Sounding Board – Talent spotting

A programme to support the most promising artistic endeavours in the East of England is bearing fruit. Aileen Muir explains.

Finding, supporting and investing in the best of a regions artistic work is one of Arts Council Englands key roles, and here in the East, our Escalator programme was set up with precisely this in mind. Launched in 2003, Escalator offers a range of bespoke development opportunities and some Lottery-funded financial support through the Grants for the Arts lottery programme to support artists to work in their chosen artforms and to encourage emerging talent.

Escalator is flexible, in that it works across different disciplines and yet remains responsive to individual artists needs. Constantly evolving, it now comprises eight complementary strands: East to Edinburgh, Visual arts, Performing arts, Music, Literature, International, Futures and Leadership. Professional arts organisations, industry partners, producers, curators, artists and promoters are all involved in co-ordinating its discrete programmes. Their expertise ensures that the support offered to artists is relevant and topical.

Escalator East to Edinburgh was the founding strand of the Escalator initiative in 2003, enabling a group of theatre companies and performers to take part in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It supports artists in finding venues and negotiating with them, providing access to networking opportunities, liaising with promoters and implementing practical marketing and PR. 2007 has been another great year for Escalator East to Edinburgh, involving 20 talented companies and artists. It expanded to include more live literature, dance and childrens theatre, responding to the ever-changing opportunities on offer at the Fringe. We also invited rising poetry superstar Luke Wright to host his very own Poetry Party. Featuring many of the UKs best performance poets, this was the first-ever dedicated poetry venue in 50 years of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Three of the Escalator East to Edinburgh shows were also selected for the 2007 British Council Showcase at the Fringe: NIEs The End of Everything Forever, Hoipolloi with Floating and the always-controversial Richard Dedominici for SuperJumbo. The Showcase attracted more than 200 leading international promoters from over 50 countries, providing a fantastic platform for these talented artists to raise their profile on a global stage.

Other strands of the Escalator programme have been equally successful, and we have many examples of artists and companies who have grown and developed through it. Escalator Music works across a number of genres to develop new work and reach new audiences. In 2006, Britten Sinfonia held a series of lunchtime concerts, funded by Escalator Music and broadcast by BBC Radio 3. The series featured four world premieres of new work, and its concerts have subsequently toured in Krakow, supported by Escalator International.

As a writer supported by Escalator Literature, Lorraine Mariner was able to publish her first collection of poetry. Such success in a notoriously competitive industry has led to the Poetry Trust inviting her to take part in their Schools Tour and read her work at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival.

Fashion designer Hannah Marshall has been supported by Escalator Visual Arts. She too has gone on to gain national recognition from the BBC and from Channel 4. She described the experience, saying, Escalator provided me with the crucial first step in developing my career, offering me fantastic opportunities to showcase my work and giving me the confidence to work alongside professionals in the field. Escalator Performing Arts has enabled critically acclaimed writer Fraser Grace to branch out in a new creative direction, taking creative risks and giving him time to collaborate with new partners to develop innovative musical theatre.

As well as supporting more established artists to work in their chosen artforms, Escalator also seeks out young, emerging talent. In 2006, Escalator Futures gave more than 50 talented young people the chance to develop their skills and gain vital work experience in the creative industries. One of them, Roger Parkins, said, I received professional mentoring and help throughout the course which meant that the work I produced for the final show was of an exceptional standard.

The most recent addition to Escalator has been Escalator Leadership. Still in its infancy, it has been designed to enable our regions cultural leaders to develop their skills and extend their networks. The aim is to equip the East of England with visionary, influential arts leaders who can help the regions arts infrastructure develop to meet the future needs of our growing and diverse population.

Weve all learned so much from this initiative, which is helping Arts Council to respond to artists needs, enabling them to help enrich our regions cultural life and work nationally and internationally. This is contributing significantly to a tangible shift in the creative aspirations of the East of England, which is now seen as a great place to live and to work. The benefits of Escalator really are win-win for everyone involved.

Aileen Muir is Head of Communications at Arts Council England, East.
t: 01223 454447;
w: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk