Artist profile
Sarah 'Rain' Kolawole
Sarah ‘Rain’ is a playwright and spoken word artist, published poet and facilitator from Nottingham. Currently a Graeae Theatre, Beyond artist with Derby Theatre, and an associate artist with Rebel Sparks. Sarah was a Vital Spark Relationship Artist in 2023/24.
We are delighted to welcome Sarah, as an Ideas Fund Artist this year. Sarah has gone onto successfully be awarded funding through Arts Council, for her Idea’s Fund Piece ‘AYO’. Ayo is a multisensory piece aimed at disabled children and their non-disabled siblings and peers. Ayo is a girl with cerebral palsy on holiday in Nigeria, she meets an enthralling butterfly in Lagos, who distracts her, and she becomes lost.
More about the artist
Sarah was commissioned by Derby Theatre in 2020-21 to co-write the stage adaption of the book Home Girl by Alex Wheatle for their main stage.
In 2019-20 she received an ACE project grant where she developed my ‘Rootless Island Baby’ script (originally drafted on Soho writers lab) whilst being an Associate at Nottingham Playhouse. This concluded with a Rehearsed reading included in the Playhouse’s ‘Unlocked’ and Spring festival of work. Alongside this, I created a young people’s theatre group ‘Rootz’ which still runs.
My writing style tends to be poetic and the stories that interest me often include lived experience. For example; sibling relationships, separation/loss, ‘race’, identity and the Care system. Prior to becoming a parent carer, I worked as a Social Worker which has transferred across into my writing along with my personal experiences of being fostered/adopted. Since becoming a parent of a child with profound and multiple disabilities who is excluded from mainstream life, I now have an urge to create work that children and young people can engage in, work which is poetic, rhythmic, multi-sensory and has immersive elements. I also continue to write for mainstream theatre.
”Excited to be part of the Ideas Fund and developing my idea with skilled creatives, I hope to gain a broadened AYO specific network.
Sarah 'Rain' KolawoleIdeas Fund Artist
The Vital Spark behind everything we do
We believe that all children should be able to experience arts and culture, and that they should be able to see themselves represented in these experiences. This is not yet the case for every child and we’re committed to changing that.
Our response is Vital Spark, and it's at the heart of everything we do. Vital Spark is about challenging and changing the lack of diversity in children’s arts and culture; it’s about diverse-led artistic decision making; it’s about not being afraid to stand up for what’s right.
We do this by supporting artists who are currently underrepresented in children’s arts and culture. We also work with partner organisations to create world-class opportunities for these artists and share best practice.
