Alice is a skilled facilitator and event manager. She facilitates and manages events, meetings, residencies and more for a number of different organisations, groups and communities. Recent facilitation includes events with Pavilion Dance South West / Surf the Wave project; Scottish Government’s First Minister’s Advisory Council for Women and Girls; the Work Room; Creative Scotland Creative Learning Events.
Alice uses different approaches -including Open Space, World Cafe, Critical Response Process, GROW – depending on the needs and goals of the group, and uses her experience as a mentor as a foundation for group facilitation.
Space / Time artists residencies
Alice co-facilitates theatre company Magnetic North’s Space / Time creative retreats with Artistic Director Nicholas Bone. The residencies are for artists from all disciplines, built around facilitated discussion and individual time for reflection. During the residency, we examine creative processes, explore how creativity can be nourished and how artists can continue to challenge themselves to develop. Read more about the programme here.
Read Late Calls, a report by François Matarasso on the impact of a week-long pilot space/time lab for older emerging artists.
Creative Learning Events
From 2017-109 Alice worked with Creative Scotland’s Creative Learning team managing a programme of events. This programme of events, developed in association with ArtWorks Scotland, aims to create a coherent programme of networking opportunities for artists working in creative learning and participatory arts. The events aim to inspire practice and support networking and skills development. More information can be found here.
International Teaching Artist Conference
A key event Alice produced for Creative Scotland was the third International Teaching Artist Conference in August 2016. Read a reflection on the conference: Reflecting on ITAC3
Alice is passionate about creative learning and specifically aesthetic education – an approach to teaching and learning that engages students in learning about works of art through hands-on inquiry, questioning, writing, and art making. The technique teaches us to become keen observers of the world around us, and done regularly can help develop habits that influence the way we approach all learning. Alice attended a summer school lab at Lincoln Centre Education to learn the process of AE, and while at Imaginate she developed a number of events and resources to support teachers in Scotland in using the process. Download the Evaluating the Performing Arts resource.
Testimonials
‘Today was very fruitful. A journey through known, unknown and unexpected. I encountered things that I know and discovered many other things.’
Open Space event attendee
‘I liked the open-ended way of working, it leads to positive reflection in your practice. I know that when I leave that will continue.’
Open Space event attendee
Thank you so much for your considered, thoughtful, adaptable and warm facilitation yesterday. I felt so much more relaxed knowing you were steering us through a process which encouraged engagement. It felt dynamic and the kind of way we should be as an artist led organisation.
Director, The WorkRoom
Thanks largely to Alice, the enormous challenges of organisation and management (of ITAC3) were handled with such clarity and competence that we felt the entire endeavor was in good hands all the way. ITAC Advisory Committee member
Alice McGrath 