Kate, can you tell us a little about yourself and the Bath Arts Collective?
BAC is a community interest company, so after we have paid our costs the money is reinvested into the organisation to go towards our outreach and community work. Between the three of us we have put on over 2,500 events in Bath so using that experience we have created an arts organisation where we can put on festivals and events, consult, collaborate and support others. We only started at the end of November and so far we have programmed events into the Bath Rebalance Festival and this month is our new Festival, Curious Minds, a festival to ignite ideas. We’ve also set up Bath Arts Culture and Events Network and have begun a number of consultancy projects covering programming, production, project management, volunteer management, environmental sustainability and marketing. It’s very busy!
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We’re excited that Bath Central Library is a venue for the Curious Minds Festival. Can you tell us about the Festival’s theme and aims? How does it inspire inclusion?
This is a brand new Bath festival with over 30 book talks, live performances, film screenings, writing workshops and walking tours. We’ve worked with all sorts of different Bath venues to be able to put on the events which are designed to entertain, inform, connect and challenge. We believe everyone should be allowed to be curious, so we are encouraging everyone to come to the festival with that in mind.
Bath Library is hosting Tamara Norwood’s workshop around the landscape of loss and grief and is being supported by Bath University’s Centre for Death and Society. This is where collaboration really comes into play. We spend a lot of time considering who we work with, where an event should be held and who might want to come along. It’s a really good example of how that works and I think it will be a very special event.
You’ve set up BAC with friends and colleagues, Kate Abbey and Jas Barker. What advice can you give women in B&NES trying to follow their aspirations?
Believe in yourself, it’s as simple as that. Although obviously it never feels that simple. We spent a lot of time thinking about the ‘what if’s’ when setting up BAC and in the end we decided that if it didn’t work, that was OK. What wasn’t OK, was not giving it a go. Most of the people I know who run arts organisations will know what I mean when I say, this isn’t just a job, it’s part of who we are as people. We take ourselves out of our comfort zones everyday, and it’s scary, but life is definitely not boring. I have many mantras (made up by me, for me!) and one is, If you think you can, you should.
Can you tell us your proudest moment, personal or professional?
That is a hard question. However, I live very much in the moment, so I would say my proudest professional moment is now, setting up Bath Arts Collective.
7 months ago Kate, Abbey and I had to leave our jobs and now we are running an arts organisation with an aim to be financially sustainable and support our Bath community. We decided that it was really important to do this, not only continuing the career path we love, but also because we’ve worked so hard to make a difference in Bath. We are now working with so many people and organisations, it’s a real ‘pinch me’ moment in time and whatever happens I have absolutely no regrets.
Now to books, is there a book or book character that has inspired you?
Recently Fern Brady’s, Strong Female Character. It tells the story of her life as a woman with autism. She has had to overcome a lot, but has been able to navigate a successful life and career. This is a subject close to my heart and although at times it is a difficult read, the sentiment is that there is hope and possibilities, and she is very funny.
What are you reading at the moment?
I always try to make sure I have read at least one book ahead of the festival so I am reading Paul Burston’s Memoir, We Can Be Heroes. I am an 80’s child and I remember the AIDS crisis clearly. My best friend also navigated the challenges of coming out and I was witness to how difficult that was for him. Paul and the Award Winning LGBTQ+ Polari Salon are coming to Curious Minds on Thursday 28th March. Last time I saw their event it made me think, cry, and laugh all in the space of 90 minutes so I am really looking forward to seeing it. Maybe I should say Curious!
Find out more:
Instagram: @curiousmindsfest @bathartscollective