Creative Colleagues - April 2024

APRIL 2024

CREATIVE COLLEAGUES Creative Lives’ in-house magazine

CREATIVE LIVES AWARDS OPEN FOR ENTRIES! This year’s Creative Lives Awards ceremony will take place at Cecil Sharp House in London on Thursday 26 September, and now is the time to encourage people to enter!

“Many local creative groups are characterised by humility: not thinking what they do is particularly special,” says Gareth. “So we’ve found the best way to generate applications is through direct encouragement.

Please help spread the word and convince groups they really are epic!”

Information on how to enter, plus our new publication capturing the Awards, is on our website. Deadline: 13 May

THE QUICK CATCH-UP NORFOLK & SUFFOLK REPORT READY Over the past 10 months, Creative Lives has been working on the Mapping Creative Health in Norfolk and Suffolk project, which was commissioned by the Norfolk and Suffolk Culture Board.

A report, with recommendations for how the culture and health sector can work together more strategically to improve health outcomes through creativity, will be launched at Snape Maltings in Suffolk on 18 April with an expert panel of health commissioners and cultural leaders.

“We carried out five focus groups, 38 interviews and conducted an online survey with 100 respondents,” says Jess. This work has concluded in an extensive report mapping current activity, exploring good practice, identifying training needs, and investment in creative health. We found an amazing variety of projects across the two counties that highlight the role creativity can play in improving our health and wellbeing.”

NEW STAFF AND BOARD MEMBER SOUGHT We currently have two roles to fill, so if you know anyone who might be keen . . .

Creative Citizens Essex - Local Freelance Researcher Creative Lives Board - Treasurer

CHIEF EXECUTIVE AT CULTURE COMMONS EVENT Robin says “On 7 March, I took part in a Knowledge Exchange event organised by Culture Commons as part of The Future of Local Cultural Decision Making open policy development programme.

In the session on ‘Supporting ‘Local Voice’ in cultural decision making’ I spoke about connecting everyday creativity to ‘Local Voice’, describing our Open Conversations research in ethnic minority communities, the Common Ground: Rewilding the Garden report on areas of socioeconomic deprivation, and the learning from our Creative Citizens projects in Middlesbrough and Reading.”

ON THE HORIZON NEW TEAM MEMBERS IN APRIL In April, we’ll have the pleasure of welcoming four, possibly five, new team members to Creative Lives: On 2 April, PhD students Annamae Burrows and Luke Whittle will join us as part of the Scottish Graduate School of Arts & Humanities‘ internship scheme.

Aoife Allen will join the Creative Lives On Air team on 8 April, working as a Producer at BBC Radio Berkshire.

From mid-April, Haleema Ali will begin providing freelance support for our place-based work in Reading.

Gareth is currently interviewing a new person to provide freelance support for our work in Bridgend and hopes to appoint this month.

We‘ll hear more from our newcomers in the next issue!

CREATIVE LIVES APRIL EVENTS Creative Network: BIPOC Creatives - Friday 5 April (online) Èmerveiller Fashion Show - Saturday 13 April (Sheffield) Creative Learning: How to constitute your group & register as a charity - Wednesday 17 April (online) Launch of the Norfolk & Suffolk Creative Health report Thursday 18 April (Snape, Suffolk) Community Music Wales visit to Edenderry - 25 & 26 April

CHIEF EXECUTIVE AT WEA SEMINAR Robin says: “Unfortunately the meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Adult Education that I was due to speak at in March was postponed, but I have been invited to speak on the benefits of arts participation at a WEA (Workers’ Educational Association) seminar on 18 April.”

GETTING TO KNOW...

FRANCESCA AITA Creative Lives Board Member

What’s your first memory of being creative?

I was probably five years old and started singing random lyrics and made-up words while my dad used to play the piano at home every Sunday morning.

If you could click your fingers and be proficient at any art/craft form, what would it be?

Piano – I started piano lessons in my 30s but didn’t go far with it.

Which do you prefer, river walk, beachside stroll or hill climb?

Any walk along water is my go-to option. Ideally at the seaside, so a beach stroll is a preference, but I am happy with riverside (or canal-side) as I live in London.

You’re planning a day of live music and can book any 5 artists (living or dead) – who’s on the bill?

Aretha Franklin, Arctic Monkeys, Adele, Elisa (Italian musician), Otis Redding What inanimate object in your home most sums you up?

The pasta that I cook in my kitchen. Nothing fancy, just fresh ingredients and Italian flavours!

What’s your favourite quality in a person?

Kindness and honesty. I believe that “what goes around comes around” in life, one way or another - at least I’d like to think so.

Which do you prefer – chocolate bar, slice of cake or biscuit?

Slice of cake. But I have such a sweet tooth that I would literally go for anything, providing it’s gluten and dairy-free – ah, the joys of being coeliac!

If you could choose any work of art to hang in your home, what would it be?

Van Gogh, I love all impressionists.

Which country have you never visited but would love to?

I woke up one day remembering a dream I just had - going to Patagonia with a friend. I would love for this dream to come true at some point!

Tell us one thing your colleagues would be surprised to learn about you If I’m not working, I’m probably singing in one of the choirs or rehearsing with the musical theatre company I’m part of.

PHOTO FINISH Each month, we ask a colleague to capture an aspect of their life, at home or out and about.

“Every Saturday, I walk my dogs at Kedleston Hall. It’s lovely to see the change each week and it appears spring is now here!” Lindsey Jackson