Director of The Empty Space, Natalie Querol, tells us about the people who inspire her work, supporting artists in the North East.
Kate Horton
In the late 1990s I was an envelope stuffer and general assistant at Warwick Arts Centre when Kate Horton was Marketing Director. I learned a huge amount observing her work. She combined instinct with rigour, was endlessly charming and had a real passion for theatre. What influenced me most though was how she managed a team – I was on the lowest rung of the ladder but she always made me feel like a co-conspirator.
Tony Reekie
My first visit to Imaginate Festival changed everything I thought I understood about theatre. Watching shows by international companies including Carte Blanche and Teatret Gruppe 38, my love of visual theatre was born.
Tony has not only consistently brought the world’s best theatre for children and young people to Scotland’s theatres and community venues, he has pushed children’s theatre high up the cultural agenda. Under his leadership, Imaginate has created an environment in which artists can flourish. It is no wonder that Scottish children’s theatre is amongst the greatest in the world. Thanks to his passion and enthusiasm, Scottish artists recognise that children and young people are the most exciting audience and that making work for them is a privilege.
Caroline Routh
Caroline thinks the idea for us to set up The Empty Space together came about over a coffee in 2006. What she doesn’t know is that I had spent the past two years trying to find a way to convince her to work with me. I knew I couldn’t provide the support that artists in the North East so badly needed ten years ago without her. Caroline is passionate, loyal and cares deeply about artists. She is also logical, disciplined and has a singular ability to plot a course and make things happen.
Phelim McDermott
Devoted and Disgruntled has been and continues to be essential to the development of my practice. Whether it be the annual conference in London, D&D North East, a roadshow or satellite event, Devoted and Disgruntled is the place where I connect with my community, exchange ideas, debate, meet new people and take time to ask myself the big questions.
Phelim’s recognition of what Open Space Technology could do, and his determination to keep making Devoted and Disgruntled happen, is an inspiration. Also Shockheaded Peter remains one of my very favourite shows of all time. Its playfulness and dark joy had a major influence upon my understanding of theatre.
Frank Wilson, Phil Hargreaves, Sarah Shead, Jo Mackie, Andrew Smaje and Little Mighty
The Empty Space’s Associate Producers are an extraordinary bunch. They work with some of the most exciting artists in the North East, taking them across the UK and the globe as part of our ‘This Way Up’ programme. I have learned so much from them over the past eighteen months. I am constantly amazed by their energy, their canniness and their passion for the artists they work with. Each one embodies a spirit of independence and develops producer-artist relationships that are deeply collaborative.
North East Artist Development Network
I would love to claim that The Empty Space has been entirely responsible for changing the artist development landscape in the North East, but that isn’t even close to true. Over the last five or six years, venues across the region have worked collectively to make the North East a fantastic place for artists to live and work. From organising ‘Meet the Programmers’ events, which bring artists and programmers together twice a year, to providing funded residencies for emerging artists, and addressing the near impossibility of getting work reviewed this far north. NEADN demonstrates just what is possible when venues work together.
Most importantly, however, have been the many artists I have had the privilege to work alongside. I could have filled this entire piece with a list of their names, but I can’t pick out just a few. Suffice to say, they range from writers and actors to film makers and poets. Some are established and some are earlier in their careers. Some make work for stages, others work with young people in schools and workshops. They all care deeply about the audiences and participants that engage with their work. And they all combine boundless imagination and playfulness with intellectual rigour and generosity of spirit. They are all under-resourced.
Natalie Querol is Director of The Empty Space.
www.theemptyspace.org.uk
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