The Face of Chelmsford. The future mayor of the City. The future of creativity (FULL STOP). Rebecca described herself as multi-passionate when it comes to creativity. She hosts women’s circles - a safe space for people to turn up authentically and connect. She is part of Make Space for Girls - a project for creating specific spaces for girls to feel safe and belong - architecture for girls and women. Rebecca is a self taught creative. She wasn’t encouraged creatively at school, and left to get on with things herself, so had to discover her own outlets for her ideas. What was it like being the first generation growing up with phones in school. The ultimate distraction, changing how you communicate, and disconnect. Creativity can come from boredom, but with so much content and information to consume now, it’s hard to see any time as downtime. Removing outside influences to focus on purity of creative output. Rebecca’s theory about writing by hand leading to more creative satisfaction - it’s human nature. Nick does a bad Peppa Pig Oasis joke. Musical notation for non-musicians - vibe notation (with Matt Ashdown). Big up the teachers that spot creativity and encourage it. Rebecca has been commissioned by Chelmsford City Council to write a poem for a video piece about the city of Chelmsford. How to balance paid commissions with artistic freedom. Revisiting your work after some reflection time - when your ego can detach from the work. The selection process for the poetry commission, and first live performance as a poet. Rebecca learned to perform at a poetry rap workshop with some mentors and performed 6-months pregnant. Chelmsford fuchsia will be the colour of the year. Fun times making a video around the city for the poem. What rhymes with Chelmsford? Marconi’s equinox eclipse portal - is it in the Museum? Bringing together all the creative disciplines of a city to work together. What is a multipassionate multipotentialite - someone that doesn’t need to commit to just one thing creatively. Having different disciplines and projects keeps your creative mind sharp. Trying to remember poems to perform without a book or phone. Getting into freestyle rap. REBECCA IS THE CREATIVE FUTURE!

In Tune With Rebecca - IG

In Tune With Rebecca - Web

Are You Creative? recorded by Adam at Lawker Media, Chelmsford, ESSEX
Edited by Nick Hearne
Artwork by Alpaca Antenna

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Thanks to NGDA for their support

Live from Firstsite Colchester (the Golden Banana). Exhibition programme manager George is born and bred Bas Vegas (aka Basildon) from Laindon Hills. His family grew up in a self-built wooden shack in the Plotlands - which fitted closely into the themes of Michael Landy’s ‘Welcome to Essex’ exhibition, George’s first project at Firstsite. Firstsite has seen artists like Ai Weiwei, Anthony Gormley, Grayson Perry - and now George himself! It began with a bursary in 2020 talking to autistic people about what art meant to them. Which led to an open call for artworks about technology, which lead to this autobiographical exhibition ‘Voyager 2000: Worldbeing & Wonder?’ where George tells his life story through other people’s artwork. George was trapped in an uninspiring retail job, and managed to hustle his way into doing what he wanted - by pursuing art journalism to talk about ableism in queer spaces in Gay Times and then using social media to find art mentors. As a child George visited the National Gallery in between hospital appointments, and he studied painting for human emotion which helped him mask. Art is very relationship based, artists being recommended by other people. George would use dating sites to meet men that would teach him about art history. He is interested in changing the power dynamics in the artworld. Hanging exhibitions at different heights for accessibility. Balancing accessibility needs. He advocates engagement over preservation, and wants people to touch some artworks. Making smellable artworks. George came into art through the art therapy programme at Great Ormond Street Hospital when he was a child. He had his artwork shown at Turner Contemporary at Margate, and acquired by Southend Museum. How did George include the Grindr app colours into his exhibition. Why you should make friends with caretakers! Getting diagnosed as autistic. Talking about the Disability Pride flag. Fetishisation of the disabled body. How technology in Essex has gone from the invention of radio all the way to location services in Grindr? How did a Nintendo Wii-U make George burst out crying? Mixing established artists with emerging artists within an exhibition.

George Morl website

George on Instagram

Are You Creative? recorded by Lawker Media, at Firstsite Colchester, ESSEX
Edited by Nick Hearne
Artwork by Alpaca Antenna

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Thanks to NGDA for their support

It’s National Cheeseburger Day and Sangita isn’t here, it’s the legend Adam on the co-host - He’s been at Rom Skatepark chucking coloured powder all over the kids for the end of skatepark summer season. Over to our guest… Jake ‘The Burgerman’ Willis plays guitar in hardcore band Raiden, and being in a heavy metal band makes you have bad hearing. Prank chat. Hat chat. Wait for it… BURGER CHAT! Jake was named after Jake’s Hamburgers in Ilford, his Dad loves burgers too. Jake likes his burgers simple! Quality ingredients. No fancy extras. A beef patty between two slices of bread. He cooked A LOT of burgers to learn how to do it well. A flat griddle on his hob upped the game. Then during COVID lockdown, he made burgers EVERYDAY! And then made too many burgers for his family, so started delivering to mates. Food drops are exciting. Nick remembers the Meat Wagon in London. Jake doesn’t want to ruin his creative passion for burgers by doing it full time. He loves the exclusive drop format. Eating burgers with a knife and fork! What makes a good burger bun? Getting the perfect bun transformed the whole burger product - the secret was potato. Matt Binge from Food Review Club gave Jake’s burgers an incredible score when he tried it. A lot of love for Big Macs. What would be in the ultimate Essex burger? What are the secrets to seasoning. Has Jake eaten 10000 burgers? We hear about Hamburger by Hepburn in Shenfield - a restaurant with a butchers - sounds amazing. Nick rates Devine Burgers at The Vine in Great Bardfield. Adam likes to put a Birdseye Potato Waffle in with his burger. The Sistine Chapel of Big Mac made by the gods which Jake had at Hawksmoor (not Essex!). Nick gets dreamy talking about Burger Bear at Old Street. Has anyone made an amazing veggie burger? Halo Burger! Is perfecting burgers like learning the guitar?

WillisyBurger Instagram

Are You Creative? recorded by Adam at Lawker Media, Chelmsford, ESSEX
Edited by Nick Hearne
Artwork by Alpaca Antenna

Don't forget to like, subscribe, share and all the good stuff.

Follow our Instagram for latest news and behind the scenes photos

Send comments, questions, or suggestions for fascinating creative people in Essex give us a shout on our Instagram

Thanks to NGDA for their support