Blog: May 2010 • Colin Hambrook

This month Colin Hambrook interviews Dada-Exchange Artist Advisor  Lynn Cox

Lynn has been a Dada-Exchange artist advisor for three years now. As part of my series of blogs about the Dada-Exchange process, I asked Lynn about the career-shift she has made as a result of getting involved with Dada-South's Dada-Exchange.

I realized how much I enjoy helping people to fulfill their potential within the Arts when I first started mentoring on Shape's Link-Up Program in 2006.

Dada-Exchange has taken me off on a totally different tangent. The personal development aspect of the program has been exceptional. I've used it to develop opportunities that have allowed me to develop a totally different career path as a coach/trainer. It's been very rewarding - realizing I can assist artists to fulfill what they really want to do.

I used my first Dada-Exchange bursary to pay for a coach for myself. Then I used it to pay for a Cultural Leadership Programme accredited coaching course. In my third year I used it to pay for several further coaching courses - learning techniques, which allow you to focus on the client; and to enable them to find clearer ways of grappling with the issues they're looking at.

I have coached seven people through Dada-Exchange so far: an arts administrator, two visual artists, one animator / installation artist and three musicians. It doesn't matter what artform the mentee is working in, a lot of the concerns are the same. Things like generating income and getting a work / life balance - tend to come up over and again.

I'm giving skills that people can use afterwards; setting goals; learning to think about options and actions. A huge element - especially for disabled artists - is confidence building - which allows the individual to take control of their career. Largely it is about listening to what clients are saying; reflecting and clarifying. The important thing is to help people to take ownership - and find their own solutions.

I first came onto Dada-Exchange as an artist doing a bit of advice work and will leave being a qualified Coach, Trainer and Facilitator. I specialise in coaching leaders in the Creative Industries. I have found that a lot of the issues are similar for disabled and non-disabled people alike. Although there are subtle differences. Generally, disabled clients will have less confidence and less experience. They may have become isolated within disability arts and want to get out of it. Or they may have never heard of disability arts.

Generally disabled artists have less opportunities and less of an underpinning structure. They may not be able to find out for themselves so easily, what is out there; so setting goals and establishing an identity is much harder. Access is often the key. Practical things that a non-disabled person wouldn't think twice about can be real obstacles to having the confidence to just go out there and do what needs to be done. Facing challenges and doing things a few times can help develop confidence for the future.

Ultimately my plan is to create an integrated Social Enterprise. I'd like to help bring disabled people into the mainstream - so it's been important for me to get training and work with mainstream organisations. Recently I've started working with a consortium. Three of us from the CLP have pulled our skills together.

My dream - as a disabled person - is to be at the vanguard, using my skills to assist other disabled people to find a route to working in the mainstream. It's not that people shouldn't be working in disability arts; but I don't see why people should be limited. A lot of what I am doing is about promoting disabled people; helping mainstream organisations who are looking for ways of becoming more inclusive.

Where my visual arts practice is concerned, I've realized that what thrills me is the concepts and language, more than the making. I really admire Bobby Bakers' work. It's that thing of finding artistic ways to put your own story across. I like the idea of 'being' the artwork. So, I am starting to move towards performance. My first step is to go on a script-writing course.

I am also designing sets for a piece of work Extant are doing. The Question is a promenade performance about visual impairment. There will be pre-recorded tracks and a live actor within four tactile areas. It's very innovative - and hopefully very sensuous.