In this full interview Sandwell's own Lumi HD discusses her life as a singer songwriter and performing artist in the West Midlands. Lumi discovered her voice in her teenage years by chance at church, when she was informed they needed an Alto for the Church Choir and was sent home to practice. Despite being shy and running away after finishing her early solos, Lumi persevered and developed a love of music as she was encouraged to keep going. After studying popular music at the Wolverhampton University Lumi travelled playing a variety of gigs and recalls a jazz festival she played at in Norway.

When Lumi became a Mother her relationship with music changed and she realised her love for it went far beyond short term fame and she now finds the most meaningful gigs are the ones she plays closer to home in the region. She believes Midlands audiences are uniquely warm and family friendly and believes this could be the key to encouraging more talent to develop in the West Midlands and attract investment into the region. Lumi outlines if we continue to encourage creativity in each other, connect and share opportunities we may finally be able to step into the spotlight and let the world see who we are.

You can find her @LumiHD on instagram and her music on spotify just search for Lumi HD.

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In this full interview we hear from Fran Richards a freelance Creative Practitioner and Director who works closely with the Arena and Grand Theatres in Wolverhampton running their joint youth theatre programme. Fran talks about her journey in to theatre and how it began from a very early age when she watched her Grandparents VHS videos of popular musicals over and over again and performed to old ladies on the bus.

She opens up about the disappointment she felt when she didn't get into a national drama school, but also how this inspired her to make the most of every opportunity open to her during her time at Wolverhampton University. Fran's passion for theatre has grown beyond a desire to be on the West End, as she has learnt more about the transformational power of theatre and seen what a difference it makes to the young people she works with, when they get the opportunities to write plays, produce them and star in them. Now twelve years into her career Fran realises not getting into a national drama school was the best thing for her as she now has the opportunity to make a difference to her community whilst enjoying the Black Country's beloved orange chips.

You can find her at Fran Richards on facebook, or @arena_theatre on instagram

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In this final episode of the series Satnam and Robbie consider the future of creativity and culture in the West Midlands. They ask where next and consider what they've learnt from listening to those working across the sectors and again we head to the Black Country and speak to two women who believe that investing and encouraging our creatives and keeping them connected to local communities and grass roots initiatives with a focus on delivering creative education is the way forward.

Fran Richards is a freelance Creative Practitioner and Director who works closely with the Arena and the Grand Theatres in Wolverhampton running their youth theatre programme. After missing her opportunity to go to Dram School, Fran's career took a different direction which changed her life and forced her to develop her networking skills. She is now a passionate advocate of creative education not only in theatres but across disciplines and determined to show the young people she works with just how many creatives are working successfully across the West Midlands. Fran is the Senior Practitioner at the Gran Arena Theatre and you can find her at Fran Richards on facebook, or @arena_theatre on instagram

We also hear from Lumi HD who is a Sandwell based singer songwriter and performing artist. Lumi discovered her voice in her teenage years by chance at church, when the head of the Choir told her to go home and practice because they needed an alto to harmonise. After getting over her initial nerves and feeling the encouragement from the other choir members Lumi developed her love of music and went on to study popular music at the Wolverhampton University. Having played at large and small venues she admits the most meaningful gigs she has played, have been here in the Midlands where the audiences continue to encourage and the network of musicians continue to connect and share opportunities. Lumi believes we are at an exciting moment and if creatives can connect and continue to support each other, we may finally be able to step into the spotlight and let the world see who we are.

You can find her @LumiHD on instagram and her music on spotify just search for Lumi HD.

Visit our website at www.creativityandculturewm.com

Follow us on instagram: @creativityandculturewm - tik tok:@creativityandculturewm

Subscribe and leave a review!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.