Nestival of Ideas
Nestival of Ideas is a series of interesting conversations with interesting people – and part of our Nest 3rd Fridays Programme. The 2024 programme is:
17th May 2024: Rest: Necessity, Resistance or Privilege? – panel discussion exploring the notion of Rest as Resistance, but also considering the complexity of choice (and who has it) in relation to rest.
15th November 2024: Fair Pay: balancing creativity and wage labour – panel discussion exploring some of the complexities of fair pay for artists’ work.
Listen again to the 2023 series:
2. Inside or Out?
In this panel discussion we explore the relative merits and challenges of making change from a position inside or outside of an organisation or system with the help of our brilliant panel – Ola Animashawun, National Theatre Associate and Connections Dramaturg and the co-founder and Creative Director of the playwriting consultancy, Euphoric Ink; Laura Nyahuye, multi-disciplinary artist, storyteller, designer/maker, writer, curator, performer, changemaker and advocate and founder of Maokwo; and Hardish Virk, DJ, actor, director, producer, author and consultant. The chair is Janet Vaughan, Co-Artistic Director of Talking Birds.
Listen again to the discussion here:
Nestival of Ideas Ep. 5 Inside or Out? Where’s the best place to instigate change? – Talking Birds‘ Podcasts
1. War & Peace – can civic society make a difference?
When conflict strikes, ordinary citizens are often the first to suffer the consequences, and will continue to live with the legacy of war well beyond the conclusion of hostilities.
Reflecting on recent and current events, our panel – the Very Reverend John Witcombe, Dean of Coventry Cathedral; Laura Payne from the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University; and Dr Seyedeh Naseriniaki, founder of Chrysalis Craft, working with migrant communities – explore the role of citizens, acting both individually and collectively, to repair damaged communities and rebuild international bonds. The chair is Derek Nisbet, Co-Artistic Director of Talking Birds.
Listen again to the discussion here:
Nestival of Ideas Ep. 4 War & Peace – can civic society make a difference? – Talking Birds‘ Podcasts
Listen Again to the 2022 series:
3. My Place, My Art: the joys and pains of artist-led spaces
Until the creation of The Nest, our shared making space, Talking Birds was – like many arts organisations – peripatetic: taking up temporary residence to make work in meanwhile spaces, and often moving from place to place – in unheated, damp offices or lodging with friends. What are the different motivations for creating artist-led spaces/why do we do it? Are artists naturally drawn to collective working? Is it about power in numbers, making a new commons, sharing resources? Or are we doomed to be moved on when gentrification catches up with us?
In the third of our Nestival of Ideas conversation of this, our 30th Anniversary Nestival year, we unpick some of the myths and practicalities of artist-led spaces with the help of our brilliant panel: Julia Negus from Theatre Absolute and the Shop Front Theatre in Coventry, Sandra Hall from Friction Arts based at The Edge in Birmingham, Amahra Spence from Maia Group and Yard Art House in Birmingham, and Jon Wakeman from East Street Arts and the Art Hostel in Leeds. The discussion was chaired by Janet Vaughan, Co-Artistic Director of Talking Birds, who speaks first.
Nestival of Ideas Ep. 3 My Place, My Art. The joys and pains of artist-led spaces – Talking Birds‘ Podcasts
This Nestival of Ideas panel discussion was held at The Nest on 18th November 2022.
2. Green Revolution or Greenwashing? Can artists really change the world?
With the Climate Emergency having truly (finally) hit the mainstream, this panel discussion seeks to explore the impact art and artists can actually have on changing behaviour and combating the climate emergency. There’s a growing interest in making ‘green’ work, and increased funding available – but what are the funders’ motivations, and expectations? How do we spot virtue signalling or avoid our projects being derailed by others’ agendas? We’ve long been told that the arts are the best tool for awareness raising – but is this enough? When awareness is raised, how is action galvanised? Where do the arts go next?
On the panel: Farah Ahmed, Climate Justice Lead and Events Coordinator at Julie’s Bicycle; Amanda Roberts, Independent Producer, formerly Green Futures lead at Coventry 2021; and Mish Weaver, Artistic Director and originator of Parade of Horribles. The discussion was chaired by Janet Vaughan, Co-Artistic Director of Talking Birds, who speaks first.
Nestival of Ideas Ep. 2 – Green Revolution or Greenwashing – Talking Birds‘ Podcasts
This Nestival of Ideas panel discussion was held at The Nest on September 16th 2022.
1. Words into actions: Can artist-led manifestos create real change?
This Nestival of Ideas panel discussion was held at The Nest on March 18th 2022. Artists create manifestos as artworks, tools, provocations, rallying points, handbooks…. Just how effective are manifestos at creating change? And what can we do to make them more effective?
The panel features Zed Lawal, whose work includes the More Than A Moment Pledge for action with and for Black creatives; Dan Thompson, who most recently pulled together the Coventry Artists’ Manifesto for Access; and Derek Nisbet, Co-Artistic Director of Talking Birds, whose most famous manifesto is the Virtual Fringe. It was chaired by Philippa Cross.
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