iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

… and now the task to read them all! At least I am already on John of John.

Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

This week I am falling back in love with theatre with trips to see: • Operation Mincemeat • Stranger Things • Arcadia • Cleansed

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Oh I know, it just annoys me you can see where it’s been folded haha

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

My biggest frustration with Pride and Pride events? All the creased pride flags. Seriously, get the iron out.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Finished watching Tip Toe last night. It really packs a punch. The fact that it’s set in today‘s world, and has been released this year when there is an increase in LGBTQ+ hate makes it even more poignant. Are we going through a phase? Will all this blow over? I really don‘t know.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Am feeling immensely sad. About David Hockney, about art, about rejected Arts Council application and the slog of just trying to make things work.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Got myself a new camera to pickup my photography again.

Jake wears a yellow jumper with an orange cardigan, he holds a black camera in his hand. Behind him are trees and greenery.

Jake holds a new Fujifilm X-E5, black and shiny. Behind is a sofa with cushions on it.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Books I have read recently and loved.

The novel North Woods being held up by a hand. Behind it are plants in a living room, a bright yellow ceiling.

The book House by the Cerulean Sa being held up in an office, a chair in the background and posters

Wild Dark Shore being held up in front of a river.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Has anyone been to the Venice Biennale? I’ve wanted to go for years but never got my act together. Now am thinking of doing a solo trip for a long weekend in July. Any top tips?

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

There is nothing better than a book that captures your imagination and tears at your heart.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

I’m so glad I know you’re joking.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Heading to London tomorrow for my birthday. Doing all the things I love: architecture tour of Barbican; spending loads at Gays The Word; Tracey Emin at the Tate and dinner with some friends. BUT! I need to get myself a birthday sweet treat. What’s hot right now in London? Cakes etc

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

One way to sway the polls…

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Thanks Jonathan, in this climate I need it(!)

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Just hit submit on a big funding application for a project I really believe in and is absolutely a passion project of mine built from scratch. Still lots of other fundraising to do but this was the biggie. Very fitting to hit submit whilst in The Pride Shop in Nottingham.

A laptop sits on a table with a mug and a rainbow icing coloured cookie. Behind are books and rainbow flags

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Saturday morning, drive to the bakery, fresh Sourdough, toasted, melted butter, jam. Perfection.

A brown paper bag, inside a fresh sourdough bread dusted with flour.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

You made all the right decisions.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

I got Jacob the mini croissants (and a more generic Waitrose egg)

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

“When we defund the arts, close venues, cut arts education, and shrink the places where encounter can happen, we lose the rooms where people practice being changed by what they encounter. And nothing I’ve seen rebuilds that once it’s gone.” open.substack.com/pub/emilkang...

open.substack.com

Curiosity as Democratic Practice

On artists and what democracy actually requires

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Things that bring me immense pleasure: • Chocolate melting on the tongue • The momentum of the last 100 pages of a book. • Standing in front of a painting and feeling • Being cocooned with my boyfriend in the night. • The sun on my face

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

„The arts sector has spent decades in a defensive crouch, arguing for its own existence in the vaguest possible terms, and it’s gotten us nowhere useful. We don’t need to defend the arts. We need to say which arts, for whom, and what specifically we’re asking for.“ open.substack.com/pub/emilkang...

open.substack.com

The Problem with "The Arts"

How two words mask a dozen problems

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

No turning back now, the bluebells are flowering in the local woods so spring is here to embrace them. Or maybe I’m the one to embrace the spring and all that comes with it?

Bluebells emerging in a wood. Flecks of purple as they flower amongst the trees.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Really enjoyed this read from Jan about how only 50 people control culture but how we, as independent creatives can push back and find ways of existing outside this. substack.com/@tedgioia/no...

substack.com

Fifty People Control the Culture

The state of the culture 2026

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Also I find it very annoying as a solo theatre goer because it costs me more than others who book multiple tickets if it’s per transaction. NT have already introduced it to their phone lines, but online booking is new. I only discovered it when trying to find a running time as it’s quite hidden.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

The problem being that most organisations don’t want to increase their ticket prices and frame it through transaction/booking fee increases and then blame the rise in the cost of these.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

I see the National Theatre is introducing transaction fees from 1 April. Just a small £4 on top of your ticket price. Look, I know costs are mounting for organisations and historically venues have absorbed the transaction fees but the amount you pass onto the ticket booker has to be justified.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

Wuthering Heights: so much style; so little substance.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Oh that sounds delightful. You have a great time too.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Really good thanks, much more settled and feel like I am finding my place again. Plus I am just on my way to the airport for a 10 day holiday!

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Breakfast for dinner? That’ll do.

A plate with a fried breakfast on it. Veggie sausages (3), sliced mushrooms, baked beans and scrambled eggs.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Thank you so much for these recommendations. Exactly what I was looking for as I’ve done the majority of the big places and don’t know the knowledge of some of the more specific museums. Also never heard of the Tenement Museum - fascinating!

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Ah. Well it’s always good to step out of your comfort zone.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I was looking at the Frick but I tend to lean more contemporary.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Heading to New York on Thursday. Any recommendations for must see exhibitions I should be trying to see? Or experiences beyond the tourist attractions?

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Been spending a lot of time walking around the woods close to my partner’s house in my free time. It’s gorgeous no matter the weather and makes me feel alive.

Jake in a luminous green jacket, a green hat and green glasses standing in a wood looking at the camera.

Light can be seen between trees. The beginnings of a sunset. Moss covers the ground.

A long gap in trees stretching into the distance. The air is Misty, it’s winter in the woods.

A large puddle reflects the trees in the background creating a striking mirror image within the woods.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Feel like there has been a big influx of spam accounts in the past week. Quite annoying indeed.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

I’m intrigued by the rest of that headline…

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Gotta keep watching until episode 3 and it all changes. I mean, sexy yeah but definitely brings heart and really emotional.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Nah, it’s actually just a little birthday person for him.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Having a Dr as a boyfriend sometimes means you find things like this in his house and you just accept it.

A blue surgical glove that has been blown up and turned into a doctor complete with a face mask as a head cap, a smiley face, arms and its holding a syringe…

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Returned to the LGBTQ+ youth group I volunteer with after they closed for a bit and it was so great to connect again with some of the service users that I’ve known for 3 years now. They seemingly have grown up so much in a few months. How did that happen? Is this what it’s like being a parent?!

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Third week of the new job done and I am finally feeling like I am starting to make progress and understand what the hell I am doing being an Executive Director of an arts charity, ha!

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

Hamnet, what an a complained film with such heart. It’s testament to Maggie O’Farrell’s original novel that her depiction of loss resonates so strongly on film. Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal absolutely soar. I was a blubbery mess at the end.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

The sound of midnight last night was punctuated by the screams of Duolingo users losing their streaks having got too caught up in their evening plans and not practicing…

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

I like how people now write essays instead of blogs.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

Marty Supreme is a brilliant film with a centrally flawed and unlikeable character that makes it so difficult to feel anything towards him but banal hatred. Maybe that’s the point. Timothée Chalamet is quite something though, even if I loathed him.

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Jake Orr @jakeorr.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

Whenever I visit my parents it feels like a holiday. Their apartment overlooks the marina and it’s just gorgeous on a clear day.

A pontoon in a marina. Some sail boats in the background. A life ring in the foreground and a brilliant blue sky with clouds. The sun is breaking through the clouds and shining across the water.

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