when the chips are down…

July 30th, 2010

There’s a certain freedom that goes with times of crisis that can be liberating don’t you think? When the chips are more or less down, and it looks like there’s nothing left to lose, (yes, I hear the echo of a song about freedom), it becomes not only possible, but necessary, to think new thoughts and act towards them. Having come from a meeting with the Arts Council to look at how the economic situation is going to play out for us, I realise that such a time is now.

I love cruising blogs and here’s some thoughts form my recent travels…

What would an economy based on no growth look like (given the state of planet earth, is growth essential or desirable)? Tony Butler has quite a fan base and rightly so in my opinion. If you haven’t come across him, visit his blog here and read how he imagines a no-growth economy applied to museums.

Lately I’ve been involved in helping artists set up international visits and taken some vicarious pride in watching at a distance as they set off around the globe thinking diverse cultures and how good this is for us in our small corner in the north east of England. I’ve been worrying I suppose about how such opportunities might be created in the future given that there’ll be so little cash. But there’s another perspective (as always).

Thinking locally might help the planet survive and perhaps artists as meaning makers should be tuned in to this. Claire Antrobus’ blog shows how artists can make both diverse culture and local meaning at the same time.

And again…Black Country Touring, Kali Theatre Company and Birmingham Rep Theatre used webcasting to realise their latest play set in homes across the Black Country.  Behna is a play based in a Punjabi household set the day before a family wedding.

The interesting (to me) thing about this is that six homes hosted the play across the Black Country for their own private guests: of friends, family, neighbours and colleagues. Audiences crammed into kitchens and hallways.

A live webcast was broadcast from a kitchen in Wolverhampton and you could have watched it in your own kitchen, whilst doing henna tattooing and munching Asian delights with friends and family – party ideas provided by a downloadable party pack. You can read more about it on Hannah Rudman’s blog site.

Brilliant. Happy week-end!