Birkbeck Connects: Debate focuses on audiences and the reality of the arts in east London

24 September 2013

Leading figures from the arts discussed their work in the final event in the popular series

Leading figures from the arts in east London discussed how they cater for, and inspire, their audiences at the final event in the popular Birkbeck Connects series. They highlighted the high stakes, challenges and excitement of working in a diverse area where deprivation contributes to a low participation rate in cultural activities.

Ruth MacKenzie CBE, Former director of the Cultural Olympiad and curator of the London 2012 Festival, also suggested free entry to boost interest in the arts. She said: “One of the easiest ways to keep that sense of radical change, to be genuinely opening doors to new audiences, would be to try and extend the notion of free museums to other forms of art.”

The event at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in Stratford’s Cultural Quarter on 23 September was the third of three free events called Birkbeck Connects. The series was staged to celebrate the opening this autumn of University Square Stratford, a new state-of-the-art £33 million university campus shared by Birkbeck and the University of East London.

The evening began with an energetic and well-received performance by five young poets from the Theatre Royal’s Poets’ Platform (pictured, right). They recited their own work about public transport, romance, and other aspects of their lives.

Tricia King, Pro-Vice-Master for Student Experience at Birkbeck, then introduced Birkbeck’s unique model of evening higher education, the excitement about the new campus in Stratford, and how the College is strengthening links with artistic organisations in Stratford’s Cultural Quarter.

Understanding audiences

Henry Bonsu, the event’s moderator and Colourful Radio presenter, continued by asking each of the panellists about their audiences and how they cater for them.

Kerry Michael, Artistic director and chief executive of the Theatre Royal, described the political heritage of the Theatre Royal as “the people’s theatre” and how it caters for mainly working class people, local black and Asian communities, and is underpinned by the principle of advancing equality.

He emphasised that the “stakes are higher” than other areas in the capital with a middle class, regular theatre-going, audience because poverty in east London means that local communities do not visit the theatre as often and they want to enjoy themselves and be challenged when they do. Michael said: “That diversity and those challenges, we think, makes the most exciting work because actually if you can make work in that context it really can speak to the world.”

Similarly, Emma Underhill, Director and curator of public art organisation UP Projects, also referred to the context, saying that programming should have a “relevance” and be tailored to a local as well as a wider audience. However, she also acknowledged the difficulty of knowing exactly what the audience wants.

Jay Miller, Artistic director of The Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick, spoke about how the high concentration of artists and the industrial landscape in the surrounding area have fused to foster creativity. He sees his role as helping “inspire” the space within the theatre, rather than anticipating what audiences will want.

The blurred line between audiences and performers was raised by Rob Swain, Professor of Theatre Practice at Birkbeck. He described how the same people can often be both performers and members of the audience, and he mentioned the poets and dancers involved in Stratford Rising – a consortium of cultural providers, producers and educators – as an example. Professor Swain also highlighted the difficulties of short-term and “piecemeal funding” as this is not conducive to developing projects and conversations.

Likewise, Dr Ben Cranfield, Lecturer in Arts Management at Birkbeck, spoke about funding difficulties and the lack of opportunities to learn from mistakes. He said: “You can’t know the instant legacy of things. We are not able to think long-term. We have to think immediate term, and there are incredible problems with that. What I don’t necessarily agree with is that the best of things equals big names. Sometimes there is a sense that we need to connect to some idea of celebrity because that is our only guarantee instantly of excellence.”

Commissioning art

Sarah Weir OBE, Chief Executive of The Legacy List – a charity supporting social, cultural and physical regeneration of the Olympic Park and its surroundings – explained her decisions about public art. She commissioned art on permanent features of the Olympic Park, including bridges, underpasses and trees, to ensure their long-term impact, and focused on “art, design and utility” – the principles also associated with the Great Exhibition of 1851. Weir said: “Our strategy was to have art as part of the park, not added onto the park.”

Ruth MacKenzie CBE described how it was her job to choose work for the Cultural Olympiad, and how artists from every country taking part in the Olympics were involved. She acknowledged how commissioning work involved “risk” and that the outcome is dependent upon the response of the audience. She cited the example of Jeremy Deller’s inflatable and popular Stonehenge project to show how a risk she has taken has been successful.