Sarah Rumfitt, Face Value

About the Micro-Commission

“Utterly fooled. I believed those “insta-worthy” shots captured her world entirely: perfect life, ideal family, flawless skin, always smiling. I became infatuated with the fairy-tale… one freely shared online, affirmed by thousands of followers…then we met up; she told me how
hard things were”

Social media is invaluable; keeping us connected in a time so disconnected; a seemingly safe platform to share, listen, learn… express, but how aligned are our online worlds with our reality? is a picture still worth a thousand words? We create idealistic online personas, hiding ourselves, spiralling toward isolation; all while looking at each other’s worlds through rose tinted screens.

Face Value is a razor-sharp poetic performance highlighting the bittersweet of social media; exploring those unrealistic, unreliable narratives projected onto others, as well as those we create for ourselves.

About the Artist

Sarah is a writer, creative practitioner and registered Dramatherapist. A recent credit involved writing Butterflies and Steel, a piece of theatre designed to open up conversations about mental health (commissioned by TEES, ESK AND WEAR NHS FOUNDATION TRUST). In
all of her work she offers a person-centred relational style, using the arts as a vehicle to empower participants, promote open conversations and instill hope. Sarah uses the arts to
support: prevention, early-intervention and rehabilitation.

“I was thrilled to receive this commission from Ilkley Literature Festival. It has given me the
opportunity to explore and develop my own voice within performance-making”