Creative Stoke news update, 12th May 2013

12.05.13   
Bookings are now open for Factory creative industries training workshops in Stoke-on-Trent:

   29th May: Brand development & implementation.
   10th June and 11th June: Winning more work: making more effective presentations.
   17th June: How to get press interest.
   19th June: Brand development & implementation.
   20th June: How to build a better website.
   26th June: Engaging your customers: social networking for business.
   18th Sept: Brand development & implementation.
   Date tbc: Intellectual Property seminar.

12.05.13   
The Factory creative industries magazine for Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire is now available for download…

Download (PDF, 5Mb).

12.05.13   
The Staffordshire University Fringe Festival programme is now available online. Highlights for training and networking events include…

   23rd May: Creating the change: Developing a sustainable social or community enterprise.
   29th May: Social Media Surgery.
   11th June: Creative Networking Breakfast (8am-10am).
   12th June: Social Media Surgery (repeat).
   12th June: “Where do I go from here?”, career planning and coaching workshop.
   13th June: Factory event, the Factory Floor creative industries debate.

12.05.13   
Interested in exporting to high-growth markets? The UK’s official Export Week is 13th-17th May 2013, and there are a number of events happening in the West Midlands and the North West. Stoke-on-Trent has “Any more for Singapore?” on 13th May; and a “China Export Clinic” on 15th May 2013.

12.05.13   
Start Up Your Creative Business is a free two-day workshop (9.30am – 4.30pm on both days) in Stoke-on-Trent. This workshop is for any graduate based in the West Midlands who is starting up a creative business in the arts, design or media…

“We will cover all the essentials around your values, marketing, financial management, intellectual property, your legal structure (e.g.: self-employed, limited company) and your networks.”

12.05.13   
Social Enterprise West Midlands has a free networking event in Stoke-on-Trent…

“…for socially minded businesses and social enterprises looking to network and develop their business”

The date set is 20th June 2013 (3.30pm – 5.30pm), at the Atlas Works on College Road, Stoke-on-Trent.

12.05.13   
Here’s the flyer showing the arts & crafts workshops dates and ‘meet the artist’ dates in Leek, part of the town’s Astound 2013 show…

12.05.13   
Grain is running a Portfolio Development Day for photographers on Saturday 8th June 2013. The venue will be the Learning Exchange in the Flaxman Building, at the Stoke-on-Trent campus of Staffordshire University. Cost is £20 for professionals, or £12 for students…

“During the day there will be a series of talks by experts, advice sessions and one to one reviews to help emerging photographers, artists who work in photography and students to develop a professional portfolio. The day is a must for emerging photographers who wish to understand how to develop their work and their portfolio in order to secure opportunities.”

12.05.13   
Job:  Staffordshire University requires a Lecturer in Cartoon and Comics Arts (ACT12-23). Deadline: 12th May 2013.

12.05.13   
Job:  Staffordshire University requires a Senior Lecturer in Graphic Design / Illustration (ACT12-25). Deadline: 16th May 2013.

12.05.13   
Jobs:  It looks like there will soon be ten Web developer jobs available at Ticketmaster in Stoke-on-Trent, according to a report in The Sentinel newspaper. The jobs will be at the Ticketmaster division, located at the Boothen end of Stoke town.

12.05.13   
Graduates from B.A. and M.A. degree courses in 2012 and 2013 are invited to submit their ceramic work, for selection for the British Ceramics Biennial’s Fresh 2013 exhibition in Stoke-on-Trent. Deadline: Friday 5th July 2013.

12.05.13   
Added to the Directory: 3D Creation Lab offers 3d printing and prototype building services. Based at The Sutherland Institute in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. Below is a 3D printed sculptural bust of a celebrity they recently made for a TV company…

12.05.13   
Evolve 13 will showcase the Staffordshire University 1st and 2nd-year media/film production students’ final films, at the Staffordshire University Film Theatre, on 15th May 2013 (6pm).

12.05.13   
Keele University, in North Staffordshire, is hosting a one-day academic conference on Britishness on 19th June 2013. The conference has a wide range, including discussing representations in media and the arts, and it may be of interest to creatives who are addressing or incorporating Britishness in their work.

12.05.13   
Keele University, in North Staffordshire, is hosting a three-day academic conference titled Teenage Kicks: the representation of youth subcultures on 11th-13th July 2013. This event may be of interest to documentary makers and cultural historians.

12.05.13   
Set of 480 costume photos of the recent Keele University AmeCon convention for fans of Japanese youth culture…

12.05.13   
There’s a new street photography blog, Staffs Street, for Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire, from the Staffordshire Street Photography Project. They’re welcoming submissions via their Flickr group.

“Working in Leek”, Staffordshire Street Photography Project.

12.05.13   
The Staffordshire heats of the Red Cross’s ‘Dance: Make Your Move’ dance competition are to be held at the Mitchell Youth Arts Centre in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, on 15th June 2013. As well as the West Midlands Area Final on 29th June 2013. This national competition is for any dancer aged 4 to 18, regardless of their ability. The winners of the area finals will go on to perform in London.

12.05.13   
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Libraries are seeking a young poet to represent the county.

12.05.13   
Jobs:  Stafford Gatehouse Theatre is seeking 6 x Casual Technicians for stage-hand work at the theatre. Deadline: 16th May 2013.

12.05.13   
A new Knit and Knatter knitters’ group starts 1st June 2013, at the Mitchell Youth Arts Centre in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. From 1.30pm-3.30pm, every 3rd Saturday of the month.

12.05.13   
Live-work apartments are available now for creative business or start-ups seeking affordable one-bed live/work space. In central Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, from c.£300/month. Interested? Contact John Webbe at:  john.webbe@midlandheart.org.uk

12.05.13   
A new feature-length DVD film is available for order from Stoke-on-Trent’s Re:Stoke. Made by local film-makers Junction 15 Productions, the film documents the recent Re:Stoke PALACE dance and theatre performance at the Bethesda Chapel in Stoke-on-Trent. A special screening of the new film will be happening at the Mitchell Youth Arts Centre in Hanley, on Sat 25th May 2013 (3pm-4pm), where DVDs will be available.

12.05.13   
The BBC Performing Arts Fund distributes funding which raised via the phone-call charges on various BBC phone-ins. It has so far given away £3.5m, and the fund’s 2013 focus is on theatre. Interested groups can apply here.

12.05.13   
Jobs:  Details of the creative commissions are now online for the Just So Festival 2014, the young children’s creative and cultural festival located about five miles north of Stoke-on-Trent.

12.05.13   
Staffordshire County Council’s arts service has now publicly released its list of experienced artists and organisations (PDF link) who are able to deliver community arts workshops and projects in Staffordshire. To be in future editions, download the application form here.

12.05.13   
Congratulations to: AirSpace gallery; B Arts; BiTjAM; Picl; and Re:Stoke. Together they’ve made a successful funding bid to the Arts Council’s national Catalyst Arts scheme, which aims… “to enable arts organisations with an underdeveloped fundraising model to increase capacity”. A two-year programme “Making It Work” will start June 2013, and will assist the consortium with exploring effective new fundraising models.

12.05.13   
StaffsLive has a peek behind the scenes at the garden design that Stoke-on-Trent is entering in the 2013 Chelsea Flower Show…

12.05.13   
New Art West Midlands 2014, for contemporary fine arts graduates, is now open for submissions.

12.05.13   
The Stafford Town Centre Partnership and Stafford Arts Festival 2013 are seeking artists and performers for the town centre, for Saturday 7th September 2013.

12.05.13   
An interesting short course is to run at nearby Wolverhampton. “Creative screen print for textiles” runs 5.30-8.30pm on Wednesdays at the University of Wolverhampton, starting 15th May 2013 for 10 weeks. The university is within easy walking distance of the intercity train station. Cost is £240…

“The course will focus on screen print for textiles and will include inductions in pigment printing, discharge, devore, printing with puff binder, and using flock, foil and pearlescent techniques.”

12.05.13   
The unique international festival of deaf culture Deaffest festival takes place 17th-19th May 2013, at the Light House arts centre and cinema, in nearby Wolverhampton.

Creative Stoke news update, 28th April 2013

28.04.13   
The first pilot issue of the new Staffas magazine is now available online. This free 78-page PDF magazine is a personal ‘zine for Stoke-on-Trent & North Staffordshire. Download the PDF (19Mb) for your desktop or tablet PC.

Cover photo: David Adams.

28.04.13   
Burslem’s 6 Towns Radio has announced they will apply for a license to broadcast on FM through a restricted service license (RSL). 6 Towns is a genuine community station, in broadcasting for the last two and a half years, and dedicated team of around 100 volunteers give up their time every week to produce a wide variety of radio shows. If the RSL is granted, then 6 Towns Radio will have a short-term FM broadcast trial lasting up to 28 days.

28.04.13   
Staffordshire Innovating for Impact is a Staffordshire University event, for businesses to discover the innovation help available via the University. There are two dates: Thursday 16th May 2013 in Stoke-on-Trent, and Friday 17th May 2013 in Stafford. See the Web page for full details.

28.04.13   
There’s to be a free event on the use of QR codes, GPS and RFID technologies in nearby Telford, on 2nd May 2013 (12pm-2pm). The venue will be the Business Innovation Centre at the Sutherland Institute, on Lightwood Road in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. For more information or to book your place, contact Sandra Butterworth at:  sandra.butterworth@thebic.co.uk

28.04.13   
The Staffordshire Business Innovation Centre (BIC) has a two-hour workshop on “Using Social Media to Market Your Innovation”, at the Stafford Business Village, on 12th June 2013 (4pm-6pm).

28.04.13   
The art-led Bird Yarden project launches at the AirSpace contemporary art gallery in Hanley on Saturday 4th May (11am – 7pm). A free day of activities and talks will celebrate the launch of the Bird Yarden…

28.04.13   
AirSpace contemporary art gallery in Stoke-on-Trent has three one-week exhibition slots available in their street-facing window. Dates: 13th-19th May, 20th-26th May, 27th May-2nd June 2013. Application deadline: Sunday 5th May 2013.

28.04.13   
Artists are being asked to submit proposals for works sited anywhere in Britain’s public forests, in Open Forest. The scheme will offer £30k to make a commissioned idea become reality, and is a partnership between the Forestry Commission and Jerwood Visual Art. In 2012 Stoke-on-Trent saw the planting of three Queen’s Jubilee Woods at Chell and Fenton, a total of around 250,000 native oak trees. There are also Forestry Commission woods nearby at Cannock Chase and Dimmings Dale at Alton. Five artists will be chosen to each receive a £2,000 development grant to explore ideas over six months, with the best final proposal getting the £30k commission. With no brief, the projects considered could be permanent or could travel, and could exist in any medium. Submission deadline: 28th May 2013.

28.04.13   
Photographers’ Collective North Staffordshire is calling for submissions of photographs for its annual Open, held at the upper floor gallery of the Burslem School of Art, Stoke-on-Trent. Their annual ‘Open For All’ exhibition will run 5th May to 8th June 2013.

28.04.13   
The Community Performance Arts Centre (CPAC) is now open at 19 Birch Terrace, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent (opposite the new bus station). This serves as the home to CPAC Dance Academy, M.Y Theatre Company and the M.Y Inter-Theatre Group. The venue is now available as an affordable city-centre arts venue for hire, suitable for rehearsals, classes or workshops. There is a separate coffee lounge which can be hired as a package with cafe facility, or separately for forums and meetings. Interested? Contact Jill on 07805 443595 or elizabethjillyoung@gmail.com for further information.

28.04.13   
Jobs:  St. Margaret Ward Catholic College, Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, requires a Teacher of Music and a Teacher of Drama (0.8 as maternity cover) for the September 2013 term.

28.04.13   
Job:  St. Joseph’s College, Trent Vale, Stoke-on-Trent, requires a Director of Music.

28.04.13   
Job:  Keele University’s Faculty of Health has a vacancy for a Software Developer to work with the Web and a 3D game-engine (Unity) to develop a Web-based virtual ‘information assistant’ for the university.

28.04.13   
Job:  Keele University requires a Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Marketing.

28.04.13   
Darren Washington’s new Gallery 116 is now open in Stoke town. It’s the same site as the old SHOP artists’ shop in 2010/11, at the main road entrance to the Spode works at 116 Church Street. Contact via the Facebook group or gallery116@hotmail.com / 075 570 58582.

28.04.13   
Good photos of your prized Spode teapots are wanted, for a summer exhibition at Spode in Stoke town. Ideally a straight-up view showing you holding the pot, and accompanied by some detail on the pot and why it’s special to you. Mail your pictures to:  hello@spodeworks.org

28.04.13   
Stoke-on-Trent arts duo Dashyline are currently undertaking a commemorative sculpture for the Lidice Shall Live campaign. The sculpture will be made by small contributions from the community…

“To contribute you must make a promise; a promise to retell the story of Lidice to two people. Everyone who makes a promise has the opportunity to be featured on the sculpture itself in the form of a large coal miner’s tag etched with their own personal code (initials and your day of birth), alongside thousands of others who have made the same promise.”

For full information visit the project’s Web page.

28.04.13   
There’s a new casting call for a short Staffordshire film by Stoke-on-Trent’s Chris Stone Films and Big Red Studio, called The Saga of the Saxon. An ambitious & committed young lad is required (unpaid, with supportive parents for transport) for a short adventure film in the vein of The Hobbit. They need someone who can playing a boy aged between 13-15, ideally local to Stoke-on-Trent. You must physically look like a young warrior (think Anglo-Saxon/Viking), and have a good range of emotional and improvisational skills. You will play alongside David Lemberg, who has been cast as the ‘Old Man’. Some rehearsals may be required, when convenient, in Stoke-On-Trent or central Manchester. Filming will be during half-term (27th May – 2nd June 2013) in Staffordshire. Please be advised filming will take place in rugged terrain and caves, in any weather conditions. The film will also be partly animated.

28.04.13   
Now online, a selection of the best films made by the second-year B.A. Film students at Staffordshire University.

28.04.13   
If you’re quick, you might just catch the big second-year B.A. Fine Art show at Staffordshire University. Ends today (Sunday)! Free. There’s also the AA2A show in the Flaxman gallery on the campus, which runs until Wednesday.

28.04.13   
The nearby Chester Performs festival is calling for artists and creative collaborators, for summer projects on Saturdays in July & August 2013. They need people who can create and run workshops, make props, make games, and do entertaining site decoration such as giant garden items, bendy mirrors, wind/solar powered props, giant storybooks, and more. Deadline for proposals: Thursday 9th May 2013. See the website for full details.

28.04.13   
Artists’ Newsletter (AN) has a new report available to subscribers, The Lay of the Land: current approaches to professional practice in visual and applied arts B.A. courses (April 2013). The report involved 25 of the UK’s 149 fine and applied arts degree courses, and it explores key problems such as: how to overcome the alleged “boredom” factor in activities such as career planning or client research; the often-fatal allure of London after graduation; and the teaching of transferable skills of use to non-arts employers after graduation.

28.04.13   
Job: a Children’s Library commission is on offer at the new Birmingham Library. They require a series of illustrations — of characters and their environment — that will be produced as large-scale soft toys/furniture and as vinyl illustrations on specified walls and floor. It is expected that children will be able to develop their own narratives and play with the characters in both informal and workshop contexts.” Fee: £1,000. Application deadline: 5pm on Monday 29th April 2013.

28.04.13   
The new Grain photography hub, based the new Birmingham Library, now has its website online. Its aim is to become a hub for photography in the whole of the West Midlands.

28.04.13    NESTA has just released its new Manifesto for the Creative Economy. Despite the fluffy title, this is a substantial and and very well-researched 128-page document with a raft of footnotes. Its aim appears to be to aid the floundering new Culture Minister, and also to help shape policy ahead of the General Election in 2015. It has a useful short summary of the UK’s post-1997 creative industries policies, and the various reactions to them among politicians and vested interests. Local and regional efforts to develop creative clusters are pithily addressed on pages 58-62.

Creative Stoke news update, 14th April 2013

14.04.13   
Job: a paid Evaluator is needed for the Enson Works Heritage Project in Stoke-on-Trent, between June and November of 2013…

“You will be collecting together information from our 10 projects, plus putting on fun, interactive evaluation sessions at our launch events,
before putting all the statistics and stories together an A4 PDF final report for our Heritage Lottery funders.”

Application deadline: 12 noon on Wednesday 24th April 2013. For more information about the opportunity contact: elise.turner@stoke.gov.uk

14.04.13   
There’s a new Facebook group for scriptwriters in and around Stoke-on-Trent.

14.04.13   
The Baring Foundation and Arts Council England have launched a new £1m fund for arts projects to bring arts to the elderly over the next three years.

14.04.13   
Stoke-on-Trent’s £3m Creative People & Places reports that their business plan has been accepted by Arts Council England. The programme will be branded as “Appetite”, and aimed at adults who have not experienced the arts before. Appetite have now announced their new appointees:

  Karl Greenwood – Project Director, previously a Project Manager for Multistory in Sandwell.
  Gemma Thomas – Creative Producer, previously a freelance arts Project Manager, most recently working with DanceXchange.
  Gary Cicinskas – Programme Manager, previously the Dance 4 Life Project Co-ordinator in Lincolnshire.

The new team will be introduced and the next steps in the programme explained, at the Mitchell Arts Centre on Thursday 9th May 2013 (5pm–7pm). “Spaces are limited so please email appetite@picl.uk.com to confirm your attendance.”

14.04.13   
Job:  there’s a paid opportunity to edit an 8-10 minute student film about the history of the Longton beerhouses in Stoke-on-Trent. Filming will take place in May 2013, supervised by professional film company Unique Media and supported by Staffordshire Film Archive. Deadline for quotations is 12 noon on Monday 22nd April 2013. For more information about the opportunity contact:  elise.turner@stoke.gov.uk

14.04.13   
Stoke-on-Trent’s Burslem School of Art is to host a Spring “Wide Open” selling exhibition in the Atrium Gallery, 1st May to 29th May 2013. Photography can be entered for the Staffordshire Photographers’ Collective Open, which will be run upstairs in parallel with the BSOA Wide Open. Full details from:  info@burslemschoolofart.com

14.04.13   
Architects and cultural historians may be interested in a talk at the Science Centre in Stoke-on-Trent, “Utopias in Urban Planning: dreams and realities“, on 15th May 2013 (from 5.30pm)…

“Utopian dreams in planning have too often resulted in disappointing realities. This lecture looks at garden cities, architectural modernism and the spread of suburbia, and their legacy in urban planning policy in the UK.”

14.04.13   
Stoke-on-Trent painter Rob Pointon now has a Kickstarter to send him on a painting trip to the streets of San Francisco, Las Vegas and New York.

14.04.13   
Staffordshire Innovating for Impact is a Staffordshire University event for businesses to discover the innovation help available via the University. There are two dates: Thursday 16th May 2013 in Stoke-on-Trent, and Friday 17th May 2013 in Stafford.

14.04.13   
Don’t forget that the deadline for application to the Staffordshire County Council Community Arts Fund is Tuesday 30th April 2013. One funding opportunity of £2,500 for each of the following districts: Stafford; Newcastle-under-Lyme; and Staffordshire Moorlands.

14.04.13   
Gone in 20 Minutes will fund eight artists or performance companies with £3,000, to develop a small to medium-scale idea or project for a new outdoor performance. Applications are welcome from… “all art forms including circus, dance, theatre, music and visual arts or a combination of the above”. Application deadline: Friday 19th April 2013, at 5pm.

Creative Stoke news update, 7th April 2013

07.04.13   
Jobs:  Volunteers are required for North Staffs TV, a new service which aims to start delivering local TV content for North Staffordshire via the internet. They are holding two open days in Stoke-on-Trent. The first will be Thursday 11th April 2013 (6.30pm). The second will be on Saturday 13th April 2013 (2pm). High demand for places is expected, so they require potential attendees to commit to attending by requesting a place via an email, clearly stating your skills… “and how you think you can assist North Staffs TV”. North Staffs TV is looking for a wide variety of skills… “from presenters, camera crew, editing team, production, Web editors, journalists and content writers, administrators, graphic designers and much more.” The application email address is:  volunteer@northstaffstv.com

07.04.13   
The Chartered Institute of Marketing is hosting a talk on the art of sales copywriting, How to write words that sell… and engage, in Stoke-on-Trent. This is stated on their website as being a… “Free event for members and non-members.” It is set for the 24th April 2013, at Ashley Conference Centre, Staffordshire University (Stoke campus). Full details from the Web page.

07.04.13   
Denise O’Sullivan’s Pop-up Emporium now has booking forms available for those wishing to take a selling pitch at either the Lymelight Festival in Newcastle-under-Lyme (May), or the London Road Festival in Stoke town (June).

07.04.13   
Artists are wanted by Tiled Space. Tiled Space is a Stoke-on-Trent company which manufactures bespoke ceramic tiles. This has led them into many different areas, including community arts projects, supplies to tile shops and distributors, and services for architects and interior designers. They are now considering the development of a range of Aga panels for kitchen splash-backs, for sale through independent tile shops and bespoke kitchen companies. For this they are asking artists to submit their designs, with a view to compile a portfolio of suitable artists. Tiled Space hope to find designers who cover a range of different styles and themes, but who can work to their specific need for custom-made panels and splash-backs. For more information, or to apply, please send an artist’s statement and up to 5 .jpg images to Mark Wood at:  mark@tiledspace.com

07.04.13   
Added to the Directory: Tiled Space, a Stoke-on-Trent manufacturer of bespoke ceramic tiles.

07.04.13   
Added to the Directory: Creative Walls and Floors, a specialist in… “unique natural, handmade and ceramic tiles, featuring the largest variety of limestone, slate, terracotta, ceramic, porcelain, mosaic, glass, and feature tiles in Stoke-on-Trent.”

07.04.13   
Added to the Directory: The Firing Line, a Stoke-on-Trent firm offering bespoke runs of white and coloured biscuit ceramic tiles.

07.04.13   
Added to the Directory: H&E Smith, specialist tile manufacturers based in Stoke-on-Trent.

07.04.13   
Local artists are invited to submit work for the 2013 Staffordshire Open Art exhibition at the county’s Shire Hall Gallery in Stafford (18th May – 14th July 2013). Entry is limited to anyone… “who lives, works, studies or who was born in Staffordshire”. Full details at the Web page.

07.04.13   
Job:  A part-time Community Engagement Worker is needed by PiCL as part of Stoke-on-Trent’s forthcoming £3m Creative People & Places programme. This will engage adults with the arts, and will be branded as ‘Appetite’. Application deadline: 19th April 2013. Full details from:  appetite@picl.uk.com

07.04.13   
The “new baby boom” is obvious all around us, and those shaping creative and commercial responses to this boom might be interested in the 2013 Children’s Media Conference. This is being held on the other side of the Peak in Sheffield, and is trailed as… “the most important event in the UK calendar for everyone involved in developing, producing and distributing content for kids.” Dates are 3rd-5th July 2013. Also of note for those interested in creating products for the boom is the UK’s major expo The Baby Show, down at the NEC in Birmingham, on 17th-19th May 2013.

07.04.13   
Burton-upon-Trent is to host a large conference for those who work with very young children and their music / movement skills. The 2013 UpBeat Conference 2013 is set for 16th April 2013, and is being staged by Make Some Noise with support from East Staffordshire Borough Council. The venue will be the town’s Brewhouse arts centre. Full details at the Web page.

07.04.13   
Added to the Directory: Stoke-on-Trent based Little Dreams, a bespoke furniture manufacturing firm with a wide range of products.

Creative Stoke news update, 29th March 2013

29.03.13   
Newcastle-under-Lyme College has announced an investment of £5,000 in a new glass kiln, giving the region a glass production capacity in post-16 education lacking since the closure of the glass degree course at Staffordshire University in the early 2000s. The new specialist glass kiln extends the possibilities for full-time Foundation students, and the College has also added a new part-time recreational course for adults. The college’s new ‘CREATE Glass’ course for adults starts on Wednesday 17th April 2013 and runs for five weeks from 6.30pm – 8.30pm. CREATE Glass will provide an introduction to fused glass, and students will make a glass item to keep. Full details from:  info@nulc.ac.uk

29.03.13   
Staffordshire’s Shire Hall Gallery is seeking submissions from artists in all media who create contemporary portraits & self-portraits, for an exhibition in January 2014. Deadline: 3rd May 2013. Interested? Please send up to 6 JPG images (no larger than 1Mb per image), a current C.V. and an artist’s statement by email to:  kim.gould@staffordshire.gov.uk

29.03.13   
The new Staffordshire University Videogames Design Showreel for 2013 is now online…

29.03.13   
Would you like to be in the stage musical Guys & Dolls at Stoke’s Regent Theatre? The deadline for submitting audition forms is fast approaching. If you are aged between 11- 25, you’ll have a chance in the Audition Room to be a part of this year’s Stage Experience at the Regent. If you need an audition form please email Laura at:  stokecreativelearning@theambassadors.com

29.03.13   
The UK’s only Cartoon Festival takes place nearby, and now has 2013 dates and a full programme. The Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival is set for Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st April 2013. The festival includes exhibitions of cartoon art, plus talks, workshops, and ‘cartoon clinics’. See the website for full details.

29.03.13   
The Light House, in nearby Wolverhampton, is to run a writing course “From Idea to Publication”. It will run every Tuesday from 16th April for 8 weeks, 6pm – 8.30pm. Cost: £100. Interested? Please contact Alex Davis at:  alexdavisevents@hotmail.co.uk

29.03.13   
The Granary Gallery, at nearby Weston Park, has opened its 2013 Fine Art Open Competition. There is a £15 entry fee per work. If sold, works attract a 40% (+ VAT at 20%) gallery fee. Overall winner receives £2,000. The Shropshire / Staffordshire award winning artist receives £500. Deadline: 28th June 2013. Exhibition dates: 2nd to 29th August 2013. See the website for full details.

29.03.13   
The Creative Employment Programme is the government’s new £15m fund for arts and cultural apprenticeships and internships opportunities for those aged 16-24. Interested employers should note that the first application deadline is Friday 29th March 2013.

29.03.13   
Staffordshire County Council has a new Community Learning Trust Responsiveness Fund of £100,000. This is available to fund needs-based learning projects across the county. The Fund is available to learning providers from all sectors including private sector, public sector and voluntary and community organisations. Application deadline: 31st March 2013.

29.03.13   
Job:  An Art Teacher is wanted for a June start at a North Staffordshire school.

29.03.13   
Congratulations to the organisers of the new ‘Park Traces’ arts project in Stoke-on-Trent. They have secured funding from Staffordshire University’s Teaching Enhancement and Student Support (TESS) fund for… “15 students and 3 artists” to document Hanley Park, in Stoke-on-Trent. The Park Traces team now have a weblog for the project, which has all the details.

29.03.13   
The Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has just launched a new two-year search for evidence of the real impact that culture makes on the UK. The AHRC’s Cultural Value Project will aim to broaden the existing evidence base, and to provide a framework for deeper public discussion on the topic in 2015. If you are part of a cultural institution which would like to participate, please note that the closing date for funding applications is 16th April 2013. For more details contact project researcher Patricia Kaszynska at:  p.kaszynska@ahrc.ac.uk

29.03.13   
Added to the Directory: Joanna Dawidowska, ceramics designer-maker.

29.03.13   
Added to the Directory: Denise Maloney, ceramics designer.

29.03.13   
Added to the Directory: Anne Mychalkiw, a surface pattern designer and ceramics designer.

29.03.13   
Added to the Directory: Quirky Bird, hand-maker of silver and lampwork glass jewellery.

29.03.13   
Added to the Directory: Nicola Blaize Ceramics.

29.03.13   
Added to the Directory: Gillian Laverick, maker of porcelain and gold jewellery.

29.03.13   
Added to the Directory: McCullough & Howard Guitars, an electric guitar repair and refurb service based in North Staffordshire.

29.03.13   
Added to the Directory: Taurus Entertainments, the website of card and close-up stage magician Damen William Lewis. Damen is also set to be a lead actor in the Accolade to Evil segment of the forthcoming Stoke-on-Trent feature film Inquisitous (being made by Stoke’s Chameleon Monkey Ltd).

Creative Stoke news update, 25th March 2013

25.03.13   
Stoke-on-Trent’s BIGred Studio has released a super new five-minute animated documentary. This creative film celebrates the life of the neo-gothic architect Pugin (1812-1852), with some especially delightful animated ceramic tiles seen in the introduction. The eastern part of North Staffordshire has been called “Pugin-land”, because there are so many of Pugin’s great gothic buildings there. The animation has been funded via the Heritage Lottery and local sponsors…

25.03.13   
Shane Oakley‘s new Channel Evil graphic novel (with major writer Alan Grant) was published by Renegade on 13th March 2013. Shane is an internationally-acclaimed professional comics artist, and an illustrator of horror and the gothic. He works from the Wolstanton Marsh area of the Potteries.

25.03.13   
Somewhere Nowhere is Sam Dahl’s documentary graphic novel, illustrating five stories of homeless people living in Stoke-on-Trent. It appears to have been made available for free in a limited-edition b&w print form, at an event last year on homelessness — but is not yet available for public purchase. A possible opportunity here, for a local publisher or digital distributor?

25.03.13   
The UK’s Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has unveiled a new £4m initiative to use the new digital technologies to help communities explore their culture and heritage. The funding is available to AHRC-accredited research institutions, including museums. The new initiative was launched at a showcase event in March 2013, as part of the Connected Communities Programme. A podcast about the programme is available here.

25.03.13   
Job:  Staffordshire University requires a Senior Lecturer in Journalism, specifically… “a pioneering digital journalist”. Application deadline: 1st April 2013.

25.03.13   
The Technology Strategy Boards’s National Innovation Voucher Scheme can help UK small and medium businesses to pay the cost of working with a consultant from a local university — specifically, to explore the innovative uses of ‘open data’ (i.e.: official data sets and databases, openly published under permissive usage licences). This Innovation Voucher application system opened on 26th November 2012, and is currently still open.

25.03.13   
The Innovation Networks scheme for the West Midlands has been awarded funding to carry on until March 2015. The scheme offers small £10,000 grants to West Midlands projects that are…

“…truly innovative, resulting in a new product, process or service and provide tangible benefits for the West Midlands economy”

25.03.13   
Create Innovate is a new six-month development programme for feature-film producers interested in online content. The programme is being delivered by Northern Film & Media, but appears to be open to experienced filmmakers who are… “based in one of the English regions”, rather than being restricted to those based in the north of England. The Create Innovate programme will support four teams… “as they explore the commercial and creative potential of their feature-film story-worlds online”. Application deadline: 30th April 2013.

25.03.13   
Job:  Chester Council wants to commission a lead artist… “to have an overarching view” of a project in their Odeon Units (a new theatre and public library), and then to coordinate a programme of creative activity within the spaces. Fee of £6,000. The project’s start date is May 2013, running until the end November 2014. Application deadline: 15th April 2013. For a full brief please email:  artswest@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

25.03.13   
Job:  The managers of Stoke-on-Trent’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund want to commission a new design concept for the Fund. Application deadline: 28th March 2013. A copy of the design concept brief for ‘Tender CR2013/878 New Design Concept’ is available now from Natalie Baker at:  natalie.baker@stoke.gov.uk  The scheme is part of the government’s £266 million investment in local sustainable transport schemes.

25.03.13   
It’s been a week in which North Staffordshire’s ceramics industry has had good news to celebrate on keeping energy costs static, but also a week in which we’ve also seen the stability of the UK’s shaky energy-supply system severely tested by the bitter weather. In such a context one might also ask: are there also energy savings to be made in cultural buildings? The UK Theatres Trust has recently published a substantial free report on this very topic, titled Energising Culture: a guide to future energy for cultural buildings…

“Energising Culture surveys strategic issues around energy demand, supply and implications for business models; the current range of financial incentives and sources of funding and investment models available; and examples of innovative and bold responses to the energy challenge showing the potential of the cultural sector.”

25.03.13   
Staffordshire University and Enterprising Futures are surveying the current ‘social enterprise’ activity in North Staffordshire. They would like interested parties to complete their online survey.

25.03.13   
Lloyds Banking Group’s Social Entrepreneurs Programme is now available, for the first time in the Midlands, to help local community projects. For successful applicants the package includes: training; from £4,000 to £25,000 in project funding; and a senior mentor from Lloyds Banking Group. Application deadline: 2nd April 2013.

25.03.13   
Royal Bank of Scotland has a free “Kick Off in Business” course from 22nd-23rd April 2013 (9.30am-4.30pm), at the Britannia Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent. The aim is to give participants the basic knowledge needed to set up in business on their own.

25.03.13   
After a slow start, the UK’s Startup Loans service has now loaned “more than £10 million” to 18-30 year old entrepreneurs in the UK. They now report that they have another £5.5 million to spend, taking the Startup Loans fund to £117.5 million. The service is intended for those who would rather start a business than go to university, and offers a low-rate £2,500 loan to fledgling entrepreneurs.

25.03.13   
Burslem’s 6Towns Radio has available… “discounts [on radio advertising] to new business startups trading in Stoke-on-Trent”. They also have the ideal vehicle for ads for new creative firms and services, in the form of the regular Leeka’s Kulture Klub show on Wednesdays. Interested? Email: sales@6towns.co.uk

25.03.13   
The Staffordshire Moorlands now has all the dates available for their informal Arts Forums networking events, from May to November 2013.

25.03.13   
Want to try market trading on local markets? The ‘New First Pitch’ initiative will offer six free market-stall spaces in Stoke-on-Trent. Five in Hanley and one space on Longton Market, available for five days from mid-May 2013.

25.03.13   
The Creative Communities Unit at Staffordshire University is to run a one-day masterclass workshop in coaching skills, on 16th April 2013. Cost is £60 to £100, with discounts available. Full details from: 0800 169 2148.

25.03.13   
Developing Arts For Health Training is a professional development programme accredited by Staffordshire University. It costs £300 and is aimed at artists, arts development workers and health workers using the arts. Includes three days of workshops, and a practical work placement. The deadline for expressions of interest is: 12th April 2013. Full details at the website.

25.03.13   
All the Web links in the Creative Stoke directory have been checked by hand, with dead links being either repaired or deleted.

Creative Stoke news update, 21st March 2013

^21.03.13   
The government’s new £15m Creative Employment Programme is holding an arts/cultural employer roadshow with Creative & Cultural Skills, in Manchester on the 26th March 2013. Over the next 2 years this £15m programme will aim to generate:

  1,600 Pre-Apprenticeships, targeted at 16-18 year olds
  2,900 Apprenticeships, targeted at 16-24 year olds
  2,000 paid internships, targeted at 18-24 year olds

^21.03.13   
Job: Newcastle-under-Lyme’s B Arts now has a paid Web development tender available, part of the £3m Creative People & Places programme (aka ‘Appetite’). There is no graphic design requirement, as the graphics and branding are being done by someone else. The planned Artsbank phase of the website (local community-arts resources directory + a ‘skills swop / time bank’) will come later, and is not included in the tender. Total fee is £8,000. Application deadline: 2nd April 2013.

^21.03.13   
UK Steel Enterprise is set to launch a new Access to Finance scheme for former steelworking areas. Grants of between £25,000 and £750,000 are available for growing companies creating “sustainable jobs”. Eligible areas of the Midlands include the Black Country and Stoke-on-Trent. Details from UK Steel Enterprise on:  0800 915 1188.

^21.03.13   
Staffordshire County Council’s “New Markets, New Horizons” event for potential local exporters in “manufacturing and service companies” is to be repeated. The new dates are 19th April 2013 at the Stafford campus of Staffordshire University; and 26th April 2013 at the Westwood Golf Club in the Staffordshire Moorlands town of Leek.

^21.03.13   
The young children’s arts Just So festival, a major annual festival located just five miles north of Stoke-on-Trent, has filmmaking opportunities available for students…

^21.03.13   
Added to the Directory: Lou Marshall, a fashion designer based in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

^21.03.13   
Jobs: Several rare funded PhDs are on offer at Loughborough University, over on the other side of the Peak. These are in: Drawing and Visualisation; Textiles; Visual Culture; and Texts in Context. Deadline for applications: 13th May 2013.

^21.03.13   
Stoke-on-Trent’s Regent Theatre has an event of interest to local crime writers, on Tuesday 28th May 2013 (5.30pm). ‘Go Back for Murder’ is to be a discussion panel of “the country’s leading crime writers”, talking about their profession and discussing their latest novels. Cost is £3.

^21.03.13   
Moving Forward is a free community crafts course at the Mitchell Arts Centre. The 12-week course is free to people who are unemployed, working part time (less than 8 hours per week), or who are registered carers. Starts 16th April 2013, (10.30am-12.30pm).

^21.03.13   
The Community Performing Arts Centre (CPAC) of Congleton is moving to Hanley, to the old Jewish synagogue on Birch Terrace. It’ll be home to the M. Y. Youth and Adult Theatre and M. Y. Inter-Theatre Company, there be a dance academy, art and drama sessions for the disabled, and a coffee lounge. The place is being renovated now, making it suitable for disabled access, having previously been in a bit of state. Opening is set for April 2013. Can you help? Tradesmen are particularly needed Sunday March 17th – Sunday March 24th. Contact Jill on 07805 443595 or email elizabethjillyoung@gmail.com

^21.03.13   
The Government’s new Cultural Giving Scheme has launched. If you have a masterpiece tucked away in a safe deposit box, why not donate it to the nation, during your lifetime, and claim a nice reduction in your tax liability? The scheme is capped at £30 million per year — first come, first served.

2013 BUDGET NEWS:

Disclaimer: this is my early understanding of the key budget measures for the creative industries. I haven’t had time to delve into the core documents with all the fine print.

Britain listened to the annual Budget from the Chancellor on Weds 20th March 2013. The main news for Stoke-on-Trent was that the local ceramics industry will be exempt from a new energy tax… “the industrial processes for that [Stoke-on-Trent ceramics] industry and some others [will be exempt] from the Climate Change Levy.” There will also be a 20% rate of corporation tax, “the lowest business tax of any major economy in the world” — which should benefit larger firms such as those operating in ceramics. The only drawback may be if this measure gets tangled up in the EU’s “state aid” rules.

There are planned new Tax Credits, to be aimed primarily at the UK’s leading visual FX industry — including advertising, high-end TV shows such as mini-series, and documentaries using 3D visualisation. These Tax Credits are seemingly set to be introduced on 1st April 2014, subject to EU approval. Tax Credits support for videogames developers, announced in the last budget, are reportedly delayed because they are tangled up in EU red tape.

These new VFX Tax Credits should provide a 25 percent tax break on qualifying productions. To qualify, productions are likely to have to meet the same rules as for earlier Tax Credits — to include a significant British element, and to be valued at roughly more than £1m per episode or product. The government estimates that this will cost the nation £65m a year by 2017/18 — but that this spending will bring in £12 income for the UK, for every £1 of taxpayer cash spent on the measure.

The current filmmaking tax credits will also reportedly stay in place until 2015, allowing filmmakers and their funders a 20% tax break.

The Skills Investment Fund will be increased by £10m, providing match-funded training for over 5,000 people working in film and TV mini-series, visual effects, animation and videogames.

There will be an extra £15 million for the Technology Strategy Board, supporting digital content production in the UK via industry-level competitions.

The government will… “increase by fivefold the value of government procurement budgets spent through the Small Business Research Initiative.”

There will be “growth vouchers available to small firms seeking advice on how to expand”. No further details on these yet, it seems.

The innovative and very successful Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) is being expanded and improved, which will make it even easier to attract investors to small startups needing up to £150,000. Filmmakers are eligible for the SEIS.

There will be a new tax relief to encourage private investment in social enterprise, with legislation brought forward in 2014 to enable this.

Radical and very well-funded measures to stimulate house-building and home ownership may (in time) have knock-on effects in boosting UK demand for home furnishings, interior design, and garden design. That’s just my guess.

Everyone will benefit from the new £10,000 Personal Allowance tax threshold. No-one will pay any tax at all on the first £10,000 of income, from April 2014. The former 10% tax band will also be reduced to 0%, effectively making the Personal Allowance £12,000 for some types of people. These changes are likely to help many low-earning artists and crafts makers and/or those growing their business while only taking out a small amount in income.

Small businesses wanting to employ people will benefit from the whopping £2,000 that has been chopped off employer National Insurance bills.

Being an employee shareholder will become subject to “more generous” measures.

There was apparently an increase for “above-the-line” R&D Credits “to 10%”.