ABOUT SPILL

SPILL is an arts organisation and registered charity based in Ipswich in the East of England. 

We work with artists and communities to create unusual and memorable art projects across our town and further afield. We forge local partnerships to bring creative activities to shops, churches and open spaces.

Our intimate venue and workshop space is called the Think Tank; here we present small artist-led performances, exhibitions, talks and screenings, and host our highly-regarded artist residency programme. 

SPILL has a local focus and a global outlook. Our work brings internationally significant art, artists and ideas to Ipswich.

Photographer showing camera preview to two smiling elderly people in front of a red background.

Pop Up Photo Studio - Autograph (SPILL 2021)

MISSION

We produce unusual and memorable art projects to cultivate curiosity about ourselves, each other, and the world we live in.

How we do this:

  • We bring world-class art and artists to Ipswich audiences

  • We connect artists and communities to create projects relevant to our town, its people and history

  • We host artist-led workshops and educational activities for all ages

  • We deliver artist development opportunities, including residencies and mentoring programmes

  • We present mainstream and experimental art and ideas alongside one another 

  • We work in partnership with cultural sector peers across the country

Person gesturing while speaking, wearing a patterned shirt and blazer.

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

SPILL has been an artist-led organisation since its inception. The creative direction provided by an Artistic Director who is also an artist is incredibly important to the functioning of the festival and wider organisation.

Our current Artistic Director, Robin Deacon, has worked in performance, video and writing since the mid 1990s. His work is known for its innovative approach to the lecture as an art form. Robin’s interest in storytelling and narrative is reflected in his approach to programming and curation at SPILL, where he emphasises unusual perspectives and untold histories. Having worked in universities and art schools for many years, Robin is invested in the power of education and learning as a tool and a fundamental right.

VISION

Artists feel refreshed, with a renewed clarity of vision and purpose. They feel confident to explore new methods and articulate new ideas. 

The art created and presented at SPILL is part of a local, regional, national and global creative conversation. The international arts community views work made outside of major cities as significant and worthy of attention.

The people of Ipswich are proud of their town and feel invested in the work we do. They approach each other and the world with openness and generosity. 

Ipswich is a major creative centre within East Anglia’s thriving regional arts ecology. People see Ipswich as a place where you can live a rich and interesting life.

VALUES

At SPILL, we value:

  • Nuanced ideas and perspectives

  • Open and expansive dialogues

  • Fairness and approachability

  • And we minimise the harm we do to our planet

HISTORY

The SPILL Festival of Performance was created in London by artist Robert Pacitti in 2007.

At that time Robert had spent 15 years making and touring his own group and solo experimental performance works internationally, under the name Pacitti Company. But presenting this type of work in any sustained meaningful way in the UK was an issue which at that time many artists faced. It was this gap in provision which led Robert to create SPILL, as an artist-led tactic towards forcing significant change.

From the get-go SPILL commissioned work, presented an international programme, leveraged established culture houses alongside found spaces and the streets, and ensured that works presented were properly contextualised, through writing, public discussion, participatory Think Tank events and good quality documentation. Robert was Artistic Director and Curator of the first 10 SPILL Festivals (2007 - 2021), during which time he moved the event from London to Suffolk, and opened the Think Tank building as a permanent physical base for SPILL to operate from. Since its first edition SPILL was produced by Pacitti Company. In 2021, prior to passing the organisation on, Robert oversaw SPILL Festival becoming its own legal and producing entity, with Robin Deacon appointed as SPILL’s next Artistic Director.

Find out more about the heritage of the festival in our Archive, and for further information and context visit Robert’s website at robertpacitti.com.

Photo credits: Pop Up Photo Studio and Robin Deacon by Guido Mencari