SPILL Festival + Think Tank

26/06/2025

Big news: We're seeking an Executive Director!

You'll be joining a small and friendly team, working with innovative artists from around the globe to produce and commission groundbreaking work for the people of Ipswich, Suffolk, and beyond.

It's an exciting time to join SPILL as we shift to an annual cycle of activity providing regular and consistent engagement opportunities. The Executive Director will be a key figure in this new direction.

📍 SPILL Think Tank, Ipswich (hybrid working available)
📅 Application deadline: Monday 28 July at 12noon
🔗 For further information and to apply:
https://www.spillfestival.com/work-with-us

We value diverse experience and unconventional career paths and are looking for the right person, not just the right CV. If you feel you have equivalent experience and transferable skills from other sectors, we strongly encourage you to submit an application!

📸 SPILL Festival 2023, Pine Agency.

23/06/2025

📣 Introducing our next artists-in-residence!

Leila Gamaz, Niki Colclough, Zhuo Mengting, and Tom Marshman will be joining us this summer to develop bold new work spanning film, design, and performance.

We're very excited to welcome them to SPILL, and will keep you updated on how their work develops!

Thanks to all who applied for this round of residencies - keep an eye on our socials for when applications are open again.

16/06/2025

Do you live in Ipswich? Care about your community? Believe we all have something brilliant to share?

Join the free Fun Palaces Makers Workshop happening at Eastern Angles Theatre Company next week!

📅 Monday 23 June, 3.30-5.30pm
📍 Eastern Angles Centre
🎟 Book your ticket here:

Join our free workshop to find out how you can make your own Fun Palace; where everyone is an artist and everyone a scientist. This workshop will be an opportunity to meet with others who are also interested in making a Fun Palace. Whether you are a Fun Palace dab hand or a novice organiser, come al...

13/06/2025

Two sold-out Think Tank events complete! 🤝

We tuned in to the changing sounds of Holbrook with there are no birds here, and journeyed across fragile Suffolk landscapes via film with Emily Richardson and Jonathan P. Watts.

A huge thanks to all who joined and shared your experiences with us! Watch this space for more events like this in the future 👀

03/06/2025

New blog post from Robin, our Artistic Director! ✍️

BEHIND THE WHEEL

Inspired by Robin’s journeys around rural Suffolk, our Spring 2025 Think Tank Live season has been exploring the county’s landscapes through sound and film.

‘This was the same territory described by German writer W.G. Sebald’s novel The Rings of Saturn that described his own walks through Suffolk… Outside, in this strange, flat deserted landscape, I was now able to experience for myself what Sebald had described. I presume it was the flatness of the land that made the sky seem so enormous.’

🌳 Read on here: https://www.spillfestival.com/notebook-blog/behind-the-wheel

Photos by Robin Deacon

22/05/2025

Fierce would like to meet... an Executive Director

We are very excited to begin the search for our Executive Director. This is an incredible role for a passionate arts leader to steer the organisation and collaborate with the Artistic Director to realise the Festival programme, to care for the artists and audiences we work with and continue to hold and embody Fierce’s values of Trust, Rigour, Disruption and Joy.

“We thought a lot about that title ‘Executive Director’. For the past couple of years we’ve had quite an unusual structure at Fierce with three co-directors – one responsible for operations, one producing and one the artistic programme. In reality though everyone at Fierce has always done a bit of everything – we are a values-led organisation and collaboration is at the heart of everything we do – which is what led to this structure. We also try to constantly reflect on how we do what we do and why. So, when two of the three directors happened to get new jobs within a week of each other, we looked again at the structure and considered how it might best suit the current nature of Fierce’s work, the political climate and the opportunities that might appear over the next few years. What we ended up settling on is this post, which we considered a variety of titles for – collaborator, co-conspirator, executive producer – before settling on Executive Director. Arguably the most boring option, but perhaps one that is most understood in terms of the sort of things we want this person to hold and care for at Fierce. All of this is a slightly long-winded way of saying that we’re pretty open to who might do this role and how. Historically Fierce has adapted to the people leading the organisation and we will continue to do this.”
Paul Burns, Fierce Board Chair

Location: Birmingham

Salary: £39,713 pro rata, 4 days a week

Deadline to apply: 9am, Monday 7th July 2025

FOR FULL INFO AND DETAILS OF HOW TO APPLY PLEASE SEE LINK IN BIO 📝💪🏼✨

19/05/2025

Stay local and discover something new in Ipswich! 💙

We're proud to be part of We Are Ipswich, a collective of nationally-acclaimed arts and heritage organisations working together to bring world-class culture to Suffolk's cultural capital.

A brand new line-up of events has just launched as part of the latest campaign - take a look here: https://allaboutipswich.com/whats-on/cultural-highlights/

In partnership with DanceEast, Eastern Angles Theatre Company, Ipswich Regent Theatre, Suffolk Archives, New Wolsey Theatre, Brighten The Corners and All About Ipswich.

08/05/2025

Looking for help creating new work or support with funding applications? ✨

Our Artistic Director Robin Deacon has over 20 years' experience helping artists realise their ideas with focused and nurturing mentoring packages.

We can offer:

💡 In-depth creative sessions developing an idea or new work
📅 Ongoing support for long-term projects and DYCP programmes
✍ Constructive crit sessions to move your work forward
📍 Hands-on studio visits

Tap the link to learn more - we'd love to hear from you!
https://www.spillfestival.com/mentoring

06/05/2025

Do you know a young person aged 10-16 who loves dance? Are they eager to take their dance skills to the next level?

Our friends DanceEast are currently recruiting young people based in Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex, and Cambridgeshire to join their DanceEast Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) programme from September 2025! You do not need to have previous dance experience, they are looking for potential.

The DanceEast CAT is a high-quality dance training programme for young people, providing weekly classes in contemporary, ballet, hip hop, creative, and health.

🗓 Application deadline: Monday 12 May, 5.00pm.
👉 Find out more and apply: https://www.danceeast.co.uk/cat-how-to-apply/

24/04/2025

🚨 We're hiring a Freelance Producer! 🚨

We are looking for a friendly, proactive, and meticulous Producer to join us part-time across summer and autumn.

You'll be working closely with the SPILL Team, programmed artists, community participants, and a range of creative practitioners to manage projects and bring the 2025 SPILL Festival to life.

📅 30 days between June and November 2025
💸 £6,000 (£200 per day)
📍 SPILL Think Tank, Ipswich
🕛 Application deadline: 19th May 2025

Find out more and apply here: https://www.spillfestival.com/work-with-us

📸 Alexander Ward, SPILL Festival 2023.

16/04/2025

📣 SPILL is looking for new Trustees!

We're seeking energetic and committed professionals to join our board, with up to two positions available.

SPILL brings memorable and out-of-the-ordinary art to Ipswich. With exciting new commissions and artist projects coming in 2025, we are entering an important phase in SPILL's story and would love for you to join us.

🗓️ Deadline for applications: Monday 30 June 2025
🔗 Trustee Information Pack and details on how to apply here:
https://www.spillfestival.com/work-with-us

📸 Alexander Ward. Monumental Constructions by Olivier Grossetête on Ipswich Cornhill, part of SPILL Festival 2023.

10/04/2025

📣 NEW THINK TANK SHOWS ON SALE

Join us this spring to explore Suffolk history through sound and film. Tickets are £5 each, or catch both for just £8! 👇

SHIFTING SOUNDSCAPES
Matthew Shenton
📅 Thu 22 May, 19:30
🎟 https://www.spillfestival.com/shifting-soundscapes

An experimental live music performance uncovering the history of Holbrook. What do its changing sounds reveal about class structures, national identity, and the growing environmental crisis?

The evening will include a Q&A session hosted by our Artistic Director, Robin Deacon.

IMMATERIAL TERRAIN AND OTHER FILMS
Emily Richardson + Jonathan P. Watts
📅 Thu 5 June, 19:30
🎟 https://www.spillfestival.com/immaterial-terrain

A series of powerful films exploring fragile Suffolk landscapes, and how they are changing at an uncertain time.

The evening will include a conversation with artist Jonathan P. Watts.

Don’t forget, the Think Tank bar is open before and after each performance ✨