Talk #105

IOU

IOU have made art that sits outside of the usual places art is supposed to live, always sited and always working across a variety of artforms IOU at its core is run by a maker of objects, the objects are the starting point, often the objects are brought to life using technology and/or performance. IOU strives to remove didactic fingerprints from its projects and instead attempts to create art that leaves room for the audience to draw all sorts of meanings from the work and not be presented with a didactic lesson. At IOU we believe that a large part of the creative process is done in the minds of the audience members, they complete the puzzle. IOU's work is accessible and reaches an audience from a wide range of backgrounds. In recent years IOU's shows have experimented with new technology and sculpture.

Jonathan is a Creative Producer for IOU and has 20 years of experience in directing and producing performance projects. After 15 years of making site-specific theatre that bashed the audience around the head with trauma and opinions Jonathan took the decision to work to change his process to suit a project and no longer change a project to suit his process, by removing his creative fingerprints and advertising the fact rather cosmically doors opened to new sectors and Jonathan was able to work across a much wider spectrum of practices, there came a point where within a week Jonathan had made a show with ritual heavy radical live artist Ron Athey and then started straight away on a show for the under 5's.

Jonathan helps IOU make projects and also runs their residency called Space, Time, Tools, Advice which opens the doors to artists from a range of artforms and career stages, IOU is a unique creation centre in the North.