Creative Stoke news update, 20th January 2013

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Here’s a trailer for a new horror movie made in North Staffordshire by Ray Andrew Wilkes / Flashgun Films, called Molly Crows. Warning: you may find it shocking!

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Added to the Directory: KaleidoStoKe, a community music organisation working with young people in Stoke-on-Trent and combining recycling, junk, rhythm and songwriting.

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Creative Ceramics courses at the Burslem School of Art are now open for registration for 2013. There are 10 places available in each class…

Morning class: Wednesday 20th February – 20th March, 10am – 12pm.
Night class: Thursday 21st February – 21st March, 6:30pm – 8:30pm.
Morning class: Friday 12th April – 10th May, 10am – 12pm.
Night class: Wednesday 15th May – 12th June, 6:30pm – 8:30pm.

Also available is a “Ceramics Introduction” course at the Burslem School of Art, on Tuesday nights (6pm-9pm) from 26th March – 7th May 2013.

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Burslem School of Art’s pottery studio is opening its doors to local artists who would like a low-cost space to work with clay. Artists are invited to work independently and on their own time during open studio hours at the School’s pottery studio…

“The Open Studio is a monthly program, you can start any time you’d like. So for example, if you were to start on the 15th of this month you would go to the 15th of next month until your next payment was due. Open studio time is any time the School is open and there are open wheels or open tables, except a couple mornings in a week when studio is booked for other activities. Cost is £30 per month. Your monthly fee comes with 6kg of clay (additional clay can be bought for £0.50/kg), 1 storage shelf for work in progress, firing for the tenant’s rate (self-cost) and access to potter`s wheel, limited amount of glazes etc.”

Interested? Contact:  ieva@burslemschoolofart.com

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Rachel Evans is running a willow basketmaking course at the Oakamoor Village Hall, Staffordshire, 2nd or/and 3rd February 2013 (10am-4pm). Make a round basket in a day, or spend two days making a shopping basket or a log basket. Suitable for beginners or intermediate basketmakers. Cost £50 (one day) or £100 (two days). Booking is essential. For full details email:  wheatcroftwillow@googlemail.com

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TRANSCEND is a new 12-week programme from Stoke’s Frontline Dance, aiming to give disabled people new skills and the confidence to find jobs. The programme will use creative dance, voice and speech work, drama and role-play, to help develop skills and confidence. The progamme will run on Tuesdays, 9:30am to 3:00pm, at the Mitchell Arts Centre in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. The first 12 week block starts on 12th February 2013. TRANSCEND is free, and is funded by the European Social Fund. Full eligibility details and contact info are available online.

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The Button Project, at the Macclesfield Silk Museums, is calling for entries. Artists and makers are invited to make a contemporary button for the exhibition taking place in Macclesfield from 14th June – 8th August 2013. Handmade silk buttons were a key part of the flourishing silk industry which once centred in the Leek/Macclesfield area. The deadline for submissions is 4th March 2013. Entry is free and application forms can be downloaded at www.barnabyfestival.org.uk

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Fancy some big money, to do something big in North Staffs? Open is a new £1 million initiative by Artangel and BBC Radio 4 for new site-specific commissions across the UK. See the website for full details.

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Stoke-on-Trent’s Gladstone Pottery Museum is seeking community groups interested in becoming involved with the Gladstone’s “Fired Up” project, a collaborative and community-based heritage project…

“weaving together original words music drama and dance, to celebrate the beauty grit and resilience of the Potteries’ most famous product and its people, past and present.”

Interested? Get more information via the Facebook page.

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Stoke-on-Trent’s Regent Academy is holding an Open Dance Audition on Thursday 28th February 2013 (5pm) at The Victoria Hall in Hanley. Email  stokecreativelearning@theambassadors.com  for an application form. They are looking for young (aged 11+) male and female dancers to join the company, which meets every Thursday. Regional and national productions are created, and the company has links to the venue’s Creative Learning Department projects and activities. Fees are currently set at £85 per term (10 x 2hr sessions), paid in advance. The Academy may also offer a fully-funded Scholarship place.

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The Royal Academy of Dance still has places available on its Coppelia Children’s Ballet Workshop, to be held in Stoke-on-Trent on 10th February 2013. Application deadline: 21st January 2013.

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The University of Wolverhampton has 3 x 0.2 teaching posts available for contemporary arts practitioners working in: Art in the Public Sphere; the Experimental Moving Image; or Design and Hybrid Craft. Application deadline: 15th February 2013.

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Six contemporary artists, curators and gallerists will be undertaking various studio visits to artists in the West Midlands this Spring. If your West Midlands studio or gallery wishes to apply for a studio visit, then please download an application form here. Deadline: 15th February 2013.

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An experienced practitioner is needed to run a full day’s workshop for boys at a school in Staffordshire. The aim is to “encourage writing by using an urban art form or possibly a creative writing workshop.” Fee is £150 plus expenses. Interested? Please email with a 150-word summary of the proposed activity; and a note on all costs inc. travel, to:  sissy@streetstylesurgery.co.uk

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North Staffordshire’s Douglas Macmillan Hospice is seeking a local artist or sculptor who could spare some time for a special project. Interested? Email:  fundraising@dmhospice.org.uk

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Staffordshire Patchworkers & Quilters now have their 2013 programme available, including a major workshop with Carolyn Forster in September 2013.

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Stoke Craftworkers Bazaar is looking for fantastic handmade stalls to attend the event at The Mitchell Art Centre, Hanley, on 3rd February 2013. Whilst fully booked for cards and jewellery, any other craft is welcome. For more information visit the website. Stalls are £15 each or £16.50 to include 30 business cards or flyers into the customer goody bags.

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Leek’s Borderland Voices is seeking continuation funding for its Tuesday morning Creative Writing workshops, enabling the workshops to continue after mid 2013. They would like to hear from any organisations or individuals who would like to help with funding these writing sessions. Full details from Andy Collins on: 01538 528708.

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Stoke-on-Trent City Council now has a pot of £20,000 to help bring live street performers and entertainment to the City Centre over the next 12 months, following a successful application to the government’s Town Team Partner funding scheme. It’s reported that “a part-time member of staff” will be employed to organise, deliver and market the Stoke-on-Trent events. Full details from Janet Jones, City Centre co-ordinator, on: 01782 234217.

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The government has now slashed red tape related to the 2003 Licensing Act, making it easier to put on a local theatre and dance show. From April 2013 groups will…

“no longer be required to have a [local Council] licence to host a theatre play or dance performance, between the hours of 8am and 11pm, where the number of people in an audience is fewer than 500.”

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The first international festival of improvised dance is set to be hosted by the Department of Contemporary Arts at MMU’s Crewe campus, next month. Process Product will take place at the Axis Art Centre from 25th February to 1st March 2013. Performances will be given by the Liverpool Dance Collective, New York’s Complex Stability, Pittsburg’s Gia T. Presents and MMU Dance. The festival is open to academics, students, local schools, artists and members of the public. Four free discussion events will also run alongside the performances. See the website for full details.

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The UK arts charity IdeasTap is seeking fresh ideas from recent graduates, about new additions to IdeasTap’s range of services. The person with the winning idea will get £9,000 knocked off their student loan!

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The University of Birmingham is to hold a one-day research seminar in April 2013, Women Entrepreneurs, Training and Education: First Research Seminar. Deadline for research papers: 31st January 2013.

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The Digital R&D fund for the Arts is a three-way £7 million partnership between Arts Council England, the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC), and NESTA. It is running for three years from 2012-2015 and is funding projects up to £125,000. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, until 30th December 2013. If you are interested in collaborating with Staffordshire University on a bid to this fund, please contact: externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk

Creative Stoke news update, 10th January 2013

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Added to the Directory: Paul Clay / alphawham. Paul is a Staffordshire illustrator with a fresh style…

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BBC Radio Stoke is offering a 1-4 week work placement at its Hanley radio studios in Stoke-on-Trent (placement ref. No. 59811-4/13). Closing date for applications 31st January 2013, for a placement in April 2013.

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The organisers of Keele University’s Three Counties Open Photography Exhibition are inviting submissions of framed prints. Deadline for entries is 8th and 9th February 2013. Entry fee: £12, or £10 concessions. For details see the Web page or email:  arts@keele.ac.uk

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The Staffordshire Enjoy Art initiative is calling for local artists and makers to take out an annual membership fee of £100, enabling promotion in various Destination Staffordshire print publications including the County’s main Visitor Guide, the Out & About newspaper, and the Staffordshire Enjoy Art brochure which will be available through Tourist Information Centres. A Staffordshire Enjoy Art ‘Exhibition Series’ is also planned for 2013 (at Shugborough over Easter; at Barewall in Burslem in July; at the Museum of Cannock Chase from mid October 2013). Sign-up for membership during January 2013 to be included in the new 2013 brochures.

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Staffordshire University now has 2013 dates for its “Show & Tell” 2013 art and design degree shows. The opening Stoke-on-Trent campus launch evening will be on Friday 7th June 2013, and the shows will then run from 8th-15th June 2013. The additional public programme of ‘Fringe’ events is also set to happen again in 2013.

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Stoke-on-Trent Guitar Club is a new club based at the Beehive Inn, on Honeywall in Penkhull. The inaugural monthly meeting will be on Tuesday 22nd January 2013 (8pm). All abilities and music types are welcome.

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Application forms are now available for school rock bands to appear at the Staffordshire Rocks 2013 event. This competitive rock event gives school rock bands a chance to perform in a prestigious venue to a large audience.

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The Friends of Staffordshire Young Musicians are inviting entries for The John W.R. Taylor Memorial Singing Competition 2013. The competition is open to singers aged 11-19 who live and are educated in Staffordshire, and who can perform as solo singers, or in duets, trios or quartets. Deadline: 28th January 2013.

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Entry forms are now available for the Staffordshire Young Musician of the Year 2013 competition. Deadline: 21st January 2013.

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The West Midlands Arts Health and Wellbeing Network is looking for six “Artist Champions” to facilitate a series of regional events. These events will bring artists and health workers together to explore what makes a quality arts & health project, and to develop a “Quality Framework”. To express an interest please send a C.V., a link to your website / online examples of practice, and tell them which sub-region of the West Midlands you would like to work in. Closing date: 22nd February 2013. Email to:  kategant@creativehealthcic.co.uk

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Staffordshire University is to host a HEA training workshop day on Embedding employability within Drama and the Performing Arts at undergraduate level, on 14th May 2013. The venue will be Studio One at Staffordshire University’s Stoke-on-Trent campus. Full details at the Web page.

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Job:  The Walsall Creative Development Team, in partnership with the Parenting Team and Teenage Pregnancy Team (NHS), are seeking proposals from community arts workers / media companies to creatively design, develop and deliver a film-making project. The project will result in a film which shows parents/carers how to talk to children (aged 11 and above) about having sex. Deadline: 18th January 2013. Full details from Leah Wilkes at:  wilkesleah@walsall.gov.uk

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“Fantasy February” is a residential writing weekend at the nearby Dove Valley Centre (nr. Buxton, the Peak District). The weekend for fantasy authors will run 15th – 17th February 2013, and the guest author will be Adrian Tchaikovsky. Places cost £150 — including two nights accommodation, meals, tea/coffee throughout, goodie bag, and a variety of writing activities. To book your place, please contact Alex at:  alexdavisevents@hotmail.co.uk

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The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities has five paid fellowships available for… “early career researchers seeking to build relationships with creative sector SMEs or third sector cultural organisations”. Fellowships last for three months. Application deadline: 16th January 2013.

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The Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise is to offer a “Preparing to Run Your Own Business” course for the over 50s, in Stafford town. The course dates are 11th – 22nd March 2013.

^10.01.13   Creative England is running an Open Networking Event, at the Wolverhampton Light House on the 5th February 2013 (from 6pm).

Creative Stoke news update, 3rd January 2013

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Start up Your Creative Business is a two-day training event at Stafford, 27th Feb – 1st March 2013. This is a practical free course that is open… “to any [university] graduate based in the West Midlands and who is starting a creative business (in arts, design, or media).” Hurry, only 27 tickets left!

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Need to know the basics of writing a business plan to attract funding? Writing Winning Business Plans is a morning seminar at the North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce, on 11th January 2013 (8.30am – 10.30am). £10 + VAT, for non-members.

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Stoke-on-Trent’s British Ceramics Biennial 2013 is shortly to hold an Open Day for teachers who might like to be involved in its Fired Up Stoke programme, at the old Spode factory in Stoke town. Fired Up Stoke is open to secondary schools and colleges in Stoke-on-Trent. The Open Day will be in February 2013, with the full project starting in May 2013. Full details at the Web page.

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Stoke-on-Trent’s British Ceramics Biennial 2013 now has details of volunteer opportunities in 2013. Full details at the Web page.

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Added to the Directory: Iron Work by Neil Harris of Stoke-on-Trent. Neil makes large-scale sculptural iron works, such as this life-size dodo and huge Anglo-Saxon style cross…

Neil’s works are suitable for a wide range of spaces, such as private gardens, heritage attractions, business foyers, and more. Private and public commissions are accepted. His work can currently be seen at Burslem’s Mothertown Gallery (The Old Post Office) in the town centre.

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Added to the Directory: Echomap, the sound artist duo of Shaun Bailey and Clive Mollart. Shaun & Clive created the interactive ‘Sound Wall’ at the Royal Horticultural Society’s 2010 Tatton show, and this structure was later re-built at Stoke’s Trentham Gardens where it still runs today. The duo are currently making new experimental interactive sound sculptures.

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Added to the Directory: Milestones Photography, based in North Staffordshire.

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The first Stoke Craft Alliance Networking Evening will be at the Charms and Chains shop in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, on 9th January 2013 (6pm – 8pm). Bring yourself, your business cards and an open mind!

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Nearby Eccleshall has been startled by the appearance of a new raunchy rural novel, Rotton Row, allegedly based on life in the village!

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How do you photograph reflective ice in the fierce light conditions of the polar summer? Find out from Professor Fiona Tweed’s public talk on her photography of glaciers and other ice formations, to be held at the Science Centre in Stoke-on-Trent. The date is Saturday 12th January 2013, at 11am. The talk is accompanied by an exhibition of Fiona’s pictures (runs at the Science Centre until 27th January 2013).

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“Making It Happen with Community Arts” is a three-day short course offering an introduction to participatory arts projects in community settings. The venue will be The Learning Exchange at Staffordshire University’s Stoke-on-Trent campus. Dates are: 20th February; 13th March; and 17th April 2013 (all 10.30am – 4.30pm). Full details from:  creativecommunities@staffs.ac.uk

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City Voices chairman Alan Barnett is running a writing workshop at Stoke-on-Trent’s City Library in Hanley, on 9th January 2013 (11.30am-1.30pm). Call 07900 967685 for details.

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Smashh Theatre Company has places available on its acting, devising and improvision classes for 14-19 year olds. Classes are held on Mondays at the Mitchell Youth Arts Centre in Stoke-on-Trent, and members will work toward a small performance in March 2013. Details via Facebook or call 07930 532372.

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Stoke Your Fires, the Stoke-on-Trent film festival, is to host a special Marketplace event on 4th March 2013. Marketplace is for those who… “have projects ready to go”, and who want to pitch these to potential investors and partners. Cost: £50, application deadline 1st February 2013. Full details from:  info@producersforum.org.uk

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Aged 15 to 19? A free Mobile Phone Film-Making Workshop is set for 21st, 28th January and 4th February 2013 in Stoke-on-Trent.

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The Enson Works in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, has gained Heritage Lottery Fund money to employ a Heritage Project Officer and to run a number of projects in the town. Their first two projects will be: “Look-Up Longton” (reminiscence workshops and investigations into the history of Longton Market); and “Listening to Longton (training volunteers to collect oral memories of living in Longton). Both have potential for the use of creative/media-production skills, and are now open for quotations, with closing dates of 12 noon on 16th January 2013.

Other possible future projects in Longton, but not yet open for quotations, might include: a “Bottle Ovens Conservation” Touring Exhibition; a “Psycho-Active Photography” project about finding meaning within communities/spaces; and a project on “Heritage Embroidery”. Local organisations are now invited to express an interest as participants, stakeholders and possibly paid delivery partners. Interested? Contact Elise Turner at:  elise.turner@stoke.gov.uk

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It has been announced that the funding for the UK’s Start-Up Loans scheme is set to be increased by £30 million to £110 million, over the next three years. The age limit for applying is also set to be raised from age 24 to age 30.

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The Creative Industries Council has a new Access to Finance report on the UK finance needs of small to medium firms which produce creative digital content.

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Interested in how internet-only journalism is managing to pay for itself? There’s a new free online report/book on that subject, Chasing Sustainability on the Net (Nov 2012), which looks inside the business models of 69 journalistic ventures around the world.