It’s time for our monthly check in with our Resident Artists Daisy Higman and Ysabelle Wombwell. Let’s find out what they’ve been up to in September!
Hey Ysabelle, can you tell us updates about your project / workshops?
I’ve now filmed 3 interviews for my documentary on Disabled live performance artists. These were with Jess Thom, Sarah Adedeji and Sally Currie. I’ve also had some meetings with potential collaborators for my creative project.
What do you have planned for next month?
I’ve got two more interviews to film, then that will go edit, and for the rest of the month I’m going to be focusing on writing a piece around Personal sustainability.
What have you learned so far?
I’ve learnt that interviewing people is really fun and enlightening, and I’ve learnt a lot more about these performance artists, which has been so interesting.
What has been a highlight over the past month?
My highlight has definitely been doing the interviews and hearing their stories.
Hi Daisy, can you tell us updates about your project / workshops?
The very exciting news is that we have now selected the DM Emergent Artists! This month I worked with the other members of the selection panel as we sifted through over 40 applications. There were so many incredible artists – it was a real challenge to pick just three (much coffee was consumed on my end!).
I’ve been taking some time to co-ordinate my creative project, which will kick off in November with a research and development week at the Barbican Theatre Plymouth. I’ve been lining up collaborators, scoping out recording studios and generally plotting.
What do you have planned for next month?
I have my first meeting with this year’s Emergent cohort, where I’ll be getting to know them a bit better. I’m interested in finding out more about the work they make and the things they’d like to talk about in our joint mentoring sessions.
We also have the first of our Open House sessions for members of the DM Collective, so I’ll be preparing for that. And there’s lots more to organise before my R&D!
What have you learned so far?
I’ve never sat on a selection panel before and I had no idea how hard it would be to pick someone! I’ve been on the other side of things plenty of times as a freelance artist, so I know how nerve-wracking it can be applying for opportunities. Now that I’ve seen how hard it is to choose when you’re presented with lots of brilliant applications, it makes me feel a bit better about all the opportunities I didn’t get in the past.
We’ve done a lot of thinking since about how to make the application and selection process more accessible going forward.
What has been a highlight over the past month?
Working with the other panelists, who are both incredible musicians, and listening to the work of all the different artists who applied.
