Soham De performing in 2016. Photo: Samuel Kirkman
Facilitating collaborations across artistic disciplines has become a central part of my practice. Since founding the cross-arts collective Thorn in 2015 I've enjoyed supporting emerging artists and creative practitioners, especially those working between different media.
This extends to my full-time work at Film and Video Umbrella. As Production Officer I form part of a small team working to support contemporary artists commissioned to create film and moving image works—from seasoned film artists to emerging voices.
Photo: Katie Byford
THORN DURHAM
Founded in 2015 and on hiatus since 2021, Thorn provided an independent platform for new voices creating in any medium and across artistic disciplines. Thorn facilitated a diverse range of live events, from gigs and poetry performances to exhibitions, workshops and arts festivals. Events were run by and for artists and the collective was run on a voluntary basis.
Artists across disciplines were given space to meet, perform and share work: a supportive environment for experimentation and growth. This process encouraged the cross-pollination of art forms and new multi-disciplinary collaborations. One such success story is The Poetry Experiment, a jazz/spoken word ensemble whose members met while performing at one of our events in 2017.
Many artists we hosted are pursing successful careers in the arts, as writers, visual artists, performers and creative practitioners, including Soham De, Jelly Cleaver, Prasanna Sellathurai, Rebekah Fitch, Karishma Sangtani, Fahad Al-Amoudi, Grace Ifere, Melissa Tutesigensi, Libby Pattison, Kym Deyn and Nathaniel Spain.
As new volunteers joined the team each year—a mix of students at Durham University and people based in County Durham—coaching and mentoring new team members became an integral part of Thorn's core aims.
Dive into Thorn's website to see what we got up to.
Photo: Samuel Kirkman
Photo: Thomas Ribaroff
Photo: Maddie Flisher
Photo: Alisdair Hariss
Workshops and Talks
I have delivered workshops and lectures for schools, universities and institutions, including Durham University and the Barbican. These have included sessions on Sappho, queer inheritance and Classical literature.
I regularly deliver guest lectures for the Durham University Classics department, on their Classical Receptions and Contemporary Culture course.
