It's May....
It's May - the middle of Spring with summer coming next.
In May, flowers appear, trees have leaves and blossom - things grow!
Like in this photo - a flower growing in a pavement. Flowers will always find a place to grow! It makes me smile.
Lots of things make me smile at the moment - I have just become a grandmother - and that makes me smile too. I will try not to go on about it all the time.
So it's Spring, new life is everywhere - there are lots of new things to do, see and find.
New opportunities are out there too. We have to look out for them though - they can be easy to miss.
It's time for some spring cleaning. Think about everything you know about leading. Are you happy about what you know? Is it all useful to you - or are there still things you want to find out?
We have some new ideas for you this month, from people who were at the Sync Thinking day we had. These are all videos with subtitles. So get watching!
Learning disabled leaders
  We need to show what we can do (Mark Barber)
Learning disabled leaders can get missed out, but they have always been an important part of Sync.
Since we started we have worked with Jez Colborne, Sarah Gordy, Andy Kee, Charlotte Stephens, Jamie Stewart and many others.
At Sync Thinking it was the turn of Mark Barber to talk and we have a short video of Mark, talking with Nicole Thomson of Anjali and our own Sarah Pickthall.
Mark talks about leading and what's important to him - having the chance to learn and lead, and the opportunity to inspire others.
For Mark it is really important to be able to lead through what he does best, dancing, as well as to run workshops and talk to people about his job. Through his own dance, he can inspire others in a direct way - showing people what is possible, what they can do themselves.
To watch the video of Mark and Nicole...
Reaching for the prize
I was ready to hear a 'no'... (Caroline Cardus)
Another of our videos is of Caroline Cardus and Tony Heaton, Shape talking about daring to dream big.
Caroline is artist in residence at BALTIC - a big art gallery in Newcastle. She had to be chosen to do this - and lots of people wanted this opportunity.
Caroline spoke about applying for the opportunity - about being confident and deciding what she wanted to do.
She chose to really think hard about what she wanted to do. She wrote this all down in her application.
When she had sent in her application she sat back - and realised that she was 'ready to hear a 'no'.
It didn't matter to her if she didn't get the opportunity. She had done the best she could, and knew that she had written something that was true to what she wanted to do.
But she didn't get a 'no' - she got a 'yes'!
See Caroline Cardus and Tony Heaton's video here...
Learning to lead
So when Deepa applied to work with us again this time .... we jumped at the chance to employ her again - right person, right time ... (Tabitha Allum, StageText)
The third video is of Deepa Shastri and Tabitha Allum.
Deepa works at StageText and at Shape/ London 2012 working on the Unlimited Commissions programme.
This second job is a training one - made to help her learn to lead better.
Tabitha Allum, who runs StageText, was Deepa's boss before the training opportunity came up - and now she is her boss again! She talked about how Deepa had changed.
Their video is funny - Deepa has had interviews with Tabitha before - and Tabitha has said no to Deepa before too.
You'll have to watch the video yourself to find out why!
To watch Deepa Shastri and Tabitha Allum
Stretching out
Our final video is between Rachel Gadsden and Nikki Tomlinson of Arts Admin. Nikki has been working with Rachel on her successful idea for an Unlimited Commission from London 2012.
Rachel talks about having a hidden disability. She wants to speak up and be counted as a disabled person.
She also talks about the support that the Sync 'family' has given her.
To watch Rachel Gadsden and Nikki Tomlinson,,,
Pitch up!
Sync South East presents Pitch! Wednesday 15th June 2011, 10.30am – 5.00pm, The Stables in Milton Keynes
Before we go, I just wanted to let you know about a day on the 15th June.
It's run by Sync South East - a leadership development programme for disabled artists and arts workers in the south east of England. It’s part of Accentuate which is looking to create a big change around the way people see disability.
It's called Pitch! and is a great chance to meet everyone involved in the programme.
There will be 30 disabled artists and arts workers and 10 disability-specific organisations and projects all in one place – far too good an opportunity to miss! There will be performances, displays, discussions and debates – and plenty of time for introductions and networking.
We have lots of learning disabled artists there - Mark Barber, Charlie Stephens, Jamie Stewart, Freewheelers, Anjali and more.
You can find out more from our Facebook site (search for Pitch!)
The event is free but please let us know if you can make it by emailing [email protected]
See you again in June - hopefully at the Stables!
All the best
Jo Verrent
Sync Project Manager
To go to Sync South East's own site
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