Tantrum Flex Ensemble (formerly Tantrum X Ensemble) is a program of weekly workshops for teenagers to collaborate with each other as artists to make new connections and exciting new art.

Over 6 months in 2020, the FleX Ensemble took on the challenge of collaborating as performance makers at a time when live performance wasn’t possible in the same way. Though they occasionally despaired along the way (who didn’t?), each Ensemble member kept on their toes to respond to whatever the world threw at them, dreaming up creative ways to connect with people during a time of isolation and provide small acts of kindness when they were needed most. Tantrum FleX developed and recorded three audio experiences to give listeners something they’ve been missing – a radio play about fine dining, a guided nature meditation and a selection of COVID-Safe hugs.

During 2020, Tantrum would have normally offered Trajectory Residency to provide local emerging artists with space, time and support to make new creative works. In the face of COVID-19, it was just as important to provide artists with the resources they needed… but in a different way.

Tantrum offered eight emerging / early-career artists the opportunity to come together and explore making art about not making art over the month of September in 2020. Specifically, the group focussed on experiences of feeling unproductive, whether as an artist due to COVID-19 or in general, and how they responded. As opposed to any outcome, this process of meeting and sharing was positioned as a creative act in and of itself. The “findings” from this experiment are documented as part of FleXpo.