THINKING AHEAD
Photo by Ian Paine
THINKING AHEAD
2019 marks 20 years since TIN Arts began. As often happens with big birthdays, we took the chance to celebrate with special events. Big birthdays are also about reflection. A time to look back on some of our greatest achievements and challenges. A chance to think about where we are now. Space to dream about what we might want for the future.
We have spoken to many people we know and work with. This document shares those reflections with you, the journey we have been on, and what it means for the future of TIN Arts.
Photo by Ian Paine
Back in 1999 there were just two people: Martin (Wilson) and Tess (Chaytor). It is a sign of the success of the last 20 years that there are now many people to take into consideration and to include in conversations about the future.
Celebrating 20 years of TIN Arts has been a chance to invite people to share and reflect about the last 20 years and think about what the future might hold.
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THINKING AHEAD
THINKING AHEAD
We wanted to involve as many people as we could in our conversations, including members of our community, our staff and participants in thinking about TIN and what the future holds.
We wanted to talk to people about their experiences of TIN, what they love and appreciate about their time with us, but equally what could be different or new.
Photo by Ian Paine
Photo by Ian Paine
Conversations have taken place in lots of different ways, from group chats and interviews, to workshops and activities, so that as many people as possible could share their thoughts with us.
Following are some of the ways we had these conversations. 7
THINKING AHEAD
DEAR TIN
We invited everyone on our mailing list to write to us in our birthday year.
Illustration by Pady O’Connor
We only asked that people start their message with “Dear TIN” and everything else was up to them. We didn’t really know what to expect, maybe a few “happy birthday!”s, some jokes about Martin, or a few little memories.
“Thank you for being there year-in yearout as a constant in my young person’s life that gives him the time and space to explore his potential, grow his confidence and become part of something.”
“Being taken seriously at TIN lets these young people take themselves and their development seriously. TIN also gives them a poise and a presence, both individually and collectively, that challenges perceptions of disability and demands that the rest of the world take them seriously too. We love you TIN!”
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What we received was absolutely lovely. Responses ranged from 1-liners to short letters, all of them so positive and touching. Many of them reflected on the highlights of their own time with TIN, and the changes to their lives as a result.
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Each Dear TIN response has been like receiving one of those birthday cards that gets you a little bit teary. And each one helped us to understand the relationships that people have with TIN. Thanks to the Dear TIN messages we know more about what people have found most special about their time with us.
U.Dance 2019, Southbank Centre, photo by Brian Slater
“It feels like TIN acknowledges needs but then runs with the possibilities... TIN works with [young people] as individuals in a flexible open ended way that sets no limits on a young person’s achievement. The commitment and positivity in TIN stands out from any other organisation and it provides a model of community based on cooperation and acceptance that the rest of the world could learn from.”
THINKING AHEAD
THE TIN TEAM
Of course some of the most important people in our birthday reflections are the TIN Team, the staff who work at TIN every day. We decided to hold some meetings to hear the team’s thoughts on TIN and the future. We learned so much from these conversations, but there was one thing in particular which felt important:
We need to be clearer on what TIN is and its role in the world.
Photo by Ian Paine
Every person we have spoken to – whether members of the TIN Team or the wider community – has their own special relationship with and defining memories of TIN.
While this is brilliant, it is also a problem: the future of TIN needs to be defined by what we want our role to be in the world as much as our stories from the past. We need to refresh our vision for the future in a way that includes our community as much as possible – a shared vision which is clear and owned by everyone so that every member of our community knows exactly where we are going, what we are doing, and why, so that we can celebrate where we are headed as much as where we’ve been.
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GROUP CHATS
As well as conversations with the TIN Team, we brought together some participants and family members for Group Chats with one of our board members, Simon Raybould, to talk about their experience of TIN.
The two biggest themes to emerge from the Group Chats were:
TIN is home
TIN is family
People feel safe and they feel valued here. They feel supported so that they can allow the best of themselves to show. They feel they belong here, like TIN is home.
The sense of belonging and collaboration helps TIN to feel like family where everyone is valued and has their place.
Those ideas of home and family felt incredibly important, so we carried those forward for the next steps of Thinking Ahead.
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THINKING AHEAD
CONVERSATIONS WITH PARTICIPANTS
The ideas which had come out most strongly from every conversation so far had all revolved around the idea of home.
Which got us thinking: if the sense of home is so central, so important to TIN, what can we do to improve that feeling, to improve our home?
Photo by David LindsayÂ
We wanted to ask that question to the people who join us at our home every day: our participants, their families and friends, and other people who use our space. So the TIN Team came up with lots of different activities, using everything from emoji stickers to dance moves to answer the questions:
What do you love about our home? What would you like to see different? 17
THINKING AHEAD
What came out of the activities was brilliant and included over 50 different suggestions for what people would like to see happen to our home.
We took those suggestions and grouped them to work out what were the most important and achievable:
Things we can implement right now, like putting down a dance floor in the spaces, paper-towel dispensers in the toilets.
Things that will be difficult to do without a lot of money, like refurbishing the green room, air conditioning, an outside garden area.
Things we can implement but will cost a little money, like decorating our spaces, creating storage space for resources.
Things which aren’t possible in our current building, like bigger and more studios, a waiting room, dressing and changing rooms, and a café.
We’re already starting to put in place some of these suggestions, and we’re doing some more thinking and planning about the suggestions that require a lot more money or aren’t possible in the current building.
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IMPROVEMENTS WE CAN MAKE RIGHT NOW
Thinking Ahead has highlighted to us so much of what people love about their time with TIN, but it’s also helped us to look at some things that could be better, especially about our building.
Photo by Dave Charnley
We have a long wish-list of improvements which we have already started carrying out, and you will see gradual changes to the space based on what has been asked for, starting with a new dance floor in the studio. There have been a lot of suggestions and wishes which we are excited by but aren’t possible in our building. Suggestions like more and larger studios, an outdoor garden space, a café and food space, and much more.
We’re so happy to hear the high ambitions of everyone involved in TIN, and we want to work to make those possible. We’re going to go away and do some thinking about how we can implement as many of those suggestions, wishes, and ambitions as we possibly can, and we will keep you updated when we have news to share.
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THINKING AHEAD
BEING CLEARER ABOUT TIN
Thinking Ahead has helped us to be clearer on what TIN is and its role in the world.
Our vision of how we wish the world to be: Everybody has access to the arts.
Candoco Dance Company, Photo by Camilla Greenwell
Our mission of what TIN Arts will do to make the vision happen: We work hard to identify and remove barriers to dance and the performing arts. And in our day to day work, why we do what we do, the heart of what TIN Arts is about: TIN Arts are passionate about dance, the performing arts and the difference these make to people’s lives.
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THINKING AHEAD: NEXT STEPS
One of our biggest reflections has been the overwhelming positivity from everyone involved.
Thank you for contributing your thoughts and your time. We have learned so much through this process and we’re excited about our next steps.
Photo by Rich Kenworthy
Thank you to everyone who contributed to Thinking Ahead. We’ve learned so much from you all and can’t wait to put it all into practice to make the next 20 years even better.
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E info@tinarts.co.uk T 0300 124 0448 www.tinarts.co.uk @tinarts
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TIN Arts Old School House Front Street Framwellgate Moor Durham DH1 5BL