Creative Stoke news update, 28th October 2012

^28.10.12   
The launch date for Conjunction, Stoke-on-Trent’s third biennial contemporary art festival, has been announced: 6pm on Friday 2nd November 2012, at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery. The full Conjunction events programme is now available in PDF…

^28.10.12   
The Staffordshire University Games Academy will be taking part in the 2013 Global Games Jam in January 2013. The event will ask indie videogame coders to work for 48 hours flat, to create their own new videogame using either Unity, or the UDK, or a PC. Anyone can participate. Bring your own PC and kit, some survival pizza, and have a go!

^28.10.12   
Job:  Staffordshire University requires a Principal Lecturer / Academic Group Leader for Graphics, Illustration and Communications Design. Deadline: 9th November 2012.

^28.10.12   
Job:  The West Midlands WEA requires a part-time (0.6) Programme Area Manager (Arts and Humanities), to travel around WEA venues in the West Midlands.

^28.10.12   
Job: Stoke’s Emma Bridgewater pottery requires a full-time Design Studio Assistant.

^28.10.12   
Job:  The Buxton Opera House requires a Marketing Manager. Deadline: 5th November 2012.

^28.10.12   
Job: Staffordshire University requires a Technical Team Leader for the Media Centre at the Faculty of Arts & Creative Technologies. Deadline: 3rd November 2012.

^28.10.12   
As part of Denise O’Sullivan’s Buy Local pop-up shop in Newcastle-under-Lyme, a series of maker workshops will take place. All levels are welcome, and a ground-floor spot will be available to ensure disabled access. Denise is also inviting applications for a 6-week maker residency — the Buy Local pop-up shop will open in November, and run for six weeks. If you are interested in either opportunity, then please email:  info@popupemporium.com

^28.10.12   
After a very successful first Stafford Arts Festival in summer 2012, the organisers are now asking attendees to complete a survey. Interested parties, especially potential sponsors, are also invited to ask for… “information on how to get involved and support the Stafford Festival 2013”. Interested? Email:  events@staffordbc.gov.uk

^28.10.12   
The 2013 dates for North Staffordshire’s 2nd Creative Minds Festival have been announced: Tuesday 2nd to Saturday 6th July 2013.

^28.10.12   
The UK’s Resurgence & Ecologist magazine is running a Nature Writing 2013 competition. You’re invited to write…

“an engaging and inspiring 2,000-word non-fiction piece celebrating/exploring the wonder of nature and your own relationship with and to it.” [and your text must be a] “true account”

Entry deadline: 6th Jan 2013.

^28.10.12   
Job:  A rare funded PhD studentship is available at Coventry University’s Centre for Dance Research. This is a fully funded three-year opportunity to do advanced research, which will contribute to a major project titled: “In-visible Difference: dance, disability and law”. Application deadline: 29th October 2012.

^28.10.12   
Mike Rawlins is seeking someone to take over Stoke-on-Trent’s Pits ‘n Pots political blog, as he is reportedly… “leaving the city.”

^28.10.12   
A Big Funding Breakfast is set to happen on Friday 2nd November 2012 (7am–9am) at the Moat House hotel in Stoke-on-Trent. Tickets cost from £53.65 to £320.

Creative Stoke news update, 22nd October 2012

^22.10.12   
Stoke-on-Trent’s Prototype magazine has launched the fourth issue…

^22.10.12   
Newcastle-under-Lyme College is starting a new commercial gallery and is inviting…

“submissions from contemporary craft makers, artists and designers to be part of a new commercial gallery. Selected work will be exhibited and on sale at the gallery throughout November and December 2012.”

^22.10.12   
Newcastle-under-Lyme’s Academy For Theatre Arts have places on two “fully funded” courses in 2013-2015. These courses are: the Extended Diploma in Performing Arts Course; and the Extended Diploma in Production Arts (Technical Theatre). They are now booking prospective students for the first audition, which is on Tuesday November 13th 2012. Interested? Phone 01782 631895 for an information pack.

^22.10.12   
Are you a Dance Therapist? Would you like to be part of an innovative new project in North Staffordshire, researching the benefits of Body Image Dance in improving self esteem and positive body image? Newcastle-under-Lyme’s Dance 123 project aims to…

“improve body image and to reduce the numbers of children and young people developing eating disorders and other destructive coping strategies, by enabling them to express their feelings and emotions in a creative and safe manner through music and dance.”

A series of workshops are planned to be delivered at Newcastle-under-Lyme College during the academic year 2012-2013. If you would like to find out more about this opportunity, and how to get involved, please contact Wendy at:  wendy.davies6@mypostoffice.co.uk

^22.10.12   
An actor is required for a short domestic drama film in Stoke-on-Trent. The work will involve a two (possibly three) day shoot, solely in Staffordshire.

^22.10.12   
The Bearded Theory Festival is currently recruiting art groups, artists and art students to help transform the festival site at the 2013 festival. Bearded Theory is a large 10,000 capacity festival to be hosted at Kedleston Hall (north-west of Derby) from 16th to 19th May 2013. The organisers are…

“looking for groups and individuals to work under their own steam and with imagination to create sculptures, and to decorate and transform the site. There are a number of opportunities including: decorating trees; sculptures; creating gardens and peaceful areas with wooden fences; creating a ‘front room from junk’ for the camp site; decorating a woodland walk with lights and artworks.”

A small budget is available for artists. Interested? The application deadline is 11th November 2012. Please send a proposal and costed quote for services (inc. materials) to Aimee Blease-Bourne at:  ableasebourne@hotmail.com

^22.10.12   
Added to the Directory: Amanda Jane’s Jetsunn Designs, based in Stoke-on-Trent.

Above: Amanda Jane’s knitted cupcakes.

^22.10.12   
Are you a Staffordshire-based designer maker, crafter, local producer of foods, or do you create something that celebrates ‘Buy Local’. Would you like to sell at the ‘Pop Up Emporium BUY LOCAL’ on Newcastle-under-Lyme High Street? This pop-up shop will run from mid November 2012, for six weeks. The starting price is £10 per week. Interested? Please email:  info@popupemporium.com

^22.10.12   
Creative England’s Film Culture Lottery Fund is now open to applications. A total of £700,000 is available for film-based projects in the English regions outside London. The Fund has two strands. One strand runs to July 2013 and aims to increase…

“opportunities for audiences to access and enjoy a broad range of film” [via] “venues, festivals, archives, and rural and community cinema”.

The other strand is for organisational development. Awards will be from £2,000 up to £40,000. Applications deadline: 30th November 2012.

^22.10.12   
The 2012 Flip Animation Festival is hosting a one-day animation postgraduate research event, at Light House in Wolverhampton, on 1st November 2012. Six research papers will be presented.

^22.10.12   
Are you interested in using social networks for arts and cultural fundraising? Birmingham is to host the UK’s major National Social Giving Conference on the 15th November 2012. The keynote speaker is Matt Robinson, talking about the launch of the new social investment institution Big Society Capital.

Creative Stoke news update, 21st October 2012

^21.10.12   
A new Volunteer Centre at Keele University is the first Volunteering England -branded centre in the UK. If your group or organisation would like to work with the North Staffordshire Volunteer Centres team, to develop opportunities specifically for Keele students to engage with, please contact Sarah Amphlett at:  su.volunteering@keele.ac.uk

^21.10.12   
The 2nd Potteries Empty Bowls Project is nearly here. All potters are invited to a 12-hour bowl-making marathon: Empty Bowls Throw-A-Thon 2012, at the Burslem School of Art. The date is Wednesday 24th October (10am – 10pm). Phone the School of Art to arrange your preferred time-slot: 01782 810808. Empty Bowls is a community-based effort to raise money to fight world hunger: potters and others create handcrafted bowls; supporters are invited to a community meal of soup, bread, and a pudding; guests who donate are asked to keep a bowl as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world. Full details at the School of Art Facebook page.

^21.10.12   
biTjAM have an ‘open studios’ event at their Artisan Studios, 552 Hartshill Road, Stoke-on-Trent [ on Google Maps ] on Thursday 1st November 2012.

^21.10.12   
Job:  Stoke-on-Trent City Council requires “an artist of the highest calibre” to make artwork suitable for cladding an electrical power sub-station in Hanley, the city centre of Stoke-on-Trent, by March 2013. £100,000 is available for the work. Interested? Contact Paul Bailey, Cultural Development Officer at Stoke-on-Trent City Council at:  paul.bailey@stoke.gov.uk

^21.10.12   
Job:  the Shropshire-based Society for Storytelling requires a Website Manager. Deadline: 28th October 2012.

^21.10.12   
Code Clubs for kids age 9 to 11 allow them to learn the basics of computer coding, using MIT’s Scratch software. There are currently four such clubs in Stoke-on-Trent, and one in Buxton. The children learn to make things such as a flying witch game.

^21.10.12   
The Stoke-on-Trent Writing Squad is a new creative writing group for those aged 11-16. The group started in September 2012 and meets at the Mitchell Youth Arts Centre in Hanley. The group is led by Emma Purshouse. Sessions cost £5 on the day. Full details from:  emmaasif@hotmail.com

^21.10.12   
“Into the Greenwood” is a new combined ‘writing & walking’ workshop, on the wild heathland of Cannock Chase in mid Staffordshire…

“This is all about getting into the ‘heart of the woodland’, testing both your physical and creative strengths. Writers will be asked to draw inspiration from a myth or fairytale, as well as landscape. Small writing tasks will be set along the way. Further writing will continue at an indoor venue, where warm food and refreshments will be available. Writers will be given the time and space to work on their writing without interruption, followed by group discussion, and readings.”

Starts on the morning of 3rd November 2012, cost is £14. For full details email:  email@valleyprojects.org

^21.10.12   
A Gifted and Talented Conference is set to happen in Stafford town on 5th February 2013. The conference is aimed at inspiring and equipping classroom teachers to work with their most talented children. Cost is £199 per place.

^21.10.12   
U.Dance is a national programme of children’s dance in 2013. Applications to participate in U.Dance Midlands 2013 are now invited. For more information about U.Dance opportunities in the West Midlands please contact Birmingham’s DanceXchange.

^21.10.12   
An Artist & Designer-maker Fair is to be held at the Foxlowe Gallery in Leek, on 1st-2nd December 2012. The organisers are the Foundation Degree students at Leek College, and they are now looking for local artists and crafts makers who would be interested in taking a stall at this event. Details are “to be confirmed”, but in the first instance please email Joanne Reay at:  joannereayart@gmail.com

^21.10.12   
Creative craft makers are invited to the first Stoke Craftworkers Bazaar, to be held on the 3rd February 2013 at The Mitchell Arts Centre in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. Full details at the website.

^21.10.12   
The 2012 Reginald Haggar Memorial Lecture will be on Saturday 10th November (2.30pm) at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent. Architectural historian Gavin Stamp will explore the work of Sir George Gilbert Scott, with particular reference to his neo-Gothic work in and around North Staffordshire. This event appears to be free, but please contact the Museum to make sure.

^21.10.12   
Job:  a rare paid Phd in Art History: “Painter and Place: Exhibiting the Art of Joseph Wright in Derby, 1800-1900”, to be supervised by the University of Nottingham. Deadline: 1st November 2012.

^21.10.12   
An interesting free art history curatorship workshop at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham. The date set is Thursday 1st November 2012, and the workshop will discuss: the perceived loss of independent curatorial expertise and salaried posts in Britain’s major regional arts collections and museums; and the rise of new University research partnerships in their place. There will be a debate, break-out groups to consider best-practice, and a final session on solutions and ideas for the future. Place are limited, so please contact the Barber to book in advance.

^21.10.12   
Manchester Metropolitan University — which has a major campus and arts centre at Crewe — has started a new GradMatch scheme. This is North West based, but may interest MMU graduates who are living in North Staffordshire. The £100,000 GradMatchMMU project will create 100 internships for students who graduated in 2012, but have been unable to find paid full-time work. The graduates will be placed with businesses in the North West for a minimum of eight weeks. A report of the news in The Sentinel also implies that the definition of the North West might be ‘stretched’ by MMU to also contain Stoke-on-Trent, but any applicants should confirm that point with MMU.

^21.10.12   
Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Awards are for those aged aged 16-30. An award gives you funding to get your new business idea or project off the ground. There are 5 x £1,000 prizes every month, awarded to the most innovative ideas submitted by new businesses (those in their first 12 months of trading). Apply until the last day of each month.

^21.10.12   
Arts & Business Birmingham is offering Fundraising Diagnostic Surgeries on 25th October 2012. One-to-one session are available, that will provide an opportunity for Midlands arts organisations…

“to gain an understanding of how fundraising works, and how they can help in developing fundraising activities.”

The venue will be Suite 16-18, 21 Bennett’s Hill, Birmingham city centre (an easy two-minute walk from New St. train station). Interested? Please contact Peter Collins at:  peter.collins@artsandbusiness.org.uk

^21.10.12   
The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) makes awards ranging between £1,000 and £18,000 to crafts makers of all ages (there are no age limits) to help advance a career in crafts. The deadline for applications for the Spring 2013 round of funding will be in January 2013. Online applications will open tomorrow, 22nd October 2012.

^21.10.12   
Regional creative industries researchers who would like to attend the Creative Regions Summer School in June 2013 (Cardiff) are invited to apply for Regional Studies Association bursaries. These assist with travel expenses and fees and are intended for students, post-docs and young researchers who are facing financial difficulties. Deadline: 31st January 2013.

^21.10.12   
New government funding has enabled a new joined-up Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent music education partnership to be launched. The launch heralds an eight-year plan for local music organisations and schools, which will include working in partnership with the likes of Lichfield Cathedral and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. More details on opportunities as and when Creative Stoke gets them.

^21.10.12   
The North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce has been awarded almost £4.2 million to run a Regional Growth Fund grant scheme for growing firms. More details on opportunities as and when Creative Stoke gets them.

^21.10.12   
The Parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport Committee has launched a new inquiry into the support that the government gives to the creative economy. The Committee is now inviting written submissions and views, and especially wants to hear opinion about matters such as…

  * the barriers to growth in your sector of the creative industries.
  * your difficulties in accessing private finance.
  * any problems arising from a lack of co-ordination between government departments.
  * the UK’s framework for the regulation of Intellectual Property.
  * the role of further and higher education in supporting the skills needed for the creative economy.
  * the work of public bodies responsible for supporting the creative industries.
  * if the focus on creative “clusters” and “hubs” creates innovation and genuine growth.

Further information is available online.

Creative Stoke news update, 11th October 2012

^11.10.12   
Gladstone Re Fired 2013 is a planned heritage and arts event at the Gladstone Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, in September 2013. The organisers are working with a local music and drama group, and also have expressions of interest from local orchestras and theatre groups. The aim is to produce a dramatic event of new work, which celebrates the Gladstone and the lives of those connected to the Potteries. Workshops are due to be held soon at the Gladstone for people interested in taking part in the event. The organisers also need: a patron; interviewees especially local potters and designers; funding to support their existing match-funding arrangement. Interested? Visit the Gladstone Re Fired 2013 Facebook group for more information.

^11.10.12   
Are you interested in how to use festivals, pop-up shops, and the arts to bring people into your market town? The Towns Alive programme is having an event in Leek on 29th November 2012…

“This workshop will consider how market towns can implement the recommendations from the Portas Review — from setting up and managing a ‘Town Team’ or strengthening an existing one, through to making the most of the new community planning rights to encourage town centre regeneration.”

^11.10.12   
Added to the Directory: Gary Birks, hand-painted china from Stoke-on-Trent…

^11.10.12   
Unemployed people in Stoke-on-Trent who are over 50 will be able to seek business advice via the Prince’s Initiative For Mature Enterprise. A free three-day course to encourage older people in the city into business will be held at tableware ceramics firm Dudson, in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, 18th October / 8th November / 29th November 2012. See the Web page for full details.

^11.10.12   
The Prince’s Trust has a series of Explore Enterprise workshops in Stoke-on-Trent, for those aged 18 to 30. The free four-day startup business courses are: 29th October– 1st November / 26th – 29th November / 17th – 20th December 2012.

^11.10.12   
Startup Britain’s tour bus comes to North Staffordshire at the end of October. It visits Keele University campus on 31st October 2012 (9am–12pm) and then moves to Staffordshire University’s Stoke campus (2pm-5pm). There will be an Innovation Workshop at the Staffordshire University stop (2.30pm – 3.30pm); followed by sessions on Social Enterprise; then ending with “Understanding Crowdfunding”. The latter is especially important, as Kickstarter UK plans to launch soon. Full details of the programme are available at the Web page.

^11.10.12   
Coventry’s Creative Enterprise team is hopping on a train to Stoke-on-Trent in November 2012, to deliver a free Starting your Creative Business workshop at Staffordshire University. This is a free two-day workshop for business people who are… “in the early stages of planning a creative business in the arts, design or media”. Topics will include: the marketing mix; cash flow; budgeting; costing your product or service; your business model; and an overview of the various types of businesses. This workshop is to be run by Clare Hudson & Peter McLuskie. The dates are 7th and 8th November 2012 (9.30am to 4.30pm) at the Stoke Creative Business Village on Staffordshire University’s Stoke-on-Trent campus. Interested? Contact Peter McLuskie for more information at:  pmcluskie@cad.coventry.ac.uk

^11.10.12   
Cath Ralph at the Burslem School of Art has small grants of up to £1,000, for events that promote or celebrate the Stoke-on-Trent town of Burslem. It’s hoped these can be bundled into a rolling programme of events. Also being worked on at the School of Art is a new Event Support facility for Burslem, which would offer the loan of equipment for outdoor events in the town (with lower hire fees for non-profits). More details from Cath Ralph via the School of Art website.

^11.10.12   
Interested in wildlife photography? The team at Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty are inviting nature and landscape photographers to a series of photography workshops over the next 12 months. The sessions are free, but places are limited and must be booked. Contact Emma Beaman-Green at:  emma.beaman-green@staffordshire.gov.uk

^11.10.12   
Would you like to learn more about digital photography? Gladstone Pottery Museum are running a Digital Photography for Beginners course on 17th October (10.30am – 4pm). The course costs £30 (including museum admission). To book call:  01782 237777.

^11.10.12   
The Cultural Sisters are offering fused glass -making workshops on Saturday 24th November and Saturday 8th December 2012 (1–4pm). Design and create your own beautiful fused glass jewellery and artworks. Cost is £20 per session. Full details from:  fiona.waddle@theculturalsisters.org.uk

^11.10.12   
Local storyteller Alan Barrett will be running a “Talk is Cheap” day of free workshops at the Burslem School of Art, on 15th October 2012 (9.30-10.45am, 11.00-12.15pm, and 1.00-2.15pm). Full details at the Facebook page.

Creative Stoke news update, 5th October 2012

^05.10.12    
Stoke-on-Trent’s own vampire series Blood & Bone China has its official DVD edition out now.

^05.10.12    
The organisers of StokeTEDx are seeking short films for inclusion in the TEDx programme on 13th October 2012. They’re looking for:

1. Films that showcase Stoke-on-Trent, or the surrounding urban areas, as an interesting location for a global audience.
2. Films reflecting any of the City 2.0 themes: health, public spaces, transportation, food, play, housing, safety, recycling.
3. Films that tell a powerful story about an aspect of city life, or include an “idea worth sharing”.

Maximum length of two minutes; MP4 video format; 4:3 screen ratio. Upload to the free services Dropbox or SendShare or equivalent, and then email the Web link to:  tedxstoke@gmail.com

^05.10.12    
Global Entrepreneurship Week has a Stoke-on-Trent event, in the form of ‘Be Inspired Leadership’ talk by Kevin Oakes, the dynamic CEO of the successful local ceramics firm Steelite International. The date is 15th November 2012 (starts 6.30pm), and the venue is the Ashley Conferencing Centre on Staffordshire University’s Stoke campus. Kevin will talk on… “enterprise, entrepreneurship and innovation in his business and the Stoke context.” To request a place, please email:  beinspired@staffs.ac.uk

^05.10.12    
Staffordshire University Business School is hosting an event titled “Stimulating Innovation: financing expansion for small and medium enterprises“, on 30th November 2012 at the Ashley Building on Staffordshire University’s Stoke campus. See the Web page for full details.

^05.10.12    
Five places are currently (as of today) still left on the adult pottery evening course at Burslem School of Art. The next course starts very soon, and the times will be 6pm-9pm.

^05.10.12    
Stoke town’s Stoke Christmas Lights Switch On and Crafts Fair is seeking stallholders, especially artists and crafters (sorry, no food or produce stalls). The event is on Saturday 1st December 2012 from 12 noon. Interested? Please contact Alan Barrett.

^05.10.12    
The managers of Hanley’s Mitchell Youth Arts Centre are looking for volunteers, for a number of different roles. Application forms can be picked up from the box office.

^05.10.12    
A locally-edited and published anthology is available now. The Alchemy Press Book of Ancient Wonders has been edited by Jan Edwards and Jenny Barber.

^05.10.12    
North Staffordshire Press and The Business Village at Staffordshire University will host an evening of readings from Arnold Bennett’s novel The Card (1911) on Tuesday 11th December 2012, 7pm. Clips will be shown from the excellent feature-film comedy of The Card (1952), which starred Sir Alec Guinness. A paper will also be read by Malcolm Henson, on “Association Football and The Card: fact or fiction”.

^05.10.12    
Are you a budding museum exhibits designer? The Spitfire Gallery at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery is running a competition for makeover designs. Show the curators how the new Spitfire Gallery should look, to give the real-life Spitfire “future appeal”. Deadline: 19th October 2012. Full details at the Web page.

^05.10.12    
A date for your diaries. The famous Glyndebourne opera is performing in Stoke-on-Trent from 5th to 8th December 2012. The visit is sponsored by The Daily Mail newspaper and part-funded by the Arts Council, so we can hopefully expect details of workshops and talks to be announced soon.

^05.10.12    
Master B&W landscape photographer John Blakemore will be in conversation with Aline Kisina at the Light House in Wolverhampton, on 23rd November 2012. Tickets are £5. See the Web page for full details. The event is accompanied by a show of Kisina’s “City of Home” works in the Light House photography gallery.

^05.10.12    
“Starting a novel… and finishing it” is a forthcoming eight-week course delivered by Alex Davis looks in detail at the process of writing a novel, from first developing the idea, through planning and plotting all the way to completing the manuscript. The cost is £100, and the venue is The Light House in Wolverhampton (a short hop on the train from Stoke). The course runs on Tuesdays from 8th Jan to 26th Feb 2013. Bookings open in November.

^05.10.12    
The Brewhouse Arts Centre and Theatre, down in Burton-upon-Trent, has a Christmas exhibition/sales opportunity. Their pre-Xmas selling show will run from the 10th November to 24th December 2012. They are looking for affordable work, up to around £50 maximum retail price per item, which is “ideal as a Christmas gift”. Application deadline: 8th October 2012. For an application form please email:  david.gilbert@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk

^05.10.12    
The Digital R&D Fund for the Arts is a new £7 million fund, spread over three years. The aim will be to research new digital business models, and to help reach audiences more effectively. Applications are open now. See the website for full details.

^05.10.12    
DACS Payback scheme allows visual creatives to claim a share of the £3-million DACS Payback fund. If you’ve had an image of your work published in a British magazine or newspaper, or seen on a TV programme, yet not been paid for it — then applying could get you a DACS cheque. The Payback cash is raised from the annual photocopying and video/TV/DVD duplication licenses paid for by British schools, colleges and universities. All claims must be submitted no later than the 31st of October 2012. See the website for full details.

^05.10.12    
Sky Arts is offering five young artists (age 18-30) £30,000 each. The cash is intended to fund their work for a full year, as part of the Sky Arts Ignition: Futures Fund. Applicants are welcome in the following fields: Performing Arts; Dance; Music; Visual Arts; and also Producing. Deadline: 19th December 2012. Full details at the website.

^05.10.12    
The BFI’s new Youth Film Academy Network will give talented 16-19 year olds help to get into the future film industry. The government has committed £1m of annual funding, from April 2012 to March 2015. In the first instance the BFI is seeking to appoint partners to help deliver this ambitious programme. Full details from:  filmacademy@bfi.org.uk

^05.10.12    
There will be an afternoon of Creative Industries fringe events at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham on Monday 8th October 2012. Sessions include “Creative Industries Start Ups and Growth”, and “The Creative Economy”.