Looking Back at 2023
As we gear up for the exciting plans we have for 2024, we are taking a moment to reflect on our incredible accomplishments of 2023 - our 10th anniversary year. We are proud of all that we have achieved and we couldn't have celebrated our milestone year any better!
Growing the Team
In 2024, we achieved our long-held dream of becoming part of Arts Council England's National Portfolio. This means we have core funding to support both the daily running of BLINK and our immersive, relentlessly inclusive performance work.
A black and white photo of the BLINK performers, support workers and production team sat backstage at Battersea Arts Centre. Photo Credit: Roswitha Chesher
As part of becoming an NPO, we've grown our team around our four co-directors, Vicki, Rachel, Delson, and Francis. Mandy continues to support BLINK as our Finance Assistant, and Zoe has moved into a new role as Digital Communications Manager. Two of our freelancers, Siobhán and Laura, have also joined the core team as Access and Inclusion Manager and Participation Manager to help us keep growing and smashing our goals!
ELVIS DIED OF BURGERS
After our last tour in 2020 was cancelled due to COVID-19, we couldn’t wait to get back on the road this year with our latest directors’ show: ELVIS DIED OF BURGERS.
“My favourite moment at BLINK this year was when we performed ELVIS DIED OF BURGERS at Battersea Arts Centre in May 2023. The audiences were amazing – loud, appreciative, funny and warm and BAC said that ‘no one has blown the roof off BAC like that this season!’ It felt like a moment of arrival for BLINK as a new NPO in our hometown amongst our long-standing (long-suffering?!) audience base and I will never forget it.”
In addition to performing in London, Oxford, Leicester, Bradford and Derby, we also presented our show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for the first time! Our run at Summerhall as part of the festival was our longest one yet, spanning two weeks, and we were thrilled to receive a five-star review while we were there! This was also a great opportunity for us to watch many other shows, spend quality time together as a team, and have heaps of fun in the process! Although we did need a two-week break afterwards to recuperate, it was well worth it.
The FOODAHOLIX performers on-stage after our performance at Queens Theatre Hornchurch. Photo Credit: Alex Hartley.
As well as the ELVIS DIED OF BURGERS tour, we were delighted to appear at Queens Theatre Hornchurch’s Blueprint Festival performing FOODAHOLIX, an ELVIS DIED OF BURGERS inspired, interactive exhibition of food-themed activities, including twerk-a-licious Burger Drag, a Silent Disco sensory rave, and a Pudding Parade.
Building Community
Our participation work is at the centre of everything we do at BLINK, and in 2023 we focused on growing our participation and training programmes. This year, we worked with over 5,000 people in almost 300 workshops, connecting people through our unique and immersive sessions. Our team of facilitators is continuously expanding, and our POLLINATE programme for learning-disabled facilitators now runs weekly, providing regular training and employment opportunities.
BLINK Facilitator Connie engages a participant during a Capoeira session at Ashchurch Day Centre. Photo Credit: Jon Archdeacon.
We were able to grow our participation programme, thanks in part to funding from Hammersmith United Charities, who have been supporting our work in the borough for a long time. This grant also enabled us to develop two new programmes: Capoeira classes and immersive music workshops. These programs were piloted at Ashchurch Day Centre and will be available for booking later in 2024. We have more exciting funding news that we will announce later this month that will further support our programmes and their development.
In addition to our national tour, we also delivered our "R U LD Friendly" training at venues across the country, as well as inclusive best practice training at venues and universities. Delivering this training is an integral part of our mission to make arts and culture accessible to everyone, and we always enjoy the discussions and conversations that these sessions spark!
Moving Home
BLINK has been searching for a place to call home for a while now, and we are thrilled to announce that we have finally found one in 2023! We successfully applied to become Cultural Anchor Tenants at 'Space 52', a venue located in New Mansion Square in Nine Elms, Wandsworth.
“I can’t wait for us to move into Space 52 and we can continue our work with the local community to bring accessible arts and culture activities to the area, as part of our radical belief that a society without barriers is better for all.”
We are planning to move in during the summer of 2024, and we can't wait to share all of our exciting plans for the new space, which includes hosting regular workshops and events. If you want to be the first to hear about these plans, please sign up below.
Looking Ahead
We have some big goals for 2024, and we are excited to keep bringing creative and inclusive work to everyone we work with. We want to take a moment to thank everyone who worked with us this year: our staff, facilitators, freelancers, Board, touring Venue partners, funders, schools, organizations, and groups we work with weekly to deliver our participation work. We appreciate your support and couldn't do it without you. We look forward to seeing where our journey takes us next.
The ELVIS DIED OF BURGERS Cast taking a bow in front of a sell-out audience at Battersea Arts Centre. Photo Credit: Roswitha Chesher.