Having worked at Activate since 2017, Dom Kippin has been producing cutting edge events for the biennial Inside Out Dorset festival, as well as special projects such as Dorset Moon, Pollution Pods, and Activate’s touring show Sense of Unity. Our Spotlight interview reveals what its like collaborating with artists and touring their work.
How would you sum up your role as an outdoor performing arts producer?
‘A project manager in wellies! My role is to make all of Activate’s outdoor programme happen – whether that’s Inside Out Dorset, our signature events, or our touring programme. Initially I work closely with our co-Artistic Directors Kate Wood and Bill Gee, understanding what their creative vision for each event is. I then can pick up the relationships with the different artists we work with, understanding their needs and requirements. At the same time, there’s a lot of budget work and especially fundraising. We believe that everyone’s invited to what we do, so whenever possible our work is free to attend. I also look after our relationships with landowners, without whose permission we couldn’t do the work. Then it’s bringing this all together for our audience – they entrust us with their time so we have to ensure that they have the best time possible.’
What do you love the most about your job ?
‘That’s actually really hard, because I love so much about what I do. I think it’s the variety I love the most. One day can be admin focussed, preparing budgets, writing contracts; the next is visits to potential festival sites or meetings with partners and funders; through to live events themselves, whether that’s running our multi-site Inside Out Dorset festival, or taking one of our touring shows to elsewhere in the UK or Europe.’
What happens during the producing process of creating and touring work?
There are lots of different approaches to being a producer, especially during the creation process. I always see my role as being there to create space for the artist, removing any distractions that could come between the artist and their work: helping with funding applications, getting permissions to use a particular location, etc. All the boring stuff that slow down the making of new art!
For our touring shows, I generally look after bookings: contact promoters, handling contracts, booking travel and accommodation, etc. But I sometimes get to go out on the road as well, in a sort of company/stage manager role. Again, that’s about making sure that our artists have everything they need to give their best performances.’
What skills do you need to be a successful outdoor performing arts producer?’
‘Waterproof skin! Weather plays a big part in outdoor arts, particularly in the UK where it can be very changeable. And it’s always the crew who are out in the rain, making sure everything is safe and ready for a performance as soon as the sun comes out.
But overall, I think there are so many skills that can be applied to the role, in general it’s more about attitude: a positive outlook, never being fazed by what your asked and always looking to make your artists ideas happen; these are super helpful as a producer.’
What has been your most ambitious project and why?
‘It has to be Inside Out Dorset, our biennial festival which I’ve now produced 3 editions of. Looking from the outside it’s utterly incredible that the small team at Activate can put on a multi-site, free-to-attend, international arts festival, taking place in different urban and rural areas of the county every two years. Since my first festival in 2018, we’ve staged work on an iron-age hillfort and on a rewilded farm, we’ve led thousands of people through the streets of Weymouth with a giant puppets and dolls, or through Moors Valley forest to see a replica of the Earth suspended in the trees. And we’ve brought so many new works into existence, by artists from Dorset to France.’
Could you explain how For Creatives works?
‘Activate is an arts development organisation, and our primary role is to offer support to anyone on a creative journey. For Creatives encompasses all this work, whether it’s the opportunities we collate and share through our newsletter through to the one-to-one conversations that all the producing team offer. If anyone is interested in working in outdoor arts, I’m always happy to jump on a Zoom call or meet up for a coffee to talk things through.’
Photography Credit: Jayne Jackson