A cup of tea with Creative Programmes Manager Jake Tily

Something very exciting happened at ITT Towers last week; Jake Tily joined the team as our new Creative Programmes Manager! We’re very excited about working with Jake, who has abundant experience of project management and building partnerships through his previous work with Tender.

Get to know him over a nice cup of tea and find out why safety goggles should always be worn in his kitchen.

ITT: Jake, welcome to the team! Can you tell us a bit about your background?

Jake Tily: I studied at Central School of Speech and Drama on the Applied Theatre course. Since graduating I’ve delivered a range of different arts based projects in schools; SEN settings; prisons; and with other adult community groups.

The majority of my career has been working for Tender, a domestic violence charity that uses the arts to promote healthy relationships with young people. At Tender I managed all of their work in schools, as well as the London Council’s Violence Prevention consortium; which consisted of 11 gender based violence organisations. Over the past two years we worked in 160 primary, secondary and out of school settings educating young people about domestic and sexual violence, as well as culturally specific forms of violence such as FGM, ‘Honour’ Based Violence and Forced Marriage.

I was also fortunate enough to be a Trustee at Broken Rainbow UK, which provides support to people in the LGBTQ community who have experienced Domestic and Sexual Violence.

ITT: What made you want to work for ITT?

JT: I’ve really enjoyed the work that I’ve done in prisons, and know how powerful the arts can be as a tool for increasing people’s confidence and self-esteem. I think the work the trust does is so important and necessary, so I wanted to get involved.

ITT: How was your first week?

JT: Really good. There’s been lots of reading applications, watching videos and finding out how the three strands of work are delivered. The best part has been reading feedback from past participants and their families about how much their involvement in our projects has meant to them. I’m attending my first Making Tracks project in a couple of weeks so I’m excited to see it in action.

ITT: Your role is all about developing ITT’s programmes. What are you excited about getting your teeth into?

JT: The quality of work that ITT delivers is already at such a high standard, so my job will be to build on the projects’ current successes and enable us to reach even more people. There are some really exciting projects and partnerships on the horizon, and the plans for our 21^st anniversary are coming along nicely, so watch this space…

ITT: Is there a piece of music or song that has particularly inspired you?

I really like songs that are a hybrid of different genres. I think James Blake is really talented. I like how ‘Limit to your Love’ starts off with his gentle vocal and piano and then then this bass kicks in. I saw him at Green Man Festival a few years ago, and the main stage was at the bottom of a hill so it acted like a natural amphitheatre. The bass bounced up the hill, and you could literally feel it in your stomach… it was brilliant. Recording music in your bedroom has definitely come a long way since Daniel Bedingfield…

ITT: What do you like to get up to in your spare time?

JT: I really like cooking and trying out new recipes. Recent delicacies have included slow roasted Chinese pork belly, and double-stuffed Haitian chicken that’s flambéed in rum. I’d go easy on the amount of rum you set on fire though as I almost lost my eyebrows.

ITT: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? Did you take it?!

JT: I remember a teacher once said to me ‘Love many, trust few, but always paddle your own canoe.’ The only canoe I’ve been in was a three-seater, so it made sense to ignore her advice.

ITT: Thanks Jake!