Creative Stoke news update, 12th July 2013

12.07.13   
Creative Stoke will now be taking a customary Summer break in activity. See you again in September 2013!

12.07.13   
The second Factory creative industries magazine for Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire is now available for download…

Download (PDF, 8Mb).

This second issue of FactoryMag is 48 pages long, and includes ten pages of export advice, advice for recent creative graduates, interviews, news, an events listing, and much more. Plus details of a new £3,000 commission from Appetite. The deadline for content for the next issue of FactoryMag is 16th September 2013.

12.07.13   
Stoke-on-Trent’s Prototype magazine now has the sixth issue available for purchase, on the theme of “Enchantment”…

The editors are also now calling for content for their seventh issue, for which the theme is “Nostalgia”…

“we want recipes that you remember from childhood, we want photography that provokes memories, we want illustrations of summer haze, we want music that flings you back to a better time, we want written pieces of your fondest times.”

Closing date for submissions is 11th August 2013 — send to:  submit@prototypemag.co.uk

12.07.13   
Congratulations to Stoke-on-Trent’s FRONTLINEdance, who have received £12,000 from the European Social Fund (through Staffordshire Community Foundation) for their new project called TRANSCEND. This is a new 12-week programme to give disabled people new skills and the confidence to find jobs. Creative dance, voice and speech, drama and role-play will all help develop skills and confidence on this free course, which will run Tuesdays from 9.30am to 3pm. The final 12-week block starts on 10th September 2013. Full details available from:  rachaelfld@gmail.com

12.07.13   
The New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme has a free open day on Saturday 13th July 2013 (10am-4pm). On offer will be backstage tours, and the opportunity to learn about props, lighting and sound, costuming, and all the other stagecraft needed to put on a show.

12.07.13   
Stoke-on-Trent’s AirSpace gallery has two 2-week residency opportunities available.
Advocate seeks someone to… “speak, plead, or argue in favour of the arts”. Park Traces will use… “drawing to capture Hanley Park as it is today, and developing a responsive artwork, which proposes the park’s future.”

12.07.13   
Paid work:  Public Art Commission at Chesterfield (in Derbyshire, about 12 miles NE of Stoke-on-Trent). The artist payment is £21,250 (plus VAT if applicable), for a new public art commission to be located in a retail development at Ravenside in Chesterfield. Application deadline: 22nd July 2013 at 10am.

12.07.13   
Paid and unpaid work:  Stoke-on-Trent designer-maker Camila Prada is inviting applications for a ceramics Studio Assistant, helping with casting, decals, and ceramics production. This is a paid post with an August 2013 start. Camila says…

“This would suit a graduate (or student) of ceramic design or someone who used to work in the ceramics industry.”

Also available with Camila is an unpaid position for a Social Media Intern…

“helping with online marketing and research. This is not paid and would suit a student or recent grad interested in work experience.”

Interested? See the Web pages linked above for full details.

12.07.13   
Newcastle-under-Lyme’s Digital Delight is looking for a talented Junior Web Developer to join them for a 12-week summer internship.

12.07.13   
Stoke-on-Trent filmmaker John Williams requires 500 extras for a big Stoke-on-Trent zombie movie.

12.07.13   
North Staffordshire’s ‘And the Doctor Said….‘ project is looking for a new group of participants to get involved in this creative research project. The project involves people sharing their stories and memories of health care in North Staffordshire, in workshops led by a creative writer. The writing will result in an exhibition and a book. See the website for full details.

12.07.13   
The Artists Access to Art Colleges is set to run for a second time at Staffordshire University, between October 2013 and April 2014. Selected artists and/or designer-makers will be able to use the university facilities to undertake a period of research, or to realise a project. Closing date for applications is 1st September 2013. Full details at the website. For an application pack please contact the university directly:  a.mawson@staffs.ac.uk

12.07.13   
The UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council has new funding for collaborative research projects between arts & humanities researchers and videogame developers. Proposals should explore new areas of interest to research and development in the videogames industry, be multi-institutional, and demonstrate creative and innovative approaches. Up to £45,000 may be available per project. Application deadline: 1st August 2013.

12.07.13   
North Staffordshire’s The Sentinel newspaper has teamed up with the Lottery to give away £250,000 to… “good causes across North Staffordshire and South Cheshire”.

12.07.13   
Stalls are booking now for the Stoke Pride event. If you are a business and would like to be part of and show support for Stoke Pride ’13, then please email for a application form to:  stokepride@lgbtstaffordshire.com

12.07.13   
Hanley’s new Number 26 Pop Up Shop in Stoke-on-Trent is planning expansion and is looking for… “quirky alternatives to the High Street to fill our up-and-coming number26 building”. More details from:  info@number-26.com

12.07.13   
Have you always (secretly) wanted to try improvised comedy? North Staffs Improv Comedy is a new Facebook group where you can get in touch with like-minded local people, and learn more about planned training and opportunities.

12.07.13   
Want to attract more visitors to your museum or public-funded art gallery? Arts Council England has a new £3m Cultural Destinations fund which is now open for applications. Applications must be… “submitted by a lead applicant on behalf of a consortium” and you’ll have to… “work in partnership with tourism bodies and local authorities”. See the Web pages for full details.

12.07.13   
The annual 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 1st August 2013. See the website for full details.

12.07.13   
The Business Innovation Centre (BIC) in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, will be running a free business leadership training day called ‘Leader in Motivating Change through Innovation’ on 17th July 2013 (10am-4pm). For more information or to book your place contact Sandra Butterworth at:  sandra.butterworth@thebic.co.uk

12.07.13   
A new group has been set up for photographers in the town of Stone, near Stoke-on-Trent. The first meeting of the Stone Photographers group was on 9th July 2013. For details of future meetings see the Facebook group.

12.07.13   
Advance notice of a local academic conference which may be of tangential interest local screenwriters, playwrights, novelists, and also theatre producers and film-makers. Adaptation and the Novel is to be held on Saturday 9th November 2013 at Keele University. Academics are also invited to send proposals for papers. See the conference website for full details.

12.07.13   
Advance notice of a ceramics industry conference, ClayTech UK 2013: Challenges for Growth. This will be on 21st November 2013, at the Staffordshire County Showground, near Stafford. The conference, from the Ceramics Society and the International Clay Technology Association, appears to be mostly aimed at the industrial/manufacturing end of the business — but if you’re interested in making contacts in that sector then this might be a useful event. Full details from Melanie Boyce at:  melanie.boyce@iom3.org