At their first gathering, Black Women in Theatre compiled a slideshow of more than 130 black women over the last 30-40 years in British theatre. It proved a really powerful antidote to the idea that there are no black women in leadership in theatre: there are and always have been. This network was created to overcome the isolation often felt by black female leaders within organisations, to celebrate and champion their achievements, and to bring together all theatre staff and creatives across generations to see and help support each other in driving forward new innovations.
In this talk, BWiT Founder Stella Kanu, also Executive Director of LIFT Festival, reflects on the development of Black Women in Theatre and the wider importance of such networked collaboration for supporting talent, sparking new collaborations and ideas, and creating lasting change in the creative industries.
