Thinker, teacher, facilitator, connector, provocateur and critical friend.
Recent thought piece Care as a Radical Act
Background
I am a creative consultant and practitioner working across a range of sectors: currently have Fellowship to undertake Phd by Prior publication at Dublin Technological University. For the last 12 years I was also Director of the MA in Participatory and Community Arts at Goldsmiths but am now working outside the academy to develop alternative models of learning to formal Higher Education. All my work is informed by a passionate commitment to the possibility for everyone, no matter what their class, education or cultural background, to engage with the making, sharing and enjoyment of the arts. My own inter-cultural background contributes to my on-going engagement with exploring the wider role of arts and culture within our society: particularly in periods of social, economic and political change. My original degree was in English Language and Literature, with subsidiary studies in Philosophy. My Literature tutor was the poet, Tony Harrison, my Philosophy lecturer Mary Midgely: both had a seminal influence on my commitment to a more equal and just society. A Post-Graduate Certificate in Drama with Dorothy Heathcote followed by a number of years teaching in London and then an ACSD at Central School of Speech and Drama in Theatre for Young People cemented my conviction that the arts and culture had a central place to play in bringing this about.
I am a creative consultant and practitioner working across a range of sectors: currently have Fellowship to undertake Phd by Prior publication at Dublin Technological University. For the last 12 years I was also Director of the MA in Participatory and Community Arts at Goldsmiths but am now working outside the academy to develop alternative models of learning to formal Higher Education. All my work is informed by a passionate commitment to the possibility for everyone, no matter what their class, education or cultural background, to engage with the making, sharing and enjoyment of the arts. My own inter-cultural background contributes to my on-going engagement with exploring the wider role of arts and culture within our society: particularly in periods of social, economic and political change. My original degree was in English Language and Literature, with subsidiary studies in Philosophy. My Literature tutor was the poet, Tony Harrison, my Philosophy lecturer Mary Midgely: both had a seminal influence on my commitment to a more equal and just society. A Post-Graduate Certificate in Drama with Dorothy Heathcote followed by a number of years teaching in London and then an ACSD at Central School of Speech and Drama in Theatre for Young People cemented my conviction that the arts and culture had a central place to play in bringing this about.
Experience
I then worked for a number of years as a writer, director and teacher in Drama and Theatre in Education, running the first integrated TIE Company: Visible Theatre. A Churchill Fellowship in 1990, to explore the impact of the arts and culture on Central and Eastern Europe post 1989, led to a long-term partnership with Jenny Harris, then Director of Education at the National Theatre. For the next 10 years, working as Senior Associate at the National, much of my work focused on Central, Southern & Eastern Europe (inc. Russia) creating cultural networks and initiating and leading cultural development programmes with the support of the EU, the Open Society Foundation, the European Cultural Foundation and the King Baudouin Foundation amongst others. These initiatives led to further collaborations with partners across Europe inc. Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, Greece, Portugal, Austria, Belgium and France looking particularly at the role of the artist in society and in developing and delivering programmes focused on artists and cultural organisations wanting to work in more participatory contexts. Alongside running these programmes I was also undertaking artist trainings with colleagues in Uganda, Palestine and Turkey as well as on-going training and workshop programmes in Japan.
I then worked for a number of years as a writer, director and teacher in Drama and Theatre in Education, running the first integrated TIE Company: Visible Theatre. A Churchill Fellowship in 1990, to explore the impact of the arts and culture on Central and Eastern Europe post 1989, led to a long-term partnership with Jenny Harris, then Director of Education at the National Theatre. For the next 10 years, working as Senior Associate at the National, much of my work focused on Central, Southern & Eastern Europe (inc. Russia) creating cultural networks and initiating and leading cultural development programmes with the support of the EU, the Open Society Foundation, the European Cultural Foundation and the King Baudouin Foundation amongst others. These initiatives led to further collaborations with partners across Europe inc. Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, Greece, Portugal, Austria, Belgium and France looking particularly at the role of the artist in society and in developing and delivering programmes focused on artists and cultural organisations wanting to work in more participatory contexts. Alongside running these programmes I was also undertaking artist trainings with colleagues in Uganda, Palestine and Turkey as well as on-going training and workshop programmes in Japan.
Expertise
Over the past twenty years I have instigated and lead a number of strategic Europe-wide programmes for artists, creative producers, curators and cultural operators from all disciplines; especially in the context of trans-national working, inter-cultural dialogue and participation. Outside the arts and culture sector, I have also drawn on my belief that particularly effective learning happens through and with the arts to set up programmes on leadership, communication and work based well-being. More recently, taking on the role of evaluator and critical friend to the projects of others, I have realised how much all this work is informed by the creative approaches that have always been central to my practice. I have also begun to take this expertise into my commitment to developing a number of cross-generational projects, mentorship opportunities and creating legacy, particularly with women working in the arts and culture.I write and speak regularly on the arts, culture and participation. I also write poetry and have recently begun to re-engage in my own arts practice: leading participatory projects and curating arts and cultural events. You can find a fuller c.v. here
Over the past twenty years I have instigated and lead a number of strategic Europe-wide programmes for artists, creative producers, curators and cultural operators from all disciplines; especially in the context of trans-national working, inter-cultural dialogue and participation. Outside the arts and culture sector, I have also drawn on my belief that particularly effective learning happens through and with the arts to set up programmes on leadership, communication and work based well-being. More recently, taking on the role of evaluator and critical friend to the projects of others, I have realised how much all this work is informed by the creative approaches that have always been central to my practice. I have also begun to take this expertise into my commitment to developing a number of cross-generational projects, mentorship opportunities and creating legacy, particularly with women working in the arts and culture.I write and speak regularly on the arts, culture and participation. I also write poetry and have recently begun to re-engage in my own arts practice: leading participatory projects and curating arts and cultural events. You can find a fuller c.v. here
Chrissie Tiller 