Fiona Sharp

I have over 15 years’ experience of working in the creative industry sector - as TEFL teacher, venue producer and freelancer. I have envisioned, fund-raised and delivered multiple projects and grown audiences for music, theatre, dance and community events from my local church to the Cultural Olympiad to major international festivals. 

In January 2019, I was appointed to open the doors of Rugby School in UK’s theatre. It was to become Rugby, Warwickshire, UK’s only public, professional theatre. With no team to help me, I had to rely upon my resilience and creative problem-solving to get the job underway. My role included: finding an audience; programming the work; contracting the artists; marketing the shows; creating a mailing list compliant with GDPR; managing a ticket-selling platform; recruiting staff; managing the front of house/box-office/bar; finding and managing funders; applying for funding applications to Arts Council England and other trusts and foundations; finding and managing sponsors; creating sponsorship documents; managing budgets; creating a website; building relationships with local schools, local businesses and local authorities; programming artists and creating a workshop programme for 4000 children during The Festival on The Close http://www.festivalontheclose.co.uk/. 

I am a self-starter. I began my own company in 2015, The Wheels on Debussy, http://www.thewheelsondebussy.com/ because I saw that there was no opportunity for children to experience world-class music on their doorstep. I have raised £71,500 through grants, trusts, events, sponsorship and match-funding to deliver a programme of cultural activity for Rugby and beyond. I paved the way towards helping turn Rugby into a cultural hub by brokering deals and creating opportunities for theatre, music and art to exist alongside local business. 

My passion is to educate and inspire I would be thrilled to contribute these qualities here in France. 

Fiona Sharp 

Links to my freelance work 

The Wheels on Debussy Concerts http://www.thewheelsondebussy.com/  

Armistice Festival 2018 http://www.thewheelsondebussy.com/armistice-festival 

Creative Communities http://www.thewheelsondebussy.com/creativecommunities 

http://www.crickcreates.com/ 

http://www.tonbridgecreates.com/ 

http://www.iforgotmysilverplate.com/