Day 29, 30 & 31 of #marchmeetthemaker was #community #toptiporadvice and #creativefriends I was really, really lucky for the first 13-ish years of my career. I graduated in 1999 and started working on community projects and outreach work down here in Dorset where I got to work for a wonderful person called Suzanne Lee, who has been Artistic Director at @allchangearts for a fair while now. It was amazing to learn from her and all the artists I have worked with over the years. She’s a total inspiration. I started working on, and also organising, little arts festivals in Dorset with @helenvpritchard who’s gone on to be a badass research boffin at Goldsmiths, PhD’ing it up and writing books, as you do! She also has amazing unicorn hair. Helen is also an inspiration! Then when I moved up to London to study for my MA I got to do some lovely projects with Suzanne again at All Change, and I also met the wonderful and super-stylish @sallingtonchopssvn where we bonded over rabbits and whippets, became flatmates and went on to set up Tea & Make together (our first event is pictured here in 2009). Sally has gone on to follow her heart and re-train to work with animals. She’s currently working her ass off in Kent and I have THE most respect for her, for working so hard to get where she is. She is also no longer the crazy bunny lady she was when we lived together and has upgraded to crazy cat lady (the downside of working with animals is that you want to adopt them all). She is also a HUGE inspiration to me, and was brilliant to work with mainly because she worked so bloody hard, but is also a future trend predictor. In 2011 big arts funding cuts happened here in the UK and my freelance work really started to dry up. Some other stuff was also happening in my life at that time so I ended up moving back to Dorset and getting a full time lecturer’s post at a uni here. I now teach at a local college which, on the whole, has a great sense of community but I miss working on some of the wonderful projects I’ve enjoyed (and sometimes endured) over the years. Happy to have these lovely memories and to still be working with young people every day 💙💚💛🧡❤️💜🖤 #cornyiknow #girlpower ✌🏻
