Artist development

Present

Leo Kay and Anna Smith have been mentoring artists in various ways over the last 10 years and recognize this as a rich element of their ongoing practices.

Leo has 25 years of experience as a performer, facilitator, director, and creator of various forms of performance, including spoken word, physical theatre, dance theatre, live art, socially engaged practice, and performance research. This experience enables him to support and think with other artists - of various disciplines - about their preoccupations, processes, and practices within these changing times.

Both Anna and Leo's mentoring processes are bespoke and created out of an ongoing exchange with the artist and continual consideration of their individual needs and objectives. The exchange can include dialogue in the form of questioning and listening practices and if asked for, advice. It can include boundary setting and discourse surrounding the difficulties associated with current collaborations. Anna's experience as a producer allows her insight into strategic planning and Leo’s process experience allows him, where invited, to include creative task setting, writing, and sharing of creative output.

Recent clients and ongoing mentees include: Ice9 (Tromso Norway), Block9 (UK) and Derby CAN and mentees include: Y? (NYC), Sebastian H-W, Eva Bakkeslett, fine art duo KeelerTornero, Lou Robbins, and Tim Casson.

 

 

 image by Ludger Storcks

 

current and recent mentees include:

Louisa Robbin
A multidisciplinary artist and writer, Louisa is intent on making art that explores the beauty in ritual and the self (self-care, self-harm, self-esteem). Their most recent work Tessellate is about forgiveness, going in circles and breaking bad habits. Louisa aims to invest in the development of artists and makers across multiple platforms with a focus on wellbeing, identity, and heritage.
Recent involvements with arts organisations include Shoreditch Town Hall (Tawala firsts 2019), The MAIA group co, Venice Biennale, The Marlborough Pub & Theatre, Wellcome Collection.

Image by Tom Chimiak

 

Sebastian H-W
Sebastian H-W (MX:UK) is a live artist based between London and the West Midlands whose work explores identity, memory, technology, interactivity and the body. He is currently engaged in an Arts Council England funded activity Chokolatul an interactive theatre performance about his bittersweet relationship to hot chocolate, and growing up mixed race in the UK.
www.sebastianhw.info // contact@sebastianhw.info

  

WhyNotShowLove
WhyNotShowLove is a multidisciplinary arts collective composed of Ony - Dj/Producer; Ayano - Singer Songwriter and Tastemaker; Cspin - Video Director/Cinematographer and Y? - Artist/Writer. Through our combined practices we aim to liberate ourselves and others from all forms of oppression.

"Shooter" is a multidisciplinary arts exhibition in its early stages of development, exploring the question "The Shooter or the Shot, who is the victim?”.  We aim to set research with young people who have experience of gun crime and members of New York's NYPD to explore the impact guns have on the physical and psychological space that we inhabit.
www.whynotshowlove.com
on instagram and twitter @whynotshowlove

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