and our practice.

We welcome your feedback and invite you to hold us to account on these commitments as we continue to learn.

OUR SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMITMENTS

WE WANT:

·      to be an anti-racist organisation – this is an active position that requires us to take action to dismantle the structures that uphold racism and is different to being passively ‘not racist’

·      to be disability / neurodiversity positive

·      to create welcoming inclusive spaces, where people feel safe to be their authentic selves, where conversations about race and other aspects of identity are normalised and encouraged, and where everyone feels able to ask for what they need in order to do their best work

·      to send a clear message about who is welcome in our organisation

·      to have a wider range of perspectives and experiences in our discussions and decision making

·      to understand what we might be doing (or not doing) that could make some people feel as though our work / our organisation is not for them

·      to approach our work that is targeted at marginalised or underrepresented groups in a way that is ‘with not for’, prioritising co-production / collaboration in the design and delivery of activities

WE WILL:

·      reflect on whose voices we are amplifying and why

·      identify the places and times where we need to slow down, interrogate our biases and structural advantages, and be mindful and honest about the reasons behind the decisions that we make

·      create more opportunities to work with people with global majority heritage as peers and mentors, rather than as recipients of services

·      create regular opportunities to hold each other to account

·      ensure that no-one is made to feel that their contribution or presence is tokenistic, or that they are being expected to be representative of anyone other than themselves

·      seek feedback from a wider range of sources about how we present ourselves / who feels included or excluded by our presentation

WE ACCEPT:

·      that we will need to take more risks than we are comfortable with

·      that we are sometimes going to get things wrong and be honest and transparent when this happens

·      that this may be disruptive to our normal working practice, but that long term genuine change will take time and hard work

If you’ve been following our social media closely you might recognise some of the images below. We’ve been keen to get some pictures of our Future Makers theatre workshops in action, but there’s rarely time to think about the finer points of lighting and framing in between facilitating the activity. So we were lucky to bring Abi Ward on as Residential Photographer for the sessions in Spring. The photographs are of such quality and quantity, we’ve been using them for all kinds of posts!

Abi’s headed of to university soon, so we wanted to invite her to share her experiences before moving on…

Jon Fry, Projects & Communications Co-ordinator 

Hiya, I’m Abi, a Sheffield based photographer, and I was the Residential Photographer for Future Makers. 

Working with the Future Makers project has been such an enjoyable and lovely experience! When I first started coming to the sessions I was still at college and quite new to the photography industry. Previously I had been Social Media Manager for Sculpt Community, volunteered for FURD, and done photography for weddings, headshots, and local gyms.

I have always been a creative person and enjoy being part of anything creative, so I think that is what first attracted me to being part of Future Makers. I first found out about Future Makers from a family member who got me in touch with Stacey. I then came along to a session in March where I got to meet everyone and they were all so welcoming. Usually when I am at an event or session like this almost everyone becomes super aware of the camera and I notice people trying to subtly pose, or they seem to stare a lot and watch for the camera coming in their direction. However, the kids at the session were unfazed which I enjoyed seeing as it allowed me to capture candid photos of the kids and session leaders interacting with each other. 

This is probably what I enjoy most about photography, being able to capture those natural moments we often miss or don’t notice. From there I was asked to come back for more sessions till the end of the project which I was very thankful for. Although I wasn’t there for every session, I still got to see how the kids changed and grew as they developed their work. I enjoy being on the sidelines and being able to capture those special moments and the journeys that people go through.

Previously, I hadn’t really had any jobs like this. Mainly I had experience in more editorial photography and sports. This was quite different as I found myself having to look at the wider picture as well as the small details. There was often a lot going on in the sessions and capturing this was always fun, but also quite different as it meant having to get all that was going on in one shot. Working as Residential Photographer for these sessions has really taught me a lot technically but has also helped me expand my experiences, as before I had only really worked with adults or people my age. This wasn’t that much different but definitely gave me a new perspective when taking photos as I wanted to capture the kids’ personalities the best I could. 

In the past I have really enjoyed working with community projects and being able to capture the amazing work that they do and it was great to be able to do this for the Future Makers project - which makes me sad to go! Although I have a long way to go on my photography journey as I leave for university, the Future Makers project has really helped me develop my passion for this type of work and working in my local community.

(UPDATE Jan 2023 -  We are not currently looking for new trustees.)

People. Places. Performance.

Do you want to change people’s minds about what theatre can be?

Third Angel is a theatre company led by founding Artistic Directors Rachael Walton and Alexander Kelly. We make shows and participatory events that tell stories, ask questions and invite conversations. We aim to create collective experiences that reflect and interrogate the ways in which we live in the world that surrounds us, now and in the future. We believe everyone should be able to access the arts and are committed to trying to break down the barriers, whatever they may be.

Our values guide our decision making and how we operate and work with others. Third Angel is:

• Innovative and experimental
• Playful
• Collaborative
• Open and transparent
• Trusting
• Inclusive, accessible and anti-racist
• Socially and environmentally responsible

We are looking to recruit two new trustees who will champion our values and bring different perspectives, skills and life experiences to our Board. We are committed to having a broad range of voices at the top of our organisation – different ages, different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, D/deaf and disabled voices, LGBTQ+ voices – to ensure that our strategic thinking and decision making remain creative, lively and balanced.

No previous Board experience is necessary, as training and support will be given where needed. 

We are looking for:

» People with good financial management skills
» Community leaders and advocates, particularly those with connections to Sharrow & Nether Edge (S7)
» Marketing, communications or public relations (PR) professionals
» Leaders or influencers in the arts sector

Please contact mail@thirdangel.co.uk for more details about the role or an informal chat.

We’re finally saying goodbye to our ‘intern who stayed’, Sam Turner, who’s been with the company almost as long as I have! We’ve been so grateful for Sam’s Little Miss Sunshine presence in our office and on our screens through what has been a VERY unusual 3 years, and we’re really excited for her new adventures as she moves on from the team. So over to Sam, for her final post. 

Laura Holmes, Exec Director

Throwback to March 2019 - I had just started Third Angel’s Administration and Production Assistant Internship. I was pretty much fresh out of The University of Sheffield, stage managing productions and spending most of my time at Theatre Deli across the road from Third Angel HQ.

My favourite mug in the Third Angel office

The internship appealed to me to develop my skills across many areas integral to working in the arts:

Co-ordinating creative projects
Budgeting
Fundraising
Marketing
Collaborating with artists
Working with venues
Networking
Touring
Problem-solving
Working closely with a small team

The Department of Distractions tour - ARC (in Stockton) in early 2020

My highlight was managing the Future Makers ’20 programme (free creative workshops for young people in Sheffield), when I had the opportunity to apply most of the above and more. The team gave me ownership of the project, trusted and advised me when needed and it was a great success until the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020 (I couldn’t write a blog post about the last few years without mentioning it…)

Future Makers ‘20 programme - Cinematography Workshop (Theatre Deli in Sheffield - photo taken by Smart Banda)

The arts sector, like many others, has faced immense challenges over the last few years. The team stayed strong through:

Cancelled projects
National lockdowns
Working from home
Hours on Zoom
Outdoor meetings
Periods of uncertainty
Sudden change
Lots of rethinking
Furlough
And repeat…

The pandemic presented a new opportunity to work on a (thoroughly risk-assessed) film shoot to create The Distraction Agents (an interactive puzzle game for audiences to enjoy from home) and I developed professionally and personally during each lockdown through coaching, reading, walking, listening and thinking (and baking).

My role with the team has evolved to now (July 2022) as my time with Third Angel draws to an end as their Production & Marketing Administrator.

A very chilly The Distraction Agents Film Shoot (Kollider in Sheffield) - December 2020

The company is back in full swing! Alex has just taken The Desire Paths down to Plymouth, our Future Makers S7 programme is running in Nether Edge (my neighbourhood) and the company is growing and thriving as I hand over my responsibilities and top tips to Jon - the new Projects & Communications Co-ordinator.

I’ve developed confidence
Learnt about myself
Exceeded my own expectations of myself
Made lifelong friends
Excelled in surprising areas
Discovered the things I enjoy (and the things I don’t)
Had many laughs and some tears along the way
Created space to reflect and grow

Above all else, over the last few years I’ve learnt to be resilient and consider my values. Nothing feels more important to me than looking after myself, feeling good, feeling strong and doing the things I enjoy. With this in mind, last year I made the exciting (and slightly scary) decision to pursue another of my passions in becoming a Personal Trainer - to help others to do the same.

Fear not, Sheffield’s vibrant arts scene hasn’t seen the last of me yet… you’ll see me covered in glitter with Andro & Eve at the iconic The Leadmill at the end of July and working behind the scenes to set up Theatre Deli’s new Sheffield space before I travel across the world to Bali (Indonesia) with my partner for a few months in September.

Partus cups - work experience with Third Angel in 2016 (Sheffield Theatres Studio)

My time in Sheffield is coming to a bittersweet end to move (back) down South later in the year to be closer to family and friends. I’m feeling ready to move on and very excited to see what my future holds in the arts world and beyond.

I’ve developed skills for life in my roles with Third Angel to apply to whatever I decide to do next. I’ll always treasure my time with the team.

Thank you for helping me grow

Xx

For those who don’t yet know me, my name is Rob (you can read more about who I am and what I do here). In essence, I am a ‘resident scholar’ with Third Angel, but more like a house-mouse than a permanent lodger… I dip in and out of Third Angel’s archive, shadow the team at events and meetings, as well as having had the privilege of ‘sitting in’ on rehearsals and mentoring sessions.

My research explores if, when and how longevity in contemporary arts practice is achievable, and the challenges, risks and values attached to this. In mid-late 2021, in a world of vaccine passes and mask-wearing, I had the amazing opportunity to represent both Third Angel and my University overseas. My scholarship is funded by the White Rose College (WRoCAH) who made this possible: I spent 3 months working with the National Cultural Fund of Bulgaria in their base in the capital city, Sofia. While there I wrote a series of diary/blog posts that, I think, are useful to share here as a document of a moment-in-time, of an (international) arts ecology recovering from a unique and shared crisis. I would like to share them with you here, followed by a short reflection: 

Despatch #1 (sometime in early September ’21)

In an office above the Socialist Art Museum, Bulgaria’s ‘National Cultural Fund’ is never too far from reminders of its history. A country that is still working to decentralise its cultural sector as a post-communist Republic, Bulgaria is redefining itself both as part of a Western European capitalist tradition, and simultaneously working to protect and promote its cultural heritage as uniquely ‘Balkan’ (still very much reconnecting with its pre-Ottoman heritage, for those that know your history). Now in receipt of vast amounts of European Covid-relief funding, Bulgaria’s Cultural Fund is navigating its own domestic function as an ‘arm’s length’ support structure (operating as a democratic buffer between the state and its cultural sector), and is looking dubiously ahead to a time when these levels of funding will, inevitably, become unsustainable…

My three-month project involves researching and writing a comparative study of the Bulgarian arts funding situation, with ‘best-practice’ recommendations from British, Central and Northern European contexts. I have been living and working here in the capital, Sofia, for a few weeks now and highly recommend it as a place to visit!

Despatch #2 (sometime in early October ‘21)

A few weeks on from the last despatch and I find myself further embroiled in the complexities of an Arts Sector that varies greatly from what I know of my own… It turns out (perhaps unsurprisingly) that making a comparative study between national approaches to cultural policy (across Europe) is VERY complex: it is near-impossible to make any useful comparison without first considering the history of each nation and/or region… I have been thrust into a world of research that I couldn’t have even imagined before starting this project, and I am really enjoying the process of seeing where it will take me next!

I have also just begun a series of interviews with local artists and grassroots theatre-makers, and every conversation opens up a whole array of new questions (and not to mention meeting some fantastic people and making new personal connections). 

Despatch #3 (sometime in early November ‘21)

My time with Bulgaria’s ‘National Cultural Fund’ is soon coming to an end. As I am pulling together the final details for my report I wonder what impact it might make? Just yesterday I was looking through an Arts Council England document from 2018 in which arts organisations voted ‘natural disaster’ as only 12% ‘risky’ on a ‘level-of-risk-to-the-sector’ scale, compared to ‘financial risk’ at 90%… No-one could have seen what was coming, even back then when words like ‘resilience’ and ‘sustainability’ were already the hot topics across the UK arts sector. As financial stability becomes intrinsically linked to our ability to survive natural crises like Covid-19 perhaps now is the perfect time for cultural sectors around Europe to rethink their current practices, to seize the moment of change and harness it for the better…

From speaking with a cross-section of art-makers in Bulgaria, there is a sense of positivity, despite the horrors that the pandemic has brought with it. As I finalise my report to the NCF, I struggle to say everything that (I believe) needs to be said. I am wrestling with the scope that I have set for myself and, despite my line-manager’s encouragements, I’m struggling to narrow my focus. What I realise, and commit to on paper here as advice, is that one report can’t change everything. This is easy to say, but harder to acknowledge in practice! What my report can do, however, is to capture the energies and emotions of the sector, to present data in a way that tells a story…

In Summary

I think what this process (and reading the posts back now in June of ‘22) brings to light is the shared experience that a global crisis can instil. Even as I write this and our friends in Ukraine are at the forefront of another crisis that has united much of Europe and its allies (100 days in at the time of writing). Certainly, it changes the weight of words like ‘sustainability’, or ‘resilience’. Thinking now about the positive energies I witnessed (and felt) among the grassroots contemporary theatre-makers in Bulgaria last year has made me a little sad back on ‘home turf’ – only a week or so ago minister Rees-Mogg proposed cuts that would all-but-remove any ‘arm’s length’ structure of arts support in the UK. Where Bulgaria’s NCF are looking to learn from the systems around Europe, the UK is furthering a trajectory that will see instead a dismantling of ideals we have, perhaps, taken for granted. As Covid and Ukraine have shown, it is through networks of support that longevity may be possible; important to consider now as a whole arts ecology, how an already-precarious sector can continue to thrive despite collective and increasingly globalised crises.

As we move towards the warmer months, I plan to spend some time once again in Third Angel’s archive, as I attempt to draw more links between their past and present, their ability to ‘weather the storm’ of different crises, and for inspiration that might help us understand this term, longevity, a little better. I plan to keep you updated on this blog with some of my findings! If you are interested in keeping a closer eye on what I am up to, you can find me on Twitter @Rob_Fellman so please do feel free to connect with me on there.

As Third Angel’s work changes over time, so does the team needed to deliver it. At the beginning of this year, in the midst of imagining all the things we want to do next, we realised we were going to need to create a different role within the team to make it all happen. And so the Projects & Communications Co-ordinator was born! It’s going to be a busy time. 

We’re delighted to introduce you to the person who’s going to bring it to life. Jonathan Fry has joined us at Third Angel HQ, where he’ll be working to support planning and delivery of all of our creative and participation work. So without further ado, over to Jon to say hello.

Like a lot of people in the arts I’ve walked a pretty weird, meandering path to get to this job! I’ve designed and published games, contributed to a UN report, given music lessons, and washed a lot of dishes…

In 2018 I finished work on a Masters in “Applied Human Rights” at the University of York, with a focus on the ins-and-outs of charity work and a dissertation looking at zero-hour contracts. I knew I wanted to do work that was thought-provoking, participatory and empowering. The hard bit was finding where to start!

After graduating I moved to Berlin with, in hindsight, stunningly little in the way of a plan. After a few big reality-checks on the usefulness of a Masters Degree for finding work, I eventually settled into a rhythm as a freelance music teacher. Alongside paid lessons I volunteered with some local creative initiatives, which led to a paid position as Project Manager at the Berlin Open Music School, a community project that runs free, volunteer-powered music lessons. It was a real pleasure to work with a load of lovely people to dismantle barriers to music education, and there’s a kind of hypnotic brilliance to the sounds of a dozen beginner guitarists all hitting the same chord over and over.

I decided to move back to the UK earlier this year to move in with my long-distance partner after many months of travel-restricted separation. This “Projects & Comms” role at Third Angel struck me as an opportunity to do the kind of work I had enjoyed before but on a slightly bigger scale. In all honesty I was pleasantly surprised to get an offer, I had been dealing with the stress of interviews by prioritising enjoying myself as much as seeming professional. It’s great to be working somewhere that values personality and playfulness as well as a CV!

Photo by John Franglen

“We’re super proud to introduce some of the new trustees who have joined our team over recent months, bringing a wealth of skills and experience, including HR, social entrepreneurship, artistic leadership, and diversity and inclusion work. 

Naomi, Edenamiuki and Sophie will also be joined by Tommi Bryson from our next meeting in September (more details then!). We’re also really pleased to have Liliya Filippova as our Trainee Trustee, following on from her Kickstart placement earlier this year - she’ll be shadowing the Board and learning all about the work of charity trustees over the next year.” 

- Laura Holmes (Executive Director)

Edenamiuki Aiguobasinmwin 

Edenamiuki Aiguobasinmwin (also known as Namiuki) is an artist and Executive Director of multiple leading initiatives focused on design and implementation of sustainable approaches to supporting artists, entrepreneurs and leaders through The Break Dance Manchester, Young Creative Leaders and Elevate Young Minds.

Edenamiuki is Nigerian born, he grew up within the UK’s Hip Hop Dance scene as a performer and presenter and is a creative practitioner with a Master’s degree in Choreography from Leeds Beckett University. Edenamiuki is also a Lead Dance researcher at Manchester Hip Hop Archive, making him the first Hip Hop dance archiver in Greater Manchester and beyond.

“Over the last 5 years I have had the opportunity to be commissioned to develop and perform works such as ‘Reformation’ and ‘Exploring the Man’, which were performed at a variety of local and international platforms such as The Civic Theatre in Dublin, York Theatre Royal, Ludus Dance, Stadler’s Well in London and Temple in Lisbon in Portugal.”

Edenamiuki has received recognition from the United Nations (winning multiple awards at Plural+ 2018), the Commonwealth, Future Team Russia, the Sri Lankan, Cameroon Government and more. Edenamiuki is also part of the first cohort of the Arts Council England’s Area Council Development Programme.

Sophie Hunter

“I’m really delighted to have a place on Third Angel’s board, to be able to support them in any way I can to keep being the brilliant, eclectic, thoughtful company that they are. I am particularly inspired by their commitment to creativity in everything and to the next generation of artists and creatives.”

Sophie is a freelance creative producer, facilitator and evaluator, working to encourage change through reflective practice and the development of learning communities, often but not exclusively working within the field of arts education.  She brings together her experience in holding space for people’s learning with her ability to co-create large-scale strategic projects. She grows people, places and projects.

Sophie came to the city in 1997 to work for the Crucible Youth Theatre. She stayed at Sheffield Theatres until 2004, worked for Creative Partnerships for 8 years, and then co-founded Growtheatre in 2012. Most recently she has spent 6 years at the helm of Create Sheffield, the Cultural Education Partnership for the city, developing learning networks, and supporting artists and educators to improve arts access for children and young people.

Naomi Cosgrove

 

“From a young age I have loved theatre and I grew up as a member of the Crucible Youth Theatre which I remember as some of the happiest days of my childhood. I believe taking theatre out to the audience is so important in connecting with those who might not realise how much being creative can change their lives and Third Angel does that beautifully.

As a HR professional I feel grateful to help support Third Angel in its mission to diversify as an organisation and to be a guiding voice in recruitment and organisational development.”