Creative Stoke news update, 7th January 2014

07.01.14   
The airwaves of Stoke-on-Trent will have a brand new sound in January, as Internet-based 6 Towns Radio starts to broadcast on 87.7 FM. The community radio station starts to broadcast independently for a four week period on Monday 20th January 2014, until Sunday 16th February from its base in Queen Street, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent.

07.01.14   
Stoke-on-Trent’s Make It Your Business and the Factory programme have ten places on offer on a new year-round mentoring opportunity. The opportunity is open to creative and digital professionals in North Staffordshire. Successful applicants will have advice, support, and a bespoke action plan for getting their projects funded, made and out there. The support will be led by the team behind the Sheffield Doc/Fest, who will devise an individual mentoring plan for 2014 consisting of a total of 12 hours one-to-one mentoring. A series of workshops and activities will also enhance the mentoring experience. Interested? Email:  miyourbusiness@stoke.gov.uk with the following information:

* One page on what you hope to achieve from the mentoring, especially the goals you hope to achieve as part of it
* One page of biographical information (not a C.V.)
* Any supporting visual materials

Deadline for all applications is: 5pm on Friday 24th January 2014.

07.01.14   
The Leek Arts Festival organisers want to know about your planned events a bit earlier than usual, for 2014. Programme content deadline: 31st January 2014.

07.01.14   
Staffordshire University has Paid Graduate Internship Programme for 2013/14, providing employers with the opportunity to recruit talent from their graduates from summer 2013. Employers will be able to use the University’s in-house recruitment agency, Unitemps, which covers: advertising vacancies; sourcing talent; pre-selection; and payroll. The University will also payroll graduate interns for you, at a much discounted rate, for 12 weeks. Thereafter you have the option a free conversion to your own permanent payroll. Interested? Please contact Carol Bragg, Recruitment Consultant at:  internships@staffs.ac.uk

07.01.14   
Cheshire Dance is seeking a temporary Dance Development Artist for Cheshire East Borough. This is for a fixed term of 9 months, as maternity cover — with a possible extension to 12 months. For an application pack, please contact Evelyn Thomas at:  evelyn@cheshiredance.org

07.01.14   
The Heritage Lottery’s Start-up grants scheme is seeking individuals who are… “thinking about creating a new organisation to engage people with heritage”. Applications can be submitted at any time, and grants of between £3,000 to £10,000 are available.

07.01.14   
Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce are able to offer two training workshops free of charge to local SME firms who are also Chamber members, thanks to ERDF funding. Training days available include:

* 15th January 2014: Increasing Sales to Grow the Business.
* 29th January 2014: Spring Clean Your Marketing.
* 19th February 2014: Powerful P.R.
* 27th March 2014: Getting Started with Project Management.

Free attendance will be allocated on a “first come, first served” basis. Interested? Contact Linda McQuade at:  linda.mcquade@staffordshirechambers.co.uk

07.01.14   
Do you work in local museums or similar cultural heritage institutions? Museum staff and volunteers are invited to various free ‘Winter Warmer’ information events in early 2014 at the Shire Hall Gallery, Stafford town centre…

* “Making the Most of Donations and Gift Aid”, 16th January, 10am – 12 noon.
* “Getting a Helping Hand with Volunteering and Give and Gain”, 20th February, 10am – 12 noon.
* “Getting Involved in National Initiatives (Museums at Night, Takeover Day and Heritage Open Days)”, 13th March, 10am – 12 noon.

They say… “there is no need to book a place at any of the sessions, please just drop in and see us!”

07.01.14   
The Stoke-on-Trent creatives behind the Blood and Bone China video series have a new horror music video online, Cardinal, “I’ll Be Damned”, directed by Chris Stone.

07.01.14   
Assistant Writers are needed for the Write On! Writing Squads across the West Midlands region. These voluntary roles will involve working alongside the Lead Writers at some of their Writing Squads for 8 to 16 year olds. The Assistants provide additional support; help with mentoring and providing advice and creative writing exercises for the children and young people taking part. They also shadow the Lead Writers to learn new skills with the opportunity for career development. Writing West Midlands is able to cover travel expenses. Deadline for applications: 1st February 2014.

07.01.14   
BBC Radio 3 is inviting applications for the 2014 edition of New Generation Thinkers. Specifically they want to hear from early-career university researchers… “with a focus on arts and humanities topics”. Successful applications will have the opportunity to develop radio programme ideas and to appear on air. They are especially keen to hear from people with an interest that encompasses biomedical and humanities. Full details at the Web page.

07.01.14   
You wait for years for some creative website neighbours, and then three come along at once! Say “hi!” to: Creative Walsall; Cannock Chase Creative Hub; and Lichfield Arts.

Creative Stoke news update, 10th December 2013

10.12.13   
The fourth issue of the Factory creative industries magazine for Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire is now available online…

Download the magazine (PDF, 8Mb).

This fourth issue of the free FactoryMag is 52 pages long, and includes interviews, event reports, market opportunities, an events listing, funding news, and a full report on the Factory Assembly conference which happened in late November.

10.12.13   
Thinking of exhibiting at a trade show next year? Join the Factory team for a free event on Thursday 12th December, 6.30pm to 8.30pm, at the Burslem School of Art in Stoke-on-Trent. Find out more about the opportunities of promoting your creative business at trade exhibitions. Speakers will include Margeret Bunn, Director of the British Craft Trade Fair and Becky White, International Trade Adviser from UKTI. RSVP to: factory@stoke.gov.uk

10.12.13   
Work:  B Arts, based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, have an opportunity for a Digital Developer. You’ll work on improving the usability of the social media streams for the £3m Appetite arts engagement programme in Stoke-on-Trent, by integrating social media more tightly with the main Appetite website. The detailed brief is available here. Deadline: Thursday 12th December 2013. For more information contact Trevelyan Wright at:  info@b-arts.org.uk

10.12.13   
Work:  The Stoke-on-Trent City Council Children’s Centres at Burslem, Tunstall and Norton are each aiming to develop a ‘sensory area’ within the children’s creche area. A commission (AN2013/284) is available for the provision of these. Application deadline: 10th January 2014. Full details from:  mandy.new@stoke.gov.uk

10.12.13   
Work:  The Stoke-on-Trent City Council ‘Aiming High’ Short Breaks Programme aims to provide access to short breaks to enable children and young people with disabilities to try out new things, gain new experiences, and to have more opportunities. The Council now has a commission (CYPS2013/206*) for providers of these Short Breaks. There seems to be an obvious opportunity here for arts and other creative activities. Application deadline: 18th December 2013. Full details from:  kirsty.fairbanks@stoke.gov.uk

10.12.13   
Work:  Staffordshire University is currently advertising for:

* Head of PR
* Head of Content Marketing
* Head of Marketing
* Schools and Colleges Marketing Officer

10.12.13   
Middleport Pottery and the Prince’s Trust have announced the specifications and availability of their new workshop and studio spaces for crafts production in the Victorian era factory, which is still a working pottery. Two units are already taken, but six are said to be “up for grabs”. The units may be especially suitable for start-up pottery ventures. Note also that the Burslem School of Art (located a short walk up the hill from Middleport Pottery) will very soon be able to offer “hot wheeling” rentals to potters: it’s like ‘hot desk’ office rentals, but for ceramics production.

10.12.13   
Need to access higher training for an employee? Staffordshire University’s Funding for Higher Level Skills has a deadline of 24th December 2013 for claiming their 15% training discount. Employers can access… “100% funding to develop a bespoke course or accredit an existing in-house programme, plus a 15% discount on a range of existing programmes”. Interested? Contact their Business Team at:  forbusiness@staffs.ac.uk

10.12.13   
The 1000 Lives Network Stoke-on-Trent has a new Community Matched Fund to award grants as community matched funding to local community based groups or organisations. You must be proposing a new project which involves people as volunteers, especially people who are not currently active in their communities. You can apply for up to £1,000. The total fund available is £4,000, and they expect to fund at least four projects. The closing date for applications in Round 1 is 11th January 2014. There will be a second round of funding in the Spring of 2014. See the website for full details.

10.12.13   
Staffordshire University Community Winter Singers are inviting people to…

“come and sing traditional and unusual, simple, fun seasonal songs – on 5pm Weds 11th and Thurs 12th December 2013 in the Learning Exchange, Floor 2 of the Flaxman building on College Rd (above Film Theatre, Stoke campus) and Tues 17th Dec at 4.30pm in the Science Centre on Leek Rd, Stoke.”

To find out more email Penny at:  p.e.vincent@staffs.ac.uk

10.12.13   
Disappointed that Google StreetView doesn’t cover your favorite bit of North Staffordshire? Google has just launched a new tool that enables anyone to make a seamless set of StreetView photographs of a place or route, and upload them to Google Maps for public viewing. You can also use the new tool to create a virtual tour inside a building, for your visitors.

10.12.13   
Staffordshire University has a new one-day “Stay Safe on Twitter” workshop, set to run throughout the year. It will provide people “with the basics of media law” regarding Twitter use and libel, contempt of court, incitement, etc.

10.12.13   
Job:  The Lichfield Festival in Staffordshire is currently seeking to appoint an Artistic Programmer to programme the Festival, on a fee paid freelance contract. You must be…

“an individual with a proven track record in programming of festivals and other events, a knowledge and understanding of music and arts, the vision to guide and develop the Festival’s future programming direction in challenging times, and the ability to work collaboratively with the Festival staff and board.”

To request an application pack please contact the Festival Office at:  info@lichfieldfestival.org

10.12.13   
Arts Connect West Midlands have a new pilot project, as part of their development programme aiming to explore how film and digital media can be used to enhance collections and venues in museums, heritage, and libraries. Applications are now invited from artists who are inspired by heritage collections and libraries, and who are interested in producing interpretative work in film and digital media. Deadline: 17th December 2013. Interested? Contact: Susan Goodwin, Programme Developer for Museums, Heritage, Libraries, at Arts Connect WM at:  susan.goodwin@wlv.ac.uk

10.12.13   
Some very good news on North Staffordshire’s connectivity: 4G EE mobile broadband is now live in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and EE say that Stoke-on-Trent is due for 4G switch on before Christmas. There is also good news on intercity train access to London: those needing to get back late to Stoke-on-Trent after evening events, meetings, etc in London now have a new Virgin intercity train departing London Euston at 10:50pm for Stoke-on-Trent. The new train service should mean that visitors to London can now stay at evening meeting or events until perhaps 9:50pm, before departing for Euston in time to catch the last train home.

10.12.13   
There was also good news in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement last week (full audio | full text), with many of the business measures and changes also impacting on the UK’s creative industries:

* more money allocated, £160m over six years, to the Start Up Loans initiative supporting new businesses. A report on how the new money might be spent, Small Business: Great Ambition, should be published before Christmas.

* a ‘re-occupation relief’ that will halve business rates for new occupants of empty retail shops on the High Street.

* a discount on business rates over the next two years for every retail premises in England with a rateable value of up to £50,000, worth £1,000.

* the annual business rate rises will be limited to 2% in England and Wales next year.

* shops and firms must be allowed to pay their business rates in 12 monthly installments.

* easing of the eligibility requirements for UK Film Tax Relief, from April 2014, subject to EU approval.

* the EU “cultural test” for UK Film Tax Relief on films / broadcast animation / high-grade TV programmes will be eased and made more straightforward.

* the government will seek to extend the UK Film Tax Relief scheme to cover regional theatre productions.

* from April 2014 certain types of investments made in organisations with socially worthy aims will qualify for a 30% tax credit.

* scrapping of employer National Insurance contributions for young people between 16 and 21, thus reducing by £1,000 the cost of employing a new young employee earning £16k a year.

* personal income tax allowance to rise to £10,000 from April 2014, meaning those earning below £10,000 a year (such as many artists and bootstrapping startup owners) will pay no tax.

* cuts in corporation tax, falling from 23 percent to 21 percent in April 2014 and to 20 percent in 2015.

* moves to promote employee ownership of companies.

* doubling to £50 billion of the export finance capacity available to British businesses.

* the government will take more action to improve small business access to public sector contracts.

* the government will change the law, so that firms and organisations cannot disguise employment by claiming that the people who work for them are self-employed.

* an increase in 2014 of 30,000 university student places, and no cap at all on places in the higher education system from 2015-16.

Creative Stoke news update, 25th November 2013

25.11.13   
Work:  Newcastle-under-Lyme’s B Arts are looking for artists and writers for their new project “The Box”, a three-year creative literacy programme with Stoke-on-Trent City Library. “The Box” will be aimed at boosting reading levels among children aged 9 to 13. B Arts now needs:

  * a Writer for Young People, deadline: 13th December 2013.
  * an Immersive Theatre Designer/Maker, deadline: 9th December 2013.
  * a Digital Media Artist, deadline: 9th December 2013.

25.11.13   
Work:  Coventry’s Creative Enterprise organisation, which sometimes runs workshops in Stafford / Stoke, wants to commission a new £3,000 promo video. Deadline: 28th November 2013.

25.11.13   
Work:  Stoke-on-Trent City Council is looking for a training provider to develop and deliver a series of business development workshops, preparing companies for trade show activity. Closing date is 5pm on Friday 29th November 2013. If you are interested in this opportunity, or would like more information, please email:  marc.wootton@stoke.gov.uk

25.11.13   
BIC Staffordshire has three new 2014 workshops in Stoke-on-Trent, all from 4-6pm at the Sutherland Institute in Longton…

  * 13th February: Profit from Innovation.
  * 27th February: Protect & Fund your Innovation.
  * 13th March: Leadership Skills for Innovation.

25.11.13   
Aiming to build on recent success of The Potteries Tile Trail project, the new Ceramic City Stories project is seeking help to identify, explore and tell your own stories about the people, buildings, and industry that continue to define our unique ceramics city today. There will be an initial briefing session on Wednesday 27th November 2013, 3pm-6pm at the CoRE centre, Enson Works, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. They are looking for volunteers who can commit to attending 12 sessions of approximately 3 hours each month, over the next 12 months. More details from Danny Callaghan at:  danny@mcardlecallaghan.com

25.11.13   
The 2014 Stoke Your Fires film festival in Stoke-on-Trent wants your movies. Do you have a feature-length production ready for screening, and would you like the chance to have it shown at Stoke Your Fires Film Festival 2014? The organisers are looking for a feature length production of any genre to add to next year’s 2014 programme and to potentially open the 2014 festival. See the website for full details.

25.11.13   
There’s a new Kickstarter campaign for the Stoke-on-Trent film Grandma’s Ashes.

25.11.13   
There’s now a new Facebook Group, Concept Collective, for discussion of the possibilities around setting up a central physical space or hub for local designers and makers from Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.

25.11.13   
The Venue in Burslem is looking for new stage acts.

25.11.13   
Stoke-on-Trent City Council is hosting a training day for tattooists, at the Civic Centre in Stoke town, Stoke-on-Trent. This day should also be a good networking opportunity, as it is also open to tattooists from Staffordshire and Shropshire. Interested? Contact the Staffordshire and Shropshire Health and Safety Group on:  01782 232003.

25.11.13   
There’s a new Staffordshire County Council Superfast Staffordshire website which has news of the BT superfast fibre broadband fibre being rolled out into the rural parts of the county.

And according to BT’s superfast home broadband rollout plans, the wiring of the Stoke-on-Trent BT exchange called Stoke City WMCIT (which appears to be Stoke Civic Centre and Stoke town) has been brought forward. This is now listed as November 2013. The town of Stone appears to have slipped back to March 2014, and Trentham is now listed as May 2014. The key Newcastle-under-Lyme and Hanley exchanges already offer superfast home and business broadband.

As for mobile connectivity, the uSwitch 2013 mobile broadband speed survey shows that Stoke-on-Trent gets an average 14.34Mbps, and that the city has one of the most stable 3G city connection speeds in the UK…

“… Stoke-On-Trent having the average [3G] broadband speed change by just 0.7% between 4am and 9pm, showing they have a very consistent broadband speed” (uSwitch)

25.11.13   
Creative Nation is creating 6,500 UK jobs for creative people, in 1,000 days. Funding is available to arts and creative industries employers to take on apprentices and offer paid internships.

25.11.13   
Staffordshire University has a date for your shiny new 2014 calendar. The opening night of the 2014 art and design graduation shows will be Friday 13th June, with the shows then running through to the 21st of June 2014. They are also planning a third year for the accompanying Fringe Festival.

Creative Stoke news update, 17th November 2013

17.11.13   
The Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise has an Introduction to Self Employment (over 50s) workshop, on 4th December 2013 at Burslem Methodist Hall, Stoke-on-Trent.

17.11.13   
The Use of Social Media as a Marketing Tool is a workshop event on 20th November 2013 (11.30am – 1pm) in Congleton…

“Gain an overview of current Social Media trends and the most popular social media channels including LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube. Understand how you as a small to medium sized business can use social media to promote your services […] The free to attend Hub workshops and networking events are aimed at anyone considering self employment, new and established businesses and the third sector (e.g. charities and social enterprises).”

17.11.13   
Oatcake Camp 2 is a unique Stoke-on-Trent grassroots discussion and talks evening, to be held at the YMCA North Staffordshire. There will be three sessions on ideas for improving city life, with media and innovation strongly to the fore. The line-up is:

   * How do we measure success of community engagement across social networks? (Carl Plant, BiTjAM).
   * How can local institutions be #morelikepeople? (Clare White, WEA).
   * Is innovation in the public sector dying? (Dan Slee, Comms2point0).

Grab a brew and cake from 6pm, and Oatcake Camp 2 officially kicks off in the YMCA Sky Room at 6.30pm on Tuesday 26th November (finishes at 8.30pm). This event is free, book your ticket now.

17.11.13   
The curators of the AirSpace Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent are inviting submissions from walking artists, and artists who walk, to send in documentation of their practice. This can be historic or current, in all forms of media. Submissions will form part of their forthcoming The Walking Encyclopaedia show at AirSpace, timed to coincide with the Richard Long touring exhibition at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery (opens 30th Nov). Deadline: 13th December 2013. Email to:  mail@airspacegallery.org

17.11.13   
“Robots, Cyborgs and the Ghosts of Christmas Future” is the title of a public talk/demo at Staffordshire University (Stoke campus), on 11th December 2013…

“Intelligent robots and real life cyborgs will be on view in this exciting interactive presentation. You will be able to see if you can tell the difference between humans and machines in conversation and will have to think about what it means for a robot to be intelligent. Can robots have a biological brain like yours? Have you thought about what Christmas present to get your robot in the future? Suitable for both humans and robots of all ages as long as you have an open mind! Booking required:  public@staffs.ac.uk

17.11.13   
18th – 22nd November 2013 is Global Entrepreneurship Week at Staffordshire University. Details on the flyer, or email:  beinspired@staffs.ac.uk

17.11.13   
Added to the Directory: photographer Alex Harford.

17.11.13   
Alex Clowes writes that he is looking for volunteers to help set up an arts group at the day centre he manages in Stoke-on-Trent, for older people with physical disabilities and dementia. He would like to hold an art exhibition in the Spring of 2014. Interested? Please phone 01782 324715 and ask for Alex, or email:  alex@thegrocottcentre.co.uk

17.11.13   
Small Business Saturday (7th Dec) will see a Christmas market at the Burslem School of Art and another at the Victoria Hall in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. Spaces are now available for creative businesses and small traders. Businesses who attend will also be given a free business training guide, and have the opportunity to attend free business training workshops through the Make It Your Business project. Interested? Please contact:  business.growth@stoke.gov.uk including contact details, a description of the business, and your location preference.

Above: Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent.

17.11.13   
The major Acoustic Festival of Britain, held at Uttoxeter, now has 2014 dates: 30th May to 1st June 2014. Note that this may also be a selling opportunity for crafts makers and instrument makers — enquire for details of market pitches / tables.

17.11.13   
Jobs: Artist-led children’s artist workshop providers are needed for hospitals in Sheffield, on the other side of the Peak District. Application deadline: 29th November 2013.

17.11.13   
The Manchester Writing for Children Prize is offering a £2,000 first prize for the best individual portfolio of poetry that is aimed at children aged between five and 12. The competition is open to all writers aged 16 or over, whether they are established or unpublished. The portfolio should consist of between three and five poems of no more than 120 lines in total. The poems must not have previously been published anywhere else. Deadline: 28th February 2014.

17.11.13   
The leading PC operating system Windows 8.1 is now available free from Microsoft, for charities and non-profit companies.

17.11.13   
The Design Council’s Design Leadership Programme is open to larger UK-based businesses, offering a subsidised programme of up to 10 days of design and innovation-focused mentoring, over a period of 6 to 18 months.

17.11.13   
The New Art Gallery Walsall will be hosting a two-week artist residency from 20th January – 2nd February 2014, to be awarded to an artist living and working in the West Midlands. Applications are now invited. The selected artist will receive a fee of £500, plus £250 towards travel and materials. Application deadline: 29th November 2013.

17.11.13   
Congratulations to Stoke-on-Trent Library Service and Newcastle-under-Lyme’s B Arts. Together they’ve recently had £90,000 of Arts Council England funding to produce a new project called The Box, aimed at boosting reading levels among children aged 9 to 13. The Box will travel around North Staffordshire during the school holidays during 2014-2017, encouraging children to devise short one-to-one mini theatre productions. There will also be a showcase exhibition of children’s work in the City Centre Library in Stoke-on-Trent (for which local sponsors are needed, up to £9,000).

Creative Stoke news update, 3rd Nov 2013

03.11.13   
The Factory creative industries conference for Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire is coming up soon, and free places are still available. This major conference will be on 21st November 2013, at the Victoria Hall in Stoke-on-Trent. See the latest quarterly Factory magazine for full details and speakers…

03.11.13   
Volunteer jobs: Volunteers are required for North Staffs TV, which will soon be in a position to start delivering local TV content to North Staffordshire and the world via the Internet. North Staffs TV will be holding two open-days at the Staffordshire University campus at Stoke. The first will be on Wednesday 6th November 2013 at 6.00pm, with the second on Saturday 9th November 2013 at 1pm. See the website for full details and the application form.

03.11.13   
Job: Painsley Catholic College, in Cheadle, near Stoke-on-Trent, requires a temporary Teacher of Art. Deadline 15th November 2013. Apply via:  janekelly@painsley.staffs.sch.uk

03.11.13   
The Axis Arts Centre, at nearby Crewe, is hosting a Brand Me workshop on 3rd December 2013 (6pm-8.30pm), a practical workshop on branding. Cost is £10 for non-CIM members. For more details contact: cimevents@cim.co.uk

03.11.13   
Youth Enterprise CIC is the local delivery organisation for the government’s Start-Up Loans for people aged 18-30 in North Staffordshire. Despite their name, Youth Enterprise can now offer Start-Up Loans to those aged over 30, following recent national changes to the scheme’s age limits. Last month the government also approved another £34m for the Start-Up Loans scheme, as well as promising dedicated special help for former members of the armed services to start their own businesses.

03.11.13   
There will be a free life drawing class in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, on 15th November 2013…

03.11.13   
“Drawing with Light” is the title of a two-day masterclass in experimental tonal drawing. The dates set are 23rd and 30th November 2013 (10am-4pm), at Shire Hall in the centre of Stafford. Cost is £25. Other upcoming adult arts workshops at Shire Hall include :

* “Landscape, developing a personal response”, on 1st February 2014 (£25)

* “Portrait Drawing with David Gleeson”, on 8th February 2014 (£25)

See the new 2013-14 Shire Hall brochure for full details of all adult workshops.

03.11.13   
Sarah Armitt at The D.J. School in Stoke-on-Trent is looking for a volunteer Building Manager, with experience of working in a community building, to help manage the repairs programme. Interested? Please email your C.V. and experience to:  info@djschool.org.uk

The D.J. School also has an Open Day on Thursday 7th November 2013 (12 noon till 3pm). All invited. Free drinks, entertainment, and much more with info packs for all. Also free D.J. sessions for the unemployed — send a txt to book a slot to: 07816 318676.

03.11.13   
Stoke-on-Trent artist Rob Pointon has a new 2014 calendar, made with images from his “Year of the Boat” project. Sales help to support the Canal and River Trust, the self-funding successor to British Waterways.

To order please email:  enquiries@robpointon.co.uk

03.11.13   
Cat’s Curiosity Shop is a Stoke-on-Trent based online shop, specialising in hand-crafted and unusual steampunk/gothic accessories.

03.11.13   
Waterside Arts Centre in Cheshire is offering… “£3,000 + support, for an emerging theatre company to develop a new work for The Chambers space at the Arts Centre in April 2014.” Deadline: 15th November 2013.

03.11.13   
Added to the Directory: Richard Swancott Associates, a public relations firm based in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

03.11.13   
UKTI, the UK’s official export support service, now has over 50 useful Web seminars, using online video listed and coming very soon. Many of these are multi-sector introductions to the export markets in particular countries.

03.11.13   
UKTI, the UK’s official export support service, is running Great Creative Weeks, which will bombard selected export nations with large numbers of creative firms at any one time. Cost of participation in a “Great” overseas sales trip will be just £700. These Great trips will run across a period of 18 months, and our UK ambassadors overseas will actively help push the export sales events. See the Great website for full details.

03.11.13   
Creative England has launched a new £250,000 Innovations and Partnerships Fund. The Fund is looking for… “companies who have new and innovative ideas for ways to help the film sector to grow and develop outside London.” The funding on offer is between £10,000 and £50,000 per project. They are especially “looking for projects that demonstrate a commitment to cross-sector collaboration and to the use of new technologies and platforms.”

03.11.13   
The Big Music Project is a new £4 million investment from The BIG Lottery Fund, recently announced. As part of this the BPI will deliver a… “music-focused programme of training, job opportunities, and community outreach for young people aged 14-24 across the UK, focussing on deprived areas.” The programme is expected to start in Spring 2014 and run until 2015. There’s no website yet. More news on the The Big Music Project as Creative Stoke gets it.

03.11.13   
The Spectator magazine has a new UK wide competition for cartoonists. Win a one-year contract with The Spectator.

03.11.13   
Interesting national news: peer-to-peer funding (such as Kickstarter) is to be regulated in the UK from April 2014 with new EU laws. The main legal change with be that those pledging funds will not be “locked in” at the end of a successful Kickstarter, as is currently the norm. Instead they will be given 14 days in which to cancel their pledge to you.

03.11.13   
New funding of £260,000 has reportedly allowed Shropshire’s Business Enterprise Fund to extend to cover… “the Telford & Wrekin and the Staffordshire area”…

“The programme has grants available of up to £1,500 for individuals to start-up a company, and £5,000 for existing businesses to improve performance, enter new markets or to assist in diversifying. The capital investment has to be match funded at least 50% by the business.”

Shropshire County Council’s website appears to have totally crashed over the weekend, but if it’s still not up by Monday then an enquiry via  customer.service@shropshire.gov.uk  should get you some details.

Creative Stoke news update, 21st October 2013

21.10.13   
The third Factory creative industries magazine for Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire is now available for download…

Download (PDF, 7Mb).

This third issue of the free FactoryMag is 40 pages long, and includes interviews, event reports, news, funding news, an events listing, and much more. Plus details of the Factory Assembly conference in November…

21.10.13   
Keele University’s SPEED Plus graduate business training programme is accepting applications now for its January to July 2014 course. Wolverhampton University also have places on their own SPEED Plus. Note that, despite the weasley wording of Wolverhampton’s Web page, SPEED Plus places should be available to any locally-based recent graduate who is returning to the West Midlands — and not just to the institution’s own graduates.

21.10.13   
Stoke-on-Trent’s new fanzine The Kiln has issue #1 out now, and available free online…

21.10.13   
Facebook has a new ‘teaser’ trailer video for the film The Last Dragon Hunter. The new live/action animation film has been made in Stoke-on-Trent by Chris Stone Films and BIGred. The premiere event is Friday 25th October 2013 (6pm) at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.

21.10.13   
The video made for the official opening of the Stoke-on-Trent graffiti tunnel/gallery is now online…

21.10.13   
Added to the Directory:  Illustrator Sarah Croker, who has just moved to Stoke-on-Trent.

21.10.13   
Added to the Directory:  Children’s author and illustrator Kate Leake, based at her studio Planet Pencil in Stoke-on-Trent. Kate also runs schools workshops.

21.10.13   
Added to the Directory:  Graphoonist, based in Stoke-on-Trent.

21.10.13   
Added to the Directory:  The Situation is a new Facebook page with a… “mission is to bring interesting and innovative music to the people of Leek” in North Staffordshire.

21.10.13   
Added to the Directory:  Hullabaloo Arts, based in North Staffordshire.

21.10.13   
Added to the Directory:  Ali Reed has recently graduated in Fine Art from Staffordshire University, and is currently one of the team renovating and running the new Majestic Studios artists’ studios in Stoke town, Stoke-on-Trent.

21.10.13   
Job: a temporary part-time Arts for Health Project Worker is needed for Spring 2014 at the Health Programme at South Staffordshire and Shropshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The post will be 15 hours per week, as maternity cover. Full details from Jessica Kent at:  jessica.kent@sssft.nhs.uk

21.10.13   
Job:  Saint George’s Hospital in Stafford is seeking a musician, to run sessions working with various wards and NHS service users. Full details are available online.

21.10.13   
The Burslem China Painters are hosting weekly china painting lessons (Tues, 9.30am-12.30pm) at the Burslem School of Art, in Stoke-on-Trent, with tutoring from Spode artist Tony Challiner. For further information phone either 01782 784025 or 01782 502451.

21.10.13   
Hidden Earth is the UK’s major annual caving conference. It will be held 26th-28th September 2014 in Leek, North Staffordshire. Creatives should note that the event is running several competitions including …

  * Video Media Salon: The term ‘video media’ is intended to encompass all depictions of moving images and sequences of pictures and the competition will cover any aspect of caves, mines or potholes.

  * International Society for Speleological Art, Art & Cartoon Salons: These are open to all forms of visual art, except photographs, relating to any aspect of caves and caving.

21.10.13   
The North Staffordshire Geologists’ Association currently has a photography competition for pictures of “geological features and/or landscapes”. Entries to arrive by the 31st October 2013.

21.10.13   
The North Staffordshire National Trust Association has a “Behind the Scenes at the City Museum” event for members on Wednesday 20th November 2013.

21.10.13   
Nesta and the Nominet Trust are seeking ways to have… “digital making to go mainstream.” They now have a number of grants available between £20,000 and £50,000, to fund projects that encourage young people who participate in digital making activities. Deadline: 14th November 2013.

21.10.13   
Staffordshire University now has a page for the Global Game Jam 2014 event, 24th-26th January 2014. There’s no sign-up page, just yet. The event will ask local 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. Take your own PC and kit, some survival pizza, and have a go!

21.10.13   
Creative England has launched a new fund for regional filmmakers and production companies. To be eligible for The West Midlands Production Fund, productions must be based in the West Midlands, and must demonstrate a positive impact on the region. The Fund can invest from £100-£500k, to be matched with private equity on the same terms. Short films can also be funded, separately, via the BFI/Creative England Talent Centres.

21.10.13   
Sky Arts and IdeasTap are set to offer five one-year bursaries of £30,000 each, to emerging artists aged 18-30. Deadline 6th December 2013. The bursaries are designed to help talented individuals from a range of creative disciplines focus on their creative practice for a whole year. Creatives must be practicing in: performing arts; dance; music; visual arts; creative producing (bringing together different artists); creative writing. See the Web page for full details.

Creative Stoke news update, 7th October 2013

07.10.13   
The Factory creative industries service has a free Factory Floor networking event on Thursday 10th October 2013 (5.30pm to 7.30pm). This will be at the Spode Factory Site, in Stoke town, Stoke-on-Trent…

“There will be a spotlight on the British Ceramics Biennial 2013, from the Biennial’s Co-Director. This will be followed by a guided tour of the Biennial, and your chance to network with other local creatives.”

The five-day weather forecast suggests “cold and crisp” for this evening, and the Spode factory interiors are cool at the best of times — so dress warm for this talk and tour.

07.10.13   
Factory has a “Choosing the right business structure” training afternoon soon, on Tuesday 15th October 2013 (2pm–5pm) at Room LT011, Josiah Wedgwood Conference Room, Ashley Building, Staffordshire University. Places are free, however booking is essential for all the above events. To book please email:  factory@stoke.gov.uk

Details of other Autumn training events are available here.

07.10.13   
There’s a ‘digital humanities’ event, at Keele University on 9th October 2013 (6pm for 6:30pm). ‘Search Visualiser’ is an exhibition preview & lecture, at the Westminster Theatre and Art Gallery in the Chancellor’s Building at Keele…

“A new lecture and exhibition at Keele University uses this approach to examine how Helen of Troy and Maeve of Connaught are depicted in the Iliad and its Irish counterpart The Cattle Raid of Cooley. This is a multidisciplinary collaboration that brings together art, computer science, literary studies and social science. The software, “Search Visualizer”, displays a text schematically, with the locations of chosen keywords shown in coloured highlight. The images are visually striking, and also give powerful insights into the structures of the texts.”

07.10.13   
Added to the Directory: David Horvath. David’s artwork is on show now at ArtWaves in Burslem. David is also a skilled set designer and maker.

07.10.13   
Added to the Directory: NACRE art, based in Stoke-on-Trent, makes hand-crafted felt pictures with a ‘pop surrealism’ edge…

Added to the Directory:  Kevin Millward is a highly skilled hand thrown potter, who lives at Brown Edge, Stoke-on-Trent. His work can be seen at Barewall in Burslem, and he also has a feature on his work in the latest Ceramics Review magazine.

07.10.13   
Job:  Stoke-on-Trent’s three-year Appetite programme requires tenders from individuals or organisations for the services of an Audience Development Consultant, with the aim of encouraging infrequent and low attenders to make a long-term engagement within the arts in Stoke-on-Trent. The maximum fee for this is £5,000 (inclusive of all expenses). Appetite anticipates that the research will take place from October to December 2013, with a final report delivered in January 2014. Deadline is 5pm on Friday 11th October 2013.

07.10.13   
Job:  Staffordshire University requires a Senior Lecturer in Fashion Design to develop and lead the new B.A. (Hons.) in Fashion Design at Staffordshire University, scheduled to launch in September 2015. See the Web page for full details.

07.10.13   
Keele University is calling for entries to the Three Counties Open Art Exhibition 2013. The exhibition shows work from artists in Staffordshire, Cheshire and Shropshire. The ‘receiving days’ for the 2013 exhibition are: Friday 25th October (10am-4pm), and Saturday 26th October (10am-1pm) at the Chancellor’s Building reception on the Keele campus. Prizes for the competition include The Arthur Berry Prize, worth £1,000; the Barracks Trust Prize worth £250, and Keele University Prizes of £300, £150 and £50. The Exhibition will be open to the public from 13th November to 11th December 2013.

07.10.13   
The forthcoming Artist Room with Richard Long at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is to be accompanied by an AirSpace Gallery exhibition on walking art, “The Walking Encyclopaedia”. AirSpace is inviting submissions now, with a deadline of Friday 13th December 2013…

“An attempt to collate and present as many different artistic responses to, and uses of the walk as possible. Timed to coincide with the Richard Long Exhibition at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, AirSpace invites submissions from walking artists and artists-who-walk to send in documentation of their practice, historic or current, in all forms of media, in order that we can offer a significant overview of the contemporary state of the genre.”

07.10.13   
Alongside BCB 2013 there’s now a crowdfunding campaign to raise £2,500 to create a ceramic rose as part of restoring the Spode Rose Garden at the old Spode factory.

07.10.13   
The 6 Towns Radio Secret Postcard auction sale is now underway. The winners of the bids will be revealed at the event on 18th October 2013.

07.10.13   
There’s to be a free screening of new films from graduates of Staffordshire University, at the Film Theatre on Wednesday 9th October 2013 (starts 7.45pm)…

“In association with Stoke Cine and Video Society, this is a programme of new films by students who graduated this summer in the Faculty of Arts and Creative Technologies. An exciting programme of drama, documentary, animation, and experimental film”

07.10.13   
Newcastle-under-Lyme’s film festival is inviting submissions…

07.10.13   
Advance 2014 dates have been set for the major 014Dance Festival at The Regent Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent, an event which brings together a great many of North Staffordshire’s many youth dance groups. Wednesday 12th to Saturday 15th February 2014.

07.10.13   
“Two Ways of Life” is a symposium and photographers’ portfolio development day, at the Wolverhampton Art Gallery on Saturday 23rd November 2013 (10.30am-4.30pm). Cost is £20/£12…

“This one-day event will enable photographers to explore and discuss analogue and digital image making, engage with professionals in critical debate and seek advice on their own career and portfolio development. It has been developed in the context of the exhibition “From Darkroom to Digital” (opens 16th Nov) at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, which is co-curated by Wolverhampton Photographic Society.”

There will be a rare chance to see one of the versions of “The Two Ways of Life”, the combination print masterwork of the pioneering Wolverhampton art photographer Oscar Rejlander.

07.10.13   
The Creative Communities Unit at Staffordshire University is offering a new short-course starting in January 2014. ‘Growing Your Social Enterprise’ will be held at the Stoke campus, and is partly funded by the HEIF Social Enterprise Fund…

“this course will help develop the business skills and knowledge needed to create and sustain a social enterprise”

For those who can’t find the time to do the course, Social Enterprise West Midlands has a new free Start Your Social Enterprise Guide for download…

07.10.13   
Applications have opened for the Leading Learning Programme 2014, a UK-wide cultural leadership development scheme aimed at senior-level employees in the public sector. The LLP’s bursaries are… “worth £1,000 to £1,500”.

07.10.13   
UKTI has just launched a new music industry funding scheme. The Music Export Growth Scheme will allocate millions of pounds of grants to small independent music companies who want to export. Eligible companies can apply for grants ranging from £5,000 to £50,000, by presenting detailed campaign proposals to a specially-appointed Selection Board. The first grants are expected to be awarded by December 2013.

07.10.13   
Creative Skillset’s Challenge Fund is now open for bidding. Media production sectors eligible for training funds grants include videogames, film, TV, animation and VFX. Successful applicants will receive support with their training funding for the next two years. Applications can be for between £10,000 and £1 million. The government is matching the funding pound-for-pound. See the website for full details.

07.10.13   
The NESTA digital makers fund aims to have thousands of creative young people involved in digital production activities, and is now open for grant applications…

“successful initiatives will use young people’s existing interests, passions and pastimes as a gateway to digital making, inspiring young people to become creators, not just users of digital technologies. NESTA are looking for applications from organisations, or partnerships between organisations, that have the capacity to engage thousands of young people in digital making activities.”

Deadline: 14th November 2013, for grants of between £20,000 to £50,000. See the Web page for full details.

07.10.13   
State of Play is a useful new September 2013 report from Ticketmaster UK, which has crunched its abundant Big Data to inform…

“the first major investigation into the theatre sector by the world’s largest ticketing company” … “mixes information from its own ticket transaction data with survey responses from a representative sample of the UK population, as well as a selection of theatregoers from abroad.”

Creative Stoke news update, 23rd September 2013

21.09.13   
Majestic Studios is shortly set to become a new creative studio space in Stoke-on-Trent. Currently being fitted out, the space has been set up by a recent B.A. Fine Art graduate of Staffordshire University together with several other recent graduates. The studios are in the c.1926 art-deco Majestic Chambers building, located in the centre of Stoke town…

“with many large studio spaces and a contemporary art gallery. Here we will be setting up events, exhibitions, residencies and a place to get on with your artwork. Forming a creative environment and a supportive art network, we aim to provide space and opportunities for local artists, international artists and recent graduates.”

The studios are very near to the new Studio 116 photography gallery, and to Spode which hosts exhibitions and events. Good cheap cafes and shops are on the doorstep, and it’s short walk to the city’s main train station and Staffordshire University (with academic library and art supplies shop).

Door photo: Creative Stoke.

21.09.13   
After a very succesful official launch night on 20th September 2013, the Studio 116 photography gallery and studio in Stoke town is now fully open. The first exhibition, on now, is of a fine series of b&w pictures of the Spode ceramics factory made by Stoke-on-Trent’s Dave Yarker.

Photos: David Moss.

21.09.13   
The Kiln is set to be a new monthly Stoke-on-Trent fanzine. It will be free, and has been…

“set up by Gaz Williams and Rob Barrs and is dedicated to the Stoke-on-Trent music and arts scene [and will be] hand-printed and made available across The Potteries and Staffordshire and Cheshire”

21.09.13   
A new award-winning documentary, Wild North Staffordshire, has been made by Peter J. Durnall. “Four years in the making”, the film will be shown on the big screen at the “Halcyon Days” Staffordshire Film Archive screening, at the Staffordshire University Film Theatre on 16th October 2013.

21.09.13   
Want to learn how to programme cultural film programmes or festivals? The short course “The Business and Creativity of Programming Cultural Film” is on offer from the Independent Cinema Office West Midlands…

“This one day course will unlock the mysteries of film programming from start to finish with practical insider information from the people that do it every day. It will equip you with the business and creative skills, knowledge and inspiration to create film programmes that will excite your local audience and get bums on seats.”

The date is set for 26th September 2013 in Birmingham. Cost is £100 + VAT = £120. Interested? Contact Sarah Bourne at:  sarah.bourne@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk

21.09.13   
Added to the Directory: Daro Design, based in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. Daro is a product design consultancy, and can offer help with prototyping and visualisation services through to production.

21.09.13   
Jobs: Freelance creative practitioners are required for the Staffordshire Hoard Gallery at Birmingham, by the Birmingham Museums Trust. Application deadline: 26th September 2013. Submit proposals for a specific project strand to:  richard.statham@birminghammuseums.org.uk

21.09.13   
Job: the Mitchell Arts Centre, in Stoke-on-Trent city centre, needs a new CEO. Full-time post. Application deadline: 30th Sept 2013.

21.09.13   
Robert M. James has started running a weekly acting class (Tuesday nights, 8.15pm-9.30pm) at Staffordshire University, for people interested in the process of acting (psychological realism)…

“We won’t be doing any showcase or projects — just a ‘lab’ with a few like minded actors exploring the work of Stanislavski, Bella Merlin, Michael Chekhov, Uta Hagan and a few more thrown in for good measure! We’ll also explore connecting meaningfully with other actors/characters; giving 100% attention to another; looking at wants/needs over ‘motivation’ and much much more!”

Interested? Then please email:  robert.marsden@hotmail.co.uk

21.09.13   
New honours degree courses for Theatre are being set up at Staffordshire University for September 2014. These are:

  * B.A. (Hons.) in Acting and Theatre Arts.
  * B.A. (Hons.) in Technical Stage Production.

21.09.13   
A free photo session is on offer from talented final-year student photographer Ryan at Asicit Photography. The venue is Monday 30th September 2013, at 9:30am at Staffordshire University in Stoke-on-Trent. Terms and conditions apply.

21.09.13   
A one-minute silent movie is wanted by the Just So Festival, the young children’s arts festival which is held annually just north of Stoke-on-Trent. Deadline: 1st October 2013.

21.09.13   
Potclays and Mayco are holding a ceramics training event on 10th-11th October 2013, in Stoke-on-Trent…

21.09.13   
The British Ceramics Biennial starts shortly, in Stoke-on-Trent. There will be plenty to see, alongside the professional development events: a writing workshop for artists, and the BCB 2013 conference on 17th-18th October (£75 + VAT: PDF programme).

21.09.13   
The Barewall Gallery in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, is publicising new Apprenticeships and Paid Internships as part of the government’s £15m Creative Employment Programme. See the website for details.

21.09.13   
The Potteries Tile Trail website has officially launched, and is now fully loaded…

21.09.13   
Newcastle-under-Lyme Camera Club now has a website.

21.09.13   
The Acoustic Festival of Britain, held in Uttoxeter, now has 2014 dates: 30th May to 1st June 2014.

21.09.13   
The Michael Heath Award for Cartooning, sponsored by John Lobb, has just launched for its first year. Submissions are invited now. See the website for full details.

21.09.13   
There are art exhibition opportunities at Gallery3 in nearby Shrewsbury. The Gallery3 exhibition space is run by SADAA Art Panel to showcase the visual arts in Shrewsbury. They are now accepting exhibition proposals from artists who wish to exhibit their work during 2014 If you are interested, please send your proposal by email to:  exhibit@gateway-gallery3.co.uk

21.09.13   
A new UK survey from the Cultural Commissioning Programme is asking for responses about experiences of delivering publicly-funded services in the arts and cultural sectors.

21.09.13   
There’s a new National Skills online survey about the skills/training needs among UK jewellery-makers and industry.

21.09.13   
Arts Council England has issued June 2013 guidelines for all applicants to their GfA National Lottery grant programmes, giving information on rates of pay for artists.

21.09.13   
Arts Council England has announced that it is seeking applications under its new £3 million Cultural Destinations programme. The closing date for applications is 5pm on 26th September 2013.

21.09.13   
The UK’s Futurelearn has just launched, and is offering free online courses from major British universities. Of immediate note is the short online course “The Power of Brands”, which starts 14th October 2013.

21.09.13   
“Exploring and Developing Your Creative Business Idea” is a one-day workshop to be held 21st November 2013 (9.30am – 5.00pm) in Stafford town…

“Delivered by Alison Grade, a very experienced small business owner and entrepreneur, this one-day intensive workshop will focus on tackling the key issues facing start-up creative businesses, enabling participants to examine and test whether they can turn their creative idea into a business reality.”

The course fee is fully subsidised by EU taxpayers via European funding, so places are free.

21.09.13   
Enterprise Nation’s Fund 101 is back, thanks to PayPal UK. Win up to £500 for your business with this innovative small-scale funding scheme for new start-ups and growing businesses. The money is intended for materials and equipment. Elance have also chipped in with $500 of credit to successful applicants, to spend on outsourced online work.

21.09.13   
UK Global Enterprise Week wants “digital savvy” volunteer reporters, for a week or so at the end of November 2013.

Creative Stoke news update, 27th August 2013

27.08.13   
Stoke-on-Trent’s British Ceramics Biennale 2013 is seeking to commission artists for a new temporary Ceramics Trail, as part of the British Ceramics Biennial 2013 Burslem Weekender. The outdoor commissions will ask artists to create works which form the basis of a canalside walk, from Hanley Park in the centre of Stoke-on-Trent, to Middleport in the north of Stoke-on-Trent. The walk will take place on Saturday 12th October 2013. Application deadline: Thursday 12th September 2013. Apply to:  mail@airspacegallery.org

27.08.13    Factory: Assembly is a one-day creative gathering brought to you by CIDACo, as part of the North Staffordshire Creative Industries Business Development Project. Hear about the latest trends and developments in new markets, new opportunities and how to grow their creative business, collectively, interactively and creatively. Priority registration is now open for all Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire creative companies. To register your interest in attending and secure your place please email before 31st August 2013:  assembly@cida.org

27.08.13    Congratulations to Zeke Ares, 2012 animation graduate of Staffordshire University. Zeke writes that he and his studio have gained the contract to create a stop-motion animation pilot of children’s author Jack Trelawny and his Kernowland books. The team are hoping to set up their own animation studio in Stoke town centre in October 2013, to start full production. Have a look at their Kickstarter campaign and see if you can help them out!

27.08.13    Added to the Directory: Pez and pencil is a local freelance designer & illustrator based in Stoke-on-Trent, specialising in fresh hand-lettered goodness…

27.08.13   
Job:  The Stoke-on-Trent -based Creative Minds Festival 2014 requires a freelance Outreach Worker (Nov 2013 to July 2014), to advance public understanding of the Bertarelli Foundation Creative Minds Festival. Closing date for applications is 20th September 2013. For a full job description please email Julia Barton at:  creativeminds@live.co.uk

27.08.13   
A reminder that the local Business Innovation Centres (BIC) are running business workshops in Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford this autumn: 25th September, 4pm-6pm at the Stoke-on-Trent Centre, “Profit from Innovation”; 2nd October, 4pm-8pm at the Stafford Centre, “New Product Development – Why do we need to be innovative?”; 16th October, 4pm-6.30pm at the Stoke-on-Trent Centre, “Protect and Fund your Innovation – What is Intellectual Property?”. For more information and to book your place contact Sandra Butterworth at:  sandra.butterworth@thebic.co.uk

27.08.13   
Coming soon is Ceramics 2013, the annual Staffordshire ceramics industry conference. This year the event will be held at the CORE centre in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, on 26th September 2013. See the website for full details of exhibitor bookings and schedule.

27.08.13   
Stoke town’s photography gallery, Gallery 116, is now taking bookings for all photographers wanting to showcase their work. Gallery 116 is in the centre of Stoke-on-Trent, a short walk from the university and train station. There is a modern and contempory space on the ground floor, with a 1st floor studio space. Spaces are available from late November 2013, at a very reasonable rate. Interested? Contact Darren Washington at:  gallery116@hotmail.com

27.08.13   
The creative technology team at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent have a sharing day on Thursday 29th August 2013 (10.30am and 3pm)…

“There are two presentations, one about how we photographed the Staffordshire Hoard and a second one about how we took these resources and used them to create iBooks files to display in the new exhibition. There will be tea, coffee and biscuits either side of these talks to enable attendees to network and chat about their work and areas of interest. Please let us know if you’re coming by e-mailing creative.technology@stoke.gov.uk “

27.08.13   
Added to the Directory: Willfield Camera Club is a new creative camera club in Stoke-on-Trent.

27.08.13   
Newcastle-under-Lyme’s Bottle Cap Film Festival is open for submissions. Free to enter. Categories in short films, short documentaries, and music videos.

27.08.13   
And the Doctor Said… is offering two free creative writing workshops with Life Writing Facilitator Chrissie Hall on Tuesdays 10th and 24th September 2013 (10am-4pm) at the New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme. Total beginners and more experienced writers are welcome. Booking is essential. Please contact Jackie Reynolds for more details or to book a place: j.reynolds@staffs.ac.uk

27.08.13   
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Museum and Art Gallery is calling for entries for its annual Open Art and Craft exhibition (21st Sept to 10th Nov). Artists can submit up to three artworks – officers welcome submissions from all disciplines but are keen to see entries from those working in 3D, sculpture and crafts. There is a non-returnable fee of £4 per artwork or £10.50 for three pieces. Concessionary rates are £3.50 per item or £9 for three. There is also an under-16s category which costs £1 to enter and in which applicants can submit one piece of art/craftwork. Entry form are available online.

27.08.13   
Elizabeth Hawley is to present a workshop on… “the local, regional and national visual arts ecology and the place of the individual artist within this context” at Stoke-on-Trent’s AirSpace Gallery on 17th October 2013 (10.30am-1.30pm).

27.08.13   
Down in Burton-upon-Trent, the Brewhouse Arts Centre is calling for “work from sculptors, designers and craft workers for Sculpture On A Small Scale a future exhibition.” Deadline: 31st August 2013. For details email:  anna.roebuck@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk putting ‘Sculpture On A Small Scale’ as the email title/subject.

The Brewhouse Arts Centre is also looking for wall-based artwork for exhibition slots in 2014 for the hireable exhibition spaces. A 5 week slot costs from £80; cost is dependent on space, but included is hanging of your work, publicity material and online promotion, plus the opportunity to sell to the Brewhouse’s cinema and theatre audiences. Application forms will be needed by 31st August 2013, prior to selection for the 2014 programme at the start of September. For more information and an application pack please contact the gallery officer by e-mail  anna.roebuck@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk  putting ‘Exhibitions 2014’ in the subject line.

27.08.13   
Stoke-on-Trent’s Red Rust Studios writes that they now offer a Script Consultancy and Development Service…

“from writing loglines, treatments and script editing all the way up to writing whole screenplays. We have a brand new student service available too”

27.08.13   
The British Film Institute (BFI) is inviting applications to its Programming Development Fund, enabling cinema exhibitors… “to back more adventurous programming”. Up to £1.4 million per year will be available through the Programming Development Fund over the four years to 2017. Applicants and/or their partners should have direct experience of film exhibition and audience development activity within the UK, such as cinemas, cinema chains or consortia, film festivals or arts organisations with experience of film curation. For full details visit the BFI website.

27.08.13   
Interested in indie videogame development? The LAUNCH Future Gaming & Digital Conference is a Birmingham event especially for student and indie game makers, 21st-22nd November 2013.

27.08.13   
The remaining 2013 application deadlines for the Creative Employment programme are…

 20th September 2013.
 25th October 2013.
 29th November 2013.

Creative Employment is a £15 million national programme with funding for 6,500 new paid apprenticeships and paid internships in the arts. Part-wage grants are available to arts and creative industries employers who create new apprenticeship and internship job opportunities for young unemployed people aged 16-24.

27.08.13   
An advance reminder that the UK’s Global Entrepreneurship Week is on 18th-22nd November 2013. The website is now open for you to list your workshop, talk, or expo.

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