Kirsty Cotton - Talent Development Manager at Hall for Cornwall
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What do you consider your greatest achievement?
There was a time when becoming a parent felt like a mountain to climb where it was impossible to reach the summit, we had to do a lot of personal work and a lot of learning to get ourselves in the best place to adopt, and I am still learning every day what it means to be a parent. Getting to this place and overcoming everything that came before it is definitely my greatest achievement so far.
What I want for my child, I also want for every young person and as an ex-teacher I still keep in touch with some of the young people I taught between 2001 and 2014. It is a huge privilege to see what they are achieving as adults, especially when I see how kind and thoughtful they are within their chosen professions and recall conversations we had when they were children, struggling with figuring out the world and how to deal with injustice. All I want for my child is that they are happy, thoughtful and kind and give something back to the community and if we can get there, that will be the greatest achievement of my lifetime!
What motivates you to do what you do?
I always wanted to teach and I think the motivation within that comes from wanting to help others to achieve their goals. I left teaching because I was tired, ill and disillusioned with the system and I wanted to find other ways to make a difference. I was fortunate that my role at Hall for Cornwall came along at the right time and that the team there recognised that my skills would translate well in to working with Theatre and Dance artists. I am motivated by seeing progress for myself and others. I know there are opportunities for artists to create personal, artistic or political progress in every interaction with a member of the public - it’s thrilling to see.
What do you owe your mother?
My Mum has an incredible work ethic, she always worked, yet she was always present. She and my Dad have passed that ‘work hard, be nice’ attitude on to both myself and my brother and we like to think we are doing it justice! My Mum is gentle, thoughtful and generous, she’s a wonderful Mother and Grandmother. I grew up during the 80’s and I was encouraged to push myself to achieve academically and creatively. I come from a working class background but my parents made sacrifices to help me financially at University through both my BA and a Masters degree. Through circumstance, I never actually attended a graduation ceremony – so realistically I probably owe her one of those Graduation photos with the cap, gown & scroll. Sorry Mum, maybe next time!
Which women inspire you and why?
Anyone who is spinning the plates of a paid job, caring responsibilities and activism. I think inspirational women are all around us, quietly doing the work it takes to move things forward. At Hall for Cornwall, we work with a group of mid-career Associate Artists for whom we provide bespoke artistic support. Of the 18 individual artists we work with in this context (some of them are in companies), 12 of them are women and they are all completely inspirational, making work with social capital and has tangible impact coupled with high production values – and they are full of kindness and empathy, I am really fortunate to work with them.
What are you reading?
I’ve always got a few books on the go, I’d like to say I read one book and then move on to the next, but alas I have different reading for different moods and I never finish one thing before starting another. Currently I am reading The Wild Silence by Raynor Winn, I adored The Salt Path and I’m enjoying the next installment of Raynor’s memoir and listening to her perspective once again. The second book I have open at the moment is Hag, which is a collection of short stories, forgotten folktales retold with a feminist perspective - I bought this because one of the stories is written by Cornish writer, Natasha Carthew and I’m enjoying them in short bursts. The other book I’m dipping in and out of is Performance in an Age of Precarity by Maddie Costa and Andy Field, which is a series of mini essays about the writers’ experiences of and commentary on theatre over the last 15 years or so – all the writing is complete personal reflection, and really highlights that incredible live link between the artist and an audience member.
What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?
As a younger woman working in leadership in the Education sector, I found that some male colleagues attitudes towards my leadership were obstructive and I don’t think that, at the time, I was really aware of the reasons why that was. I also remember a School Governor questioning my use of ‘Ms’ as a title, he said that he didn’t know ‘what I was’ and I wasn’t equipped in knowing how to challenge him. At the time these attitudes felt personal rather than political, and now with wider reading, education and experience, I see it for what it was and I would certainly address it differently with hindsight. I work with a lot of artists at the beginning of their careers through our work with the New Artist Network, and I would encourage them to call out this discriminatory behaviour, and support them in doing so – there’s no place for it in our industry or wider society.
How can the world be made a better place for women?
People could just consider women’s individual perspectives more readily, there is a huge plurality of experience and consequently a need, both globally and locally for there to be more women in the rooms where decisions are being made on every level. Caroline Criado Perez’s Invisible Women is a real eye-opener, we are living in a world built for white men with money – it isn’t OK.
I believe #metoo is having a huge impact and will continue to do so, as women grow in confidence in calling out sexual harassment, abuse and violence. When I was still teaching I asked a room full of 15 year old girls whether any of them had been spoken to inappropriately on the street walking to or from school in their school uniforms. Of 30 young women, 29 of them had experienced harassment by older men whilst still in their school uniform, they had just believed it was part of everyday life and had never told anyone about it. Young women shouldn’t grow up thinking this is normal, and we have to continue to call out harassment on every level, however frustrating and repetitive it might feel.
I’m only just beginning to experience what it’s like to be a working parent, something most of my peers have been doing for a while and I’ve yet to formulate my thoughts on it – but they are incoming!
Describe your perfect day?
It would be a dry day in the Autumn, my favourite time of year. It would start off with a dip in the Geothermal pool at the Jubilee Pool in Penzance, and then a stroll round both the Exchange and Newlyn galleries. I would then walk on the coastal path with my partner on pretty much any stretch between Mousehole and St Ives. We’d have a long lunch at The Gurnard’s Head in front of the fireplace and then we’d drive home along the best bit of road in the UK, the B3306. All of this is totally achievable so I must make some time to do it this year!
We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?
She would thoroughly deserve this & also probably hate it, but I think Anna Maria Murphy has made an incredible contribution to the theatre scene in Cornwall and across the UK over a lifetime of work. She is incredibly generous with her time in supporting other artists and she is a virtuoso storyteller, listening intently to people’s stories and then weaving them into a beautiful tapestry of words. I’d love to see a statue of Anna, notebook in hand with a plaque saying ‘Anna Maria Murphy, Bard of Penwith’.
Give us a tip?
Did you know that Potato Waffles were invented to be cooked in the toaster? Mind. Blown.
About Kirsty
Kirsty Cotton is the Talent Development Manager at Hall for Cornwall, working with Dance & Theatre Artists & Practitioners across Cornwall, developing opportunities for audiences to see their new, exciting and inspiring work. She is an ex Drama & Theatre Studies teacher and Pastoral leader specialising in restorative practices, working in Secondary schools across the South West after training at Cambridge University. Kirsty recently trained as a Relational Dynamic Coach and is interested in the use of coaching in arts producing to motivate artists in reaching their potential. Following a long journey with recurrent cancer, Kirsty is now more than 5 years in remission and she & her partner Olly are adoptive parents to one brilliant, resilient, young person.
Find her on Twitter: @kirstycotton