The RE:Present programme is an initiative delivered by Lara Ratnaraja and Creative Shift aimed at developing leadership in emergent and established cultural producers and artists from diverse backgrounds who are currently under-represented in Birmingham.
Ariane Koek
Tuesday 10 May 2016. 6-8pm, Aston Business School. Free.
Ariane Koek is an international strategic consultant curator and writer in arts science technology and arts residences. She created and initiated the first arts policy at CERN, the world’s largest particle physics laboratory. This is now embodied as the highly regarded Arts@CERN programme.
As the cradle of the World Wide Web and home of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), CERN is an eminent centre of science and technology with great relevance in the culture of today. As an international centre of excellence in these fields, CERN is an inspirational place for artists, designers and creators of any kind to explore and extend their research in the fascinating world of particle physics.
Prior to CERN, Ariane was Director of the Arvon Foundation for Creative Writing, and had an award-winning career as a BBC producer and director in both radio and television, working across arts, science and politics. In 2009 she was selected to be a Fellow on the prestigious Clore Fellowship, a highly regarded leadership programme in the cultural sector.
Francesca Martinez
Wednesday 8 June 2016, Aston Business School. Free.
Martinez is a comedian, writer and actress. Born with cerebral palsy, she refuses to accept the label of her condition, preferring to describe herself as ‘wobbly’. She was 14 when she got her first acting part playing Rachel Burns in Grange Hill, making her the first disabled person to get a major part in a children’s television series. Her no-holds-barred approach to disability has seen her celebrated on the comedy circuit for her biting brand of stand-up.