Artist Circle FAQ’s

How much does it cost?

Nothing! 

The artist circle is completely free. A system will be set up in the first session where each month a different person will bring drinks and snacks for the group.

Who is the Facilitator? Will it be the same person every week?

Artist Circles will be facilitated by Emily O’Shea each month. 

Emily is an experienced facilitator and artist. She has facilitated programmes in arts, leadership, personal and professional development. In addition to her role as Co-Managing Director of Dance London from 2014-2016, she has worked with Move The World, Jump! Foundation, Lululemon as a freelance facilitator. Emily is also a trained coach and works one to one with clients. 

‘I am very excited to start up and lead the artists’ circles in the North West and hope the initiative grows with new facilitators in the future.’

How many people will be in each session?

We like to keep groups small and intimate with between 8 and 12 members in each circle. 

Should a circle be oversubscribed, another one will be set up! 

Will it be the same group every month?

Yes. 

Once an artist circle has been formed you will meet with the same artists each month for 12 months. This supports the relationship development within the group as well as trust and security. 

What if I can’t make a session?

That is ok. 

We do ask for your commitment to the circle for 12 months (the dates will be given to you in advance), however we also understand that life happens. Our hope is that you won’t miss more than one or two in the year to keep the group dynamic strong.  

What happens after the 12 months?

As a group you get to decide. 

You will have the option of saying ‘it was a great year and we’ll stay in touch with each other’. Alternatively, your circle can continue meeting monthly self facilitated – you will feel more than secure enough to do this. 

Where are the sessions and what is it like?

The sessions are held in The Kindred Movement Studio, upstairs at The Old School.

The Old School, Fairfield Street,

Warrington, WA1 3AJ

The Old School is in a quiet residential area just outside Warrington town centre. It is a vibrant and friendly community building used by lots of different groups and artists. 

The Kindred Movement Studio is on the first floor. When you come in the front door of the building you will find the stairs on your left, go up and we are the first room along the corridor. There is also lift access, head straight forwards towards the hall and you should see it on your left. 

Is there parking?

Yes there is! 

The entrance to the car park is located around the corner on Harrison Close. 

What do I wear?

The sessions are discussion based, we suggest something you feel comfortable sitting on the floor in but there will be no specific movement practice. 

No outdoor shoes are allowed in the studio so a pair of warm socks might be nice. 

What will happen in each session?

A session will roughly look like:

• Gather in to the space
• Check in 
• Each artist will present a challenge they are currently facing (one sentence) – if an artist doesn’t have anything, that’s ok too.
• The group will vote on which challenge they think is the most urgent 
• Move through the Liz Lerman Critical Response Process – https://lizlerman.com/critical-response-process/
• Depending on time we might get to another 1 or 2 challenges 
• Check out 

You will be supported and guided through the process by Emily. Each session will be soft and warm with flexibility within the process. 

Do I need to prepare anything for a session?

Have an idea of a challenge you are facing that you want to bring to the group and a way of giving an overview in one sentence. 

Eg. 

• I am struggling with a commission application and the deadline is in 2 weeks.
• I had a safeguarding situation come up this week and want to discuss best practice. 
• I am working on a project that starts next month and I don’t know who I could partner with. 

Have 3 or 4 specific questions you would like to ask the group in the Critical Response Process. (NB we might not get to your challenge and so these questions might not be addressed in the session, however they are still valuable to think about and could support you moving forward.) 

Will we have contact with other members of our circle between sessions? 

Yes. We want you to stay in touch with each other in between sessions. On your first session as a group part of the initial discussion will be how and any guidelines around this. 

What will I get out of being in an Artist Circle?

We hope a lot of things, but if we can boil it down to a few words we would say: 

• Connection
• Exchange of ideas
• Support
• Your own group of personal cheerleaders
• Accountability 

We hope you will view this as a social activity rather than a work commitment.