Roseanna Dias: Critical Friend  

Roseanna Dias is a freelance creative producer, curator and critical researcher with organisations like Rising Arts Agency, Gentle/Radical, Creative Clusters and others. Roseanna is interested in creativity, social change and community, with a focus on film, media, digital tech and supporting young creatives. 

As a Critical Friend, Roseanna supported the Come Together cohort of commissioned artists to develop their projects and grow their practice, as well as facilitating invaluable evaluation sessions for the project team throughout. She also contributed to the Weekender Programme through a new in-conversation with Euella Jackson. Listen to ‘Resourcing Rest’ here.

“By reflecting throughout and being able to have honest conversations – it helped us identify and respond to some of the challenges and conflict in a timely way  – directly impacting the project as it developed”

Roseanna Dias  

Claudia Collins: Community Critical Friend 

Claudia Collins is a Bristol-born community artist. She currently works as Creative Engagement producer at Filwood Fantastic and as a Workshop Facilitator at Redcatch Community Garden. She also run Brislexic, a space to create open conversations about neurodiversity and to celebrate the strengths and skills and that can come with it. 

As a Community Critical Friend, Claudia supported the artists to connect with local Knowle West groups and residents. She helped build bridges and forge pathways for the longer term legacy of projects in the areas.

“It’s the ripples that emerge from these kinds of projects that is so special. Seeing the way so many local community projects have been so accepting and willing to give time and care to collaborating and forming new connections has been great”

Claudia Collins 

John Kelly: Creative Access Critical Friend  

John Kelly is a Disability and Human Rights Campaigner and a self-taught musician and singer/songwriter. He is also a youth worker and a qualified facilitator who works with many different organisations to develop creative & inclusive practice.  

As a Creative Access Critical Friend, John worked with KWMC to develop workshops and thinking around how access can be embedded into any project as part of the creative inspiration, not as an afterthought. Find out more in the ‘Inclusive Hybrid Spaces’ workshop which John facilitated with KWMC.

“We know we live in an unjust and unequal world – how do we challenge and recreate  things?”

“It is so important to make sure we don’t just go back to ‘normal’ – to keep experimenting and working – not loosing the learnings of new ways to connect through the pandemic”

John Kelly

Onion Collective: National Partner 

Onion Collective is a social enterprise working to tackle social, cultural and environmental injustice in their hometown of Watchet. They deliver wide-reaching and ambitious regeneration projects that are holistic in nature, benefiting people and planet. They aim to create purposeful and interesting jobs, build local economic resilience, widen cultural engagement and enhance aspiration. 

As a national partner on the project, working in a very different context to Bristol, they supported the cohort to develop and expand their ideas, as well as contributing to the Come Together Weekender programme with a workshop by Onion Collective associate Pheobe Tickell and a new in-conversation podcast ‘Conversation for Change‘.

Grizedale Arts: National Partner 

Grizedale Arts is a contemporary arts residency and commissioning agency sited in Grizedale Forest in the central Lake District in rural Northern England. Its focus is on developing emerging artists and producing experimental yet accessible projects that demonstrate the purpose and function of art as an everyday aspect of a worthwhile and productive life. 

As a national partner on the project, working in a very different context to Bristol, they supported the cohort to develop and expand their ideas, as well as contributing to the Weekender programme with a virtual Cook-a-Long led by Grizedale associate artist Motoko Fujita.

MAIA: National Partner

MAIA is an arts and social justice organisation, based in the West Midlands, UK and working worldwide. Their projects serve artists that the system doesn’t serve by designing and developing spaces, redistributing resources, and providing creative programming.  

As a national partner on the project, working in a very different context to Bristol, they supported the cohort to develop and expand their ideas, as well as contributing to the Weekender programme with a ‘Multi-Sensory Utopia’ workshop led by MAIA group member and artist Jae Tallawah.