If you want to become a successful artist, you need to put in the hours. But having inspiration for your work is just as important.

All artists will have days when they perhaps feel uncreative or uninspired. So, it’s crucial you find something to spark your imagination and get your creative juices flowing.

Stand-up is undoubtedly one of the hardest forms of comedy to truly master. It’s intimate, intimidating, and there’s nowhere to hide if it all goes wrong!

One thing’s for sure… you’ve got to have bags of confidence, not to mention pretty thick skin to stand in front of a room full of people and try to make them laugh.

Theatre Royal Plymouth has announced that James Mackenzie-Blackman will succeed Adrian Vinken OBE as its Chief Executive.

Currently Chief Executive of Eden Court Highlands, Scotland’s largest single-site performing arts venue, James Mackenzie-Blackman’s previous roles include Executive Director of Matthew Bourne’s award-winning dance company New Adventures, Executive Director of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and six years in a variety of roles at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith.

Plymouth is home to a number of exciting, diverse and innovative filmmakers - and none more so than Amber Amare. Amber specialises in camera operation, sound recording and editing.

She has worked at the University of Plymouth (UoP) as a film technician by day, and at the weekend works for the British Film Institute at Plymouth College of Art, running the filmmaking academy - “which is awesome”, she says.

KARST started life with relatively humble beginnings - growing from a pop-up project in 2011 to staple of Plymouth's culture scene at the forefront of creative innovation, drawing international attention.

Ben joined the team in the midst of a global pandemic in 2020 after heading up Plymouth Art Centre alongside working on a host of national and international projects.

Throughout their journey Hannah and Rachel have put community and audience at the heart of their work, which often features a participatory element.

For the past three years Nudge has been changing Union Street. Building by building, room by room, idea by idea, they are breathing life into a part of Plymouth too many people had sadly given up on.

Take A Part uses art as a catalyst to support community cohesion, celebrate local identity, challenge local issues and champion change where people live. 

Kim received an MBE in 2021 for Services to Social Engagement in the Arts - the first time ever that social practice has been acknowledged in this way.