How to start/run an artist-lead space or network

It’s vital that people are able to work together and thereby increase their ability to have agency in the world.

Ed Rapley is a founder member of Residence in Bristol. An artist lead space he has also been co-running for the last 10 years. Recently interviewed by a phd candidate researching artist-lead spaces Ed was referred to as "the grand-father of artist lead spaces in the UK". 

Ed runs workshops that facilitate people to start their own new or part existing artist-led spaces/collective. 

A key value of Ed's is the belief in the importance of mutual aid as a means to support a life working in the arts.

Cirkus Syd will run a series of start your own artist-lead workshops in 2020 - starting with one in Lund, Sweden and one in Bristol, UK. If that isn't convenient for you and you'd like us to organise one in your city drop us a line. 

At the moment you can register intrest to attend, dates have not yet been set. You can register as an individual who is keen to learn more about self-organisation and governance - or you can register as a group who already have started or is keen to start organising yourself as a collective or space. 

This workshop is open to anyone working in the arts or culture/ or individuals from other sectors intrested to find out more about arts organisation/self-organisation. 

// Currently we are looking at possibilities of both moving these workshops online or moving them to 2021 (or both). The covid situation of travel and particularly the UK and Sweden adopting alternative approaches to other countries have make it impossible to coordinate these this year. Stay tuned - and join the mailing list to be the first to know when there is news. 

Hear what others said who came to a workshop: 

SINGLE END COLLECTIVE, GLASGOW:  Ed ran a workshop with us in Glasgow that allowed us to set up the Single End Collective, an artist led group that now share a rehearsal space and office in the Barras in the East of Glasgow. Ed’s workshop was crucial in giving us ideas, bringing us together as a community and giving us clear action going forward. I don’t think that we would exist as a group now without the generosity of Ed coming and leading this workshop and sharing all his experiences and expertise with us. The Single End Collective has had a home at the Barras for about 9 months now and is made up of about 15 artists with a wide variety of backgrounds from writers, musicians, live artists, producers, and theatre makers. Even though I think we are still and might always be working out how to be part of a collective and shared space. We do now have a sense of community and a place to go and make and create that is self sufficient, supportive and also fun to be a part of.’

– Ellie Dubois, elliedubois.org

CHAMP, BRISTOL:  Ed’s workshops have been fundamental to our progress from a collection of artists to a collective working in a shared space. He delivered two workshops for CHAMP at different stages of our progress. By using a process called ‘dreamer, maker, editor’, we focused on the challenges we faced and how to best navigate them. Having someone from outside our collective with previous experience of setting up and managing an artist-led space and community, has been invaluable and has provided us with the necessary tools for success.

Ed was great at facilitating our thinking. His methods allowed us to reveal the root causes of the problems we encountered and offered us new ways of thinking. Alternative concepts such as “do-ocracy” have had a positive effect on the way we manage and structure ourselves as a collective. Being able to see the bigger picture, means we can pull together as individuals towards a set goal. This makes us a stronger, more resilient and sustainable collective and community.

Overall, the workshops have inspired and challenged us. Ed’s approach has been inspirational and his positive attitude and willingness to help is an ethos that CHAMP inspires to. We’re very glad you’re here, CHAMP.