Screen Argyll: Sea Change Development Lab
Workshop Facilitator
May 2019 - Sep 2019
The first of its kind in the UK, Sea Change Development Lab was created by Jen Skinner of Screen Argyll as a dedicated space for women in the film exhibition industry to develop professionally and personally. Jen saw a community building in film exhibition and recognised a need to coalesce the knowledge, experience, fears and ambitions of women leading the sector:
“Set on the beautiful and remote island of Tiree time away from your inbox will bring fresh air and insight to your immediate and distant horizons.”
I was invited to introduce a screening of Her Century in the accompanying Sea Change Film Festival and also to facilitate a workshop for Development Lab participants. Being personally inspired by the global Fuckup Nights movement of identifying your failures and sharing them, I created the workshop:
The Art of Failing and How to Hide It
“Fail fast, fail often” is supposed to be a mantra of the entrepreneur but I wanted to explore how applicable it is when you work in the cultural sector. Due to the nature of our current exhibition funding models, there’s continually a pressure to not waste public money and resources. And how often do we have the time and energy to reflect and learn if you do? By removing failure from its pedestal, I used this workshop to own up to what might not have gone right for me and share tips on how to successfully (and unhealthily) hide failure but also to encourage participants to conquer any fears of failure.