Creative producer of immersive environments, Kirsty Barlow, is a well loved member of our team. Arriving with us as a volunteer at Just So festival back in 2016, she returned year on year and quickly became part of our staff team in capacity as a maker.
She is a talented set designer, working in many theatres across the UK, and has more recently moved into a new role as Creative Producer for Immersive Environments.
We put a few questions to Kirsty to find out a little more about what sparks her creativity, asking her to share some of her tales from life at Wild Rumpus!
What’s the silliest thing you’ve ever done in the name of creativity?
‘I once measured the circumference of the trunks of multiple trees at Chester Zoo, hugging them in the process with my best friend Ella. Most of them were bigger than my arms could reach. We laughed and found it silly that we were doing this for work! They went on to be yarn bombed in colourful crochet, and looked beautiful!’
What are you working on at the moment?
‘I’m deep in design for our summer festivals, while simultaneously designing some of our winter trails – quite the mix!’
We have recently moved our workspace back into the Whirligig Woods, how has the move affected the way you work?
‘I’m super excited about moving to the woods, being more connected to nature and working from such a beautiful space. Thinking about the positive change we can make there when we’re more in touch with the environment.
Last year I had a happy memory of painting a mural in the sun with one of our placement students Joe. I think about this and look forward to being in the gorgeous environment all year round, flowing with the changes in the seasons and enjoying the work that I get to do.’
Tell us about your new role
‘In my new role as Creative Producer, I am loving working more closely with artists, placements, and volunteers at Wild Rumpus-feeling more connected to the wider community.
Working on the design for our events and having the opportunity to think about the atmosphere we want to create with the visual design at the festivals is amazing.
At Just So festival last year I was stood with Rowan (Director of Wild Rumpus) on the Sunday evening, and there was a beautiful joyous, relaxed energy at the festival, as I looked around I felt so proud to be part of creating this space for people and the chance to be part of this process as creative producer is a real joy.‘
At Wild Rumpus, sustainability is at the heart of all we do, tell us about how you weave this principle into your work.
‘The idea of bringing things we created last year and using them in a new way for our events year on year is really exciting, there is real joy in reusing things and giving them a new life.
So many of the beautiful things we make get used and re used and used again. Last year we made a marble run, colourful flags, glittering unicorns, and lots more for so many amazing events in museums, libraries, in fields and on light trails. All the things we created for these stories can have a new life and a new story.
I’m looking forward to thinking about new things we might build and how we can do it in a sustainable and environmentally conscious way. Hopefully these things can then be used at our future events and the cycle begins again.
I hope that the things we make and the events we put on benefit other people and have a positive impact on the people there.’
Kirsty is currently designing some immersive experiences we know audiences will not only love, but experience a fresh connection with nature through.
If you’re interested in volunteering as a maker, in operations, or even manning the loos – we would love to hear from you. You can apply to volunteer with us via this form. You never know, you might just be our next creative producer one day!