Organisation artSites Birmingham
Title Director
How long in present post? Four years
t: 0121 440 5213
e: clare.edwards@artsites.org.uk
What does your organisation do?
artSites Birmingham makes the arts part of the everyday experience of local people, involving local people in the arts as audiences, participants and decision makers.
What does your job involve?
Managing the organisation ? leading the staff team, artistic direction, strategic development, fundraising and advocacy at regional, national and international level, and even negotiating IT contracts!
Who did you previously work for?
I was freelance for several years working for companies delivering community arts and audience development projects. Previous clients include City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Claire Russ Ensemble, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, QueerFest, Sound It Out Community Music, Birmingham Early Music Festival, BEAST, COMA and the Orchestra of the Swan.
What do you enjoy most about your present post?
Reaping the rewards of long-term relationships with communities and the visible effects of our work on people who discover the arts for the first time.
What do you find most difficult in your present post? Balancing the gap between what communities need (or what the funders think they need) and what communities want.
What is your career ambition?
At the moment it is to take artSites where it deserves to go and to succeed in balancing the demands of the job with my new role as a mother!
Who has influenced your career to date the most?
My music teacher, Martin Bates who opened up the world of music to me; and my current mentor, Dorothy Wilson through wise words!
If you could have done any job, what would it be?
Run a Restaurant serving exquisite food or a party/wedding planning service.
If you had three wishes for the future of the arts, what would they be?
? That we can prove the value of community-based arts activity for its own sake
? That all performances and exhibitions could offer free admission for all
? That artists remember that they came into the profession because it?s fun?