Arts Consultancy Brief
PYA England is the English branch of ASSITEJ UK, the National Centre for the UK and the gateway for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and England to ASSITEJ International. It is made up of over 70 professionals (individuals & organisations) who make work for young audiences. It promotes ASSITEJ opportunities and aims to connect artists in the UK with artists abroad. The pillars of ASSITEJ UK are internationalism, professional/talent development, and advocacy.
We celebrate excellence in the performing arts for young audiences, whilst promoting and protecting PYA across the UK, advancing the growth of the industry so that it can enrich and nourish both the artists making the work and young people’s experience of the world through live performance.
PYA England is led by a voluntary steering group.
THE BRIEF
PYA England are looking for a Consultant to help build a new structure for the development of performance for children and young audiences. The process will explore the potential for:
– internationalism
– talent development and diversification
– advocacy and showcasing.
Context
PYA England recently undertook a scoping exercise led by Lim Associates to explore the viability of a national/international showcase or festival of work for young audiences in the North of England. A copy of the summary report is available here. The full report is available on request.
Whilst some of the context may have changed since the report was written, the ambition of PYA England has not changed. This new piece of work may include some additional scoping of the current state of the sector but should be clear on how it will move to action and the practical delivery of outcomes/outputs.
The next step will be capacity building and partnership development activity with the aim of creating effective structures to develop the 3 pillars of internationalism, talent development and advocacy.
PYA England are looking for an individual (or Job Share approach) who will lead this process.
The activity will include:
-Bringing together a group of at least 5 expert sector partners to explore the partnership model outlined in the scoping report; some partners have already been approached and have expressed an interest in taking part.
-Developing consortium infrastructure such as a partnership agreement and a framework for delivery.
-Rigorously exploring the challenges and questions raised through the scoping report and subsequent ACE feedback.
– A health check of the current state of the sector in terms of relevance & viability.
– An interrogation with sector partners of how to meet the sector development aims:
1. Development of talent
2. Advocacy for & showcasing of home-grown work to national and international delegates
3. Commitment to improving diversification, inclusivity, and accessibility of the sector both through leadership and representation on stage.
The ideal candidate will manage committed sector partners to work collaboratively
to achieve a successful outcome.
Project Timeline
Closing date for responses
5pm Friday 26 July
Interviews
Thurs 5th (pm) & Friday 6th September
Budget
A budget of up to £11,500 is available for the work to include fees, expenses, and VAT.
An additional £1500 is available as an Access Fund
Timescale
It is proposed that the work is delivered between Oct 2024 and July 2025.
Download, or listen to, the full job pack below