For emerging artists, finding opportunities, making connections and having space to develop new work can be challenging. For actor and artist Michelle Sakyi, joining our Artist Network opened the door to all three.
Michelle grew up in Northern Virginia in the USA before moving to the UK to study acting at Arts University Bournemouth. After graduating, she decided to stay and continue building her career here.
Her first professional acting role was in The Nightjar, which tells the story of a girl migrating from Ghana to England, symbolised through the journey of the nightjar bird.
Michelle’s journey with us began when she brought a story developed during her time at university to one of our Scratch Nights.
I never thought it would go anywhere beyond university. I applied, got accepted and performed it at Scratch Night. It was surreal! I was scared the whole day, then I got on stage and somehow just went for it. One audience member came up to me and said, ‘You told my story.’ That honestly made my whole night. Seeing someone who looked like me connect with what I was saying was incredible.
“Having a theatre say, ‘We see something here and we want to give you space to explore it,’ is really powerful.”
Developing the work at Mayflower Studios
Following Scratch Night, we offered Michelle a five-day residency at Mayflower Studios, giving her access to our creative spaces and recording studio. We also provided £500 to support the work’s development.
Michelle used the five days to develop the story, work on its music and create a demo recording to share with potential funders and producers.
For Michelle, the residency provided more than practical support. It also gave her greater confidence in her work’s potential.
The residency gave me the opportunity to take what I’d learnt and develop it further. Five days obviously wasn’t enough to finish something this big, so I treated them as foundational days. I want to bring in more voices and a bigger team. It’s not just my story.
Connecting with artists across the South
Michelle is also a member of our Artist Network, which brings local artists together with opportunities to connect, create and develop their practice, as well as The Woven Network, our partnership with Tangle Theatre for African, Caribbean and Global Majority artists.
The Artist Network has made me more aware of opportunities for artists in the South, and you meet amazing people. It shows that you don’t have to be in a big city like London to experience or create art that is worthwhile. It’s also just so accessible.
You can follow Michelle’s journey on Instagram at @themichellesakyi.
Artist Development at Mayflower
Interested in developing your creative practice and connecting with other artists? Find out more and join Mayflower’s Artist Network or The Woven Network.