More items added today, 30th Sept 2009

More items added today, 30th Sept 2009:

^{New! 30.09.09}    
Creative Stoke has publicised the Artists Access to Art Colleges scheme many times. Have you been succesful in taking advantage of it? If so, you may be interested to know that the scheme is now inviting all its artists to submit three images, and their story, to an online information bank. This will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the scheme. Twenty of the best entries will be included in an ebook, which will be circulated widely. Deadline: 17th December 2009. Send your submissions to: AA2A@wendymason.biz

^{New! 30.09.09}    
The Sculpture Show is planning a two-week outdoor show in nearby Cheshire in 2010. They are now calling established, mid-career and emerging contemporary sculptors to suggest weatherpoof, eye-catching and original sculpture. Deadline for applications: 20th December 2009. Please include your artist C.V., four to eight printed images of your sculpture, an indication of size/price, and an SAE. Selection will be in early 2010. The address for submissions is: The Retreat, 70 Scructon’s Heath, Great Whitley, Worcester. WR6 6JA.

^{New! 30.09.09}    
Added to the Events listing: Talk About Local is an informal “unconference”, hosted by Staffordshire University Faculty of Arts, Media & Design in the Film Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent. It’s an opportunity for discussions with those engaged in hyperlocal media production, and it happens on 3rd October 2009.

^{New! 30.09.09}    
Digishorts is now open for submissions. Digishorts is a West Midlands scheme to support the production of six short digital films, made by the freshest and most innovative new filmmaking talent in the West Midlands. You can apply for up to £10,000, and the deadline for submissions is 5pm on Monday 9th November 2009. A Digishorts roadshow event is happening at the MET Studio, Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford on 19th October 2009 (2pm – 4pm) and at the Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury on 20th October (10am – 12 noon). To book a place on the roadshows, please contact Simon Flynn at:  simon.flynn@screenwm.co.uk

Added to the Creative Stoke “What’s New” page, 30th Sept 2009

More opportunities and news, added to the Creative Stoke “What’s New” page, 30th Sept 2009:

^{New! 30.09.09}    
Digishorts is now open for submissions. Digishorts is a West Midlands scheme to support the production of six short digital films, made by the freshest and most innovative new filmmaking talent in the West Midlands. You can apply for up to £10,000, and the deadline for submissions is 5pm on Monday 9th November 2009. A Digishorts roadshow event is happening at the MET Studio, Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford on 19th Octover 2009 (2pm – 4pm) and at the Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury on 20th October (10am – 12 noon). To book a place on the roadshows, please contact Simon Flynn at:  simon.flynn@screenwm.co.uk

^{New! 30.09.09}    
Susanne Burns and Sue Harrison have completed A Window on Dance (Word .doc) for the Arts Council. Their report is a comprehensive survey of dance in England between 2004-2008, and will be of interest to all dance practitioners.

^{New! 30.09.09}    
Job: Staffordshire University require a Senior Lecturer in Creative and Cultural Enterprise. Deadline: 14th October 2009.

^{New! 30.09.09}    
Gareth Mayer writes from Newcastle-under-Lyme, to say that he’s in the process of writing a comedy B-movie about killer vegetables called Gross-ery. Gareth writes and performs comedy, and has been on FX-TV and BBC 3. He’s looking for people to help with behind the scenes and in front of the camera. Interested? Contact Gareth at:  gazmayer2003@hotmail.com

^{New! 30.09.09}    
Interested in Hollywood scriptwriting? The Artrix, in Bromsgrove near Birmingham is running a one-day workshop on 7th November 2009 (11am-5pm). Run by writer and journalist James Bartlett, the day aims to give you industry information and tips that will make your script a more professional and sellable product. Cost £50. For a ticket, call the Box Office on 01527 577330.

^{New! 30.09.09}    
Sketchbooks in Schools has issued an open invitation to any adult who uses sketchbooks, illustrated notebooks or journals, as an aid to thinking, working or dreaming. The Sketchbook in Schools website is aimed at primary-school aged children and teachers, and already features sketchbooks submitted by a variety of visual artists (fine artists, illustrators, architect, animators etc). But now they would like to receive submissions from other areas of creative practice (e.g. jewellery makers, crafts makers, set designers, games designers, furniture and fashion designers etc), but also from other professions such as poets and writers, chefs, to gardeners, to builders, woodworkers, and business managers. Interested? Send an email to: info@accessart.org.uk, with the subject “Sketchbook Submission” as header. The email should contain: i) a brief outline of how your use of sketchbooks (or journals) helps your thinking or approach; and ii) up to eight good-quality photos attached.

Added to Creative Stoke, 27th September 2009

Added to Creative Stoke, 27th September 2009:

^{New! 27.09.09}     Staffordshire University Futures Programme has gained funding that enables them to offer bursaries for the five-day Arts and Health Artist Professional Development Programme (APDP) in February 2010. The bursaries enable the price to be reduced from £500 to £250. The deadline for applications is 30th October 2009. Further information from Kate Gant at:  kate@creativityteam.co.uk

^{New! 27.09.09}    
Chris of Willow Arts is working with the Friends of Bradwell Wood (west of Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent), and is putting on a second woodland arts weekend. The weekend will offer free workshops and land art opportunities, and will run from 3rd – 4th October 2009.

^{New! 27.09.09}    
Screen West Midlands and INNOMEDIA (a pilot European scheme to promote innovation in the audiovisual sectors) are inviting West Midlands firms to participate in an international Enterprise Europe Network event specifically for digital media and ICT technologies – Digital Media in Rome – on 18th October 2009. Attendance at Digital Media is free of charge, and all presentations and one-to-one meetings are in English. Travel, accommodation and subsistence costs must be met by participating companies. A subsidy of up to £200 per company (paid retrospectively) may be available if qualifying criteria are met. Deadline to register your application: 2nd October 2009. For further information contact Alison Hawkins at:  a.hawkins@birminghamchamber.org.uk

^{New! 27.09.09}    
Coming soon, Talking Shop with informal creative workshops for Stoke-on-Trent.

Added to Creative Stoke, 26th Sept 2009

Added to Creative Stoke today:

^{New! 26.09.09}    
Last Thursday the head of the Creative Advantage Fund announced a new £1 million round of investment in the West Midlands creative industries. CAF has so far invested over £1.3 million in small and medium sized enterprises in the creative economy. The Fund’s objective is to bridge the “equity gap”, addressing the reluctance of banks to provide risk capital to small firms in the creative sector. The Fund is now actively seeking investment opportunities in our region, in the range £75,000 to £150,000. Any small or medium sized West Midlands-based creative industries firm with a strong business proposition should contact the Creative Advantage Fund now at:  enquiries@creativeadvantagefund.co.uk

^{New! 26.09.09}    
Stoke-on-Trent’s British Ceramics Biennial has a… “limited number of bursaries available upon application to cover full attendance as a conference delegate” to the Ceramic City: Design & The Public Realm conference (9th October 2009, with site visits on 10th October). To ask for a free place, please write a letter supporting your application and explaining how the conference might benefit your continuing professional practice and send it as soon as possible to Jeremy Hunt at Art & Architecture journal:  editor@artandarchitecturejournal.com

^{New! 26.09.09}    
Job:  Do you want to train as a BBC journalist? The BBC are looking for 15 exceptional people to train as… “the broadcast journalists of the future”. You’ll be trained in online, TV and radio — via a mix of face to face sessions, online learning, and work placements around the British Isles. The BBC pay you a salary, and you’ll be mentored by a senior BBC journalist. Deadline: 7th October 2009. Interested? Full details are available here.

Added 25th Sept 2009

Added to Creative Stoke’s “What’s New” page:

^{New! 25.09.09}    
Creative Stoke interviewee Dan Hopkins has just launched a new Vimeo channel online, showcasing ten years of his work.

^{New! 25.09.09}     North Staffordshire’s Partners in Creative Learning (PiCL, formerly Creative Partnerships) is seeking three consultants to evaluate the Creative Partnerships Enquiry Schools programme in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. The work would be undertaken from March to May 2010, in approx. 60 hours. The fee is: £1375 – £1495. Your main role will be to lead the “deep conversations” which are at the heart of the national Creative Partnerships evaluation model, with teachers, young people, and creative partners involved in Enquiry School projects. Deadline for applications: 23rd October 2009. Full details from:  iain@picl.uk.com

There are also two new PiCL opportunities in education in Stoke-on-Trent:

  1) Blackfriars Bucknall is a special needs F.E. college in Stoke-on-Trent. Ten 17-year-olds at the college are seeking a creative practitioner or company to collaborate to develop a project to explore ways of increasing our confidence and independence. They would like to include their parents on this journey. Planning starts in November 2009, with projects being realised between January and March 2010. Budget: £3,000. Application deadline: 14th October 2009. Full brief from: jonions@blackfriars.staffs.sch.uk

  2) Moorpark Junior School in Burslem is seeking two creative practitioners (ideally a musician and a visual artist/designer) to work with Year 5 children on a music and art based project. The project will be planned in the Autumn term and run during the Spring term of 2010. Budget: £3,000. Application deadline: 19th October 2009. Full brief from: kharris@sgfl.org.uk

^{New! 25.09.09}    
Added to the Directory: Newcastle Operatic Society website.

^{New! 25.09.09}    
A Scriptwriting for Animation Workshop will be held on the 5th November 2009, 10am – 4pm, in nearby Wolverhampton. This one–day workshop, run by Script and Animation Forum West Midlands, will explore the particularities of animation production and writing…

“leading to an individual 60 second script which will then be submitted to the Flip Animation Challenge with the opportunity to be produced by animators in residence during the festival and screened on the final day of the FLIP festival. The workshop is led by Myles McLeod, one half of BAFTA nominated The Brothers McLeod. This 5 hour workshop will include: Creating characters; Three act structure; Scene structure; Getting inspired; Thinking animated; Taking criticism; and Writing a 60 second script. Cost: £25 (£20).

Tickets for the workshop available now from the Light House box office.

^{New! 25.09.09}    
Henry Hemming, author of the recent In Search of the English Eccentric, is writing a new book on the wealth of voluntary independent clubs, informal groups, and societies that exist throughout the British Isles. The research for the book, which will be titled Club and published in Spring 2011, has been going on since early 2008. All clubs and societies will be gratefully acknowledged in the book. The survey takes around two minutes and may be completed by visiting the website.

^{New! 25.09.09}    
Job:  The innovative Flatpack Festival is set to happen 23rd-28th March 2010 in Birmingham, and the organisers are currently seeking a Festival Coordinator. Deadline: 28th Sept 09.

Flatpack Festival is also currently seeking submissions of exciting short films from the wider West Midlands, to be shown at the 2010 festival. Deadline: 4th December 09.

^{New! 24.09.09}     Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and Friends of Parrot’s Drumble are looking for an artist to create a minimum of six seats or interactive sculptures in a woodland setting. It is expected that the project will begin in late autumn/winter 2009, and be completed no later than May 2010. Fee: £6,000 to include V.A.T., all expenses, materials, planning meetings, community workshops, studio time, delivery and installation on site. Deadline for expression of interest: 25th September 2009. Full details are available at Creative Remedies.

^{New! 24.09.09}    
Added to the Directory: Education Arts Service West Midlands is a new website and a…

“new, free, regional resource supporting arts and cultural learning for children and young people, both in and out of school”

Additions to Creative Stoke’s “What’s New”, 13th Sept 2009

^{New! 13.09.09}     Sarah Nadin, Clare Reynolds and Paul Rogerson are about to embark on a new Lottery-funded visual arts, dance and music project. The project, titled re:mind, aims to gather the thoughts, feelings and memories of Stoke Town (not the city of Stoke-on-Trent), to then generate a one off performance / installation in the centre of Stoke Town. The group are looking for memories and ideas, which you can contribute here.

^{New! 13.09.09}    
Advance news of a forthcoming Social Networking in Cyberspace Conference, to be held at The Light House in nearby Wolverhampton. The date for your diary is 23rd April 2010. More details at the website.

^{New! 12.09.09}    
The Nantwich Theatre Project is launched today. The Nantwich Players are planning to develop their theatre into a refurbished 120-seat 21st century venue and to make it a major asset to the town. The aim is to raise £500,000 to do this, and they have already raised £90,000 and engaged architects Bower Edleston. Can you help them raise some of the rest of the required money? Contact the Project via the Nantwich Players website.

^{New! 12.09.09}     Screen West Midlands require a consultant to be part of a team producing a report evaluating the region’s capabilities in the production and post-production of major TV and film productions. Deadline: 25th September 2009. More details at the website.

Additions to Creative Stoke’s “What’s New”, 12th Sept 2009

^{New! 12.09.09}    
Screen West Midlands require a consultant to be part of a team producing a report evaluating the region’s capabilities in the production and post-production of major TV and film productions. Deadline: 25th September 2009. More details at the website.

^{New! 12.09.09}    
Now that we have a huge Tesco superstore set to be built in the city-centre of Stoke-on-Trent, it seems pertinent to mention the Tesco Charity Trust Community Awards. Community and voluntary groups can apply for grants of between £500 and £4,000, to work with elderly people and those with disabilities. The Trustees can also consider larger grants ranging between £4,000 and £25,000. Deadline: 30th September 2009.

^{New! 12.09.09}    
The BBC Performing Arts Fund has launched Choral Ambition, a new fund for choirs across the British Isles. The fund is for adult or youth choirs of any type. The maximum grant is £5,000, the minimum is £500. The grant can be used for commissioning new music, training and development, masterclasses, workshops and projects to attract new members. Deadline: 30th October 2009.

^{New! 12.09.09}    
Keele University has its Autumn list of continuing education courses online. Keele is running a variety of courses starting in September 09, including:—

   * Exploring Creative Writing (course code: ENG-1C027) at Trinity Church, in the town of Stafford. The course will run on Monday afternoons from 1.15pm to 3.15pm. Interested? Email: enquiries@cpe.keele.ac.uk

   * Towards the Novel: a novel-writing course (course code: ENG-1C029) at the Chancellor’s Building, on the campus of Keele University. The course will run on Thursdays 10am to 12 noon. Interested? Contact the tutor, Philip Emery on 01782 733436.

Other, more academic short courses include: Art and Architecture from Bomberg to Bauhaus; and Religion and Ritual in the Roman World.

^{New! 11.09.09}    
Added to the Directory: Introspective, the website of North Staffordshire-based graphic artist Chris Twigg, who has worked on a variety of recent local regeneration projects.

Picture by Chris Twigg, from “Feel The Feeling”, a consultation on regeneration in Stoke-on-Trent. March 2009.

Additions to the Creative Stoke “What’s New” page, 11th Sept 2009

^{New! 11.09.09}    
Would your creative industries company benefit from a trade trip to Seattle, home of Microsoft and countless other innovative and successful companies? Screen West Midlands are offering A Heart of England Trade Mission to Seattle from 16th to 18th November 2009. Deadline: 30th September 2009.

Screen West Midlands are also inviting application for the 2010 visit to SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas. Deadline: 25th September 2009

^{New! 11.09.09}    
Formerly funded by the now-defunct Digital Central, the Animation Forum West Midlands has just secured another year of funding from Screen WM. This means that the Forum will be able to run at least ten more events before September 2010. These free talks and screenings are held at The Light House in Wolverhampton (very near the train station, and just a short journey on the train from Stoke-on-Trent), which enables them to take advantage of the full-size cinema screens there. Worth a visit! And if you’re an animator seeking to have your work shown locally on the big screen, make enquiries soon.

^{New! 10.09.09}    
The Brewhouse arts centre in nearby Burton-on-Trent is seeking crafts makers for a show in the approach to Christmas, from 21st November to Saturday 19th December 2009. Please provide images and a statement prior to the exhibition, in the first instance. Those selected would be expected to provide at least three pieces for the exhibition, and these should be packaged to enable returning if needed. Any unsold work would be returned to the artist at the expense of Arts East Staffs. Commission for each piece would be in the range of thirty to fourty per cent, and the artist would supply a list price they would expect to be paid. Revenue from sold work will be paid within 28 days of the end date of the exhibition. Unsold work will be returned by 4th January 2010. Works will be needed on site by Friday 13th November 2009, and any expenses will be covered on production of receipts and an invoice. More information from Paul Challacombe, Arts Development Officer at:   paul.challacombe@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk

^{New! 10.09.09}    
Added to the Directory: Sarah Nadin. A graduate in Graphic Arts, Sarah can provide graphic design, photography, and community arts projects. Sarah is currently co-curating a ‘Place, Space and Identity’ arts project in Biddulph, Staffordshire Moorlands. Sarah can combine, graphic, photographic and hand generated processes, and can work for either the private or public sectors. Sarah is based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent.

New additions to the “What’s New?” page on Creative Stoke, 10th September 2009

New additions to the “What’s New?” page on Creative Stoke, 10th September 2009:

^{New! 10.09.09}    
North Staffordshire’s Barefoot Doctors arts and skills project have announced that they are planning a new monthly magazine…

“At the moment we see it as a special collectible, limited edition, publication for arts reviews, comment, poetry, journalistic articles, illustration, photography etc… a beautiful thing to hold with real artistic value in itself. We will discuss this idea in more depth at the next Friday Surgery on September 25th 2009. Please interact here on the blog in the meantime, comment with your thoughts and ideas. … a monthly model looks the most sustainable and in terms of timescale, it’s probable we’d have a trial run produced by sometime in October.”

More details at their blog post.

^{New! 10.09.09}    
Job:  Are you a Qualified Music Teacher? A local Stoke-on-Trent secondary school needs you now, for an immediate start. You’ll work full-time, at an agency rate of £95 to £140 per day, teaching classes up to Key Stage 5. More details from:  Steve Smith on 0121 200 3224.

^{New! 10.09.09}    
Design Conversations is a one-day conference in nearby Derby (easily accessible on the train from Stoke station). The conference will happen on 22nd September 2009, and will be an opportunity for urban designers, regeneration professionals, property developers and decision makers to gather together and talk about the value of good design in the urban environment. Speakers include: John Cadwallader – Chief Executive, Derby Cityscape on Regeneration & Consultation; Kelvin Campbell – Director, Urban Initiatives on Masterplanning & Branding; Maggie Bolt – Director, Public Art South West on Public Art & Identity of Place; Tim Stonor – Managing Director, Space Syntax on Street Design & Behavioural Patterns; and Ian Harris – Director, Maber Architects on Heritage Led Regeneration. This is free event, so booking is essential. To book please email:  udgeastmidlands@hotmail.co.uk

^{New! 10.09.09}    
Staffordshire Open Studios now has the 2010 Application Form online. The 2009 weekend dates are 19th/20th and 26th/27th September 09. Creative Stoke’s slideshow of photographs from the 2008 Open Studios can be found here.

^{New! 10.09.09}    
Manchester-based CUBE is inviting artists, architects and designers to submit work that responds to the theme of ‘the urban built environment’. Selected entries will be exhibited at CUBE, with the overall winner receiving a residency in the gallery in 2010 and £1000. To apply please send a CD or DVD with a copies of your work (no more than six images, as Microsoft .PPT, or standard .JPG files. Video submissions can also be accepted, but DVDs containing these these must play without problems in any standard DVD player. There is a £15 submission fee for each application. Please send cheques or postal orders payable to the University of Salford. Deadline: 2nd October 2009. The address for submissions is:  CUBEOpen, 113-115 Portland Street, Manchester. M1 6DW.

^{New! 10.09.09}    
Are you a local festival organiser? You may be interested to know that the industry’s major conference will be happening not far from North Staffs. The Folk Industry and The Association of Festival Organisers Conference 2009 will happen from 20th – 22nd November 2009, at Eastwood Hall Conference Centre in Nottingham.

Additions to Creative Stoke, 9th October 2009

^{New! 09.09.09}    
Added to the Events listing:  The Stoke-on-Trent Writing group are holding a Writers’ Workshop Weekend at the City Centre Library, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. Three tutors (Emma Hardy, Nicholas Corder and Dinesh Allirajah) will be leading the weekend on 28th/29th November 2009, and there will be around 12 workshops covering many aspects of writing — short stories, research, sense of place, poetry, etc. The weekend will cost £20. You’ll need an application form to register — please phone 01782 238455 for details.

^{New! 09.09.09}    
Job:  The Trust of the new £10m Wedgwood Museum at Barlaston is inviting applications for the post of Volunteer Gallery Assistant. You’ll be given full training and, among other duties, will conduct guided tours. The post is unpaid, but would suit anyone aiming for a career in the heritage and museums industry. For more information, please contact manager June Bonell on: 01782 371911.

^{New! 09.09.09}    
Noted children’s authors will be giving talks about their work, and readings, at the Stone Book Festival on 19th September 2009. The event will take place in marquees located along the High Street in the town from 10am to 4pm, and among the authors are Malcolm Rose, Kath Langrish, Echo Freer, Susan Barnes, John Dougherty, Penny Dolan and Lydia Monks. Details of specific times from: 01785 619740. Don’t forget that there’s now a convenient new train service from Stoke-on-Trent to Stone station, to get you there.