Artistic Director of Jacksons Lane, Adrian Berry names those who have inspired him throughout his career.
Alison Duthie
Before Kings College Institute and the ROH, Alison was the Director of The Bull Theatre in Barnet. When we were asked to set up artsdepot I took over the reins at The Bull where I had been Education Manager. This was my first experience of running a venue, which was both thrilling and frightening. Alison supported and mentored me, and taught me skills I still use today. She is an inspirational curator and leader, as well as a great friend and continues to support me to this day.
Dr Philip Shaw
One of the youngest professors in the country, Phil lectures at Leicester University in English Literature and Romanticism, and is my literal life guru. He came to live with me and my mum when I was 14. I hungrily learnt from him about art, music and literature – things that had been beyond my grasp at my comprehensive school. Exposure to Burroughs and the Beat poets, the avant-garde and The Velvet Underground steered my creativity in many diverse directions. I learnt to experiment with and question culture, in later years using this grounding to delve deeper into what it means to be an artistic leader. We play together in the band Alberteen as well, and he's one of the greatest front men ever.
Leila Jones
Leila is Circus Producer at The Roundhouse, and the way she has developed and pushed the programme at a national and international level has been wondrous and unprecedented within British circus. We meet regularly for coffee in London Fields to share programme ideas, discuss collaborations and make ambitious plans. She listens objectively, makes me question myself and offers me options beyond my normal thinking. A venue on the scale of The Roundhouse could easily be conservative, but it never is, and Leila is a vital cog and inspiration within the breadth of all they do. Jacksons Lane feeds work into the Roundhouse throughout the year and I value the opportunities that arise through her openness and ambition.
Tony Wilson (Anthony H Wilson)
Tony Wilson signed a statement in blood which said ‘The artists own everything, we own nowt’ essentially, which was framed and hung in the boardroom of his record company Factory Records. He signed and supported working class geniuses like Joy Division and John Cooper Clarke, and gave them total control over their own finances and creativity, which would never happen today. He demonstrated that creative anarchy can also be a true force when handled correctly. I got into the arts because of people like Wilson – those who fly in the face of conservatism and take huge risks, which are always about the work and never about the money. I spent a brief time running a commercial music venue in the West End that made me depressed in its approach. I thought one day: ‘What would Tony Wilson do?’. I walked out.
Rita Smith
My mum. She read Wilde and Dickens to me, shared her fascination with Samuel Pepys' London – which was the reason I ran here, Dick Whittington style, without a penny to my name at the age of 22. She was the inspiration for my love of words and appreciation of art, and supported me throughout my career. When she passed away I received a box with her diaries, some books and every postcard and cutting I had ever sent her about my life and travels. It was a wondrous gift to receive and reminded me how important she was and remains to be.
Adrian Berry is Artistic Director of Jacksons Lane, the multi-arts venue in Highgate, north London.
www.jacksonslane.org.uk
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