Although Talkaoke usually takes place in person, where anyone can sit down at a round table and be part of the conversation, this time The People Speak and Rich Mix held a series of discussions on Zoom whilst broadcasting out on Facebook Live. The topic of conversation?
How can the arts and cultural sector respond to the needs of their communities?
Initially planned to be a one-off event, by the end of the first free-form two-hour session in May, we realised there was still plenty more ground to cover, and so we planned in a follow up for June, and then a third instalment in July made this collaboration into a series. As lockdown begins to lift, we decided to summarise the highlights of these vital discussions, effectively creating a snapshot of the many thoughts, provocations and ideas.
On Air
Certainly for people working in arts and culture, lockdown has been a time full of unanswered questions. Opening up the (virtual) floor to voice these was a powerful way of hearing from our partners, audiences and communities, when opportunities for connecting in-person could no longer take place.
We invited artists, cultural organisations, local service providers, audiences, and people from all corners of the community to join us, and suggestions came in all shapes and sizes. Suffice to say we had a lot of food for thought for the coming months. Sharing perspectives from the local and the global, the practical to the out-of-this-world… it all fed back into helping us remain focused on the task at hand: returning to our venues and centres with renewed purpose for a changed sector.
Whether you attended all of them and want a recap, missed one, or are reading this far into the future… here is a summary of what we achieved with this brilliant lockdown partnership.
Talkaoke Part I – Tuesday 5 May
Watch it in full:
Back in May, discussions focused on ensuring isolated groups could stay connected to the arts and culture during lockdown, especially those without access to streaming services. We looked at how creativity moved from schools to family settings, and where venues could meet their audiences, from site-specific work to outdoor arts – even in the streets. We covered the need for online and in-person cultural experiences that can cross-over, and how organisations can build in more support for artists when they return.
Rich Mix’s commentary from Talkaoke Part I
“It’s not just about waiting for the audiences to come to you – it’s about getting to your audiences… site-specific work, outdoor arts… let’s be creative about the way we make work”@thepeopletweet #Talkaoke
— Rich Mix (@RichMixLondon) May 5, 2020
Thank you! Yes that would be great. @thepeopletweet ? https://t.co/IOSexYz2d9
— Rich Mix (@RichMixLondon) May 5, 2020
Wild card suggestion: A drive-thru theatre
“Drive-thru cinemas have started to take off in Germany and the United States and whether we can think cleverly if we can have a drive-thru theatre.”
Inspiring takeaway: Emergency arts kits
“We might be stronger as a group after this than before, and have produced work we couldn’t have done otherwise.”
Talkaoke Part II – Tuesday 9 June
Watch it in full:
Twelve weeks into lockdown and Talkaoke returned to our digital stage with two more hours of free-form discussion. Inspired by Part I, the conversation jumped off from rethinking where creativity happens, and how. We thought about the notion of digital fatigue and how to be inclusive when dealing with a so-called digital divide for people that don’t have digital skills. This led to the idea of hybrid solutions, with programming designed for intergenerational audiences.
With the global Black Lives Matter protests taking place at the start of June, talk turned to the lack of representation seen across the arts, and the misrepresentation of migrant communities. People asked if coronavirus is being used as an excuse to de-prioritise issues of race and climate change. We looked at how the civic role of venues and centres will likely become far more important post-lockdown, and that there should be increased sharing between buildings, artists, audiences and resources. With talk of government grants and provisions for the arts still ongoing, the discussion looked at how the sector needs more than ‘bailing out’ but, instead, an investment into the economic and mental wellbeing of society for the future.
Finally, a perspective from the arts industry in Uganda was that audiences have expanded, but monetising content to survive will be a different battle all together.
Rich Mix’s commentary from Talkaoke Part II
“Should we all be thinking about delivering programmes outdoors, socially distant? Do people feel safe enough?” #Talkaoke
— Rich Mix (@RichMixLondon) June 9, 2020
“Do indoor gatherings have a role to play in coming months?”
Ideas around a series of short events, multi-venue events so audiences move between, and events which are live-streamed at the same time.#Talkaoke
— Rich Mix (@RichMixLondon) June 9, 2020
Wild card suggestion: to establish a universal basic income for artists and creatives.
Inspiring takeaway: increasing the civic duty of arts centres post-coronavirus lockdown.
“What about increased sharing between venues – audiences, resources, buildings.”#Talkaoke
— Rich Mix (@RichMixLondon) June 9, 2020
How has the role of our buildings changed? “When we do creative activities, is the purpose of art of bringing people into a building, or is it the accessibility to that art?”
Talkaoke Part III – Tuesday 3 July
Watch it in full:
For our final Talkaoke session with The People Speak (for now), the government’s £1.5 billion support package for the arts was a hot topic, and then on to the idea that there could be a basic universal income for artists and creative people. In rethinking how arts venues and centres could serve their communities, the conversation turned to the idea of repurposing them as ‘neutral spaces’ to meet without culture.
Now a good 4 months into life under lockdown, concerns over Zoom-fatigue were made clear, as well as the risk of the barriers coming back up for people to be engaging with the arts.
Wild card suggestion: To give everyone a culture voucher as lockdown lifts.
Inspiring takeaway: How the arts support so many other areas of life in 2020
Should there be a universal basic income for artists and creative people?#Talkaoke
— Rich Mix (@RichMixLondon) July 7, 2020
Rich Mix’s commentary from Talkaoke Part III
“Participants outside of London have said they never would have had the resources (either the time or the money) to come to one or two hour events in London, and this lockdown has given more equity in what people can do in big cities and in their regions.”
And now… time to reflect!
While life as we know it evolves to a “new normal”, in this mid-point of the year, we are living through an interesting time: half submerged in lockdown habits, half with the view to leave them all behind. Many of our experiences from this time will soon seem very surreal.
One positive of lockdown has been that the arts and cultural sector has had a chance to re-evaluate every aspect of what it offers to audiences and communities. Now, as we begin to make plans to reopen, we hope these memorable Talkaoke discussions will be fresh in all our minds.
Huge thank you to our collaborators The People Speak whose innovative Talkaoke format allowed us all to harness our creative imagination during a time when we needed it the most. They continue to host Talkaokes in many contexts; see their upcoming events on their website.
Image credit: Talkaoke x Rich Mix graphics by Ricardo Sleiman.
About The People Speak
We are an East London-based creative collective of international artists, academics and arts practitioners. We use performance art, multi-media and technology to stimulate discussion, ideas, and actions in interactive and fun environments. We toured around the world – from Festival of Genomics (Boston, US) to APACA National Conference (Sydney, AUS). We worked with every Tate gallery, The National Theatre, Royal Opera House, V&A, Science Museum, Natural History Museum, Channel 4, most of the London Universities and local authorities. Our formats include The Slice Is Right – a pizza making under various political conditions, Segue – instant film-making factory, Who Wants To Be…? – direct democracy game show, One Night Grandstand – stadium in a suitcase and the flagship pop-up talk show Talkaoke.
Had some final thoughts of your own on the discussions? Or want to add a wild card idea to the mix? Let us know – tweet @thepeopletweet and @richmixlondon to tell us what’s on your mind.
