A letter from outgoing Daisi Trustee, Roger Kirk

Daisi said a fond farewell to Roger Kirk, our most longstanding Board member, who stepped down as a Trustee at our AGM on 13th November 2024.  Roger has been an enormous asset to Daisi, being with us on our journey through so very many projects and watershed moments in the ongoing story of young people’s arts education provision and opportunity. Many thousands of children in our region have had transformative arts experiences alongside a professional artist during Roger’s time on the Board, and Roger could always be relied upon to support Daisi events, chatting enthusiastically with participants and offering helpful feedback to us. Roger’s vast experience in working collegiately, strategically and progressively has been highly valued by all at Daisi.  Always asking for the best while always supporting and encouraging everyone in what they are doing, we will most certainly miss Roger. During our farewell, Roger spoke to the Daisi Board about why the arts matter, and why Daisi matters. Moving words from someone who has such vital, long-term, on-the-ground knowledge.  We invite you to read Roger’s thoughts – a thank you letter to Daisi – below…

WHY DAISI MATTERS – a thank you letter to the staff and Board of Daisi, December 2024

But firstly, why do the arts matter at all?

Imagine, if you can, a world without the arts: a world with no music, no theatre, no films, no videos, no entertainment on television, no dance, no pictures, no comics, no magazines, no sculptures, no poetry, no stories, no ceramics, no wall-hangings, no decorations, no embroidery, no fashionable clothes, no well-designed everyday objects …. For many of us, life without these would not only be unbearably dull, but in many cases lack much of its meaning. All these art forms require firstly experiencing, then learning and practising, to become proficient in. While some of this can go on in the home, much needs to happen during our formal education. The arts tap into rich veins of imagination and creativity at the very heart of our humanity. I would argue that we cannot be full human beings without experience of, and access to, the rich world of the arts. For some young people and adults alike, the art-world is the only world in which they can fully express themselves, fully be the person they think themselves to be – and want to be.

So why Daisi?

Back in the 1990s, the Devon Governors’ Association, in liaison with Devon County Council (then the education authority) decided that an organisation was needed that could promote the arts in schools. Daisi was the result, giving schools access to high-quality and well-trained artists who were experienced in working with – and enjoying the excitement and challenge of – engaging with young people. It was further realised that the arts for young people needed continuous promotion and assistance, to provide opportunities for young people to experience a wide range of different art forms beyond what most schools alone could provide. No other organisation that I know of comes close to what Daisi is able to do across Devon and Torbay.

I joined Daisi in 2006, having retired that summer from my position as Principal at Dawlish Community College. Late in 2005, our daughter had died following a road accident. Following her death, family and friends decided to establish a charity in her name – The Helen Foundation (THF) – to support the arts for young people in Teignbridge schools. Helen was an actor living in London, and she enjoyed all aspects of the arts: drama, music, dance, painting, storytelling – it’s a long list! She benefitted incalculably from the many gifted and visionary arts teachers she encountered. She wasn’t the best at all art forms but was very committed to their development. This was especially true of drama, and she wrote her final university thesis at university on Theatre in Education, which she herself had already practised while working with a drama company in Spain.

As we shaped the nature of The Helen Foundation, it became immediately clear that we would need to find a source of locally-based artists of all kinds if we were to meet requests by schools. So having been approached and asked if I would join Daisi, and having found out what Daisi was, it became immediately clear to me that not only could THF enter a close relationship with Daisi, but that the mission and the aims of Daisi and THF were very much in alignment.

Daisi remains committed to improving young people’s access to the arts, both inside and outside schools, providing opportunities and guidance through its many arts activities across its area of operation. But in addition to that, Daisi is a powerful advocate for the arts, at a time when there are so many pressures in society, including within schools, colleges and universities to prioritise subjects like maths, engineering, technology, science and English. We need all those subjects and their related careers, of course, and what they offer to society. But we also equally need the arts, and not least for their invaluable contribution to the national well-being, to our sense of national pride – and to UK GDP.

I have gained so much for being a part of Daisi and thank everyone very warmly who made our work together so rewarding. I wish everyone involved in Daisi a happy and successful 2025.

Roger Kirk