BLINK's 2020 Thankyou's

2020 has been a cold and prickly year. We end the year in gratitude that we are standing but we couldn’t have done it alone…

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BLINK PARTNERS TO THE RESCUE

In March our GIRL MEETS BOY tour was cancelled during our last residency week at Battersea Arts Centre and we were left in a haze of blind panic. In amidst their own panic, our friends at China Plate Theatre organised support sessions for emerging and smaller producers like us, and generously shared all they knew on this strange video app called ZOOM (little did we know how familiar we’d become with it!).

Our incredible friends Facefront Inclusive Theatre organised zoom practical and moral support throughout the year for inclusive companies, and online workshop activity sharing sessions which have been pivotal in keeping BLINK up to speed so we didn’t sink under a sea of overwhelming newness.

We can’t forget our long term friends Redbridge Drama Centre who offered us space in kind and support to develop even during their own difficulties. We always feel welcome and valued in their space; and this year that meant even more than usual to us.

[description] A group of people pose in little rectangles on zoom, some are waving.

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PHONE A FRIEND

Having a global pandemic and a major staff change in one year has induced some panic and we are so thankful to some incredible individuals who have been at the other end of the phone to help us pick up the pieces at every stage this year. Judy Ironside, Isobel Hawson, Annie Smol, Lorna McGinty, Ed Collier, Ray Downing and Ben Hutchinson we literally don’t know what we would have done without you. Drinks are on us on the other side!

Photography: Yuzuru Masuda

[description] Francis is dressed in a grey tshirt and blue blazer suit with sunglasses on, he is on the phone.

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MORE THAN MONEY

We would be completely lost without support from the Arts Council’s ELEVATE programme, Disability Action’s Emergency fund and commissions from Battersea Arts Centre and Heart of Glass this year. The support you have given us is more than money; it’s helped us to keep dreaming and keep our team together so we can continue to move forward.

Photography: Rachel Cherry

[description] Rachel is sitting on a chair wearing a white tshirt with 2 bold black stripes and red lipstick. She has a huge smile and arm outstretched.

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FRIENDS AND FAMILY

We decided to put out a BLINK Xmas list, as keeping things COVID secure for the Disabled children we are working with in SEND schools has been really tricky on our very small budget. We have been overwhelmed by support from the public. Staff from SEND schools have donated items and tucked them into our room during lunch break, neighbours have stuffed envelopes into our hands and over 30 people have bought us supplies online; we are blown away by the generosity. It’s so much more than material support, it’s invaluable moral support to keep us going.

[description] Francis, a young Black man is dressed in a red Santa jacket and a gold cap. He is beaming at the camera. The text reads: Can you help? BLINK Xmas list

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ADVISORY GROUP

Galvanised by our unstable circumstances, BLINK set up an Advisory Group mid 2020; Annie Smol (Jazanne Arts/ Facefront), David Ogwe (Oasis Play), Ed Collier (China Plate Theatre) and Bid Mosaku. They have not only given us support and advice, but helped us to find and cling onto our artistic identity in the haze and chaos. We are beyond thankful for their pep talks which have given us a foundation of hope stepping into 2021

[description] Vicki a young white woman with short pink and green hair is enveloped by massive bright pink latex squishy arms with black glittery nails

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JACK TIZARD SCHOOL

In Summer 2020 we received news that BLINK would be returning to Jack Tizard School, this was the confidence boost we needed and helped us to develop the RECONNECT programme which finds inclusive ways to explore Mental Health and wellbeing with SEND students.

'BLINK are essential staff in our school, the RECONNECT programme offers a powerful tool supporting the positive emotional wellbeing and mental health of our students'

-Peter Smith, Assistant Head, Jack Tizard SEND school

[description] A young women sits in her wheelchair between Vicki and her support worker smiling as she is enveloped by huge pink arms.

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BLINK FAM

We have received so much external help, but we can’t ignore the incredible feats our little team has gone to to keep the BLINK ship afloat this year.

When our tour was cancelled back in March we were so worried about the impact it would have on our freelancers. The first email we got was from our freelancer Charles in March who expressed his gratitude for us:

‘I don’t know how you do it but I can’t express myself how much time you guys look after each other and company so well (even if things are upside down) while you have other commitments. So thank you, thank you, thank you!’

This email meant so much to our team at such a difficult time.

Freelancer Tanya has cheerleaded loudly across every social media post and story and Dan has adapted to online workshops with ease and enthusiasm with support from our lovely placement student Laura from Goldsmiths.

Vicki, Maisa and Sabir have gone back to the frontline first, adapting to new cleaning and social distancing regulations and creating exciting new COVID friendly props.

Francis has kept the whole team going with his optimism and jokes even in the bleakest of moments, and Delson has made exciting new connections with his Magic Man video created during lockdown.

Rachel worked with vigour right up to the end of her maternity and brought in some life saving funding right when we needed it the most.

Isy, our arts consultant has worked above and beyond to help us steer our BLINK ship in the right direction, offering expertise and encouragement which have made even the biggest looking disaster seem manageable.

We have been so thankful to our new member of staff Zoe, who has joined recently as an Access and Inclusion Manager; an absolute baptism of fire which she has risen to expertly.

But we have to hold special thanks for Mandy and Elli our Finance and Operations team. Mandy our finance administrator has kept us calm and been a rock throughout the difficult year and been very patient transferring to a completely new system.

Elli came onto the team in February just before the pandemic hit, and in the midst of it all took on a completely new role as a result of our Director Kat leaving. Later on in the year Rachel left for maternity and somehow Elli has adjusted seamlessly and not only held everything together, but created new brilliant systems that mean we are actually better off than we were before!

It has been a particularly hard year for our Director Vicki who has been left as the ‘stable point’ in BLINK and has fought many professional and personal battles this year to keep BLINK going. We really appreciate her remarkable resilience and the way she has supported the team whilst coping with everything that has been thrown her way.

We really can’t thank you all enough!

[description] Charles holds the camera up and behind him Kat, Delson, Tanya, Vicki, Rachel and Francis pose with distance between them. It is Summer and they are in the park.

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Happy New Year everyone and THANK YOU.
We are looking forward to a fresh and hopefully better year in 2021!