Luke Pell & Anya Sirina join The Work Room!
The beginning of 2023 has seen some welcome additions to The Work Room team with both Luke Pell and Anya Sirina joining us in different capacities.
Thanks to the Cultural Recovery Funding we received from Creative Scotland in 2022, Luke is joining us on a one-year fixed term post as Artist Support Programme Facilitator. In this role, Luke will lead on our work in artist support, engaging with our members to develop approaches to building a sustainable environment for independent dance artists.
Anya has joined us on placement through a Federation of Scottish Theatre bursary for the next six months. The placement is focused on developing creative producing skills and she will be supporting our Artist Residency programme along with two international projects.
Luke & Anya will both be with The Work Room in part-time capacities, while continuing their work as artists. Here is a bit more about what they will be up to:
Luke Pell
Luke has been working with other artists and dance organisations to create performance; think through practice and navigate processes of change for over twenty years.
A maker, curator, dramaturg and facilitator, based in Edinburgh, they have primarily worked with dance and choreographic artists - at home and internationally - whose practices, values and lived experiences have been marginalised and/or question dominant norms.
Luke brings a mosaic of experience – via working as dramaturg, associate producer and peer mentor, alongside making their own artworks – in collaborating with artists to cultivate the best conditions for the kinds of work they want to make; following the pathways they want to pursue, on their own terms and rhythms.
As part of the role with The Work Room Luke will be available to support artists prior to, during and after their residencies, as well as working with the rest of the team on distinct projects and events throughout 2023.
If you’re interested in the kinds of artists, organisations, ideas and projects Luke has been involved in previously you can read more here.
Anya Sirina
In her placement, Anya will be working across two strands of our work, local and international.
Anya is working on our Spring/Summer 2023 Artists in Residence and will support with organising sharings or other activities artists may be interested in during their residencies.
She will also assist on the development of two of The Work Room’s international partnership projects this year; CROWD - international dance exchange programme, led by the Goethe Institute programme and the Kedja network.
Anya will work alongside TWR to input ideas on how to creatively sustain and nurture these connections and feed in ideas of what TWR might be able to host through their networks and resources.
Looking forward to developing her skills over the next six months, Anya commented:
“This placement will allow me to create local and international connections with other artists, practice new ways of supporting artists in their creative projects and contribute to the sense of community within the membership through my communication and support. I’m excited to gain insight into ways of sustaining international partnerships from an artist-led organisation’s standpoint.”
More info about the FST bursary can be found here.
