Wrapping The First Week Of SELFestival – The Whole of Week One is Done!

It is officially the end of the first week of the SELFestival! We have had an incredible week of insightful, caring, and thought-provoking speakers. Sessions emerged throughout the week revealing themes around power and holding space for the people and community in your organisation or industry. We have discussed the importance of creating spaces of visibility, understanding that language and words are the first steps towards access and change.

Today we welcomed Drew McOnie in the morning session and he used his creative storytelling talents to interweave powerful lessons of kindness and humility. He showed us that true leadership means leading everyone, and that translates into the capacity to understand and see each person that touches the work you do. Whether that is those directly working on the production, the partner of a stagehand, or if it is the children of a colleague, understanding the space people need to live in the creative and performing arts is how to create better and more poignant, nuanced work.

This bound beautifully with our afternoon session with Jessica Allen, who spoke about what it means to lead or be a voice of authority, and the importance of taking a step back when necessary. The conversation conveyed how sometimes in leadership, the best way forward is to invite people to take ownership and responsibility of how they design the world within themselves to be responsive and responsible for everyone. It also emphasised the need for active listening and the importance of interrogating what we think we know.