Flexibility, faith, risk and diversity as inclusion

Two very different speakers and sets of experiences in the SELFestival today.

Robin Braum, co-founder of Squareglass and Head of Label Management at !K7 Music talked through the experiences he has gained as an artist, label owner and now employee at a label. All of his work has been characterised through his approaches to collaboration, being open to being wrong and surprised. Reflecting on the need to be patient, he also was clear that things never felt static. He spoke about how he built relationships with listeners, developing the authentic connections that would lead to more sustainable practices being possible. The need to be respectful to music forms, creators and how to acknowledge the inputs from inspiration to sampling.

Deborah Williams also gave her insights from being an artist, cultural leader, venue manager and now lead of Creative Diversity Network which exists to enable the UK Broadcasting industry to increase diversity and inspire inclusion. She spoke about the various ways she engaged people in the broader vision and mission to achieve the aims of a more diverse creative sector. She showed in her way of listening to us that she sincerely valued everyone’s experiences, the clarity that once you have seen diversity you cannot unsee it, needing to listen to people to be an ally in the space. “Compassion – it frees you. Because I have responded to someone on their own terms.”