Creator of Things

When Mark Begbie (BH08-) arrived at Charterhouse some 13 years ago, he had no idea he would become either Head of the Theology, Philosophy and Ethics Department, or Director of Creative Arts, coordinating one of the most loved events in the School calendar. Here, Mark tells us all about Artifex and how it has developed to date:

“Istarted floating the idea back in 2009, and I remember talking to John Witheridge (BH96-13), Headmaster, about it. There was an Arts Festival already, and it was nice, but it was one night with some music and a few other bits and bobs. What I was suggesting was something much wider – something for the masses. I wanted to get pupils going to things who would never have gone to things before. I wanted to get that 1st XI footballer to go to an arts event. Even if that was the only thing they went to in their whole time here. And suggesting something on that scale was a big change back then. I was proposing something that was in addition to what was already a very busy school year (although we’re so much busier now!). had to be pupil-led. This is not about bringing people in to prop up a programme, this is about the pupils generating artistic content themselves. I also wanted it to be creative in the broadest sense of the word. It didn’t have to be fine arts – it could be food or cooking, or computing and game designing. So, with all these ideas, we began very slowly.

We started in 2013, and when I look back I think it was so easy! Essentially, it was about 15 events over three days, which was a bit of a culture shock at the time. The aim for 2013 was just to make it happen, with expectations very low. To me, it would have been a success if 15-20 pupils went to something when they normally wouldn’t have gone to anything. And we had that. The groundwork was starting to be laid, and there was a core of pupils who responded really well. It was the first year that we put on our play in the Chapel, Becket I think, and this would end up as one of our traditions.

And each year the festival became more ambitious with the pupils fuelling the growth. We started to expand in visible ways, like the big stage on Founder’s Court in 2014, the first time we had ever had a stage there. This was to host a rock concert ran by the pupils – ludicrous and loud but great fun.

I started thinking of other ways it could mark its presence and provide an essential venue that was accessible to the whole School. We got our heads together with the pupils and in year three the Dome was born! After 2015, the Dome became an established thing and continued to grow until in 2021 we hired two Domes.

When I compare 2021’s Artfex to 2013’s, you can see just how far we’ve come. From literally nothing, we now have five days which contain over 90 activities and events! Each year something big and exciting has been added to the programme. Like the international food fair, or the Inter-House Kart Race, the brainchild of Charlie Timms (D20) in 2018. Or the talent show, Chouse Got Talent, exclusively run by pupils one night in the Dome, and the 2019 colour run, coordinated by Adam Schilders (H20) and Will Finnis (L20). And not forgetting one of our most popular larger events, introduced back in 2016:

I think it’s possibly one of the greatest things we do in education here: so much is learnt in those five days, and so many individuals are inspired to want to contribute to future years.

Cinema on the Ceiling in Chapel. The pupils did an amazing job of organising it so every pupil had a bag of sweets, their duvet and a set of headphones.

The festival is great for the pupils: The pupil organisers learn a great deal, and not just about how the School works and the people here who make things happen. They also have to think about health and safety, purchasing and budgets, sourcing equipment, shifts, rotas, all sorts. So they develop leadership and organisational skills which they can take with them anywhere in life. With such a structured School timetable, organising Artifex is perhaps one of the most liberating things pupils can do. And, of course, things don’t always go to plan and mistakes are made, but that’s sort of the point. An educational institution should be providing a safe space for failure because that’s how learning happens. And for the masses who attend? I think it’s possibly one of the greatest things we do in education here: so much is learnt in these five days, and so many individuals are inspired to want to contribute to future years. We’ve had so many moments when pupils stood up and did amazing things you never knew they could. I’ll always remember Savva Shilin (H21) last year; he did impersonations of sound effects for the talent show, and it was just amazing. I feel so glad that we’ve created that space where these moments can happen.

As for the name, and how it became ‘Artifex’, you have our Artistic Director of the Theatre, Emily Fox (BH95-), to thank for that. The pupils and I had been struggling with a name and this suggestion came from a chance conversation in Brooke Hall. We wanted something characteristic of Charterhouse and, of course, we have the race ‘Pontifex’ so Emily casually dropped the suggestion into conversation. With the help of Jim Freeman (BH95-) I then investigated the Latin to see if ‘Artifex’ actually meant anything, and it means ‘creator of things’. We ran it past the pupils, and they loved it too. So… ‘Artifex’ was born.

What’s next for Artifex? This year we’ve got a pupil Committee that will be running the whole enterprise, and we’ll have a longer lead-up than last year. The event will be even more special as it’s the 150th anniversary of the School’s move to Godalming and, with that in mind, we’d like to make our programme more community based, bringing Artifex to the Community. These are exciting times and I, for one, am very proud of what we have all achieved here.

There are very few occasions when you can say in your professional life that you helped to bring about something that will outlive you.”