FIVE YEARS ago Artistic Directors of the Future (ADF) launched a revolutionary programme in partnership with Battersea Arts Centre and Bush Theatre to bring leadership diversity to London’s theatre sector.
There were times when I really couldn’t continue theatre
Tarek Iskander, BAC, Artistic Director
The initiative catapulted five extraordinary ADF members from ethnically diverse backgrounds into 18-month Artistic Director placements. The programme has been lauded for bringing new perspectives to current workforces and has since offered new narratives to the creative briefs they were given.
The careers of the participants were elevated and through their work they opened up theatre to new communities.
“I would never have this job if it wasn’t for ADF,” Tarek Iskander, BAC, Artistic Director (Up Next 2017 participant) enthused.
Adding: “There were times when I really couldn’t continue theatre and it was the great community I had through ADF that made me feel there was still a place for me in this industry and I only got this job, partly through my relationship with BAC, and the Up Next programme.”
Next month Artistic Directors of the Future (ADF) and Strike a Light (Gloucester) are partnering to offer a one-year senior level placement as an Up Next Executive Director.
Strike a Light’s Executive Director, Christina Poulton, will take leave for one year and during this period the successful ADF Member will step into Christina’s shoes.
Working alongside the co-Artistic Directors, Emma-Jane Benning and Sarah Blowers, they will drive the strategic and creative direction of the organisation, leading on planning, finance and organisational development.
Organisers have said the Up Next Executive Director will have the space to spread their wings and come into their own with genuine power and resources.
Together ADF and Strike a Light have set their intention to bring fresh perspectives and new and diverse stories to audiences in Gloucester and beyond.
For further information about ‘Up Next 2021’ ADF and Strike A Light 1 year Executive Directorship Placement, log on to Artistic Directors of the Future website https://adofthefuture.com/up-next-executive-directors/
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