Dec. 22, 2020

Mark Heywood on Human Risk In The Creative Industries

Mark Heywood on Human Risk In The Creative Industries

On the face of it, the creative industry ought to be very good at adapting it's thinking. After all, people who can think creatively, ought to be able to adapt the way they do things. But, as we've seen during the pandemic, the creative industries...

On the face of it, the creative industry ought to be very good at adapting it's thinking. After all, people who can think creatively, ought to be able to adapt the way they do things. But, as we've seen during the pandemic, the creative industries are facing similar problems to other businesses: a lack of diversity, business models that are heavily reliant on particular income streams and in some cases, a real existential threat. What is happening and what can the arts do to recover? And what might business learn from the arts and vice versa? That's what I explore with my guest on this episode, Mark Heywood.

In March 2019, Mark joined me on the podcast to explore how COVID was impacting the creative industries. There's a link to that episode below. Given so much has happened since then, I thought I'd get him back for an update and to explore how the pandemic has highlighted some of the Human Risk dynamics inherent in the creative industries. In our discussion, we catch up on what Mark's been up to since we last spoke and explore the challenges an industry that has often survived without always adapting to the changes in society. As ever, his insights into an industry he cares passionately about, are fascinating. Both generally, but also from a Human Risk perspective.

On the episode, Mark mentioned a number of things, details for which are below:
- His show at London's biggest arts festival that was due to tour: https://vaultfestival.com/whats-on/rhubarb-ghetto/
- Online Theatre producers The Show Must Go Online: https://robmyles.co.uk/theshowmustgoonline/
- The National Theatre At Home: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ntathome
- Chris Rock's opening monologue at the 2016 Oscars: https://youtu.be/kqhVNZgZGqQ

The two podcasts Mark is involved with are:
- Behind The Spine: https://www.behindthespine.co.uk/
- End Of The Line: https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-z7pk5-e30e3d?

You can hear Mark's previous appearance on the Human Risk podcast here: https://www.podpage.com/the-human-risk-podcast/mark-heywood-on-how-the-coronavirus-is-impacting-the-creative-industries/