Will Brenton

ACA: THREE THINGS THAT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE 

THING THREE. CHILDREN AS INNOVATORS. 

 I’ll keep this quick. Not quite tweet quick but quick. 

People say we are living in times that are changing more than ever before in our history – I’m not convinced that is true – I suspect human history remains as turbulent as it has ever been, and as it will continue to be. What is undoubtedly changing, and changing fast, is our access to and use of information. We all know why, ‘tinterweb, tablets, mobiles etc. We’re all digital immigrants and the ‘youth’ are digital natives, blah blah blah....

 This gets said so often it has become inaudible. And that’s the problem – it has become inaudible. It has become something we are happy to ignore other than on the more gimmicky fringes of our industry. Those of us who have already become set in our ways struggle valiantly with the digital revolution and either get hyper excited about apps and e-books (Like Tom Cruise laughing too hard at a cool comedian’s jokes) or we dig our heels in, deny e-books and apps will ever amount to anything and go back to trying to stop the tide coming in. 

Our approach to the new technologies is worth comparing to the early days of TV and film. Before then our only reference point was theatre, the prosc arch, the big wide vista. When TV and film came out although we knew what the technology could do, we had no idea what we could do with it. 

Essentially, in the early days of TV, people mounted a theatrical production and pointed the camera straight at it, as of they were sat in the stalls. They even used curtains. The shot would fade up on a pair of curtains, they would open, a lady wearing an evening gown and pearls would sing and the curtains would close. It was a style of performance the audiences of the day recognised, but it is a world away from what we do today. Cut aways, close ups, special effects and developing visual narratives remained the in the future and the mind of George Meliers. 

 I think we are in the equivalent position with digital media. We know what it can do - but we haven't even begun to work out what we can do with it. By not allocating proper funding to children’s content, by not properly challenging ourselves on a full scale to engage, immerse, enchant and surprise the audience who will be dictating how this technology evolves, we are letting ourselves creatively get left behind. Children expect a lot, a lot more than most of our best practitioners are prepared to even try and deliver (perhaps because they are worried they can’t?) 

 In an immediate context we need to take this audience on because they themselves are innovating the way we access our information, music, performance and other arts. We need to place ourselves squarely in the firing line and learn everything we can so we can continue to do everything the arts does best – but to do so we need to invite children in, let them be the innovators, while we provide context, experience and guidance.

 If we don’t we are potentially priming the detonator of a time bomb. If we don’t entertain and interest this audience they will grow up without us. When they become the decision makers allocating money to the arts they may struggle to see the point of institutions that have never engaged with them or shown any commitment to them – and that funding may fianlly disappear all together. 

 So. The third thing that I believe would make a difference is CHILDREN AS INNOVATORS, and inviting them in to the mainstream programming of our national and local institutions.