Latest items

Latest “What’s New?” items from Creative Stoke. See the website for pictures and links…

New! 25.01.09 There’s to be an unusual workshop conference on shops, to be held in nearby Wolverhampton. Retailing History: Texts and Images will be on 29th April 09 at the University of Wolverhampton…

“…a discussion of the nature of the texts and images associated with retailing and retailers, including commercial images, artistic and literary representations, photographs and postcards, the printed word and the visual arts.”

More information from: l.ugolini _at_ wlv.ac.uk

New! 25.01.09 An interesting regeneration arts event, coming up soon at Goldsmiths — “An Afternoon of Thoughts on the (Im)Possibilities of Engaged Urban Sociology/Photography/Art” on 3rd Feb 09…

What role do urban researchers, artists and photographers play in regeneration processes?” “Are we accomplices or critics of power? The Dutch research group BAVO provocatively argue that researchers and artists here are equivalent to embedded journalists [in warzones] …

New! 25.01.09 Stoke-on-Trent’s Glassball Arts has set up the Living Gallery website, as part of an…

“digital media based community arts project in the heart of … the Waterside area in Stoke-on-Trent.”

Glassball will be placing art works over the door and window areas of people’s homes that have been purchased under duress, gutted, and that are now set for demolition.

New! 22.01.09 Jobs: Creative Partnerships Stoke-on-Trent is seeking a creative for the following new project:

Mill Hill Primary — in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent — is seeking a new-media artist to explore “how creative and imaginative uses of new media can support the ways in which teachers and pupils improve their speaking, listening and writing skills”. Budget: £5,000. Deadline: 26th January 09. Creative Stoke has the full brief available here (PDF, 80kb).

New! 22.01.09 Place Space & Identity 2 is a programme of arts projects in North Staffordshire, running between January and March 09. The announced artists are:

Chris Twigg… (website)

Sarah Nadin & Clare Reynolds… (website)

“Benches” is a collaborative mission combining dance, photography and digital processes. Created from thoughts and images of the people of North Staffordshire and Stoke-On-Trent this project uses public benches as a meeting point and aims to unveil aspects of the areas contemporary identity.”

And Louise Wood; Rachel Grant; Claire Barber. (links)

There’s apparently to be a launch event on 29th January 09. For details, email: info@pandaemonium.biz

Latest items

Latest “What’s New?” items from Creative Stoke. See the website for pictures and links…

New! 20.01.09 Urban Vision North Staffordshire has launched its 4th annual competition for photographs of our area. “Home!” is the theme…

Creative Stoke has the flyer and entry form (PDF, 850kb).

New! 20.01.09 The 2nd Stoke-on-Trent Stoke Your Fires Festival of Animation is inviting for entries to the Spring 09 event. Deadline is 19th February 09.

New! 15.01.09 The British Silk Painters Guild is hosting a weekend festival of workshops and talks on 1st & 2nd August 09, at the nearby Rodbaston College. The theme is ‘Silk Art to Wear’. More details are available here.

New! 14.01.09 Job: DASH is a disability arts development organisation, based in nearby Shrewsbury and working across the West Midlands and the Welsh Marches. DASH is currently seeking a Visual Arts Manager (£8,892, 2 days per week). Interested? More details via their website.

New! 11.01.09 Added to the directory: Matthew Stansfield Photography is based in Talke, Stoke-on-Trent. Matthew specialises in photography of fashion, food, interiors, plus lifestyle portraits.

New! 11.01.09 Added to the directory: Grisdale Lesniak Swann, an award-winning advertising agency based in Stoke-on-Trent.

New! 11.01.09 Added to the directory: Capoeira Art Brasil is a Stoke-on-Trent -based group that promotes Brazilian arts and culture, and runs weekly classes in capoeira and music.

You can see Capoeira Art Brasil on stage on 24th January 09, at 09 Dance festival at the Regent theatre in Stoke-on-Trent — 80 dance companies, 240 new dances and over 1500 dancers, in the region’s 8th annual youth dance festival.

New! 11.01.09 Added to the directory: Gemma Killingback is a glass artist The Roslyn Works, Longton (next to the Gladstone Pottery Museum). Gemma designs and produces leaded and kiln-formed art glass and jewellery.

New! 11.01.09 Added to the events listing: 4th March 2009, at The Potters Club, Stoke, in ‘The Potters Room’. 6pm to 8.30pm. Creativity: Innovate Through the Recession — a free Business Broker event, with Staffordshire University. The main speaker is Karl Woolley, Managing Director of the company that launched the BBC’s Tweenies. Also hear how Aynsley China won an ‘Achievement in Innovation’ award at the 2008 Lord Stafford Awards.

New! 09.01.09 The Sunday Times Style in the City is happening in Birmingham in April 2009. The organisers are looking for a ‘Midlands Designer of the Future’, and the chosen person will be heavily promoted to the 2009 event’s shoppers. Deadline for entries: 12th Feb 09.

Fast Forward 1

New! 02.01.09 Fast Forward 1 is a new mentoring scheme to support mid-career crafts designer-makers from the West Midlands. It will offer the opportunity to be mentored by a fellow arts professional. Deadline: 10th February 09. Full details are available here (PDF file).

Wedgwood Memorial College short courses

New! 02.01.09 The Wedgwood Memorial College, just south of Stoke-on-Trent at Barlaston, has a new series of art history workshops in early 2009. These include: ‘Self Expression, Originality and Repetition’; ‘Looking at the Overlooked’; ‘Land and Environment’; ‘Relationship of Art and Design Practice 1850-1940’; and ‘The Real and the Virtual’. There are also a variety of short courses in arts and crafts production, such as ‘Introduction to Silver Jewellery Making’, and ‘Drawing and Painting: Focus on Foregrounds’.

Conference in July 09

New! 02.01.09 Those interested in the place of the arts and crafts in the future of adult education, may like to note that there’s to be a conference in Stoke-on-Trent. Towards a New Agenda for Lifelong Learning will be at Staffordshire University in July 2009.

Context: adult education in England & Wales has lost over 1.5 million course places in the last three years alone. In 2006 the two large colleges serving Stoke-on-Trent together announced a massive 205 staff redundancies, largely as a result of the government’s drastic cuts to adult education and evening-classes.

British Ceramics Biennial – new website and dates

New! 02.01.09 The British Ceramics Biennial (aka Stoke Ceramics Festival, aka the International Ceramics Festival) has a new website online. The dates are now, according to the website, “3th October to 13th December 2009”. The event will be accompanied by a conference: “Ceramics Design and Craft in the Public Realm”.

Creative Alliance is looking for people aged 15-19 from the West Midlands

New! 26.12.08 Creative Alliance is looking for people aged 15-19 from the West Midlands, who are seeking creative media experience in photography, illustration, graphic design and via social-networking websites. You must be able to commit to 1-2 days a week for eight weeks. Creative Alliance is running the project from January to February 09, in conjunction with Mediabox, and aims to publish some of the work on billboards to thousands of people across the city of Birmingham. Interested? Find out more and book a place on one of th Open Day on 6th Jan, via: anna _at_ creativealliance.org.uk