Why is the organisation called Multistory?

Multistory in the sense that it’s multi vocal. It’s platforming many different stories rather than the dominant one by inviting a lot of different people to participate in projects. Multistory is an arts organisation that aims to challenge the barriers to arts participation, in particular socio-economic barriers. Traditionally, white, middle- and upper-class narratives and experience are centred in art and culture, and our work is about challenging that. We recently curated a programme in collaboration with Sandwell Visually Impaired and a photographer called Karen Visser, which is all about challenging perspectives around sight loss and pushing the boundaries on accessibility and the arts. Currently we’re collaborating with Don’t Settle on a programme for young curators from racially minoritised backgrounds and they are producing an exhibition and public programme that reinterprets Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery’s collections.

Can you tell me about a project that you think was particularly successful in terms of what you think success is of course?

We delivered our first festival in 2019, called Blast! Festival, and it was funded by Arts Council England’s Ambition for Excellence, which is a fund that invites arts organisations to contribute to the development of strong cultural places and highlight artistic work internationally. The festival ran for six weeks across the six towns of Sandwell, which is the area we’re working in. The work displayed at the festival was developed over the period of a couple of years by socially engaged artists in collaboration with local communities, and was shown through exhibitions, workshops, film screenings, walks, social events and performances. It was a really joyful celebration of Sandwell, and highlighted the issues that are important to local people. It was brilliant to have different public spaces occupied in these exciting ways. The programme took place in libraries, community halls, streets and pubs, becoming a part of the fabric of the local community rather than taking place in traditional arts spaces or contexts.

Is that a choice not to operate through a space?

It’s partly because of the lack of spaces in the local area. But even if we had a space where we could show work, our priority would be to continue embedding our programme within community spaces. 

What do you think are the challenges of working with artists and communities?

One of the challenges is how to practice care as an organisation with sometimes limited funding, and having to work within tight timeframes. Larger institutions often end up needing to do short term community engaged work where they are required to push people into a mould in order to meet certain outputs, rather than having the flexibility to create slower, long-term projects where the people involved feel they have an ownership over the space or over the creative work that’s been produced. Working in a slow and caring way is important to us, and so committing to funding is a constant process of reflection, especially because we are a very small organisation with limited capacity. We give long term commissions – some as long as two years – to artists, and work on long term programmes in partnership with local communities. Each time we design programmes and apply for funding, we ask ourselves, are we going to be able to deliver this in the right way, and sometimes it’s not possible so we need to pass up on that opportunity.

Does the local community come to you with proposals and ideas?

The organisation has been based in the local area for 16 years now. There’s a network of community groups that we are very strongly connected with, and they do come to us with proposals for partnerships. Also, local artists come to us saying, I’ve got this idea, could you help me realise it? We’re working on many different levels with long term commissions, artist development programmes, complex partnerships, and then also just thinking about how we can support local artists and community groups to develop projects where we have the capacity and funds.

Do you commission projects to artists or do you publish open calls?

A mix of everything:  research, attending events and seeing what’s going on, who’s doing what, but also call outs to make programming more democratic. Finding a balance between local artists and artists from further afield is really important. 

What would you suggest to a young artist who’s looking to work with you?

I would say, come join the Blast Creative Network (our free artist development programme), because we’re able to offer opportunities to members, including commissions, residencies and a yearly round of bursaries. The BCN also offers local artists and creatives an annual programme of talks, workshops, reading groups, discussions and social events, and we aim for it to be a space for mutual support, learning and knowledge sharing. Through the BCN, we get to know emerging artists and see what they’re looking for in their career and how we can best support their practice.

What do you think emerging artists need the most?

Emerging artists need money, accessible opportunities as well as access to equipment and studio space! I think it’s every arts institution’s responsibility to nurture the next generation of artists, and to offer opportunities to artists and creatives who haven’t had access to any before.

Advice for emerging artists would be, join some sort of network, it offers you the space to meet other artists, and if you’re not in formal arts education, it can be difficult to build a network of peers. Having peers to support you and who you can collaborate with is important to develop your practice, and to give you feedback on work in progress. Also, attend lots of professional development talks and workshops: information like how to apply for opportunities and get projects funded sometimes get left out in arts education, and it’s not something you can just learn to do on your own! Seek out mentorship by people you respect and don’t be afraid to ask questions – you can simply reach out by sending them an email and most people will be happy to help in some way.

What changes would you like to see in this field, that could potentially improve your work?

More funding for accessibility would be really important and funding in general, or opportunities for organisations to give money to emerging artists with a focus on development, rather than requiring them to produce something. So, more funding for emerging artists to undertake research or develop their practice. And also, funding application forms need to be radically revised, because for someone who has never applied for anything before or who has access requirements, it’s completely inaccessible.

Do you apply only to Arts Council or you also look outside of the arts?

Our core funders are Arts Council England and Sandwell Council, and more recently we are delivering a programme funded by Historic England, and we have received funding from SCVO to make the Blast Creative Network fully accessible. There are lots of places to look for match funding outside of arts funding streams, but it changes from project to project!

ID: Pop Up Poetry – Phillip Parnell Photography