Anna Farthing Email & Phone Number

United Kingdom

Honorary position in the School of Arts. Sharing research and practice with colleagues in the departments of Music and Drama and in the Theatre Collection archives. Also engaged as an occasional visiting tutor and/or visiting director of archive inspired productions on BA and MA courses.

Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom

I am honoured to have taken the helm at the beautiful and much loved Grade II* listed Victorian New Theatre Royal (1854) and the adjacent Minghella Studio (2015). We worked in collaboration and through partnerships to contribute to cultural, economic and social regeneration, bringing people together to help Portsmouth secure its place as one of the greatest maritime cities in the world.

Leading on the development of the Civic University agenda. Directing AUB's cultural assets together with research and innovation, access and participation, public programmes and short courses.

Dorset, England, United Kingdom

A new role, reporting to the Vice Chancellor, responsible for civic engagement through collaborative partnerships and the strategic development of significant cultural assets (gallery, museum, library, theatre and collections) research and innovation. Liaising with Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships, Business Improvement Districts, Destination Management Organisations, trade associations, property developers and cultural organisations to support the development of the creative and cultural industries in the region.

Bristol, England, United Kingdom

Initiated a systemic and inclusive arts strategy and programme to support the wellbeing of staff, students and volunteers as well as patients and families for ten hospitals. Originally funded by Above & Beyond charity for 18 months. When the The Arts and Culture Strategy was approved by the NHS Trust Board, my contract was extended to enable implementation. The role was then made permanent. I feel privileged to have worked alongside NHS colleagues throughout the pandemic, including estates, recruitment, communications, family liaison and clinical teams. Highlights include co-founding the NHS National Performance Advisory Group for Arts, Design and Heritage and, with Culture Weston, the Weston Arts and Health Festival and Boredom Buster, a nationally circulated creative wellbeing resource. Commissions include Luke Jerram’s ‘In Memoriam’, Ed Rhys Jones ‘Gift of Life’, and interior schemes with artists including Hannah Broadway, Sophie Higgins, Sophie Rae. A fabulous team has now been recruited to develop the programme and is delivering activity across all ten sites. Follow @ArtsUHBW for updates. See here for my leaving statement: https://tinyurl.com/2p8xrrs2

Derbyshire

Creative lead, working with the Chatsworth House Trust team to curate Chatsworth Renewed: The House past, present, future. The project celebrates the skilled men and women who have been responsible for the restoration of Chatsworth over the past decade and exhibits their experiences in the context of five hundred years of continuity and change. In the process we have collected new oral history archives and devised new forms of engagement and interpretation that focus attention on the fabric of the house while being permeable, transparent and human scale. Open March - October 2018. Exceeded 650K visitors. @ChatsworthHouse #ChatsworthRenewed

Somerset House, London

AEA Consulting is a global firm setting the standard in strategy and planning for the cultural and creative industries. Projects for which I was responsible included the Culture and Place Strategy for Salford and a feasibility study for The Paddock Project, an art gallery for Sherborne, Dorset.

Hull

Created an exhibition and public programme about the UK's most popular poet in the place where he worked for thirty years. Key project for Hull 2017 UK City Of Culture. Collaboration with designer Craig Oldham, Office of Craig. Open 4 July to 1 October. Project delivered on schedule and to budget. Exceeded anticipated visitor numbers and garnered exceptionally positive critical response in national press, helping to establish the Brynmor Jones gallery as a cultural destination.

Architecture Centre, Bristol

Project lead collaborating with numerous organisations to open their doors for creative and inspiring public engagement. Over the weekend of 10th & 11th September 2016 we greeted in excess of 50,000 visitors to 81 venues for the free Bristol Doors Open Day programme. The 2017 programme included 120 activities from dawn to dusk in almost every ward of the city over four days from 7 - 10 September. Project hosted by The Architecture Centre. Funded by HLF, Historic England, sponsors and individual giving.

Consultancy. Working with Richmond Event Management and Bristol City Council to review the creative strategic direction of a major city centre multi-site festival that hosts in excess of 250k visitors over one weekend.

Visiting Tutor for MA courses in Acting and Directing. Mentoring students to develop professionally appropriate research skills through reflective practice. Occasional classes for BA students in improvisation and multi-sensory approaches to theatre.

Creative Director of award winning production company, producing live events and digital media with heritage, education and broadcast partners.Click on the 'project' link below to see examples of both production and consultancy with clients including National Museum of the Royal Navy (11 projects including one shortlisted for Clore Learning Award), Manx National Heritage, National Maritime Museum, National Museums Liverpool, Bristol Museums and others.

Responsible for the creative and strategic direction of this major cultural festival celebrating the 125th anniversary of Agatha Christie's birth. Working in collaboration with partners at Agatha Christie Ltd, HarperCollins, Torbay Council, The English Riviera Tourism Company and Arts Council England. The festival took place in Torquay in September 2015. The programme included vintage events, music, dance, film, theatre, literature events, and a family programme. In addition to programme and production, my personal creative contributions included a 'son et lumiere' at Torre Abbey and an innovative live documentary on the birth of talking books in partnership with the RNIB. The 2015 festival had the broadest global media reach to date and exceeded all visitor and financial targets.

Bristol

Culture representative on panel of three for awarding Bristol 2015 Strategic Grants. Devised and created a public engagement space on Harbourside. Working closely with the Bristol 2015 core team, Green Capital partner organisations, a retail partner (Made in Bristol) and a range of contractors, we successfully achieved an ambitious goal with a challenging deadline (in some rather chilly weather conditions) on time, on task and on budget. Also produced a family programme for the opening week, February Half-Term, representing key themes of food, transport, nature, energy and resources.

Consultancy, research and strategic planning support for a unique higher education institution made up of eight affiliated schools of dance, drama and circus arts: National Centre for Circus Arts, Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), London Academy of Music and Drama (LAMDA) Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, London Contemporary Dance School, Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, Central School of Ballet, Northern School of Contemporary Dance. www.cdd.ac.uk

Devised and produced activities for the launch period of a new city history museum, including spectacular circus performances, digital media projects, public processions, community activities and a new song.

Interim post. Managed a large team of heritage education professionals, trainees and apprentices through a period of strategic change within a local authority museums service. Introduced innovative creative learning techniques, bid for and won funding for new projects linking science and the arts, and developed several new resources.

Phd, Drama

AHRC funded collaborative doctoral award for practice based research into public engagement with challenging histories during.

Ba, Drama (Hons)

Activities and Societies: President of Operatic Society and Bristol University Players (touring). Awarded honorary life membership.

Education record

Post graduate ‘apprenticeship’ in directing new music theatre. Projects included John Metcalf’s ‘Tornrak’ for Welsh National Opera.