Creative Community
Directory
Read our monthly interviews with the people who make Plymouth’s cultural scene tick - artists, makers, community leaders, creatives.
Louise Rabey
My name is Louise Rabey, I am an illustrator specialising in children’s illustration and also currently working on writing and illustrating my own comics. I have been working professionally for about 7 years and originally studied BA (Hons) Fine Art at Plymouth University which I graduated from in 2013, most recently I graduated from MA Illustration with Falmouth University in 2021.
Gabi Marcellus-Temple
My name’s Gabi Marcellus-Temple and I’m a freelance visual artist, writer and translator. I’ve been doing this for… ages and ages! I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pencil and began my working life as a translator, gradually working more and more in writing in general and the visual arts. My practice as a visual artist is really diverse - it can include drawing, installation, performance, ceramics…
Ingrid and Charlotte
We are a weekly art club within Devon and Cornwall refugee support, run to engage asylum seekers in various creative pursuits. We got involved with the British Art show to give a focus to our activities and engage everyone in appreciating art as well as creating it. We could experience each others’ views and share our own.
Claire Skinner, Archivist, The Box, Plymouth
The object of my affection is this diary by George Winne, who was the merchant of Plymouth. And it's written in 1788 to 1789. And it's about the relationship between his daughter and Prince William, who later became William IV. In the diary, it sort of traces that royal romance that we wouldn't really know much about if we didn't have this fantastic diary.
Purdy Giles
I arrived in Devon at the age of 16, having run away from home. It led to a family rift which lasted 41 years, and meant that I was excommunicated from my family and wider community where I grew up.
Kevin Davison
The street art scene is truly thriving in the UK, led by the emergence in the last 30 years of artists like Banksy.
Flying the flag here in Plymouth is Kevin Davison, a stencil and street artist whose creations can be seen across the city and beyond.
Borrow Don't Buy CIC - Plymouth's Library of Things
Borrow Don’t Buy is Plymouth's Library of Things. We believe "You should have access to the stuff you need without costing the Earth".
Pete Clayton
If you want to become a successful artist, you need to put in the hours. But having inspiration for your work is just as important.
All artists will have days when they perhaps feel uncreative or uninspired. So, it’s crucial you find something to spark your imagination and get your creative juices flowing.
Christian Russell-Pollock
Stand-up is undoubtedly one of the hardest forms of comedy to truly master. It’s intimate, intimidating, and there’s nowhere to hide if it all goes wrong!
One thing’s for sure… you’ve got to have bags of confidence, not to mention pretty thick skin to stand in front of a room full of people and try to make them laugh.
James Mackenzie-Blackman named Chief Executive of Theatre Royal Plymouth
Theatre Royal Plymouth has announced that James Mackenzie-Blackman will succeed Adrian Vinken OBE as its Chief Executive.
Currently Chief Executive of Eden Court Highlands, Scotland’s largest single-site performing arts venue, James Mackenzie-Blackman’s previous roles include Executive Director of Matthew Bourne’s award-winning dance company New Adventures, Executive Director of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and six years in a variety of roles at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith.
Amber Amare
Plymouth is home to a number of exciting, diverse and innovative filmmakers - and none more so than Amber Amare. Amber specialises in camera operation, sound recording and editing.
She has worked at the University of Plymouth (UoP) as a film technician by day, and at the weekend works for the British Film Institute at Plymouth College of Art, running the filmmaking academy - “which is awesome”, she says.
Ben Borthwick
KARST started life with relatively humble beginnings - growing from a pop-up project in 2011 to staple of Plymouth's culture scene at the forefront of creative innovation, drawing international attention.
Ben joined the team in the midst of a global pandemic in 2020 after heading up Plymouth Art Centre alongside working on a host of national and international projects.
Rachel Dobbs and Hannah Rose
Throughout their journey Hannah and Rachel have put community and audience at the heart of their work, which often features a participatory element.
Hannah Sloggett
For the past three years Nudge has been changing Union Street. Building by building, room by room, idea by idea, they are breathing life into a part of Plymouth too many people had sadly given up on.
Kim Wide
Take A Part uses art as a catalyst to support community cohesion, celebrate local identity, challenge local issues and champion change where people live.
Kim received an MBE in 2021 for Services to Social Engagement in the Arts - the first time ever that social practice has been acknowledged in this way.