🎉 Making Stuff Happen: For Creatives & Curious Minds 🎉
Ready to dive into a whirlwind of inspiration, collaboration, and fun?
This one-day event breaks down the mysteries of event planning and what it means to organise public events in the arts. This is your chance to connect with like-minded creatives, get expert advice, and fuel your passion.
This event is open to people who are interested in making stuff happen, volunteers, and creative professionals.
🌟 Producing Essentials: Learn about event planning from top speakers in outdoor arts, theatre, and events.
💡 Idea Development: Refine and develop your event concepts in an interactive session.
🍽️ Networking Lunch: Connect with fellow creatives over a delicious lunch.
💸 Funding Consultation: Get one-on-one advice on securing financial support for your projects.
🤝 Building a Team: Learn how to assemble a dream team and turn your ideas into reality.
💬 Speed Date with Colleagues: Engage in roundtable chats to expand your creative network.
🎤 Q&A Sessions: Get answers to your burning questions from industry experts.
Schedule:
10:00 am – 10:30 am: Registration and Welcome Coffee
10:30 am – 11:30 am: Opening Session: “What is Producing?” (includes Q&A)
11:30 am – 12:15 pm: Developing an Idea Session
12:15 pm – 1:00 pm: Networking Lunch
1:00 pm – 1:45 pm: Funding Advice Session
1:45 pm – 2:30 pm: Panel Discussion: Building a Team & Making Your Idea Happen
2:30 pm – 2:55 pm: Speed Date with Your Colleagues: Roundtable Chats
2:55 pm – 3:00 pm: Closing Remarks
Introducing our guest speakers…
Saziso Phiri is a UK-based curator, producer, artist mentor, and strategist with a focus on contemporary visual arts. She is dedicated to broadening arts engagement beyond traditional spaces, and in 2015, founded The Anti Gallery, a pop-up arts platform which hosted approximately 30 events in unconventional art locations during its 6-year run. Saziso was a core team member at Nuart Festival (Stavanger, Norway and Aberdeen, Scotland), one of the world’s leading international visual art street art festivals, and most recently, she served as Associate Artistic Director at New Art Exchange, the largest gallery in the UK’s dedicated to contemporary visual arts from the Global Ethnic Majority. Her work includes collaborations with organisations such as UK New Artists, Nottingham Contemporary, Fifth Word Theatre, Format International Photography Festival, Maison Foo, Sadler’s Wells and Migration Matters Festival.
Kevin Wratten (he/him) is the Director of Split Second – a production company working with artists and companies blurring the lines between circus, dance, theatre and variety to create gripping experiences. Split Second produces and tours work nationally and internationally and supports the development of artists and producers through training and mentoring opportunities. Split Second is currently producing work with Olivier Award winning artist Kit Green and Hip Hop Circus company Simple Cypher.
Kevin is the Producer of FESTIVAL.ORG’s Global Streets programme, touring international outdoor work to a network of 12 England partners; working with local people to deliver free, international productions which lift people’s spirits and bring communities together. As an Independent Producer, Kevin has worked in festival contexts including Shubbak Festival (2021) and Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (2019-2020) and with independent companies including award-winning internationally renowned acrobatic circus company Barely Methodical Troupe.
Prior to working independently, Kevin worked in leading venues Sadler’s Wells, Jacksons Lane and the Roundhouse where he led a programme of social circus and artist development opportunities including ongoing training, professional masterclasses and producing new work with emerging artists.
Melina Barnett is a Senior Producer and Audience Engagement Lead at Actors Touring Company, recognized for her work on RICE Tour 2022, Family Tree Tour 2023, Tambo & Bones 2023 at Stratford East, The Architect 2023, and Bodies of Water 2024. She produced My Period The Cockblock by Ruth Oyediran at Goose Theatre 2022, Vaults Festival 2023, and Brixton House Housemates Festival 2024.
A nominee for both Producer of the Year and Innovation Award at the Stage Awards, Melina uses data-driven strategies to bridge gaps in the theatre industry, amplifying diverse stories, especially Black narratives. Her approach, shaped by her time as Head Usher at the Young Vic, is also influenced by her work as an artist at Theatre By The Lake, where she integrates nature and wellness into creative idea generation
Amy Nicholls (Circus Arts and Arts Fundraiser)
Amy is a self-producing Circus Artist, and Arts Fundraiser; fundraising for organisations like The Revel Puck Circus, and Levantes Dance Theatre. She’s the Co-Director of Lavrak Circus and Make Space Circus, and a Board Member for Handstand Arts, who run Circus City; the UK’s largest programme of Contemporary Circus. She’s currently wrapping up ‘Where Do I Sit?’; an international collaboration with Tamba Africa Social Circus, which looked at the disability landscapes in Zimbabwe and the UK.
Don’t miss out on this chance to be part of something amazing. Get ready to make stuff happen!
This event is now sold out. Register to join the waitlist here
Sat 9 Nov, 10am-3pm
Theatre Centre
This event is FREE
Travel bursaries are available – please contact [email protected]
Live Transcription of the event will be available after the event on our website as a resource to access.
After this event, catch Dizzy by Mohamed Zain-Dada at The Hawth, tickets are £10 or £5 – pay what you decide.
Find out more about Producer Gathering here
Presented by Producer Gathering in partnership with Creative Crawley.
Part of The Creative Village programme; a brand new skills exchange, showcasing and cultural development programme for and with creative professionals in Crawley, West Sussex and Surrey, managed by Creative Crawley in partnership with Theatre Centre and AudioActive, funded by Arts Council England and supported by Crawley Borough Council’s Shared Prosperity Fund and Gatwick Airport Ltd.
