Project Archive
Partners in Participatory Arts 
The Partners in Participatory Arts Scheme had different models and proposed interventions ranging from light-touch short placements to mid-term projects and more intensive long-term coaching.
Placements were provided by a range of organisations and would include placements for artists who wished to shadow projects outside of the city and county.
Tier One Observation
This level of support aimed to give emerging participatory artists an overview of the issues and opportunities in a working context. It involved visiting and observing a maximum of three different participatory arts activities being led by established professionals in the field. This was open to all Staffordshire based artists.
Tier Two Placement
A specific placement lasting between six and eight weeks (or sessions as relevant) with an established artist or organisation in order to increase confidence and skills in devising and implementing participatory arts activity and practice. This was relevant to artists with an existing relevant skills base and a strong interest in future work within the field.
Tier Three Skill Exchange
This element of the programme was aimed at established practicing participatory artists with a need to reflect on and develop new techniques or skills in order to develop practice. A budget was assigned to enable artists to work with other professionals of their choice on production of a brief proposal.
Entry Level Workshops/one to one advice
A series of open workshops designed to inform and inspire an interest in participatory arts ran throughout 2008/2009 as well as the opportunity to get bespoke one to one advice on developing a career in the field.
Make Some Noise, Creative Partnerships, Staffordshire Arts & Museum Services and Stoke-on-Trent City Council Cultural Development Team formed this partnership to create a shadowing scheme for Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent artists wanting to gain more experience in participatory settings.
To view the External Evaluator's Report, click here||, Appendices||
Rising Above It
Rising Above It - a series of art workshops for women who have suffered from domestic abuse.
Workshops
The workshops aimed to provide Pathway service users with an opportunity to participate in vibrant art activities, learn new skills, and communicate their stories and emotions through a variety of art practices.
Jennifer Collier led a creative workshop using natural and found materials to make exciting designs that could be made into garments or accessories. Using plastics, papers and fabrics, participants explored ideas about recycling and themes exploring the body.
Val Hunt encouraged people to discover the joy of creative recycling. The group used recycled drinks cans to create an aquatic wall mural. In each session, ideas and different ways of using the cans were explored and added to the mural.
Talking Drums ran a drumming workshop designed for all abilities. The workshop involved some light stretching, basic drumming techniques and relaxation to help with stress, boredom and tiredness.
Story telling and creative writing workshops were led by Maria Whatton. Participants were transported to another world - listening to Maria's stories, while having a go at writing their own stories, acting out dialogue, drawing and writing poetry.
These sessions were designed for women to share their stories in a safe & creative environment where they were given space to be themselves & explore their own innate creativity.
I remember.pdf|| is a piece of work created out of a Domestic Violence Conference, Lifting the Lid. Story teller Maria Whatton facilitated a workshop during the conference to find out people's views about creativity and what it means to them.
British Summertime
Birmingham-based arts consultancy, Hybrid welcomed Ed Vaizey MP, Shadow Minister for Arts to the first of two "Critical Dialogue" events exploring the relationship between social responsibility, diversity and happiness.
The theme of the event was been shaped by the experiences and work of five visual artists who are working with four West Midlands venues. The artists were each commissioned to respond to the theme of British Summertime, as part of a scheme which aimed to encourage and reflect the diversity, talent and excellence of visual artists whose work is connected with the experiences and cultures of England's African, Asian and Caribbean populations:
The commissions and Critical Dialogue event stemmed from the recommendations of a recent report by Arts Council England, West Midlands called The Elephant in the Room||. Produced by Hybrid, the report examines the opportunities and barriers facing the region's African, Caribbean and Asian visual arts sector.
"Hybrid believes that creative thinking can provide us with new ways of responding to contemporary issues - the arts are key to this but dialogue must take place across sectors between communities and individuals" - Dr Samina Zahir
Andrew Jackson worked with Multistory in West Bromwich, Feng-Ru Lee with New Art Gallery Walsall, Rita Patel and Saranjit Birdi with Shire Hall Gallery, Stafford and Shaheen Ahmed with Wightwick Manor in Wolverhampton.
Beyond the Body, Rita Patel
Shire Hall Gallery, Stafford
As a jeweller, Rita Patel's work is generally worn on hands and necks. However, working with Shire Hall Gallery she explored whether the enjoyment we find in wearing jewellery can be created in the artwork that we see in galleries. Patel makes rice capsules containing rice grains with a single handmade 18ct gold rice grain. We tend to think of jewellery as made of precious metals, however Patel wants us to see the 'common a day' as equally precious. So whilst gold is considered precious, today in many parts of the world rice is increasingly a highly precious commodity.
See Saw, Saranjit Birdi
Shire Hall Gallery & Courtroom
Saranjit Birdi brought the great outdoors into an old courtroom at Shire Hall Gallery. As a regular rambler, Birdi noticed that few Black and Asian people seemed to venture into the great outdoors. It reminded him of his times as a dancer on the jazz/ urban dance scene in the 80's when there were few clubs that allowed them entry. Unlike many Asian people, Birdi 'didn't dance bhangra', even though many of the best known bhangra dance scenes were set in the kind of rural areas he walked, with striking rugged backdrops (both the scenery and the actors). So, Birdi took a group of Black and Asian urban dancers rambling and brought their experiences back to the old courtroom at the Shire Hall with recorded comments and striking images of urban dance against the spectacular Staffordshire landscape.
Bordermoves 2
Bordermoves 2 was a two year urban music and dance project which delivered a programme of high quality arts activities associated with hip hop culture, targeting young people in rural and urban settings.
Training / mentoring
A group of key urban music specialists designed a structured training package to develop a variety of skills both in practical art form delivery and basic project management. A mixture of intense training and shadowing lead artists on workshop delivery, BM2 offered the opportunity to progress over a two year commitment plan.
All trainees were offered a variety of accreditation options, including Millennium Volunteers, youth achievement awards and the Princes Trust award and those who progressed to year 2 were given the opportunity to work alongside professional practitioners to deliver the workshop programme.
Bordermoves 2 offered a rare opportunity for those artists involved in the urban arts to experience and train for a practical career in their chosen specialism. Completion of the course will see trainees firmly established in the county wide network of artists, venues and arts organisations as well as making crucial contacts with the wider nationally focused commercial and community urban music industry.
Workshops
Bordermoves 2 was a ground breaking urban arts delivery project which offered free workshops in Djing, MCing, Breakdancing and Street Dance to hundreds of young people across Staffordshire.
These workshops culminated in a final performance where participants were able to showcase their new skills and perform alongside leading artists in the world of DJing and Breakdance.
Handmade 2
The original scheme, Handmade, was a touring exhibition and accompanying workshop programme that sought to bring quality contemporary crafts and workshops to non-arts venues across Staffordshire.
Building on the first initiative and supported by lottery funds, Handmade 2 took the form of four individually themed exhibitions with accompanying workshops which toured the county over a period of sixteen months. Approximately thirty local artists and sixteen nationally recognised craft-makers took part in the exhibitions.
To download the Handmade toolkit Click here||
Cut to the Chase
People who live and work on and around Cannock Chase have been given a unique opportunity to voice their opinions on how the Chase (a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) is managed with the production of a film exploring these issues called "Cut to the Chase".
Developed over a period of 9 months, Cut to the Chase has involved local people, artists and a film crew, exploring issues relevant to the Chase such as litter, bracken and vandalism. An animator and a creative writer worked with a variety of local groups, individuals and local school children to develop animation and poems that are featured in the finished programme. You can borrow a copy of the film from local Libraries around the Chase and Stafford Area.
Available for purchase or loan. Please contact the Arts Development Team for more info.
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