Ideasmiths Podcast #2: Amy Letman & Jamal Gerald

Listen to Amy Letman and Jamal Gerald talking to The State of The Arts’ Jack Simpson about cultural leadership, infrastructure, change, and the voices and spaces for culture; about performing, representation and motivation.

Amy Letman is the creative director of Transform Festival in Leeds, biennial citywide takeovers of powerful theatre, dance, performance and events, bringing together some of the boldest creators from around the world. Transform began at Leeds Playhouse, but is now international: “Leeds is right in the centre of the UK,” says Amy, “so we should be making much more of an effort to bring people from round the world to this place — making Leeds a meeting point for people from all kinds of cultures.”

Jamal Gerald is an artist based in Leeds, whose work is conversational and socially conscious, celebrating individuality and focusing on identity and lived experiences; making the type of work he wants to see, and trying to make each piece different to the one he made before.

Transform 2019 is happening from April 26th to May 4th, and the website with all the details is here. As part of Transform, Jamal will be performing his new work, Idol, on April 27th and 28th; for more info and tickets, look here.