The Arts Development UK (AD:uk) 2013 Annual National Conference, Locally Sourced: Recipes for change in the arts, which takes place later this month in Birmingham, is putting a food related spin on professional development, networking and debate. It’s two-day programme (or rather ‘menu’) offers delegates sustenance in the form of ‘information takeaways’ and ‘food-for-thought briefings’.
A major feature of the second day’s programme will be the World Café forum, developed by conference artists in residence Sophie Cullinan and Sally Lemsford, working together as SSoCiaL. They have been invited to support and enhance the project, which was originally initiated by AD:uk in partnership with a-n.
The World Café will give artists, arts officers, organisations and freelancers a chance to discuss key issues and topics affecting arts development in the UK, through a ‘creative process for leading collaborative dialogue’. Delegates get to choose from a number of tables that each holds a question relevant to the overall theme of the conference, inviting them to engage in a conversation, share knowledge and identify new possibilities. As delegates move from table to table, the process will create what is described as a ‘living network of conversation on the issues that matter’.
“World Café will be a dynamic space, full of potentially surprising processes,” say SSoCiaL, who have been gathering research for the project via their a-n blog SAUCED. “We want people to engage in an alternative way – to come to the table with anticipation. And there will be something memorable for everyone to take away and metaphorically digest.”
Other conference programme highlights include: Bite Sized Information Sessions on creative partnerships, collaboration, commissioning and European funding programmes; Food for Thought Briefings on voluntary arts, creative industries and bridge organisations. Plus a taster session on the AD:uk Skills Bank Live project.
As part of their residency, SSoCiaL will also have a presence throughout the conference as a whole, and will be creating “a flurry of culinary activity” to produce “unique showstopper sauces” through interventions and interactions.
AD:uk 2013 Annual National Conference, Locally Sourced: Recipes for change in the arts, 28-29 November 2013, The Library of Birmingham, Birmingham. artsdevelopmentuk.org
