^{New! 11.11.09}    
Staffordshire Arts and Museum Service would like to hear from all visual artists and makers who wish to create new work for the summer 2010 “Sense of Place” exhibition at The Shire Hall Gallery, located in Stafford town centre. The show will focus on Staffordshire’s many different environments. Full information from: Kim Gould, Gallery & Exhibitions Development Officer, at:  kim.gould@staffordshire.gov.uk

^{New! 11.11.09}    
Young Staffordshire musicians may be interested in a couple of dates for their 2010 diary. Staffordshire Performing Arts should be able to put you on the mailing-list for details on how to involve your school in these events…

   1) The rock music event ‘Staffordshire Rocks Grand Final‘ will be on 26th June 2010 at The Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford.

   2) The ‘Staffordshire Young Musicians Final’ will be on the 17th July 2010 at The Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford.

^{New! 11.11.09}    
Job:  A Senior Web Developer is required by a company in Trentham Lakes, Stoke-on-Trent.

^{New! 11.11.09}    
Congratulations to a group of students from Staffordshire University’s Stafford campus, who have won a leading prize at the regional final of The Royal Television Society Awards. Their film “Olivia” won in the fiction category. They were presented with the award at the ceremony attended by industry professionals representing BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Screen West Midlands, among others.

Click to play “Olivia”, made by the winning B.Sc. (Hons.) Film Production Technology team of Oliver Trusswell, Stuart Hackshaw, Alistair Little and Matt Holmes.

^{New! 11.11.09}    
Game modders seeking to move from modding to full-blown ‘back bedroom’ games production will be interested to hear that the popular Unreal Engine 3 has just been released for free in the form of the Unreal Development Kit. It has everything you need to make a professional videogame — but if you release your game commercially you pay Unreal 25% of revenue after you make your first $5000. Other than your own labour, though, there are no up-front costs involved in developing a game. Now is an excellent time to start developing for a PC release circa 2012 — given that the next generation of gaming consoles are likely to be delayed by around two years due to the recession, the PC as an open gaming platform is likely to hit a sweet spot by about 2012. The Unreal Dev Kit joins the ranks of a variety of free commercial-grade game development kits, ranging from
Microsoft’s XNA to the royalty-free indie point & click engine Wintermute.

^{New! 11.11.09}    
Creative Stoke has junked the Addiply ad system — it was an interesting two-week experiment, but a hand-picked selection of relevant Amazon books seems much more suitable for the site. You’ll see them featured in sidebars and on the front page. If you click through to Amazon and buy a featured book, then Creative Stoke will get a tiny slice of what you spend.

^{New! 10.11.09}    
Job:   A Product Designer (Furniture) is required at the University of Wolverhampton. This is a forty-week funded post for someone who will embed a professional design capability in Spaceoasis Ltd — based in Telford, Shropshire — and review products, materials and markets to develop a new strategic design policy, innovative designs and mass customisation. You should have a 1st or 2:1 degree or post graduate degree in Product Design, Furniture Design or related subject. Deadline: 20th November 2009 at 12 noon. Full details can be found via www2.wlv.ac.uk/pers/jobs.

^{New! 10.11.09}    
Job:   A Creative Co-Ordinator is required at the University of Wolverhampton. You’ll will identify creative craft concepts for the retail and educational marketplace, create innovative packaging solutions, and bring design concepts to market. You’ll produce media content for publications and communications, including photography of products in use, as well as online video content. You should have a 1st or 2:1 degree in Design or a related subject. Deadline: 20th November 2009 at 12 noon. Further details can be found at www.ktponline.org.uk

^{New! 10.11.09}    
Should you want to venture up into the nearby Peak District before the snow settles in, the 5th Peak Festival starts on 27th November 2009 and is offering the chance to hear talks from a variety of independent authors, particularly those who have gone through the process of writing and publishing their life stories. More details at the website.

^{New! 10.11.09}    
Want to be a theatre producer? There’s a rare chance in the West Midlands to attend a starter training workshop for creative theatre producers. Maverick Theatre and the Birmingham Rep (in Birmingham city-centre) is running the workshop on Saturday 21st November 2009. It will look at… “everything needed to put on a show or start a production or theatre company, from the local pub, to a national tour, to the West End of London.” See the Maverick Theatre website for more details.

Also of possible interest to West Midlands theatre people is a free debate/event, also in Birmingham, “How can we create a better future for theatre, here, in the West Midlands?” It’s at the Crescent on 26th November 2009.

^{New! 10.11.09}    
BBC Radio Stoke is having a rare Open Day, on Sunday 22nd November 2009, from 10am – 3.15pm. The tour will take about 45 minutes, and booking is essential. You can book a place on: 03709 011227.

^{New! 09.11.09}    
Job:  Stoke-on-Trent’s “People Dancing” programme requires a belly-dancer to deliver four workshops in the city. Four workshops, each two-hours long each and catering for up to 25 participants, will be devised as taster sessions in a number of community venues across the city. 30 “shimmy-belts” will be provided. Application deadline: 24th November 2009. More details from:  vanessa.darlington@stoke.gov.uk

^{New! 09.11.09}    
Job:  Leighswood Primary School — located in Walsall — are looking for an artist who can help make something to show links with other countries. You’ll work with children in years 5 and 6 (aged 9-11). The result of the project could possibly be a finger-post. Budget: £1,500. Application deadline: 23rd November 2009. Full details can be obtained from the Creative Agent, Alison Haynes, at:  alisonhaynes@talktalk.net

^{New! 09.11.09}    
Readers may be interested in a new 5 x 15 minute BBC Radio 4 series “Whatever Happened to the Teapots?” in which Roger Law (one of the Spitting Image team) examines the state of the ceramics industry in Stoke-on-Trent. Programmes are freely available to listen to online, for seven days after broadcast. The first programme was broadcast today.

^{New! 09.11.09}    
Readers visiting Creative Stoke from nearby Derbyshire may be interested that the call for the annual Derbyshire Open Studios event (29th to 31st May 2010) is now live. Check their website for more details.

^{New! 07.11.09}    
In the south of the West Midlands, the Hereford Photography Festival is now calling for applications for its programme of “Common Land” creative commissions. The three commisions available are themed as: “Sport Play & Creativity” (CL03) to be based around young people who meet and play in public spaces; “Hereford Cattle” (CL04) to work with modern farming communities as well as engaging with archive material; and “Hereford Bulls” Football Club (CL01) to work with young local football fans as well as engaging with archive material from Hereford United Football Club. Application deadline: 19th November 2009. Full briefs and application details from Jaime Jackson at Hereford Photography Festival:  jaime@photofest.org

^{New! 07.11.09}    
The Light House in nearby Wolverhampton is running a Post Production for High Definition workshop on 16th – 17th November 2009. The two-day workshop will examine the advanced techniques required for HD video production, using Final Cut Pro and Avid HD editing suites, examining issues of colour correction, the various HD tape formats, and how working with HD can effect editing styles. The workshop costs £105 + VAT and includes lunch. The workshop is open only to applicants who have some professional experience of working in the film & TV industry. The application deadline for this course is 13th November. Interested? Contact Kelly Jeffs at: kelly@light-house.co.uk

^{New! 07.11.09}    
The Charity Commission has launched a new, simplified “model constitution” for charities with an income under £5,000. The constitution is specifically designed for charities which expect to stay small — it is not meant for charities that own a building, employ people or intend to register with the Charity Commission. Small groups which are not charities are being invited to use this model constitution, though they would not be covered by charity law.

^{New! 06.11.09}    
Jobs:  Staffordshire’s Partners in Creative Learning (PiCL) has another three new opportunities at local schools:—

   1) Burnwood Community Primary School — located in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent — are seeking Multimedia Artists, Musicians/Bands for their Year 2 – Year 5 Project Work on “Creative Wheels in Motion”. There is a budget of £8,000 available for the Spring/Summer Terms 2010. Application Deadline: 12 noon on 19th November 2009. For a full brief please email Sharon Ayres at:  sharonayres@msn.com

   2) Paget High School — located in nearby Burton-on-Trent — is seeing Creative Practitioners in Textiles who help answer their question: “can we develop creative teaching and learning methods to inspire and enthuse Key Stage 3 students to produce innovative, sustainable and desirable products using textiles technology?” Working alongside staff, you will be involved in innovative classroom based work in order to raise the profile of textiles and to increase student engagement. There is a budget of £4,000 available. Deadline for applications: 18th November 2009. For a full brief please email Andrew Herbert:  andrew.herbert@hotmail.co.uk

   3) Perton Sandown First School — located a few miles west of Wolverhampton — is seeking a Creative Practitioner to work with 32 x Year 2 children around cultural learning about Africa. “You may be a specialist in African culture, or you could be skilled in delivering and exploring many cultures and the wider world through your Practice.” Application deadline: 1pm on 20th November 2009. Budget: £4,000. For a full project brief please contact Andrew Fox (Creative Agent) on: 07870 656488.

^{New! 06.11.09}    
It’s short notice, but local volunteers are required by Guerrilla Lighting for a… “professionally designed architectural lighting” project in Burslem & Middleport on the evening of 19th November 2009. Interested? More information from:  john@guerrillalighting.net

^{New! 03.11.09}    
Readers may be interested in Culture 24’s full report on the winners of the Ceramics Biennial Awards in Stoke-on-Trent.

^{New! 03.11.09}    
Readers may be interested in yesterday’s New York Times article on the ceramics designer Margarete Heymann who worked in the Potteries during the 1930s.

^{New! 02.11.09}    
The Creative Communities Unit at Staffordshire University has several short-courses scheduled to run toward the end of 2009 and at the start of 2010. These professional development courses include: the three-day “Making it Happen In Community Arts” (starts 9th Dec 09); the three-day “Community Arts in Global Perspective” (starts 3rd Feb 2010); and the five-day “Developing Arts For Health” (starts 4th Feb 2010), among others. See the brochure (PDF link) for prices and full details.

^{New! 01.11.09}    
Congratulations to Dr. Hugh Padley, the businessman who bought Berkshire China at the age of 40 and turned it into a successful business, who has written and published the new book The Joys of Entrepreneurship. The book tells the story of his life as a Staffordshire porcelain entrepreneur, and provides detailed insider knowledge gleaned from his experience in the business.

^{New! 01.11.09}    
Added to the Directory: Chris Farrow Photography. As well as art-object photography, and portraits of people, Chris can also offer workshops in landscape/weather photography.

^{New! 01.11.09}    
Renaissance West Midlands is running a “Best Of The West” awards for the region’s museums and galleries. As part of this, they are offering a commission for a trophy that will be awarded in the Best of the West category. The commission should… “generate excitement and provide suitable recognition of innovation and excellence in our regional museums and galleries.” The awards will be given in February 2010. In keeping with the Barber Institute of Fine Arts venue, the organisers are looking to incorporate an Art Deco flavour to the ceremony. The fee is £500 (to include all materials, expenses, and delivery). For further details on this commision, including a full brief, please contact: Paulette Francis-Green at:  paulette.francis-green@birmingham.gov.uk

^{New! 29.10.09}    
Added to the Directory: Jo Walker Art. Jo is a Staffordshire visual artist, specialist painter, muralist and creator of handpainted furniture.

^{New! 29.10.09}    
Jobs:  Heath Park Business and Enterprise College, in nearby Wolverhampton, is seeking two Creative Practitioners, who have background in publishing work (journalism, writing, filmmaking, radio, etc) and good contacts in their respective industries, to work with two groups of Key Stage 3 children (age 11 to 14). The question the school is seeking to answer is: “Can we, through engaging with external partners in our publications project, improve our literacy?” Application deadline: 6th November 2009. The full brief can be obtained from: irisbertz.blogspot.com

^{New! 28.10.09}    
There’s a good-looking new website for the Breaking the Mould photography exhibition now on in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent (9th Oct – 29th Nov 2009).

^{New! 28.10.09}    
Nearby Shrewsbury-based DASH (Disability Arts in Shropshire) is celebrating the International Day of Disabled People on 3rd December 2009, with a fantastic creative and social day for disabled people. The day starts at 10am with welcome drinks, pastries, entertainment and speeches. Then take your pick from workshops about puppets, painting/drawing, photography or video. Lunch will be served at 12.15pm, with performances by local disabled artists creating a party atmosphere. In the afternoon session they will be finding out what makes YOU happy, what makes YOU smile, what YOU want DASH to do in the future. They will also be telling you about the work DASH has done in the past. To finish off the day there will be short films, performances, speeches and drinks. Book your place early by calling Mike, Paula or Paul on 01743 272939 or 01743 271676 or email admin@dasharts.org

^{New! 28.10.09}    
Added to the Directory: The Textile Triangle is devoted to antique and contemporary work in textiles, originating from the textile towns of Macclesfield, Congleton and Leek. This up-to-date and attractive website is associated with the Three Shires Textiles Festival.

^{New! 28.10.09}    
Added to the Directory: The Orme Art group is a… “group of people in Staffordshire and Cheshire who had outgrown ‘classes’ but were feeling isolated working alone. The group meets once a month for creative practice. Twice yearly exhibitions give us an opportunity to get feedback from the public and to offer work for sale.”

^{New! 28.10.09}    
Added to the Directory: The Nantwich Museum which, as well as displaying local history, also shows contemporary work in its Millennium Gallery (currently showing work by the Threadmill group of 16 local textile artists) and Community Gallery (currently showing work by the Orme Art group from Cheshire and Staffordshire).

Also added to the list of nearby local museums showing contemporary work: Congleton Museum; The Shire Hall Gallery; and Buxton Museum and Art Gallery.

^{New! 28.10.09}    
Added to the events page:  The Enterprise & Commercial Development unit at Staffordshire University is inviting people to a Creative IP Event on 18th November 2009 (4pm-6pm) in the Activity Space at Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent. They will have three speakers on the topic of intellectual property and the creative industries. These include: Robert Sales (Swindell & Pearson); Ian King (Faculty Director, Law); and James Welch from www.redsauce.com. The event is open to local professionals as well as members of the university. To book a place, please email Naomi Arblaster at:  n.arblaster@staffs.ac.uk

^{New! 27.10.09}    
Are you a small retailer who could use a grant of up to £50,000 to help deter or manage crime? The Small Retailer Grants Fund application deadline is 6th November 2009, and the Fund is open to partnerships of small retail businesses in the city of Stoke-on-Trent (not elsewhere in Staffordshire). Information on how to apply for a partnership group grant can be found here.

Place a text ad on Creative Stoke — just £6 a month!

^{New! 27.10.09}    
Congratulations to Pamela Sambrook, who has just published her well-researched book The Staffordshire Oatcake: A History (Palatine Books, 128 pages).

^{New! 27.10.09}    
Birmingham-based The Traditional Arts Team are searching for the best young storytellers from across the British Isles, leading up to a national event on Saturday 13th March 2010 at the Central Library Theatre in Birmingham city-centre. If you’re a young person who tell stories, or someone who knows a talented young storyteller, please contact Fiona on 01490 430551 / 07941 918159 or email:  fioan@tradartsteam.co.uk

The Traditional Arts Team also runs Peak Performance storytelling workshops in the nearby Peak District. Forthcoming dates are Sunday 1st November and Sunday 6th December 2009.

They are part of the English Storytelling Network, and also publish the Folk Monthly magazine of traditional folk activities.

^{New! 27.10.09}    
The £1.3m Redundant Buildings Grant Scheme for Staffordshire helps to bring buildings back into productive economic use (e.g.: an art gallery, a workshop for a crafts maker). The scheme is coming to an end in March 2010, so now is a good time to apply if you’re planning to renovate a disused building. Grants are between £2,500 and £62,500. Staffordshire Moorlands Council has a leaflet on the scheme (PDF link). The scheme excludes Stoke-on-Trent.

^{New! 26.10.09}    
The Staffordshire Community Foundation currently has a programme of Grassroots Grants available for small community groups. Grants of between £250 and £5,000 are available for volunteer-led community groups which work exclusively in the area of Stoke-On-Trent and Staffordshire.

^{New! 26.10.09}    
YDE Young Creatives is a competition aimed at dance choreographers aged 15 to 19, who are creating dance with up to five dancers. The winners will be provided with mentoring, residential workshops and seminars, and major performance opportunities. The application deadline is 30th November 2009, and you’ll need to send video footage of your dance piece. Those selected from applications will then present informally at the Royal Opera House in January 2010, and finalists will perform publically in London in April 2010. Full details from Youth Dance England at:  claire@yde.org.uk

^{New! 26.10.09}    
Would you like to learn some of the ways to teach children to write songs? There’s to be an afternoon Sing Up! Song Writing Workshop in nearby Telford, on Thursday 26th November 2009. It will be led by Mary Keith, and will be aimed at school teachers, singing leaders and community musicians who are working with children in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 (ages 5-11). You’ll explore different approaches to simple songwriting, looking at the basic building blocks (lyric, beat, rhythm, melody, harmony, structure, arrangement, accompaniment) and at different creative starting points. Cost is £20 per person. Interested? To book a place, email Telford & Wrekin’s Children’s Workforce Team at:  childrensworkforce.team@telford.gov.uk

^{New! 26.10.09}    
Jobs:  Staffordshire’s Partners in Creative Learning (PiCL) has another three new opportunities at local schools:—

   1) Hagley Park Sports College (a secondary school located just south of Stafford) requires an Automotive Designer. The aim is to stage a “Formula Hagley Kart” event, in which the pupils will employ maths, science and technology to design, construct and test their vehicles to meet a series of challenges. The project will take place during Spring of 2010 and there is a budget of up to £3,600. Interested? For a full brief please email:  kevinmrayner@hotmail.com

   2) Leasowes Primary School in Stafford are seeking A Poet to help the school realise the full potential of their outside area. The project will take place during Spring of 2010. Fee: £3,700. Deadline: 2nd November 2009. Interested? For a full brief please email: Catherine Hill at:  chill71@btinternet.com

   3) The Phoenix Nursery in Wolverhampton are seeking a Creative Practitioner. All art forms will be considered. You’ll enable the school to think creatively about the use of ICT in an Early Years setting, where the children are draw from a high-unemployment neighbourhood. Delivery will be between January and March 2010, either in regular weekly sessions or in intensive blocks. Fee: £3,000. Deadline: 17th November 2009. Interested? For a full brief please email Lisa Harrison at:  lisaharrison@blueyonder.co.uk

^{New! 26.10.09}   
To help cover web hosting costs, Creative Stoke has decided to experiment with some advertising.  Creative Stoke remains a non-profit project.  But now you can buy simple cheap adverts on the page which has the most attentive eyeballs – the What’s New page.

Want to advertise? Simply sign up with Addiply, write your advert, PayPal them the fee, — and your advert appears for one month! The placing will always be as part of the third item from the top on this What’s New? page. Reach a highly targeted audience, for about the same price as a coffee and a packet of posh sandwiches!

Creative Stoke can also arrange for your ad to be placed on the RSS feed for Creative Stoke.

^{New! 26.10.09}   
To help cover web hosting costs, Creative Stoke has decided to experiment with some advertising.  Creative Stoke remains a non-profit project.  But now you can buy simple cheap adverts on the page which has the most attentive eyeballs – the What’s New page.

Want to advertise? Simply sign up with Addiply, write your advert, PayPal them the fee, — and your advert will appear for one month! The placing will always be as part of the third item from the top on the What’s New? page. Reach the Creative Stoke audience from just £6 per month.

^{New! 26.10.09}   
Stoke-on-Trent’s Andrew Stuart is planning a documentary on photographers’ rights in the UK, police stopping photographers, and the fight to show that photography not a crime in public places. Andrew is a 2nd year Broadcast Journalism student at Staffordshire University. He would like to speak to people who have been stopped by the police while photographing. If you’ve had that experience, or know someone who has, then please contact him via his website’s contact page.

^{New! 26.10.09}   
Script is running a one-day workshop event on “New Narrative Structures and Writing Opportunities in the Digital Age”. The event will be held in Birmingham, on the 7th November 2009 (10am-5pm). Tickets are £50 (£40 concessions). More details at the above web link. Due to the ongoing postal strike, those booking are asked to email your completed workshop booking form to:  catherine.edwards@scriptonline.net

^{New! 26.10.09}   
Added to the Directory: Summer Bank Studios, a recording studio in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent. The studio is 40ft x 20ft x 15ft tall, has a vocal booth and a large 35ft control room, and also has various rehearsal rooms. The studio currently has a special pre-Christmas offer on the MySpace page.