Emma Bearman of Playful Anywhere is a driving force advocating for all things force for playful and creative in Leeds. In this episode Ali Long talks about Emma's role as Chief of Play, Galaxy Division, what the festival of play means for the city and what the city can expect during the fun-filled week.

Alexandra Long

Hello and welcome to our Emma Bearman episode of Leeds Playfest podcast.

Emma Bearman

Amazing, Ali got it all in one sentence.

Alexandra Long

Thank you. So I'm Ali from Beckett University from the childhood development and play work programme and today we have the pleasure of speaking to the lovely Emma all about playfest. Do you want to introduce yourself? I won't do that for you.

Emma Bearman

I feel slightly embarrassed by this, but only slightly. I grandiosely titled Myself chief of play, Galaxy division. Because I got tired of people asking me what I did and I just thought, well, do you know what, what's the point of play if you can't make up your own job title? Absolutely. You don't actually get paid a great deal for the work. You might as well have some status.

Alexandra Long

Yeah, absolutely. Even if it's self-allocated, yeah.

Emma Bearman

So that is what I'd like to have on LinkedIn as well, so I'm really going with that. So.

Alexandra Long

Galaxy is the way to go. Yeah, the scope of what play should be. Absolutely. Yeah. Couldn't agree more. So we're here to talk about playfest. So this is the first podcast episode where we actually talk about what all this playfest is all about. And that'd be a lovely opportunity to talk to you about your amazing work. And I remember coming here to the library, because we’re at Leeds City Library today, and that first event where everybody turned up and we started talking about having a play fest. So I can't actually believe it's happening next week.

Emma Bearman

Today in fact.

Alexandra Long

Yes. So that was I think that was February. So I think we we we're rumbling around saying there's an amazing strength in numbers across the city and we know this including the play work degree and what you're doing and we don't really always know what each other's up to. We're not necessarily championing each other and we probably all have just got our heads down, get on with it and we're defined by wanting, I think most people who work in the world of play and creativity just want to give people a really lovely time and tend not to have much time for reflection or coming together supporting each other. So there was this idea that alongside the work that's happening at the Council around play sufficiency was that there's probably a really interesting community of play that may or not may or may not at this stage, recognise themselves as a community.

Emma Bearman

Yeah.

Alexandra Long

So that was the question in a way. Have we got a community? Do we want to have a community and does a process like a festival give us something to sink our teeth into. Yeah. Even though it's not the only outcome that we would want from a community. And part of that journey is like, well, what is it we actually believe in as a city? Yeah, and want to put some energy into. So it's just one way really bringing us.

Emma Bearman

Together, I cannot believe the range of stuff that's happening over the course of the week. It is crazy. You look at the, you look at the programme of events and I was overwhelmed when it first was published. I was overwhelmed of what people are contributing to.

Alexandra Long

It is. Yeah.

Emma Bearman

To the festival play and how diverse the range of stuff that's happening for young children, for older children with there's provisions that are children with special educational needs. And it's just a bringing together in one place, all of the amazing work that's happening across Leeds and it's just it hasn't happened by Magic. It's happened through everybody's amazing contribution to it. But of course the credit where credit is due, there's been some really great leadership from you and Joe and the rest of the team.

Alexandra Long

Thank you. Because I think we when we set out it was kind of like, let's just get together in Butlers in Kirkstall. Yeah, a number of people who might just wanna explore what shall we do? So it did include people who work in local neighbourhoods, like on the action team to individuals, freelancers and S14 trust. Ben and Karen from the council, Rachel from library. So it's a really lovely mixed kind of group of people right from the get go. You know. Councillors Ed Carlyle and none of us defined really by a status. Really. It was like a shall we have a go? Yeah. It had absolutely all the beautiful spirit of a DIY kind of. What can we do? Yeah. What's the smallest thing that we can do to make a little change? Yeah. And I think even just that meeting, which was fun and we had all the usual stuff on the table like Lego and modelling clay and fidgety things and in a cafe just felt like, well, even if we did nothing but just have little meet ups more often and gathered more people. The process. My favourite expression in the world is the process we take to get to the future determines the future by Myron Rodgers

Emma Bearman

Hmm.

Alexandra Long

I'm like, even if this little process builds and builds and builds, yeah, or it doesn't build it's time we're spending. Yeah. So it doesn't feel like leadership. And when we talk about leadership, I always think about, it's like shepherding really. And some people play their part and actually really put loads and loads of work. So, Joe, you mentioned, has been extraordinarily good. Like bringing all this information together, nudging, networking. Just amazing communicating, just keeping the show on the road. Really. Yeah. And I think everybody else is, according to their time and capacity. So I think we've now put on about four bigger events for the community. So the one that you're referencing, the first one was held in the amazing space in these art art gallery, not art gallery, sorry, the library, yeah.

And I think there was about 80 people.

Emma Bearman

Yeah. It was amazing. I mean, it was amazing for us to come along this it had. I can't tell you the effect that it had on those students who came along it. I mean, obviously they're still hanging around with you. They're still working with you in the playbox.

Alexandra Long

It's amazing, isn't. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Emma Bearman

I think. For all of us, myself included, and the students. It it felt like we were part of something. Again, the play agenda in Leeds is vibrant and I think what it did, what I thought was wonderful about that event was all these people across the city working in disparate little communities, and whether it's libraries or community groups or whatever, and and having everybody in one room, I mean, not everybody. I'm sure there's people that couldn't be there, but having all of those people in one room, you're like. Oh my God, look at how many there of us, yeah. Like-minded people coming together all with this view...we can make this city a bit more playful, but for everybody, I mean, we've just had a lovely conversation about play and parents and carers and bringing people together and making Leeds feel like a A community using play as that catalyst, yeah. It's so exciting and invigorating.

Presenter

If you would like to make a difference to individuals and communities from exploring the diagnosis or treatment of disease to the provision of therapies for recovery and rehabilitation to community based social care, the school of health is the place. For you, you'll be part of a community that's committed to improving health outcomes locally and globally. We work closely with partners to improve practise, tackle health inequalities and inspire the next generation of leaders in treatment and care. Many of our courses are professional body accredited, ensuring new receive and education and develop the practical skills. And experienced employees value and so whether you're starting out on your journey, are wishing to progress professionally, find out more at leedsbeckettac.uk/health.

Emma Bearman

And I think it was striking in terms of that first meet up in terms of if you ever listen when you facilitate something to the sound in the room and it was like the energy was so crackling, wasn't it? Well, and you know, when you want to a good thing when you're thinking, God, this is just one small percentage of who's in this city, who wants a conduit to get involved in something, yeah. In a small way, or a big way, so the bit where you were talking about meeting the play work, you're bringing your play work students. Like Oh my God. The responsibility I think we feel to connect them into things that are already happening or for them to feel things are possible. Yeah. You know that there is a future, a really great future for play work. Yeah. It's something I think a lot of us feel in that room, which is the generation or opportunities that we need to create. Yeah. You know, for early years upwards, every single step along the way is like, how do we make this work for people? Yeah, and how do we create careers, you know? Yeah. In public space, in communities as well as, you know, working within institutions and organisations. So I think there is definitely a sort of there's a depth to this process. Yeah, as well as the kind of. It's fun.

Speaker

Yeah.

Alexandra Long

Yeah, yeah.

Emma Bearman

Yeah, and that's exactly how any age person should encounter what's put on? Yeah, it's like, well, I'm so glad I came along, you know, and obviously.

Alexandra Long

Yeah, yeah.

Emma Bearman

There are gaps, you know, without going into it, there are things that we can identify even now that where like with more time and more money, more commissioning, more all so much potential that it's exciting. It's so exciting.

Alexandra Long

Yes. Yes. Yeah, I love what you said there about, you know, we all exist in our little institutions and we feel that of course we're an academic institution, but playfest for us really it's taking everybody out of their institutions, isn't it? And putting play on the map for Leeds, right, but not just in the city centre. Of course I've made reference to that you know, the the play information outside, but actually all those community groups on the outskirts of Leeds, in the residential areas in the suburbs that are also saying, you know what, this is the playfest, this is a festival of play and creativity. And we're signing up to that and we're gonna just make our little mark in our own little communities by just saying this week we're dedicating it to the subject of play. Yes. And I just think it raises play onto the agenda of community groups of adults and parents and grandparents, intergenerational stuff. I think it's gonna have a great legacy.

I mean, what are the plans for the future for? Too early to say. Maybe you'll see. That next week.

(laughter)

Emma Bearman

Well, I mean this. This is the problem of a Galaxy Division style ambition.

Alexandra Long

Yeah.

Emma Bearman

So there, there are other cities, believe it or not, in the UK, which I think are fairly playful, yeah, like Bristol, Brighton. Glasgow. Sso I think we can't quite claim yet that we are the most playful but maybe by intention in an absolutely concentrated attempt. Yeah we may actually. I'm not really into you know besting other cities actually. But I do think the kind of interest that other places are looking at with the work that's going on in Leeds with play sufficiency as well is testament to the fact that we really do think this is a moment,there's a zeitgeist to this and I think...

Alexandra Long

Yeah. I think so.

Emma Bearman

...if we can achieve things through, this is proving that everybody's little thing can add up to something like an amazing tapestry play. So if you're talking somewhere, if you're doing something, there's like a lot of the councillors have been incredibly generous with their mice money, which is their sort of discretionary, smallish sums. And so there are 25 little free libraries that will have a play pack, which includes Michael Rosen's book and a game and chalk. So at a local level, you know, there's neighbourhood style stuff. There's the play, streets are happening. I'm not quite sure how many yet, but there will be play streets.

Alexandra Long

Yes. Yes.

Emma Bearman

So it's like a moment in time, isn't it, where we can capture the smallest little thing you could do? Yeah. And there's a today there's a a scalextric event happening in cookridge. Like I wanna go play scalextric. I haven't played that in God knows how many years.

Alexandra Long

Yes, never keep my car on the tracks. Ohh yeah, right. Lovely. Ohh fabulous. Yeah.

Emma Bearman

Years and it's with Opal. So I think they work with older people as well. So there's that lovely intergenerational thing happening. Yeah. And then in Cross Gates, there's Hodgson's family lights and every year they absolutely bedeck their house with the amazing creativity of a light show. It's a family home, but they raise money for Saint Martin's Hospice, and so they're like, yeah, we'll be part of this play festival, you know, and it's like there’s a ‘joining-inness’. And that's what I think this is about.

Emma Bearman

Right.

Alexandra Long

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yes.

Emma Bearman

Its trying to open up your arms for like everybody can join in, and if we don't get it right this time, it's not for lack of want and intent.Yeah. It's just that there's not enough of us to necessarily. So how do we make this the most inclusive, accessible, joyful process. Yeah, that anybody can lead in. Yeah. It's like we kind of got it started, but we don't have all the answers. So it's the party that everybody can join. Really, Isn't it?

Alexandra Long

Yeah, it is. It is. It doesn't feel exclusive at all. Everybody's contributing their own little thing in their own little way.

And then, like you say, like that analogy about it's like a tapestry. It's like a mosaic, isn't it? All these little pieces coming together to paint a real picture of what play looks like and feels like and what you can contribute in Leeds, I think it's. Really, really exciting.

Emma Bearman

I have to say though in terms of the the students that you've worked with.. They rose to everybody's attention, really at that very first meeting because they were just so articulate and enthusiastic and energetic. And so you mentioned that I've carried on working with them because I was like, this is exactly what we need. Yeah, we really need at playful, for sure. We need people who have got energy and ideas. And they're wanting to get that started in the world. And so we've worked with them this year on various paid commissions and work inside Leeds, Doncaster, Rotherham. Cambridge and involve them as much as possible, but at one of the events we did called the Magic Money tree – were you at that that one.

Alexandra Long

I wasn't that one.

Emma Bearman

Yeah, you know, was it Tillia? Yeah, yeah. Tillia stood up and kind of went ‘we want to be paid full-time, salaried jobs to be pay workers’. Yeah. So aside from this festival it is creating that space for people to be able to name their wants.

Emma Bearman

Yes.

Emma Bearman

And what we need to make that happen, yeah. So if we create a trusted space through this process where people are able to stand up and go, this is what you can do for us. And this is what we can do for you. Yeah. Then that is what I think community development is.

Alexandra Long

Yeah, it's exciting time, you. Amazing. I've got to ask you one last question before we end this episode and that is if you had your absolute wish, how would Leeds be... What is your vision for playful Leeds?

Emma Bearman

It's culture change, isn't it? Really. So it's both how we see it in the, we talked about this earlier, like in the built environment. Yeah. So if you're coming out of the train station or your journey in and around Leeds, whether that's on a bike, on a skateboard, at the doctor's surgery at a bus stop. You know, well there's lots of work to be done here, right? So the the kind of what? Why even bother playing? Why? What is it? You know, if we can't communicate why it's joyful and why being in a flow state makes you feel good and why?

Alexandra Long

There is, yeah.

Emma Bearman

You know, I could get political here. I suppose it's like we live in a very consumer society where a lot of our work is attached to how much money we spend or earn. Yeah, and play can dissolve all of that. Yeah. And all that anxiety attached to getting ahead and what have you and I think to strike at the heart of, like, consumer capitalism (LAUGHTER). It won't. It's not gonna happen, is it? But it's been hard to balance that out and say, yeah, come into town, have a great time on your way here and on your way back. Whichever way you get here, but also be able to hang out to chill out and not to feel that you're only valued if you've got money in your pocket? Absolutely. Yeah. So that would be an amazing outcome is that people can really enjoy their city whatever age they are. And have the spirit of playfulness as they're going about their day. Awesome.

Alexandra Long

Thanks so much, Emma. That's amazing. Thank you. Yay.