Scottish Government is currently consulting on children’s rights as performers and associated licensing arrangements. Performing arts organisations and individuals working with children are invited to submit responses by 6th June.
Find out more and download response forms here:
ArtWorks Scotland are pleased to announce that the full conference programme is now available to view online.
Highlights include:
Inside-out or Outside-in?
David Cameron asks how do we become more central to the way that we think about art, community development and social change? Do we want to work from the outside in, or the inside out?
The Past is the Present: Pioneering artists, pioneering practices & their legacies in Scotland.
Barbara Steveni: Some Principles of Engagement.
David Harding: Critical reflections on community arts to participatory art and all the rest in between.
You’re the Pioneer, You Add the Title…
Paul Gorman asks what is an artist if not a pioneer? To pioneer means to stray from the path, to uncover, to re-imagine. It requires a boldness and confidence. The path has been made by others – perhaps straying from it is our only option?
What do we mean by ‘Professionalism’? Presentations, conversation and Q & A
The work of artists in participatory settings often isn’t taken seriously, or regarded as ‘proper’ work’. What would it take for the practice to be regarded as truly professional? How can you show the work you do is of the highest standard? With Stephanie Knight, Kathryn Deane & Paul Gorman.
3 Pecha Kucha sessions highlight work by 16 artists and organisations from across Scotland.
Tickets can be purchased from the Citizens Theatre box office.
We look forward to seeing you there!
The ArtWorks Scotland Team
Image Credit: Ice Cream Architecture
The ArtWorks Scotland Conference website is now live.
The ArtWorks team will continue to add information to the site as the programme develops, but in the meantime you can:
We look forward to seeing you there!
All the best
The ArtWorks Scotland Team
‘Placements in Practice’ seminar
Guinness Room,
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
25th June 2013, 10am-4pm
ArtWorks Scotland is pleased to invite you to ‘Placements in Practice’, a day focusing on student artists learning in a range of social contexts.
Join us in exploring good practice in student placements, and the role this experience can play in preparing artists to work in participatory settings.
The event is aimed at both Higher and Further Education institutions, and cultural organisations, and will create a space to:
· share learning from live projects
· have a critical cross-institutional and organizational dialogue
· discuss the ‘recipe’ for good practice – with a view to developing guidance.
The morning will include contributions from The Sage Gateshead, Motherwell College, and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, who will share their experiences of projects that have taken place in prisons, health settings, schools, and wider communities. The afternoon will focus on good practice and guidance.
Lunch will be provided.
The event is free, but places are limited, so please book early.
Sign up for the Placements in Practice seminar by clicking this link
Two residency commissions are being offered by Glasgow Life covering the period March 2013 to April 2015. The broad purpose is to consider the arts and culture’s contribution to the city and capture its impact in the context of this very particular moment in the city’s history, during the build up to, hosting and legacy of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Applications are sought from individuals working in any media that is capable of capturing and documenting a portrait of the city in the context described above. E.g. visual art, photography, writing, film making, digital media.
The fee available for each residency is £15,000. The deadline for receipt of applications is Friday 1st March 2013.
Please go to www.glasgowlife.org.uk/arts to download an application form and guidelines.
For further information please contact the Grants Officer on 0141 287 9837
Resonate is a strategic initiative, funded by Creative Scotland, that has been developed by the University of Aberdeen in partnership with the Arts Education Team at Aberdeen City Council, and aims to place creativity at the heart of the continuous professional development of teachers, student teachers and University teacher educators.
The initiative is seeking applications from artists interesting in applying for the residency. Deadline for submissions Wednesday 30th January, 5pm.
Further information is available on the Creative Scotland website
With so many quality shows for children and young people at this time of year, don’t miss out on Imaginate’s Go & See Fund for artists. As part of their Talent Hub programme, it is your chance to Go and See the shows you think can help influence and inspire your next project. To apply, send an email with costs** and the reason why you would like to see the show to Fiona Ferguson, Development Director, at fiona@imaginate.org.uk
**Imaginate can cover ticket costs; associated travel costs and where appropriate contribute towards overnight stay
A short course covering the core essentials of preparing and delivering high quality creative and artistic learning experiences for children and young people in formal and informal settings, delivered over three sessions by Pauline Meikleham (Arts and Culture Support Officer, Angus Council and Louise Kirby and Louise Ritchie – professional artists and experienced creative learning facilitators). Subsidised by the Creative Learning Networks Fund.
Invest in your professional development and enhance your level of knowledge, skill and confidence as a creative learning facilitator
TOTAL COST £75
You may be a recent graduate interested in working with young people in schools, nurseries or in the community. You may be an artist who has some or a lot of experience already but feel you still have more to learn about planning, preparation, facilitation and reflection. Whatever your level of experience and no matter what your interest is, this three part course will provide an opportunity to learn alongside other artists and creative facilitators, share and reflect on your existing skills and experience, learn about different ways of engaging with children and young people through art and take away some clear and helpful guidance on planning, child protection, evaluation and so on.
The course is offered over 3 sessions.
Session One is a full day blast through everything an artist needs to know in order to facilitate a successful creative learning activity, workshop or project and explores a range of approaches and models suitable for different age groups, levels of ability and contexts. We will look at the importance of preparation and the different kinds of preparation that might be helpful depending on your personality, interests and level of experience and confidence including shadowing and mentoring, site visits, research, planning meetings and how to get the most out these different kinds of activities to help you plan your project. We consider the role of the artist in learning settings and explore different approaches and models of practice that may give you ideas and inspiration for your own practice looking at real examples. And finally we look at the nuts and bolts of what you need to know and do in advance of delivering a project or workshop and provide useful handouts and checklists dealing with all aspects of project preparation, evaluation and areas such as insurance, child protection and so on.
Session Two drills down into the unstable world of project delivery where anything can happen – no matter how prepared you are. This session will give you strategies to deal with the unexpected and the confidence to adapt when things don’t go according to plan. You will hear about the experiences of artists who have had to deal with fires, floods, dried up felt pens, locked cupboards and bad coffee – and they somehow managed to survive! We will look at the challenges of different sizes and types of groups and ways of ensuring everyone stays involved and gets what they need from you in your session. We will analyse the skills of presentation and think about where we are on the confidence scale with regard to our facilitation skills as they stand. (Follow up sessions offering more intensive skills development focusing on any specific area of interest can be offered later in the year, depending on demand).
Session Three looks at the much neglected, but crucially important, area of reflection and next steps planning. How do you know what participants have learned or gained from your session? How can we make that learning more visible? What worked well and what could have worked out better and how can you use that knowledge to inform your approach next time? How can you document your work and use it as a tool for reflection and planning? How can the work participants have created be used as a tool for learning and reflection after your session is over? How can you plan reflection into the process from the outset rather than as just an afterthought? Analysing the impact and outcomes achieved through documentation and reflection will enhance your skills, knowledge and confidence and those of your learners, inform and improve your future planning and delivery and create momentum leading to further work and opportunities.
Pauline Meikleham is Arts and Culture Support Officer within Angus Education Development Service and has 25 years of experience of developing creative learning projects and programmes and of delivering training to a range of creative practitioners including artists and teachers. She has extensive experience of working within formal, informal and community learning contexts and a sound professional understanding of how creative practice can support the aims and values of the new Curriculum for Excellence. Since 2008 she has been working with local artists to establish arts and learning networks and to set up training and mentoring opportunities for artists seeking to work in schools. She is currently working with local partners to establish a North East Regional Artists and Learning Network and to expand the range of training and mentoring opportunities for creative practitioners.
Louise Kirby is a visual artist and surface pattern designer, based in Dundee, Scotland. She aims to capture the drama of the Scottish wilderness, with nature at the heart of all of her designs. She had a distinctive rhythmic signature with a playful approach mixing succulent colours, energetic repetitive marks and silhouettes and creates bespoke artwork for products and services – fashion, interiors, murals, stationary, ceramics… Louise Kirby works in collaboration with clients in a variety of ways: Providing freelance design services creating bespoke surface patterns for products and services; creating bespoke artwork/murals for interior spaces and designing and delivering a range of creative workshops and projects for schools, museums, galleries and hospitals. Since 2009 she has been working with Pauline Meikleham to develop the artists network and mentoring programmes and on a range of creative learning projects.
Louise Ritchie is a visual artist currently also based in the Dundee area, who has recently completed public art commissions for Dundee City Council and been commissioned to participate in School Design /Creative Engagement Programmes by Ginkgo Projects . She and Louise Kirby are the two co founders of research network group TRiGGER , funded by ArtWorks Scotland/ Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Louise is also President of the Society of Scottish Artists. Her work revolves around an ongoing series of responses to real and imagined environments. The paintings are not representational but are more a memory of those places, influenced by the emotions and events of the time. They aim to stimulate and provoke thoughts that draw empathy from the viewer. Louise has extensive teaching experience working with nursery age children right through to post graduate students and has led and supported several large scale collaborative projects locally and internationally. Louise has been working with Pauline Meikleham and Louise Kirby since 2010 to develop the artists network and mentoring programmes in Angus and on a range of creative learning projects locally.
If you would like to book please call DCA Box Office 01382 909 900 and ask for a place on ‘Artists Leading the Learning Training Course’. Places will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. Payment of £75 should be made in full on booking. NB Booking is for all three sessions, it is not possible to book for just one session.
The Creative Learning Networks Fund is managed by Education Scotland, in partnership with Creative Scotland to support the development of Creative Learning Networks (CLNs) in local authority areas across Scotland.
Stephen Kay, Education Officer for The Great Steward of Scotland’s Dumfries House said
“I was delighted to host the first Ayrshire Artist Networking Event at Dumfries House, organised by Helen Duncan and Jenny Hunter, Cultural Co-ordinators for East and South Ayrshire respectively, providing a venue for over fifty local artists and creative practitioners of various mediums and professionalisms to meet and highlight their individual areas of interest and expertise.”
After a short tour of the House by Charlotte Rostek, Curator of Dumfries House, a keynote speech was delivered by Mark Chester, Executive Director of The Princes Drawing School in London in support of art & culture locally and nationally, and whose foundation has recently opened artist studios on the Dumfries House estate. This fantastic new facility will support art education throughout Ayrshire and beyond as part of the educational vision for Dumfries House through the support and involvement of “The Prince’s Drawing School”, “The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts”, “The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts” and as a major part of His Royal Highness, The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay’s Heritage Regeneration programme.
Helen Duncan, Cultural Co-ordinator
“I was overwhelmed with the response – not only are these Ayrshire artists and makers producing their own work, but working with children and young people delivering high quality creative learning opportunities for schools. This is essentially a business network for artists to connect, collaborate, share and support.”
Tom Wilson, local Visual Artist and runs Wild and West
“I know I’m not alone in thinking that the splendour of the house and the warmth of the welcome aside, this was an exciting and inspirational event at Dumfries House. The enthusiasm of the speakers for its development as a centre for cultural education and learning made me feel very lucky to have it on my doorstep. It is a very healthy, holistic, imaginative vision, enabling art, culture and heritage to make a strong contribution to the regeneration and development of this area as a whole. At a personal level I came away knowing that Dumfries House is genuinely keen to offer opportunities to local artists.”
The Sundancer, Ayrshire Singer/Songwriter
“The opportunity to deliver songwriting workshops at Dumfries House is fantastic – particularly as I was lucky to purchase my first guitar through a grant from The Princes’ Trust when I first started playing nearly 20 years ago. I look forward to working with local young people at Dumfries House, sharing my knowledge and experience to give them support which I have received.”
Ruth Carslaw, Film-Maker
“As the event unfolded you could genuinely feel a shared sense of purpose and momentum – propelled by the great speakers, fellow artists and the building itself! I left feeling that Dumfries House will become a creative hub for all – artists and communities alike.”
For further details or to be kept informed of future events, please contact helen.duncan@east-ayrshire.gov.uk or jenny.hunter@south-ayrshire.gov.uk
Tuesday 4 December 2012
Beach Ballroom, Beach Promenade, Aberdeen, AB24 5NR
Registration 9.30am; Conference 10.15am‐4.00pm
This interdisciplinary conference will bring together professionals from Education, Early Years, Family and Community Learning, Arts and Culture and Outdoor Learning to explore the interface between creativity, play and learning in a range of contexts.
The conference will enable participants to share theory and practice with a view to developing new ideas and further collaborations.
There will be a range of participatory activities as well as presentations to encourage interaction, learn from each other and stimulate new possibilities.
The keynote presenter is María de los Angéles González, better known in her country as `Chiqui ́Gonzalez, Minister of Innovation and Culture of the State Government of Santa Fe, Argentina.
Chiqui has combined her skills and experiences as a lawyer, teacher, artistic practitioner and Minister to champion shared family learning through cultural activity. This is most keenly realised in ‘El Tríptico de la Infancia,’ in Rosario and ‘El Tríptico de la Imaginacíon’ in Santa Fe; six cultural centres developed from abandoned and subsequently regenerated industrial and public spaces. Each centre has a different emphasis on family learning, invention, collective construction, sharing and creating stories and play.
For further information contact: CLN@aberdeencity.gov.uk or telephone 01224 814530. To book your free place please complete the attached booking form:
and email it to:
CPD@aberdeencity.gov.uk.
