Added to Creative Stoke, 26th January 2011

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The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership is holding its first ‘open access to finance’ event on 26th January 2012, at the Staffordshire County Showground (4.30pm to 7pm). Find out the right way to apply for loans, and get expert advice on access to finance. There will be details on the successful^* Staffordshire Business Support Fund from Staffordshire County Council (although those in Stoke might note that Stoke-on-Trent City Council has recently reportedly decided to hold off from setting up a similar Fund for the city). Bookings via:  events@bcrs.org.uk

 * Only seven firms with loans have failed, since the Fund started in 2010. 109 new jobs have been created, through the use of only £1m of loans.

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The Mitchell Arts Centre, in Hanley, is hosting a lunchtime event to help local organisations find out about the creative apprenticeship scheme. The date is 10th February 2012 (12.30pm – 2pm). Bookings via:  bookings@creativealliance.org.uk

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Ross Hetherington is planning to create and project a 50ft Super 8mm cine film (approx 3 mins 30 seconds) of Stoke-on-Trent. He’s looking for suggestions that show the unknown / different / new / creative places, and small businesses that are really successful and which show the way forward for the city.

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Added to the Directory:  Paul Briscoe, Biscoe Photography. Based in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.

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Added to the Directory:   Sean Jones of Jones Instruments. Sean is a master traditional bagpipe maker, based at Biddulph Moor.

Above: a set of Sean Jones Shepherd Pipes about to go into action at a Bagpipes Society event.

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Ashbourne Arts in the Peak District are seeking makers for their Street Theatre festival in Ashbourne (23rd/24th June). Specifically, for the paid creation of an ‘army’ of large-scale / life-sized scarecrows. The successful artist will also deliver scarecrow-making workshops in the community, predominantly to primary schools. Full details from Graham Shackell at:  sometimesoonarts@yahoo.co.uk

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Wolverhampton’s Looked After Children’s Services participation team and Wolverhampton Arts & Heritage Service are working together to enable the production of a new film for children aged 9 to 11. The aim of the film is to communicate something of what it is really like to be in ‘care’. Application deadline: 27th January 2012. Full details from Angela Tombs at Wolverhampton Art Gallery:  angela.tombs@wolverhampton.gov.uk

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Free ceramics courses are back, at the Burslem School of Art! If you are 19+, unemployed, and out of education or self-employed (but on low income), then…

“this could be the right thing for you. Depending on your skills you can join a beginners pottery class or if you have some basic skills in ceramics making you can enjoy free ceramics studio time to work on your own projects. And it gets even better as you will have all materials and firing free-of-charge.”

Visit the Web link above, or contact Ieva at Burslem School of Art at:  ieva@burslemschoolofart.com

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The U.S. -based National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts has one grant available to sponsor one artist for participation in a six-week residency with A.I.R. Vallauris (starting May 2012). Application deadline: 1st February 2012. To request an application form, email with NCECA RESIDENCY in the subject line, to:  contact@air-vallauris.com

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Sam Astbury has made an online documentary about the artist-run Electric Picture House project in Congleton…

The first exhibition has now been held there, and the team has completed all-but-one of the artists’ studios.

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Bilston Craft Gallery, down in the Black Country, is seeking exhibitors for their Drawn to Craft exhibition (21st July — 22 Sept 2012). This will explore the graphic line in contemporary craft, across a wide range of media. Application deadline: 12th March 2012. Full details from:  natalie.cole@wolverhampton.gov.uk

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Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD), the largest UK art & design teaching institution outside London, has a rare funded AHRC Doctoral Studentship in Art and Design available, for an October 2012 start. Deadline: 11th April 2012.

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The Patient Environment and the Arts is a one-day conference at Austin Court, Birmingham on 15th March 2012 (venue is round the back of Broad Street, within walking distance of the train station). The event will…

“look at the future of arts programmes across all areas of healthcare”

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The Tatton Park Biennial, at Tatton Park in Cheshire, is seeking a Project Manager for Flights of Fancy.

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A useful free book, from an offshoot of the Creative Regions in Europe Research Network, Creative Business: 10 Lessons to Help You Build a Business Your Way.

Added to Creative Stoke, 15th January 2012

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Added to the Directory:  Richard Hearn has set up the new Ardua Music music management company based in Stone, North Staffs, plus a new blog about artist development for musicians. He’s also in the process of setting up a social-enterprise record label.

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Added to the Directory:  Shelton Pottery, based in Alsager, near Stoke-on-Trent. Ken and Valerie Shelton offer hand-painted bowls, jugs, plates and vases.

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Added to the Directory:  Mothertown at the The Old Post Office, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. Mothertown Gallery & Studios offers exhibition space in our gallery and work space available for hire in the studios — which includes use of kilns, spray booth, casting area etc.

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Added to the Directory:  Stoke-on-Trent storyteller Alan Barrett has a new website.

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A free two-hour dance class is on offer in the North Staffordshire town of Leek. These are on Tuesday lunchtimes at Brough Park Leisure Centre in Leek, and are taught by Julia Griffin. Spring term starts 24th January for 10 weeks. Full details at the Web page.

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Retina Dance will be holding open dance workshops at the new Jubilee 2, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, on Wednesday 15th February 2012 (10am – 12 noon, and again from 1pm – 3pm). Workshops cost just £1.50. Please wear loose comfortable clothing that you can move around in. To book a place please contact the venue directly.

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Art in the Park is an annual arts celebration funded by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, in Brough Park, Leek over the weekend of 12th and 13th May 2012. Artists and crafts makers can book tables at £25 per table. Application deadline: 20th January 2012. Full details from Alice Lockett at:  alice@beyondthehills.co.uk

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Aspiring crafts makers and land artists can learning the ancient art of hedgelaying, from rural crafts expert Simon Fowler. Simon will be running a course at Biddulph Grange Country Park on 10th and 11th March 2012 (10am to 4pm each day). No previous experience is necessary, and all tools will be provided. The two-day course costs just £35, and places can be reserved by calling the Countryside Team on:  01538 395522.

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The PINT Contemporary Arts Festival in nearby Burton-upon-Trent is looking for artists and volunteers to become involved. Submission deadline: 15th February 2012. Full details at the website.

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“Creative Connections: survival skills for artists moving into self-employment” is the title of a new evening course starting in nearby Wolverhampton on the 21st February 2012. 2 hours per week, for 15 weeks, 6-8pm at the City Learning Quarter, Wolverhampton. Enrolment is taking place now, for further information contact Moya Lloyd, lead tutor at the Adult Education Service on 01902 558180. If you are in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance or Work Related Employment Support Allowance then you will be exempt from course fees.

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Jobs:  The University of Keele has a series of Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships 2012 available in English and Creative Writing, and Music and Music Technology. Early Career Fellowships aim to provide career development opportunities for academics who are at a relatively early stage of their academic careers but who have a proven record of research. Application deadline: 13th February 2012.

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Jobs:  Down in West Bromwich, Multistory are seeking six Action Research community artists for a three-day residency in February/March 2012…

“to explore how new or existing connections to and from Dartmouth Park to West Bromwich town centre can be established, highlighted and improved.” [you] “will produce a set (or family) of potentially realisable ideas for permanent public works (presented through drawings and models) or a new visual language that identifies, signposts and waymarks routes from the town to the park.”

Fee is £800. Application deadline: 27th January 2012. Full details at the website.

Added to Creative Stoke, 12th January 2012

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Staffordshire University has teamed up with The Sentinel newspaper to organise the 2012 Young Journalist Awards. The competition is open to primary school and secondary school children, and also to sixth-form students. Simply research and write…

“an intelligent piece of journalism which might be worthy of publication in The Sentinel.”

The submitted article must be no more than 400 words. It can be a news article or a feature article, but the writer must base their text on… “original stories from their community”. Deadline is 18th April 2012. Send your entry including name, age, address, school or college, and daytime and evening telephone numbers to…

Young Journalist Awards, Newsdesk,
The Sentinel, Sentinel House,
Forge Lane, Etruria,
Stoke-on-Trent.
ST1 5SS

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North Staffordshire’s PiCl, formerly Creative Partnerships, has a number of afternoon creative sessions on offer in Spring 2012. These are: Animation (17th Jan); Music (9th Feb); Creative Writing (8th March); and Craft and Textiles (29th March). Each will run from 4.15pm to 6.15pm, and cost £20 each. See the website or contact PiCl for full details.

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There is to be an Early Years Music Conference for music teachers and associated creative musicians in the West Midlands. The date is 23rd January 2012. The event will be free to attend, and will take place in south Birmingham. Full details from the above Web page or from:  donna_n_hounsell@birmingham.gov.uk

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Staffordshire University’s Creative Communities Unit is offering a number of short courses in community arts management, in the first half of 2012. These include: Managing in a Youth or Community Context; Community Arts in a Global Perspective; Regeneration; Volunteering; Project Cycle Management; Evaluation in Community; Working with Groups in a Youth or Community Context; and Commissioning Local Services.

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Job: a Technical Assistant (ref: AMD11-8) is wanted by the Photography and Digital Imaging team at the Faculty of Arts Media and Design, at the Stoke campus of Staffordshire University. This is a full-time permanent position. Deadline: 16th January 2012

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The Theatrical Management Association has a half-day training event, in Stoke-on-Trent…

“a half day ‘Train the Trainer’ course for those involved with the training of staff working in the field of Get ins, Fit ups and Get outs [in theatre]”

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Newcastle-under-Lyme employers interested in youth apprentices are invited to a morning event on 14th February 2012, at Newcastle-under-Lyme College (8.30am – 12.30pm). There will be speakers from Staffordshire County Council, other Newcastle employers, and the National Apprenticeship Service. Please register your interest via an email to:  apprenticeshipevent@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk

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UK Trade & Investment is looking for the UK’s best new export ideas and has launched an Exporting for Growth competition open to all UK small to medium firms. If you have a big export idea, enter before the first-round closes on 31st January 2012.

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Designer Maker West Midlands has an afternoon seminar event in Birmingham, “New Contexts: Contemporary craft in historic settings”. The date is 19th January 2012.

“This seminar will explore ways in which makers can work within historical contexts, through a range of invited speakers who will be discussing their experiences and highlighting the variety of opportunities for makers within the heritage sector.”

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Added to the Directory:  Stamp Arts, based in Stoke-on-Trent. Stamp Arts is run by Teresa Pattison who has twenty years of experience working as a dancer, dance teacher and event organiser. Teresa was also Head of Dance at St. Margaret Ward Catholic College, Stoke-on-Trent. Teresa is also a mosaic artist.

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Added to the Directory:  Haley Ryan, a make-up specialist based in Newcastle-Under-Lyme.

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Want to learn how to plan, shoot and edit a short film using the camera on your mobile phone? Hanley’s Uth Centre is offering a free mobile phone film workshop to 15 and 19 year olds. The workshops will be at Soniq Studios and City Uth Centre, Stafford Street, Hanley, on 21st and 28th January and 4th February 2012 (12 noon to 6pm each day). Full information from John Cummings at:  john.cummings@stoke.gov.uk

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The nearby Buxton Festival Fringe organisers are now inviting entries for this Peak District arts festival, which is set for 4th – 22nd July 2012. Entrants pay £45, which rises from 1st March to £65, and again from 1st April to £80. Full details and an application pack can be found on the Fringe website.

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The Prince’s Regeneration Trust has released official video coverage of the recent visit of Prince Charles to Middleport Pottery, in Stoke-on-Trent…

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The Big Lottery has announced it will extend the Reaching Communities buildings fund, which helps fund projects that improve or replace existing buildings where a wide range of community activities take place. The Fund will now run for an additional two years to March 2015. It only supports buildings or sites in the most deprived “Lower Super Output Areas” (LSOAs) in England — which are small local areas with concentrations of poverty and health problems, of which Stoke-on-Trent appears to have about 50.

Added to Creative Stoke, 6th January 2012

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‘Apprenticeships for Growth’ is a morning event to support small businesses in Stoke and Staffordshire interested in recruiting apprentices. The date is 8th March 2012, and the venue will be the Staffordshire County Showground. Full details from the Economic Development Officer of Stafford Borough Council, Mary Timmis, at: mtimmis@staffordbc.gov.uk

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21st century learners: investing in skills for their future is a forthcoming education conference on 7th March 2012 in Stoke-on-Trent. Cost is £95. One of the four key themes is the “Creative Curriculum”, and Partners in Creative Learning (aka Creative Partnerships, now PiCL) will be giving a talk on its work in Stoke and Staffordshire. The organisers say: “places are limited, so book now”. See the Web page for full details.

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North Staffs Minerals is the name of an addon pack being actively developed for the RailWorks Train Simulator 2012 3D train simulator videogame. The pack will feature an authentic 3D interactive recreation of the old industrial train lines in Stoke-on-Trent…

“The hub of the route is Stoke-on-Trent, headquarters of the Stoke Division of the London Midland Region, within Stoke are Stoke Yard, Cockshute Yard and Cockshute Holding Sidings, all local freight traffic originates from the two yards and serves the Collieries located along the former Biddulph Valley line and the North Staffs Colwich to Macclesfield Line.”

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Job:  The University of Derby is seeking a Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Popular Music.

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Job:   The Co-op Academy At Brownhills, Stoke-on-Trent, require a Teacher of Drama KS3 and KS4 for a one year maternity leave contract. Application deadline: 27th January 2012. See the website for full details.

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The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery has several one day creative courses in early 2012. These include: An Introduction to Video Recording; An Introduction to Video Editing; and An Introduction to Digital Photography.

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Staffordshire’s first Humanities Conference for school teachers will take place at the Kingston Centre, Stafford, on 14th March 2012. National speakers and leading professionals will talk on shaping the National Curriculum in areas such as History and English Literature. Cost is £178.

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Staffordshire Creative Health and Wellbeing Network is running a ‘Writing a Case Study’ event on 1st February 2012 (6pm) in the Mitchell Arts Centre in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent…

“a practical, hands on workshop on how to write a case study that effectively communicates your work and its benefits to potential employers. You will need to bring a laptop to write and upload your completed case study to the Praxis website.”

To book a place or ask for more details, contact Sarah-Jane Watkinson at:  sarah-jane@praxisartsandhealth.org.uk

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The new Foxlowe Arts Centre in Leek town is starting a new Saturday morning youth theatre class, for ages 7 to 16. These drama workshops will be led by Katie White, a graduate of the prestigious Central School of Speech and Drama in London. The workshops will start in late February 2012 and run in six weekly blocks to coincide with school term times. Each block will cost £39 per person.

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There are places available on the Writing Squad writers’ group for young people in Stafford town. The group is specifically for elective home-educated young writers. Full details from:  joanne@writingwestmidlands.org

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Stoke-on-Trent indie band All The Young have set a release date for their first album. Welcome Home will be released on 12th March 2012, and will be the first of six albums released as part of their major Warner Brothers contract.

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The South Cheshire Young Composer competition is also open to entries from North Staffordshire, and the entry deadline is 6th July 2012. Anyone aged up to 19 years old can enter. See the Web page for full details.

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The FinboFinbo blog has posted a fascinating illustrated article on the Stoke-on-Trent painter John Shelton: “The oil paintings of John Shelton (1923-1993): an ongoing catalogue“.

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Blood, Sweat and Stone: A History of Mining in the Peak District is a new DVD documentary film. The 120-minute film is by Byron Machin, a local Leek geography teacher. The DVD is available for £10 from Byron’s Seven Stones Publishing.

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Wolverhampton Art Gallery is offering a workshop exploring the role of place and atmosphere in writing, on 14th January 2012. All levels of experience welcome but you must be over age eighteen and the group will not be working on poetry. Cost is £16. Full details are online here.

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Applications are now being accepted from crafts makers and artists for stalls at the Lichfield Festival Market on 7th July 2012.