Added to Creative Stoke, 31st January 2011

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The Clore Leadership Programme’s ‘Strengthening Leadership in the Cultural Sector’ scheme is now open. The 2011/12 Fellowships offer two intensive residential training courses, mentoring and coaching, and a secondment to manage a challenging project. Application deadline: 11th March 2011. Full details at www.cloreleadership.org

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Added to the Directory:   Newcastle-under-Lyme College’s Art & Design blog.

On the blog: Christopher Bagnall with his work, at the N-u-L 2010 graduation show.

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The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery have announced three public lectures in October and November 2011…

  1.   Professor Barbara Kelly of Keele will give a public lecture on “Local and exotic locations: Music in the Midlands” at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, on Sunday 9th Oct 2011, from 2pm. Including live music by Debussy and Vaughan Williams.

  2.   AirSpace Director David Bethell explains the challenges of running an independent contemporary art gallery in Stoke-on-Trent. The date set is Friday 4th Nov 2011, at 2pm.

  3.   2011’s Reginald Haggar Memorial Lecture at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery will be given by broadcaster and scholar M.P. Tristram Hunt,
on “Priestly’s three Englands, Haggar’s six towns”. Tickets are free, no booking required.. Tickets are free, no booking required. The date set is 5th Nov 2011, at 2.30pm.

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Stone’s Rooftop Studios are set to run a performance workshop with West End star Ashleigh Grey. Workshops are for 8-18 year olds, and will last 90 minutes. They will be held on 19th February 2011, and the cost is £5. To book please phone:  01785 761233.

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‘World of Dance’ and dance artist Carol Howard are running a free Belly Dance Workshop at the White Star pub, in Stoke town, on 16th February 2011. More details from Vanessa Darlington at:  vanessa.darlington@stoke.gov.uk

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A new Sculpture Trail at the Shugborough Estate, Staffordshire, is set to have its launch event on 22nd May 2011. More details on: 0845 459 8900.

Added to Creative Stoke, 30th January 2011

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Congleton town is inviting artists, schools, and local firms to purchase and decorate a giant bear, for the town’s forthcoming Bearfest arts festival. A 5ft bear costs £600, and the Bearfest plans to have up to 75 bears around the town. Just over 50 have already been snapped up. About the same cost as a full-page magazine advert, and potentially offering a larger local audience!

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The Light House in nearby Wolverhampton is running several one-day courses in the coming months:

* Digital Cinematography Workshop on 15th February 2011 (10am – 4pm) Cost: £55 + VAT. To book please contact the Box Office at:  01902 716055

* Introduction to Lighting Techniques for Video and Photography on 15th March 2011 (10am – 4pm). Cost: £45 + VAT.

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The government has announced a new £1 million scheme to encourage cultural organisations to use digital technologies to increase their audiences. This will apparently be administered by NESTA, so watch their website for news of how to apply. Recent substantial reports on the topic are Audience 2.0 : How Technology Influences Arts Participation (USA); Digital audiences : engagement with arts and culture online (UK); and Beyond live : Digital innovation in the performing arts (UK).

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NESTA is looking for UK videogame developers who might be willing to join together to form a single publisher. Deadline for expressions of interest: 14th February 2011. NESTA is also getting set for the London launch of their Livingstone-Hope Skills Review of Video Games and Visual Effects, which aims to suggest a strategy by which… “the UK can be transformed into the world’s leading talent hub for videogames”, on 1st February 2011.

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Job:  IciniTV are looking for an experienced motion designer to join the creative digital video team at their mid Staffordshire studio at Burton-on-Trent. You’ll have at least three years of experience in delivering creative work for TV / promos; expertise with Cinema 4D (or equivalent), After Effects, Photoshop and Illustrator. Please send them your C.V., and a link to your demo reel.

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Job:  Wolverhampton’s Creative Health CIC wishes to appoint an artist or creative practitioner to join its team in order to document and record a unique programme of arts and health work. A fee of £3,000 is available. The deadline for applications is: 4th February 2011. The full details are available here (PDF link).

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Job:  East Staffordshire Borough Council with Staffordshire County Council requires an External Evaluator to undertake an impact evaluation on the Falls Prevention Dance Group, and to produce an outcome focused report that will act as an “exemplar” evaluation for an arts, health & wellbeing project. The Falls Prevention Dance Group meets on a weekly basis at the Brewhouse in Burton-upon-Trent, and members are between 68 – 91 years old. Application deadline: 4th February 2011. Payment: £2,500 including travel and sundry expenses. Full details from: Owen Hurcombe, County Arts Development Officer, Heritage and Arts, Staffordshire County Council, at:  owen.hurcombe@staffordshire.gov.uk

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Staffordshire Open Studios are now offering memberships for 2011/12. This costs £100, and gives you listings in several print publications. The deadline for purchasing a membership that includes an entry in the annual brochure appears to be 31st March 2011.

Added to Creative Stoke, 29th January 2011

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Added to the Directory:  The Staffordshire and Black Country Business Support Fund was set up in November with a fund of £1 million providing £10,000 to £50,000 loans to small businesses, repayable over a four year period. Companies must be based… “Within the Black Country, Staffordshire and environs”, employ less than 50 employees, and have been turned down for loans by the conventional banks. Due to the success of the scheme, Staffordshire County Council is now contributing a further £0.5 million (matched by European funding) which will increase the funds’ resources by £1 million. This phase of the loan fund can support business start-ups as well as established companies. Full details at www.bcrs.org.uk

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Added to the Directory:  Stoke-on-Trent’s External Funding Team is dedicated to helping community groups and social enterprises to seek funds for new project ideas. As part of this, the team have an online funding facility called Grantnet. Local businesses and community groups can register with Grantnet, and once you get your password (which is sent by return email) you can begin to use and search the site. The Team also run a similar and more advanced system, Grantfinder, for a more in-depth search and further advice and information. To access a search using Grantfinder, or for any other funding queries, please contact: 01782 233119.

The External Funding Team also run free Grantnet training sessions for local community delegates, and follow-on Project Planning/Monitoring training sessions — for more information about these, please phone  01782 233119. The Team also produce the External Funding Newsletter which provides an up-to-date overview of the latest funding information. For further information or to register to receive this newsletter, please contact Mandi Marks at:  mandi.marks@stoke.gov.uk

Other nearby local councils also have External Funding Team newsletters, and these are available to consult online, such as Sandwell Council in the Black Country; and Stockport near Manchester (inc. two different Lottery Funding newsletters).

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Birmingham Chamber of Commerce now has its excellent free A Guide To Sources Of Small Business Finance In The West Midlands available online in its new January 2011 version.

^29.01.11   
The Heritage Lottery Fund’s Young Roots programme provides grants of between £3,000 and £25,000 for heritage projects involving 13-25 year olds. Projects come directly from young peoples’ interests and ideas, using their creativity and energy to help them to creatively engage with their local community and its history.

^29.01.11   
The Fidelio Charitable Trust is inviting applications for funding from art colleges, arts festivals and other arts organisations seeking financial support for individuals or groups of exceptional ability to enable them to: receive special tuition or coaching | participate in external competitions | be supported for a specially arranged performance | receive support for a special publication, musical composition or work of art. The Trust offers grants of up to £5,000 in support of the arts… “in particular the dramatic and operatic arts, music, speech and dance”. Application deadline: 1st February 2011. See the website for full details.

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The Daily Telegraph has published a feature article on the ceramics entrepreneurs of Stoke-on-Trent.

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Job:  Cheshire East Council’s Arts, Heritage & Museums service requires a Youth Participation Mentor. You’ll work with a group of young people known as ‘The A-Festival’ group, mentoring them to deliver a Youth Arts Festival in Crewe in July 2011. The post holder will also create two toolkits: one for young people, with a guide to putting on an arts event; and the second for organisations, on how to work alongside young people in youth-led projects. Contract based on 30 days @£175 per day plus expenses: total contract £5,750. Deadline: 9th February 2011. To apply, send a proposal to include the following: a supporting statement explaining why you are interested in the Youth Participation Mentor post and previous experience (one side of A4); examples of previous and relevant experience; your Curriculum Vitae; contact details of two referees. Please send your proposal to: Sian Rourke, Arts, Heritage & Museums Service, at:  sian.rourke@cheshireeast.gov.uk

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Our local Arvon residential writing retreat, in nearby Shropshire, now has its 2011 Courses online. Specialist courses with top drawer writers include: Writing for television (June 2011); Writing for radio (August 2011); Graphic novels (October 2011); Young adult fiction (October 2011); and Screenwriting (November 2011). See the website for full details.

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Louise Page (The Archers, Bad Girls, Golden Girls, Doctors) is holding creative writing workshops at Youlgreave Reading Room, Bakewell, Derbyshire. The dates are:

Creating Characters, Saturday 19th March 2011. “Memorable characters drive plot and storyline. You don’t need to know everything about your characters before you begin writing, but it will save a lot of time if you have mapped out most of their lives and how they respond in different circumstances.”

The Now Novel, Sunday 20th March 2011. “Stop dreaming and start writing. Stuck on page 20? Feel you’re never going to get to the end? The Now Novel is designed to get you writing and keep you going.”

Writing from Experience, Saturday 16th April 2011. “All writers use their own life experience in their work. This day looks at different ways we can shape our memories and family history for others and the commercial market.”

Writing for Performance, Sunday 17th April 2011. “Covers all aspects of writing for actors, radio, theatre, television and screen. We will explore how dialogue and conflict drive writing for performance.”

Soap Opera Writing, Saturday 14th May 2011. “This is a group writing day and participants must be prepared to write with others.”

Performance for Writers, Sunday 15th May 2011. “Standing up and performing your own work in front of others can be a daunting prospect; this workshop is designed to make you a confident deliverer of your own material.”

Cost: £35 per day, including refreshments and a light lunch. For further details please call 07970 203675 or email:  turrethse@aol.com

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The Gallery at 12 is calling for local artists & makers who wish to sell work. The gallery is located at Eccelshall (between Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent)

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Applications from contemporary artists working around “concepts of identity, memory, loss and trace”, are invited for a residency at the Memory B(l)anks arts festival — to be held in June 2011 at MMU’s Axis Arts Centre, at nearby Crewe. “Socially engaged work or work deriving from relational aesthetics will be of particular interest”. The residency will run for two weeks from 2nd June 2011. Application deadline: 31st March 2011. To apply please contact:  emmathackham@me.com

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Designer Maker West Midlands are running Portfolio Sessions at the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham, on Wednesday 2nd March 2011. The focus is “marketing and selling”, and the audience is “regional designer makers who have been practising for at least 12 months”. More information at the website.

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The Exchange artists’ shop in Hanley now have print copies of local author Stephen Harvey’s new book. Set in Burslem in the 1970s and 80s, the book’s theme is childhood and domestic violence. Stephen’s book is also available as a PDF ebook.

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Latest figures from Arts & Business show that private business funding of the arts has dipped nationally by only 3%, despite the desperate economic conditions…

“in 2009/10, private investment in culture stood at £658 million, a 3% decrease in real terms from the previous year.”

However, these are national figures. The Midlands is actually up by 3%…

Added to Creative Stoke, 27th January 2011

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Job:  The Sentinel newspaper requires a News Journalist. You’ll be an experienced Council correspondent… “who can dig up the stories the Council would rather bury”. Full details from Michael Sassi, Editor-in-Chief, at:  mike.sassi@thesentinel.co.uk

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Job:  Newcastle-under-Lyme’s B Arts requires a Digital Audio Producer to work on the “100 Stories” project that will form part of February’s DATfest in Stoke-on-Trent. Application deadline: 1st February 2011. Full details can be found here.

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The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is set to stage its first new media exhibition, titled Erasure, and they’re holding an informal launch event between 2pm and 4pm on Saturday 29th January 2011. Sounds like a good networking event.

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The Exchange artist’s shop in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, is set to run an “Ebook Publishing” session for writers of book-length works and niche publishers, with a focus on the Amazon Kindle. It will also touch briefly on mixing ebooks with POD print publishing. Places are limited to 10, so booking is essential. To book please email:  mail@thisisexchange.co.uk  with subject: ‘SELF PUBLISHING’. The date is Saturday 5th February 2011 (starts 1pm).

Added to Creative Stoke, 24th January 2011

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Stoke College is set to run Saturday Courses, and one of these will be a “Certificate in Business Start-Up” (P1452). This is set to run on Saturdays from 9am-1pm at the Cauldon Campus, from 5th March 2011. Cost: £370. Interested? Please ring 01782 603675 or 01782 603642 for more details.

^24.01.11   
Staffordshire University Library is now offering a corporate membership scheme. Also notable is that members of the Workers’ Education Association can now join the library for free.

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The Stoke-on-Trent Film Theatre is set to premiere a new documentary film by Inspired Film & Video, Staffordshire Writers. The film looks at major writers from Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, ranging from Doctor Johnson and Arnold Bennett through to Arthur Berry. The date is 2nd February 2011, at 7.45pm.

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The Stoke Your Fires film and animation festival programme is now available in PDF format (800kb). Animators Tristan Pritchard and Eleanor Leadbetter will be in residence at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery from 19th February 2011, with workshops at the venue for under 16s (26th Feb) and Over 16s (12th March).

The Stoke Your Fires Convention (£35, or £15 per day) will also happen at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery from 1st – 4th March 2011 — with the 3rd and 4th March being the “Focus on Animation” days. If you are a member of Birmingham’s Producers’ Forum, you can claim a free pass — to get your free conference pass please email Rebecca on info@producersforum.org.uk

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The Exchange artist’s shop in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, is set to run “What’s Your Creative Business” sessions for recent graduates…

“Have you recently finished University and [are you] unsure about how to make a living in the arts or creative industries? Do you want to use your skills to start your own business? Do you have [a] project you’d like to get started? The Exchange is running an exclusive evening event with creative industries champion, Helga Henry of Fierce, who can help you find the answers to those questions. Helga will run a short, tailored session that will motivate you to take your idea and turn it into a reality.”

The date will be the evening of 8th February 2011 (5.30pm to 8.30pm), and will include tea, coffee and biscuits. Places for the session are limited. Cost is £10, cash only. To book, please email:  mail@thisisexchange.co.uk

Also at The Exchange — more life-drawing classes! Due to the success of the first Life Drawing session, Marcus is now planning to host the evening classes on a weekly basis. Classes are limited to ten people. The cost per class will be £5 for two hours of life drawing, and booking is essential. Participants must be 18 years of age or over, and are required to bring their own drawing equipment and tools including easels, small tables, drawing boards. For more information, dates, and to book your place please contact Marcus at:   marcusjwemyss@hotmail.co.uk

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Oliver Nicholls is currently on secondment with Big Lottery Fund’s West Midlands team, helping with the ‘Big Local’ work. He wants to know of any hyperlocal blogs or blogging / social media surgeries serving Chell Heath & Fegg Hays in Stoke-on-Trent. Know any? Contact Oliver here.

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Birmingham’s Punch Records is offering between £500 and £3,000 for artists to present new work at its annual BASS Festival (British Arts and Street Sounds), to be held in Birmingham during June 2011. For 2011 the theme is ‘Revolution’, and BASS will commission creatives to make new music, dance, spoken word and theatre. There’s no “Birmingham only” in the details, so presumably it’s open to people throughout the West Midlands. Application deadline: 14th February 2011. Application forms and full details at the website.

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Added to the Directory: Distinctive Designs, ornamental metal gate manufacturers of Stoke-on-Trent…

“We can cater for all tastes and preferences, so if you have a particular concept in mind that you would like realising, come to us for expert assistance.”

Added to Creative Stoke, 21st January 2011

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Job:  Stoke-on-Trent’s Ceramics Biennial requires a part-time General Manager. The organisers are seeking to appoint…

“a freelance general manager for BCB Ltd. BCB Ltd is an organisation being set up by Jeremy Theophilus and Barney Hare Duke to manage and deliver the British Ceramics Biennial Initiative in Stoke on Trent 2011-14. The position of general manager is a new one. Working closely with the BCB directors and as part of the BCB senior management team, the general manager will be instrumental in setting up the management, financial and administrative systems and procedures for the new organisation. They will also take on responsibility for developing the business, commercial and social enterprise side of the British Ceramics Biennial initiative. The general manager will be expected to work on a part-time basis, allocating time to the specified tasks of the role, and meeting the fluctuations in workload during the course of the year. A regular presence in Stoke-on-Trent will be essential. There is scope to further develop the role of the general manger to initiate and manage specific projects strengthening the BCB core areas of work and building the profile and impact of the initiative, leading to the third Biennial Festival in Stoke-on-Trent in October 2013. The position of general manger will be offered initially as a 12 month (renewable) freelance contract, with a fee of £14,000. An office space in Stoke-on-Trent will be provided for BCB Ltd. The BCB senior management team will work from this office base starting in February 2011. We are looking for someone who has the interest, time commitment, entrepreneurial imagination and experience and to take on this role, and contribute to the development of both the organisation and the project.”

If you are interested please contact us to discuss, or forward your expression of interest and C.V. by 25th January 2011 to either: Jeremy Theophilus at 07939 577858 or  jeremy@britishceramicsbiennial.com  | Barney Hare Duke at 07870 666464 or  barney@britishceramicsbiennial.com

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Job:  West Midlands dance professionals are invited to take part in a choreography commission. The Digital Dance Archives (DDA) project are inviting dance artists to apply for an opportunity to make a short dance work in direct response to the archive collections to be hosted on the DDA platform, for sharing at a workshop event in Coventry in March. On offers is: a fixed fee of £600 plus £20 per diem (max. 7 days); studio space available in Coventry for up to six days, if required; an opportunity for the commissioned work to be performed to an invited audience as part of a wider workshop event at Coventry University on 23rd March 2011. To apply, choreographers must submit a DVD (max. 15 mins) of no more than two works made in the last three years, together with written outline (max. 500 words) of the approach to be taken and their area(s) of interest. Application deadline: 11th February 2011.

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The DCMS’s Local Media Action Plan is now open for national public consultation. The Plan will allow local television services to emerge in the UK. Deadline for comments: 13th April 2011.

Added to Creative Stoke, 20th January 2011

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The Exchange artist’s shop in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, is…

“still looking for artists and makers to sell in the shop — we’d especially like some sculpture… know anyone?”

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A one-day workshop in “rag rug” -making is to be held at the Etruria Industrial Museum, Stoke-on-Trent, on 29th January 2011 (11am – 3pm). Cost is £2.50. Bring your own old materials and textiles to create a new rug. Beginners are welcome. Booking is essential. To book, please contact Etruria Industrial Museum on 01782 233144 or email:  etruria@stoke.gov.uk

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Job:  Newport Infant School in nearby Shropshire is seeking a Creative Practitioner to help answer the question: “What can we do to help our children and their parents become resilient and cope with change?” The work must be completed by the beginning of June 2011. Budget: £3,500 inclusive. Application deadline: 31st January 2011. Please send the following information to the Creative Agent, Alison Haynes at:  alisonhaynes@talktalk.net   — your C.V./details of previous experience | images or web links | some initial ideas for your approach.

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Job:  Telford & Wrekin Council require an experienced and highly creative artist or arts organisation who can engage young people (16-19) from Telford & Wrekin and Shropshire, to develop content for a visual arts site-specific exhibition. Artist fee: £3,000. Application deadline: 3rd February 2011. For full brief and how to apply, please email:  sarah.belcher@telford.gov.uk

Added to Creative Stoke, 18th January 2011

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Job:  MMU Cheshire is looking for a Community Arts Practitioner with experience and knowledge in music technologies, community arts practice, and working with young people — for a 12 month contract at the Crewe Campus of MMU.

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Job:  Alive Publishing of Stoke-on-Trent requires an experienced in-house Graphic Designer, initially to cover maternity leave. More details from Rebecca Kerr at:  design@alivepublishing.co.uk

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Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council are offering access to grants of up to £1,500 to help stage creative events or arts projects in the community. These grants are available to arts and community groups (not to individual artists) planning creative activities within the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and for the benefit of the community. Deadline for the next funding round: 28th January 2011. Full details and application forms at the website.

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Added to the Directory: Alsager Community Theatre. The troupe is holding auditions for parts in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night on 27th January 2011.

Added to Creative Stoke, 17th January 2011

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Local ceramics maker Denise O’Sullivan will be running a ‘New Generation Space’ workshop and giving a talk at the Borough Museum and Art Gallery, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, on Saturday 22nd January 2011 (10.30-4.00pm). Booking is essential for this Contemporary Ceramics Workshop…

“The day will consist of a chance to explore different ceramic techniques that can be used to produce a variety of forms, these will include slab built pieces, slip casting, the use of slip to create surface, different glazes, and the use of transfer imagery to create your own plate design. […] no previous knowledge of working with clay and ceramics is required”

To book, please email:  newgenerationspace@googlemail.com

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Residents of Longton are being offered free ballroom dancing classes at Longton Town Hall, Stoke-on-Trent. The ‘Learn to Ballroom Dance’ sessions will happen on Monday afternoons (12pm-1pm) between 7th February and 28th March 2011. To book a place call Vanessa Darlington on 01782 236156 or email:  vanessa.darlington@stoke.gov.uk

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Derby, a relatively short hop on a direct train from Stoke-on-Trent station, now has its Format Photography 2011 conference and workshops programme online. Format will run from 4th March — 3rd April 2011 and it takes the timely theme of public photography, Right Here, Right Now’: Exposures from the public realm. Includes…

“The Magnum Workshop Derby, a five-day intensive, practice-oriented workshop focusing specifically on the popular theme of street photography.”

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Birmingham’s VIVID are calling for Midlands artists and film-makers who would like temporary project-based studio space at Vivid (in Digbeth, Birmingham), and a £500 bursary to cover travel/meals etc…

“we aim to provoke the evolution of new thinking, curatorial development and exchange, social interaction and critical engagement, new collaborations and emerging networks. The scheme encourages risk taking and aims to showcase a wide array of aesthetics from both the city’s vibrant visual, sound and film culture and far beyond. Projects can be activated in February-March, August-September and December 2011.”

Application deadline: 28th January 2011. Full details are here (PDF link).

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The 5th Art of Nurture competition is a national visual art competition developed by Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance in partnership with Arts & Business. It’s for students currently attending UK art colleges, and recent graduates. There are cash prizes, and winners will have the opportunity to present their work to the business world as part of the commercial marketing campaigns of Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance. Deadline for entries: 31st January 2011. Full details at the website.

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Culture.info are set to run CulturEuro funding seminars in 2011, outlining the details of…

“30 different EU [trans-national] funding programmes or schemes that have provided support for arts and culture projects and activities” [with a] “special focus on the EU’s Culture programme (2007-2013) which has a budget of 400 million Euros”

The nearest venues to North Staffordshire are: Manchester (3rd February at Cornerhouse); Birmingham (5th May, CBSO); Manchester (30th June, Cornerhouse). The seminars cost £85 per person (£65 if booked before 31st January 2011). See the website for full details.

Added to Creative Stoke, 14th January 2011

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Job:  The Chatterley Valley business park (aka Blue Planet) in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent is seeking… “an artist of the highest calibre” for a public arts commission…

“The art work will dramatically animate the development of Chatterley Valley as a strategic gateway location”.

Deadline for submissions: 24th January 2011. Full details from Paul Bailey at:  paul.bailey@stoke.gov.uk

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Job:  The Koestler Trust works in prisons, and has been running an UK Arts Mentoring project for the past three years with the support of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. This project supports prisoners who are set to make the transition from prison to community. The Trust now requires professional potters and ceramic sculptors to work as unpaid volunteer mentors. You’d supply ten mentoring sessions over one year. Initial mentoring sessions may take place in a prison setting, although the majority will occur in the community. You’ll recieve full training and support. Interested? Visit the website for full information.

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Job:  North Staffordshire’s ‘Place, Space & Identity 3’ is now open for applications to run the programme. The successful artist/organisation will manage a programme of temporary arts interventions and installations in Stoke-on-Trent. As part of this you’ll provide opportunities for artists to engage with local communities… “to facilitate a creative response to social, economic and environmental changes taking place in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire”. Fee: no more than £106,000, excluding VAT. Application deadline: 31st January 2011. Full details from Heather at:  heather.kuduk@stoke.gov.uk

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The Midlands Federation of Museums and Art Galleries now has conference bursaries available for its personal members…

“Is there a major conference that you have always wanted to attend, but never been able to afford? Personal members of the Federation can apply for a bursary for their first attendance at any residential conference organised by a museum-related group with a UK national remit. … The bursary can be for any amount up to the total advertised cost of the conference, including conference and residential fees (travel to the venue is not included).”

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Do people laugh at your craft objects? The authors of a new book titled Humour in Craft are seeking submissions. They’re also open to essays on the topic. The book is scheduled to be on the market in 2012. Deadline for applications: 15th February 2011. Full details at crafthaus.ning.com/

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Jennifer Collier is offering a one-day workshop in ‘Experimental Textile Techniques’ on 29th January 2011, at Unit Twelve, Tixall Heath Farm, Staffordshire…

“you will be shown many different techniques, including bonding, trapping, waxing and latexing recycled materials, including plastics, fabrics and papers.”

The cost is £35 for the day, inc. all materials and equipment. Bookings can be made via:  07811 460494.

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Job:  The Mitchell Arts Centre will be re-opening in Spring 2011. Formerly known as the Mitchell Memorial Theatre, and based in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, the building has been undergoing a major refurbishment — funded by the Big Lottery Fund, the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, and a national government Community Assets Grant from the Cabinet Office. The Board of Trustees is now seeking an Executive Officer on a salary of £28,000-£31,000. Application deadline: 21st January 2011. Full details from John Holmes at:  john.holmes@stoke.gov.uk

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Job:  The nearby University of Wolverhampton has an opportunity for a Post Doctoral Research Fellow in Glass. They’re looking for practitioner researchers with an excellent knowledge of the field, specifically where technical innovation and creative application indicate future practices for glass crafts. You must also be able to teach. Salary: £31,671-£37,839. Application deadline: 14th January 2011 (today!). Full details from:  dew.harrison@wlv.ac.uk

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The National Federation of Artists’ Studio Providers have posted a summary report from their 6th December event and AGM in Birmingham.