Creative Stoke news update, 29th November 2012

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Newcastle-under-Lyme’s Buy Local pop-up emporium shop website now has the PDF programme for their Buy Local Workshops programme. Buy Local also has handy PayPal-friendly online booking pages for the workshops. Workshops include: an Anita Harris masterclass in art pottery design; ceramic painting workshops; Lisa Olson’s needle felting workshops, and more.

^29.11.12   
Job:  Lenzflare require a creative full-time Motion Graphic Designer / Video Editor. Software skills required are: Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Motion, Cinema 4D, Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro. Lenzflare’s offices are at Penkhull, on the hill above Stoke town. Deadline: 30th Nov 2012. Full details from:  info@lenzflare.com

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Job:  Staffordshire University requires a Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Enterprise to be based at the Business School at the Stoke campus. Application deadline is 20th December 2012.

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Grants for community groups of up to £2,500 are available for projects which benefit and involve people in the former Burslem North electoral ward of Stoke-on-Trent. There’s no mention of application date on their website, but a recent post on the Burslem Facebook group says that the application deadline is 8th February 2013.

^29.11.12   
Stoke-on-Trent performance company Re Stoke is looking for vocalists for March 2013. You’ll join their Vocal Orchestra and perform alongside dancers, and amid a stunning visual display, in a unique performance event for the city. Interested? Request a ‘Vocalists Brief’ by 30th November 2012, from:  info@restoke.org.uk

^29.11.12   
A Jan-Apr 2013 events plan is currently being put together for Stoke-on-Trent’s Gladstone Pottery Museum. Manager Nerys Williams is asking local creatives is there are types of events not normally put on, but which people would like to see. Or if there’s anyone who would like to run a joint project with the Museum. Interested? Suggest ideas and projects via the Gladstone’s Facebook page.

^29.11.12   
Added to the Directory: Amanda White photography, based on Stone and specialising in top-quality children and family portraits.

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Added to the Directory: Birchwood Handcrafted Invitations, based in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

^29.11.12   
Added to the Directory: Polly Jane Yarns, of Blythe Bridge.

^29.11.12   
The Shugborough Food and Craft Fair now has a 2013 date, 18th May 2013, and is seeking stall holders for the event.

^29.11.12   
Down in West Bromwich, The Public arts centre is seeking submissions for its Screening 2013 event, which will show video art suitable for large-scale digital projection or large screens. Artists may submit up to three works each (30 mins. or less), but these must be submitted on DVD and be able to be exhibited on DVD. They say that….

“priority will be given to early career artists and filmmakers and those living or working in the West Midlands.”

Deadline for submissions is 13th January 2013.

Creative Stoke news update, 25th November 2012

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A new Stoke-on-Trent arts/heritage project called “The Potteries | Tile Trail” has been awarded £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The project is a partnership with the Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society. Local people will have the opportunity to join a research team, who will explore the historic and present-day stories behind Stoke-on-Trent’s internationally significant tile and architectural ceramics industry. The team will then share their findings with the wider community, through a series of public roadshow events in each of the city’s six towns. Other residents will be encouraged to add to the stories using their own knowledge, and or contributing memories, during these events. The stories gathered in this way will contribute to the development of “The Potteries | Tile Trail” — which will be a dedicated booklet and website featuring a series of self-guided walks. These resources will be useful for local people and tourists alike. For more information, or to provisionally register your interest in participating in the project, please contact Danny Callaghan at:  danny@mcardlecallaghan.com

^25.11.12   
The second round of the Employer Ownership Pilot (EOP) is now open to Staffordshire firms. Employers are invited to develop fresh proposals that raise skills, create real jobs, and drive enterprise and economic growth. The deadline for bids is 28th February 2013.

^25.11.12   
The West Midlands Region of the Embroiderers’ Guild is celebrating the discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard with a new project for all members, including young embroiderers. This is entitled ‘Inspired by the Staffordshire Hoard’. Work from this will go on display in 2013. Interested embroiderers should ask their regional Guild contact for details.

^25.11.12   
Katherine Morling‘s new ceramic sculptures, based on creatures depicted in the ancient Staffordshire Hoard, are now on show at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery. Katherine’s new ‘Morling and the Hoard’ set of creatures are on show in the main free Staffordshire Hoard gallery from 24th November 2012 – 1st Sept 2013. These works have been created for a new publicly-funded £70,000 commission for the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, commissioned by Stoke cultural officer Paul Bailey and Arts Council England.

Photos by Creative Stoke.

^25.11.12   
Added to the Directory: Ian Weightman Media Services of Newcastle-under-Lyme, specialising in visitor destination and tourism PR.

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Added to the Directory: Creative Stoke doesn’t cover local artisan foods, even though there’s a strong case to be made that they should be included in the creative industries. But an exception is made for sculptural sugarcraft for cake decoration, since it’s so creative and individual. Maisie Parrish is a leading sugar artist who has just announced a series of 2013 workshop classes at her Sugarcraft Academy, at the Chatterley Whitfield Enterprise Centre, Stoke-on-Trent…

  * 17th February 2013: “Absolute Beginners” Workshop, £150.
  * 27th-28th April 2013: “2 Day Intensive” Workshop, £275 inclusive.
  * 23rd June 2013: “Facial Expressions” Workshop, £150.
  * 3rd-7th June 2013: “5 Day Masterclass”, £595.

Maisie also has seven tutorial books and a DVD tutorial set available. Her latest book is Fun & Original Cakes for Men & Boys…

^25.11.12   
Bret Shah is organising a free informal ‘Crafters Meet Up’ event on Friday 30th November 2012 (10am to noon), in the Mitchell Arts Centre’s cafe, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. Attendees can choose to be interviewed, and have your craft products promoted, on Bret’s radio show.

^25.11.12   
LAUNCH Choreographic Platform 2013 is a new dance choreographic platform for the West Midlands, for new and upcoming graduate choreographers. LAUNCH will run from 10th – 14th June 2013, at a West Midlands venue to be confirmed. Over five evenings, emerging dance artists will have the opportunity to develop and then showcase their work on a professional level, and to network with experienced people from the dance world. Current undergraduate dance students who are concluding their studies this academic year are welcome to apply. Full details from: seditiondance@live.com

^25.11.12   
Wolverhampton Art Gallery is running a free workshop on how to “Get more funding into your museum: creative projects to create new audiences”, on 8th January 2013. The workshop will also run at Walsall, on 16th January 2013. Full details at the Web page.

^25.11.12   
Staffordshire University’s EU-funded Localise project has recently investigated ‘the study trip’ as model for vocational training in community arts work. Localise, in partnership with Warsaw University and Vytautus Magnus University, is now coming to an end — but the project has been documented on a new website. A book of case studies will also be published soon.

^25.11.12   
Got yobs? There’s a “Behaviour Management and Youth Arts Training” day on 19th March 2013, in Leamington Spa (accessible via a direct intercity train from Stoke station). This Artswork day will aim to develop an understanding of behaviour management in youth arts projects. Cost is £75 per person. Full details from:  artsplan@artswork.org.uk

^25.11.12   
Here’s the new Staffordshire University graduates video ad, created by Birmingham’s Plain English agency. This ad has been shown on regional ITV TV this week, and will be in regional cinemas next week…

Creative Stoke news update, 22nd November 2012

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Stoke-on-Trent’s British Ceramics Biennial 2013 is inviting entries for its big prize of £10,000. Entries are invited in: ceramic design for manufacture; craft studio production; and one-off art ceramics. Entry deadline: 15th February 2013.

Also on offer is a chance for recent graduates to show work at the ‘Fresh 2013’ exhibition in Stoke-on-Trent, where a single prize of £3,000 will be awarded. Deadline for Fresh is: 5th July 2013.

There are also residencies on offer: with Johnson Tiles (£3,000); and three short-term at the Spode site (£1,000 each). Application deadline: 15th February 2013.

Full details and application forms at the Ceramics Biennial website.

^22.11.12   
The New Vic Theatre’s Education Department is organising a consortium for local freelance drama and theatre practitioners. The first free informal networking event will be on 7th December 2012 (1pm-3pm) at the New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme. Full details from Katherine Hughes at:  khughes@newvictheatre.org.uk

^22.11.12   
There will be a High Growth Mentoring Business Showcase three-course lunch event in Stoke-on-Trent, at Stoke City F.C.’s Britannia Stadium on 14th December 2012. “Invite only”, £66 per ticket.

^22.11.12   
The University of Virginia is offering a free online course in Grow to Greatness: Smart Growth for Private Businesses. The University of Maryland is also running a free online course in Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies. These are open global-access free courses. Both run for five/six weeks, starting 28th Jan 2013.

^22.11.12   
Considering venturing into exports? Need to evaluate the risks of doing business with a particular country? The government’s Overseas Business Risk Service is a free service which assists British companies, particularly those exporting to high growth and emerging markets.

^22.11.12   
Job: Keele University requires an Enterprise Business Manager (Ageing & Arts). Application deadline: 28th November 2012.

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Job:  Staffordshire University requires a Lecturer in Photography (0.6). Application deadline: 29th November 2012.

^22.11.12   
Staffordshire University’s media/film graduation movies (June 2012) are now available to view online.

^22.11.12   
The Arts & Humanities Research Council and BBC Radio 3 have launched their 2013 New Generation Thinkers Scheme. The scheme invites applications from arts and humanities academics who wish to become one of BBC Radio 3’s resident New Generation Thinkers. Full details via the Web page.

^22.11.12   
Excellent news for the North Staffordshire pottery industry. Europe has imposed heavy UK import duties (from 17.6% to 58.8%) on ceramic tableware from China, in a move which should strongly benefit Stoke-on-Trent’s pottery makers. The move follows a European Union investigation in China, which revealed the Chinese government were unfairly subsidising the costs of machinery, materials, and fuel for its ceramics industry. In addition, all Chinese exporters get a ‘special’ favorable currency exchange-rate, plus a tax rebate on exports, which together mean a further concealed export subsidy of around 30%.

^22.11.12   
The North East Cheshire Decorative & Fine Arts Society is holding a special art history study day, on The lives & art of the Bloomsbury painters, on 20th February 2013.

^22.11.12   
The ‘Visit the Peak District’ website now has a comprehensive listing of all the well-dressing folk-art ceremonies and festivals planned for summer 2013.

^22.11.12   
Wildworks has announced Jan/Feb 2013 dates for their willow-weaving courses at Belper (about 15 miles east of Stoke).

^22.11.12   
Creative Stoke’s Directory listings/links for nearby parts of Cheshire have been updated, on the Community and Local Arts page. These Web links are now:

  The Textile Triangle (Macclesfield, Congleton and Leek).

  Cheshire East Arts Officers.

Creative Stoke news update, 16th November 2012

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North Staffordshire’s FRONTLINEdance requires new Committee Members and Directors from February 2013. FRONTLINEdance requires strong, experienced, reliable and dedicated members who can work together in a supportive and cohesive way. Application deadline: 14th January 2012. Interested? Please email:  rachael@frontlinedance.org.uk

^16.11.12   
Added to the Directory: Re:Source Me are highly experienced youth workers who deliver creative arts and digital media projects in North Staffordshire.

^16.11.12   
The popular Just So festival of young children’s arts has announced dates, 16th-18th August 2013. The venue will be Rode Hall Parkland, Scholar Green (five miles north of Stoke-on-Trent). Tickets are on sale now.

^16.11.12   
A new art cafe is opening soon in nearby Crewe, No.159.

^16.11.12   
The deadline for applications to the Staffordshire Community Arts Fund (grants of up to £800) is coming up soon, on 20th December 2012. Full details and application form at the Web page.

^16.11.12   
Weston Park in Shropshire has announced its first ‘Graduate Show’ to be held in the Granary Art Gallery, Weston Park, from the 4th to 31st January 2013. They are now looking for arts students or graduates to participate in this exhibition. To take part, students must submit a Graduate Show application form. Final date for submissions is 3rd December 2012.

^16.11.12   
The Midlands Youth Dance Festival is taking place at Nottingham Playhouse on 20th April 2013. Around five groups from across the West Midlands will be selected to present at the MY Dance Festival, and the best two groups will be selected to represent the West Midlands at the national U.Dance 2013. Applications are invited now, and the deadline is 30th November 2012.

^16.11.12   
An Artist’s Book and ‘Zine Fair is to be on Saturday 24th November 2012 (12pm-4pm) at the New Art Gallery Walsall, and promises… “stalls, screenings, talks and workshops.”

^16.11.12   
Keele University’s Internship Scheme for new graduates is now available to local firms. Keele can advertise and shortlist on the employer’s behalf, for free. The University can also cover National Insurance contributions of 13.8%. The minimum wage for this scheme is £255 for a 37 hour working week, or £6.90 per hour. Places are unlimited and the scheme runs until September 2013. If you need a new graduate intern during this time, please contact Keele’s Internships Team at:  internships@keele.ac.uk

^16.11.12   
An additional £4m of funding has been announced for the Midlands’ SPEED Plus scheme, to be spread over the next three years. The SPEED Plus scheme provides advice and support to West Midlands university graduates planning to launch a small business.

^16.11.12   
Writing West Midlands has announced a West Midlands Short Fiction Competition for 2013. They invite short fiction under 1,800 words long, on the theme of Travel. The prize is £100 and a writing workshop of the winner’s choice. Entries must be submitted by 31st January 2013.

^16.11.12   
The new Library of Birmingham is seeking proposals via the Regional Growth Fund for new digital products and services which are focused on…

  * developing audiences
  * opening up digital access to the Library’s services and collections
  * bridging the gap between digital channels and the physical building
  * exploring new business models

Individual projects should last 9 months or less, and have a total value of less than £100k. Expressions of interest (max. two pages) are required by 20th November 2012.

^16.11.12   
Local businesses might be interested in a new free Skype service for small business, Skype In The Workplace.

^16.11.12   
The Stanford University spinout Udacity is offering a free online course in How to Build a Startup.

Creative Stoke news update, 9th November 2012

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Stoke-on-Trent pottery firm Steelite has this week opened the firm’s first retail shop, for its ‘unbreakable’ ceramics, at Trentham Gardens in Stoke-on-Trent.

^09.11.12   
A weekly ‘Creative Writing for Beginners’ class started Tuesday 6th November (12.30pm-2.30pm) at Tunstall Library, Stoke-on-Trent. More information available at Stoke Adult Learning.

^09.11.12   
There’s a new novel by Jonathan Taylor, Entertaining Strangers, which is based in Stoke-on-Trent. Jonathan grew up in Trentham, and has used the city as a backdrop for a novel of eccentricity, obsessions, and fiery visions.

^09.11.12   
Staffordshire County Council has a “Made in Staffordshire” marque that makers can now sign up for, the use of which costs £50 a year.

^09.11.12   
The new Stoke Craft Alliance is having an informal Networking Evening for local crafts makers on 9th January 2013. Full details at the Facebook event page.

^09.11.12   
Bunker 13 is Stoke-on-Trent’s new dedicated rock and metal music club, financed and run by a team of young rock fans. The venue opens on November 17th (10pm).

^09.11.12   
Stoke-on-Trent’s 2nd Noisefloor sonic art conference has announced dates: 30th April to 3rd May 2013. The organisers are now calling for proposals for audio or audio-video works, live sound, audio-based installations, and for academic papers on the sonic arts. Submission deadline: 7th January 2013.

^09.11.12   
The Society for Music Analysis will hold its annual Theory and Analysis Graduate Symposium day for music postgraduates on 18th-19th April 2013, at Keele University in North Staffordshire. TAGS welcomes student papers in any fields of music theory or analysis. Non-speakers are also welcome. Please send enquiries to: Becky Thumpston at  r.m.thumpston@keele.ac.uk  or Dr. Nicholas Reyland at  n.w.reyland@mus.keele.ac.uk

^09.11.12   
The new book Ben Bennions DFC: Battle of Britain Fighter Ace is a biography of a Burslem man who went on to become one of Britain’s best fighter pilots, and who played a key role in the Battle of Britain. The book is by Stafford-based author Nick Thomas.

^09.11.12   
Added to the Directory: Judith Brown Jewellery. Based in Chatterley Whitfield, Judith has only recently arrived to live in North Staffordshire.

^09.11.12   
The London ceramicist Katharine Morling was commissioned earlier this year to create a body of new work around the Staffordshire Hoard at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery. This work is now set for permanent display at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery. Studio pictures of the unfired works are now online. Katharine will have a private viewing of this special commission, in late November at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.

^09.11.12   
Burslem Park, the newly £2m Lottery-refurbished Victorian park in the north of Stoke-on-Trent, is set to host free Sculpture Workshops with local art gallery ArtWaves. Work made will be inspired by Burslem Park. The first three provisional dates are: Tuesday 20th November (10am-12pm); Wednesday 28 November (10am-12pm); and Wednesday 5th December 2012 (10am-12pm). If you’d like to register your interest, please let the organisers know so they can begin to gauge numbers. They’ll confirm the final arrangements as soon as they have them. Call Tom on 07787 005946 or email  burslem.park@stoke.gov.uk

^09.11.12   
Five designer makers will be available to chat and explain their wares, at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, on Saturday 1st December 2012 (10.30am-4.30pm). The local designer makers involved include: Anita Harris; Emma Louise Wilson; Steven Shaw; Carole Glover; and Denise O’Sullivan.

^09.11.12   
Visitors to the Visit Stoke events listing website can currently find a printable voucher for 20% discount, on purchases over £40 made in the Potteries Museum foyer shop.

^09.11.12   
Job:  Stafford Grammar School requires an Art & Design Technician, three days per week. Details from:  headsec@staffordgrammar.co.uk

^09.11.12   
Job:  Sessional Life Models (to pose for artists) are required at Stafford College. £8.02 per hour. Application deadline: 19th November 2012. Details from:  c.goodwin@staffordcoll.ac.uk

^09.11.12   
Stoke’s Stoke Your Fires film festival and The Script Academy are collaborating on a feature-film script competition for screenwriters. First Prize is a place on the The Script Academy’s Mentor programme, worth £2,000. Entry deadline: 1st February 2013. Full details available at the competition Web page.

Stoke Your Fires 2013 is also looking for feature-films to screen, which must have been completed on or after 1st December 2011. The entry deadline is 3rd December 2012.

^09.11.12   
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is offering a new “Engaging with Government Programme” starting in 2013. Successful applicants will participate in discussions with a range of senior civil servants, researchers, politicians and media professionals on the challenges and opportunities involved with the policy making process for the arts and humanities in the UK. Participants will be active researchers who may have opportunities within their own research that could contribute to public policy. For further information, please contact: Danielle Moore-Chick at  d.moore-chick@ahrc.ac.uk

Creative Stoke news update, 4th November 2012

^04.11.12   
Stoke-on-Trent’s ReStoke is looking for…

“dancers and vocalists of all ages and experience to be part of our upcoming performance taking place in Spring 2013 in Stoke-on-Trent. So, if you like new challenges, meeting new people and don’t mind the cold, send us an email”

Interested? Request either the ‘Dancer Brief’ or the ‘Vocalist Brief’ from:  info@restoke.org.uk

^04.11.12   
A new webcomic from Stoke-on-Trent, Bad Science, is now available to read online…

Staffordshire University’s recent “24hr comic book challenge” has also been documented on a short video…

^04.11.12   
A new women’s choir (age 16+) is being formed in Stoke-on-Trent. Stage Productions wants female choral singers for their forthcoming production of The Sound of Music at The Regent in January 2013. Application deadline: 7th November 2012.

^04.11.12   
2013 dates have been announced for the The Leek Textile Festival — 29th June to 15th September 2013.

^04.11.12   
Staffordshire University’s Film Theatre is to present Showcase 2012 on 14th November 2012 (6pm-8pm). This screening will show…

a selection of new films made by our current and graduating M.A. Film Production students at Staffordshire University.

…and as such it seems likely to be a good networking event for local filmmakers.

^04.11.12   
A Potteries Hackspace has newly opened in Newcastle-under-Lyme, in the former Randles Garage on Keele Road [ On Google Maps ].

^04.11.12   
Newcastle-under-Lyme’s social media developers Future Year have launched their version 2.0. Their Future Year product is a shared social “year planner” that plugs into Facebook.

^04.11.12   
MEMIC is seeking to provide a Midlands platform for experimental filmmakers and video artists. You’re invited to submit works to MEMIC’s first Film Salon, which will happen on 30th November 2012 in Leamington Spa. Deadline for submissions: November 15th 2012

^04.11.12   
Added to the Directory: Longnor Landscapes, landscape photographer Michela Griffith based on the Staffordshire/Derbyshire border.

^04.11.12   
Theatrically inclined local students might like to note that Staffordshire University currently has an active Amateur Dramatics Society which is putting on two shows.

^04.11.12   
Staffs Live TV has a video round-up of the the recent three-day Hippy Horror festival (Oct 26th-28th in Stoke-on-Trent). Interviews with local bands Six Towns, 3’s a Riot, and Moral Panics…

^04.11.12   
The Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is running a series of arts and crafts courses this winter…

  Introduction to Hedgelaying (18th Nov, might be useful for land artists).

  Woodcarving (5th-6th Dec 2012).

  Willow Weaving (20th-21st Nov 2013).

  Watercolour Painting (Feb-Mar 2013).

^04.11.12   
Arts Connect West Midlands is a new regional agency concerned with the arts and culture ‘offer’ for children and young people.

^04.11.12   
The Prince’s Trust Enterprise loans service has been launched for the Midlands. £3 million will be invested in unemployed or under-employed young people aged 18-30, to help the move into self-employment. More than 2,000 young entrepreneurs are expected to be helped in the West Midlands region, with loans of between £1,000 and £5,000 to start-up in business. See the website for full details.

^04.11.12   
The leading Kickstarter crowd-funding website has just launched in the UK. Kickstarter UK appears to give British crowdfunding campaigns access to the large pool of affluent investors in the USA.

^04.11.12   
Birmingham’s CBSO is hosting two introductory training seminars on Audience Development (27th Nov) and Audience Research (13th Feb 2013). Tickets are from £75 to £150 per day.

^04.11.12   
Arts Council England has this week released details (PDF link) of its cost-saving organisational changes, which will “be in place” from 1st July 2013. To save money there will be a single Arts Council Midlands office (not one in the East and another in the West Midlands, as there is now), based in Birmingham. Stoke-on-Trent, the Moorlands and the Peak will all still be classed as being in the Midlands. The new combined Midlands office will have 42 staff, compared to 58 in the current East/West setup. Property costs will be cut in half by the changes.

^04.11.12   
A major region print fiction publisher, Birmingham’s Tindal Street Press, is set to be sold to a London publisher with the loss of four jobs in Birmingham, according to The Birmingham Post. Despite the article’s suggestion that the closure is down to government cuts, the journalist doesn’t mention that the Arts Council RFO 2012-2015 settlement gave Tindal Street £40K of Arts Council funding for 2012-13, with a further £40K in place for 2013-14.