Di Robson's Gurus

Bruce Kirkland
New Zealand Students Arts Council (NZSAC) was the fun department of the NZ University Students Association. Bruce gave me my first job, as Assistant Director NZSAC. The two of us ran a huge annual national programme that included music, film, literature and theatre across the tertiary education campuses in NZ. From Bruce I learned to rethink and challenge the possibilities of form, artform and presentation
 

Cunning Stunts
Working with this extraordinary collective of women, who created formally challenging cross-discipline performance that delighted audiences across Europe, was a lesson in how to work close-up with creative and innovative people. Likewise with IMPACT Theatre Co-op. It made me acutely aware of the challenges the funding system presents for supporting and developing important emerging work and companies. I am not convinced that the system has sorted these challenges even now. Happily, when the members of these two companies went their own ways, almost all of them developed influential independent practices, but I still miss the companies’ work.

Lev Dodin
I am privileged that my work has enabled me to work with inspirational and courageous artists and organisations around the world. I was fortunate in seeing The Maly Theatre’s ‘Stars in the Morning Sky’ in Moscow in 1987, and I invited them to Glasgow’s Mayfest where I was Artistic Director. Lev and his company were hugely committed artists who were making work of social and political significance within a regime which did not countenance dissent. I am in awe of the artists who take on the status quo, often at great personal cost, hoping to make their world (and ours) a better place.

Faith Singh
Faith set up the Jaipur Virasat Foundation (JVF) in Rajasthan to work with traditional artists to provide livelihoods through traditional arts and crafts. I worked as a consultant with JVF for three years, building programmes and events to this brief. There is little or no cultural infrastructure in India, and creating festivals and artworks is largely reliant on private patronage. Faith’s struggle is monumental, but several of JVF’s projects are now delivering on the original aims, including: the Jaipur Literature Festival, the Jaipur International Festival and the Rajasthan International Folk Festival in Jodhpur. She is a visionary who creates new models for the development and delivery of social regeneration through cultural practice.

Judith Knight and Gill Lloyd
Jude and Gill are peers, colleagues and friends. Artsadmin’s work is inspirational and a benchmark for all of us producing, supporting and promoting contemporary arts practice.