Art e Facts Sept13

September 2013

The Arts and Events Newsletter for South East Northumberland Image credit Mark Pinder

Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival 2013

 

Free CINEMA SPORT events for Schools Call out for New Youth Dance Company  and Heritage Open days More opportunities and events inside….

01.Hello

Page 03

02. News & Featured

Page 04-17

03. Film & Venue programmes

Page 17-23

05. Music

Pages 24-27

06. Dance & Performance

Pages 28-34

07. Visual Arts

Pages 35-37

08. Heritage & Local attractions

Pages 38-41

09. Social & Other

Pages 42-43

10. Funding

Pages 44-47

About Us Northumberland Arts Development (NAD)

is the arts development service for the county led by Queens Hall Arts with the support of Northumberland County Council and Arts Council England. It provides arts activities directly, supports artist and community led projects and works collaboratively with other key cultural sector partners – Alnwick Playhouse, The Maltings Berwick, Woodhorn and Blyth Valley Arts & Leisure.

To find out how we and our partners can help you. Your local contact in West Northumberland is Geof Keys – geof.keys@queenshall.co.uk

South East Northumberland Arts Development:

Northumberland Arts Development is responsible for projects and programmes that encourage high levels of participation and appreciation of the arts in South East Northumberland. We also aim to grow the creative culture and economy of Northumberland through generating and supporting locally produced work, building local audiences and to give priority to work by and for young people.

Since April 2012 Queen’s Hall Arts oversees Arts development for Northumberland. Our mission is to provide high quality arts services in Northumberland that will enrich communities and support artists, developing a creative future for all. BVAL remain a key partner of the arts development in South East Northumberland in support, strategy and delivery.

Your contact for the South East of Northumberland is jburke@bval.co.uk 01670 622210

hello

Welcome to the Art e Facts monthly arts development e-newsletter for South East Northumberland. If you would like to include any of your arts and cultural events, please contact Joanne Burke jburke@bval.co.uk by Sept 20th.

FREE WORKSHOPS & FILM SCREENING PROGRAMME FOR SOUTH EAST NORTHUMBERLAND SCHOOLS! Northumberland Arts Development has partnered up with Kids for Kids UK to offer an exciting opportunity to schools in South East Northumberland. Kids for Kids UK is an award winning community interest company based in County Durham. Our aims are to inspire the filmmakers of the future, introduce young people to the possibility of a career in the creative industries and bring the local and wider communities together to celebrate the achievements of children and young people. 10-19years Cinemasports Film Challenge A 1-day film challenge for upto 30 young people working in small groups to create short films in response to a specific brief consisting of 3 “ingredients’. Groups will be competing against each other and, other schools, to win awards in a number of categories which will be announced at a film premiere and awards ceremony.

Other offers connected to this programme include a screening of Asian Shorts Film with Q and A and to be part of a youth film jury for the Cinemasports Film Competition.

Introducing Cinemasports Unlike any other filmmaking event, Cinemasports promises movies made after sunrise and completed before bed time. This short timeframe not only eliminates gruelling sleepless nights, it produces better quality movies. Filmmakers keep creative energy high through the compact Cinemasports timeframe so projects don't burn out from over ambition. Cinemasports also promotes greater diversity of moviemakers amongst young people.

For the third year running we have partnered up with the international organization Cinemasports to deliver a specially devised programme of film related activities for young people in Northumberland that is connected to a global cinemasports initiative.

Dates available for the KFK UK team to come into your school are during the week beginning Monday the 30th September with the date for the Film Screening and Awards Ceremony still tbc.

For further information and to discuss this further please ei-

ther email us at jburke@bval.co.uk 01670 622210

We will be recruiting 16 young people, males and females, aged between 13 and 19 years, to form a new youth dance company in South East Northumberland. The group will work intensively to create new dances over weekends and holidays, and will be given the chance to perform in a range of venues and locations, including an exciting collaboration with Northern Stage and the Dance Touring Partnership through their initiative: Everybody Dance Now. Nadia Iftkhar, experienced performer, choreographer and teacher, will lead the company.

If you would like further information, please contact: Mileva Donachie, Northumberland Arts Development and Outreach milevadoanchie@me.com or call 07725 915 855

News

New Youth Dance Company for South East Northumberland

DO NOT MISS THIS AT WOODHORN SATURDAY 14TH & SUN 15TH SEPTEMBER!

News

Creative People and Places South East Northumberland is one of only seven places across England to receive an award of £2.4million from the Arts Council. The investment is to inspire more people of all ages, to get creative and work alongside artists of all kinds over the next three years and beyond. We want to work in partnership with you, your families and friends and organisations across South East Northumberland, to choose, make and witness some of the best artistic experiences possible. From tiny projects involving specific groups of people, to spectacular outdoor extravaganzas involving thousands.

The project is led by a consortium of organisations – Woodhorn, Queen’s Hall Arts, Northumberland County Council, North of Tyne NHS, Northumberland College and the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Assembly, supported by a range of artists and organisations working in South East Northumberland or the wider region and championed by the playwright Lee Hall. Our vision is to create a lasting change to the way that people create or experience great art in the area.

The Creative People and Places (CPP) project in South East Northumberland has a new Project Director Rachel Adams. Rachel will be leading a team to deliver an exceptional two-and-a-half year programme of creative activity.

Rachel joins CPP from 1st May 2013 from Juice, NewcastleGateshead’s award-winning festival for children and young people and brings with her valuable and relevant expertise along with an understanding of how to deliver a programme that will fully involve local communities. The programme will consist of high profile arts events intended to create long term change not only in levels of arts participation in South East Northumberland, but in the lives of those involved.

To find out more about this project and to sign up to our newsletter please follow this link http://creativepeoplenorthumberland.com/

News

News

Music Video Contest Supporting visual media in the North East Local film makers are invited to get involved in a fresh new musical venture, brought to you by local music production company, BB Music House.

Visual artists, movie makers, and film editors in the North East are being given the opportunity to create a video for a short piece of music, 50 seconds in length, written by 2 producers in the North of England. The real challenge is to establish a theme with a strong emotional content in such a short space of time, similar to the same way a movie trailer works.

This is a unique chance to collaborate, create and to have your movie appraised by a professional panel consisting of Leigh Venus (Tyneside Cinema), David Whetstone (Newcastle Journal) and Peter Beardsley (NUFC). The 5 best entries will be featured in the Journal and on the Journal website where the public will have the chance to vote for their favourite film. The top entries will shown in the Tyneside Cinema Bar and announced in the Newcastle Journal. The winner may also be invited to work in more depth with BB Music House on a future project.

About BB Music House BB Music House are singers, songwriters, multi-instrumentalists, producers, recording and mixing engineers. They have over 12 years of experience in the music industry, and have worked with a number of global companies including Sony Records, BMG Publishing, BBC, ITV and EA Games.

How to get involved 1. Go to the following link to listen to and download the excerpt -> VIDEO CONTEST 2. Get creative!

3. Upload your finished video to youtube 4. Send a link to djburt@blueyonder.co.uk to notify us of your entry. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP! This is the only way your entry can be accepted.

THE KESWICK FILM FESTIVAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION The Keswick Film Festival which happens over 4 days each year in February is extending its short film competition to include the four counties bordering the border of Scotland  Cumbria  Northumberland  Borders  Dumfries and Galloway Full details are on our website at www.keswickfilmfestival.org

Keyfund needs your help to find young people who have taken part in a Keyfund project and then gone on to achieve some of their ambitions.

We have heard/witnessed some fantastic stories over the years – like the young people who did some fundraising projects to raise funds to pay for them to kayak anti clockwise around the UK – they were the first people to complete this challenge and did so in a staggering 96 days! Or the young people who used their Keyfund project to launch their very own book of poetry, the Keyfund group members who went on to become Keyfund Facilitators or the group who went on to support none other than Iron Maiden in concert! There are so many out there and we are asking you to help us find them.

We are currently doing a research project called Ambition Lab which aims to level the playing field for all young people to access opportunities to achieve their ambitions - we need some young people who’ve done Keyfund (though they may not be a young person anymore) to star in a documentary film we are making as part of our Ambition Lab film. It is being premiered at the Tyneside Cinema in October 2013 and will be available online. Our film maker is going to spend the next few weeks interviewing people and we would like to hear from you about Keyfund young people you think we should know about and get in touch with.

Please drop us an email or give us a call to let us know the stories of your amazing young people and how best for us to get in touch with them. Or if you want to know more about it please give us a ring.

You can reach us on 0191 261 4029 or via email on theteam@keyfund.org.uk Telephone: (0191) 272 7494, Fax: or email dave@ncyp.org.uk Keyfund Northumberland, Northumberland Clubs for Young People, Centre West, 34 Grainger Park Road, Newcastle upon Tyne. NE4 8RY

JUICE Festival, TakeOff Festival and Bridge North East are teaming up this Autumn.

We want to hear young people’s opinions on creative quality and would like to invite you to apply to be part of our young evaluators team who will visit arts events across the region that form part of Take Off and Juice Festival. You’ll receive full training, free tickets to exciting arts events, travel costs and make new friends along the way.

Key Dates: -Training day – Saturday 5th October venue TBC -You will need to be available to attend a selection of events across Juice Festival/ TakeOff Festival from Monday 21st – Sunday 3rd November 2013). Events take place in Durham, Newcastle and Gateshead -Big Conversation Event, Gateshead Old Town Hall – Saturday 9th November Requirements for all applicants: · Availability to attend 2-5 events from Monday 21st – Sunday 3rd November 2013 · Ages 16+ · Enthusiasm for arts and culture · Good organisational skills · Strong verbal and/or written communication skills · Willing to brave public transport (public transport costs to and from events will be covered) Any interested young people should apply using this link: http://form.jotform.co/ form/31993861372867

News

KEYFUND are looking for Young People to join a film Documentary and research project with AMBITION LAB

News

News

Doorstep Pictures is a mobile cinema provision for Northumberland. We also provide support and development for film societies and community cinemas.

We love film! and we love to support access to film in its many forms!

Doorstep Pictures is part of the Northumberland Film Network which is a partnership between Blyth Valley Arts & Leisure, Queen's Hall Arts and Northumberland County. doorsteppictures.blogspot.com

Date

Screening to start at

Venue

Morpeth Town Hall

SEPTEMBER 7pm

12

The Help

12

Song for Marion

PG

sey.kirk@actionforchildren.org. uk

Monsters University

U

Eden Terrace, Lynemouth, Morpeth, Louise Morrison 01670 863010 NE61 5DD

Monsters University

U

17 Market Place-Morpeth-NE61 1LZ

OCTOBER

Morpeth Town Hall 7pm

17 Market Place-Morpeth-NE61 1LZ

Seaton Sluice Thurs 10th

1pm

Frank Rescigno 01670503866 01670510743

Community Centre Albert Road Seaton Sluice

frescigno@msn.com

Frank Rescigno 01670503866 01670510743 frescigno@msn.com

Kathryn Quinn 0191 237 6304 Kathryn_quinn@sky.com

Lindsey Kirk 01670 819988

Tuesday 29th

4PM

Wed 30th

4pm

Certificate

Film

Sky Fall

Friday 6th

Friday 4th

Venue contact

Ashington Childrens Centre LindAlexandra Road Ashington NE63 9EF

Lynemouth Children’s Centre,

From October 2013 Doorstep Pictures returns with Community selected feature films supported prior with a special selection of fantastic short films including: Aesthetica shorts 2012, Artist Mat Flemings "Wallow" and other regional and independent gems

FREE SCREENINGS at Newbiggin and Shilbottle!

Ring the venues below to find out what's on at their film Club nights!

Every last Friday of the month @ Newbiggin Maritime Centre 01670 811951 http://www.newbigginmaritimecentre.org.uk/ and Shilbottle Community Hall, NE66 2XH 01665 575997 or 01665 575978

Film & venue programmes

NEW for 2013-14

Film & venue programmes

August –October at your local community arts venue

Film & venue programmes

20,000 VOICES Contact us for more information: 01670 797136 info@20000voices.org www.20000voices.org

Come & join our new choir in Bedlington .... .... now’s your chance to sing!

COME & SING! Anyone can sing

Bedlington Community Centre Fees: ÂŁ3 per session

Book your place at 20,000 Voices - 01670 797136

20,000 Voices is a company limited by guarantee Company Number 3550680 and a Registered Charity Number 1073394

Blyth Voices Mondays, 7.30 – 9.30pm The Old Church, Waterloo Road, NE24 1BY

Bedlington Community Choir Mondays, 7.30 – 9.30pm Bedlington Community Centre, NE22 5TT

Cramlington Community Choir Wednesdays, 7.30 – 9.00pm Doxford Place Methodist Church Hall, NE23 6DY

Newbiggin Community Choir Fridays, 2.00 – 3.30pm Simonside Hall, NE64 6PU

Silver Singers - Seaton Sluice for singers aged over 50 Tuesdays, 10.30am – 12.00pm Seaton Sluice Community Centre, NE26 4QX

Community Choirs are open to anyone who likes to sing September is a great time to join – all welcome!

For information contact 20,000 Voices: 01670 797136, info@20000voices.org

Music

Music

Join a Choir!

Music

September @ Concordia Leisure Centre, Cramlington

3rd-Prelude 10th-Singers Night 17th-Valerie Vaughan

The Hind, Dewley, Cramlington, Northumberland NE23 6DT

(01670) 715106

KATHAKALI ‘spectacularly beautiful’ The Daily Telegraph ‘colourful, entertaining and fascinating’ The Stage

Tuesday 19th November YMCA Ashington North View Ashington Northumberland NE63 9X 01670 857167

For more information and to book tickets, please contact the Box Offifi ce direct.

Kathakali originated in the 17th century temples of Kerala, south India, and means ‘story play’. It embraces dance, drama, music, visual arts and rituals to create one of the world’s most powerful, and emotional, forms of visual storytelling.

After hours of careful preparation by specially trained make-up artists the actors are transformed into gods, kings, devils and princesses, empowering them to tell universal stories where good and evil battle for supremacy and mythology comes alive.

2013 celebrates the 25th anniversary UK tour of The Kala Chethena Kathakali Company - one of the world’s foremost exponents of Kathakali - credited with establishing the art form in this country through 1,500 performances and 3,000 workshops from the Isles of Scilly to the Highlands of Scotland. ‘spectacularly beautiful’ The Daily Telegraph ‘colourful, entertaining and fascinating’ The Stage This tour offers a rare opportunity to see major world-class artists from Kerala perform this vibrant, compelling, captivating dance-drama and experience the very best of non - western theatre.

Coming to Northumberland: 18th Queens Arts Centre, HEXHAM 01434 652477 19th YMCA, ASHINGTON, Nr Blyth Northumberland 01670 857167 20th The Playhouse, ALNWICK, Northumberland 01665 510785

Dance & Performance

THE KALA CHETHENA KATHAKALI UK TOUR 2013

Move it Community Dance Arts Award Success MOVE IT Community Dance have recently congratulated twelve students who have successfully completed and passed their bronze Arts Award projects.

Students aged from 11-18 came together once a week to create their personal ‘arts’ portfolios - expressing their art knowledge, creativity and communication within Dance.

Groups were based at Bede Academy Blyth, The Blyth School and Northburn Move It Community Hubb.

‘I really enjoyed doing the bronze Arts Award and can’t wait to do my Silver – it has given me the confidence to run a lunch time dance and cheer club at school’ S.Perry We are very proud of the group and hope to continue offering more ‘arts awards’ courses in the local area, in the near future.

For any information regarding Move It sessions or Arts Award please contact Sophie Johnson on 01670 622182 or sjohnson@bval.co.uk MOVE IT community dance deliver a range of dance and fitness activities throughout the South East of Northumberland. All ages and abilities are welcome to the weekly sessions and classes are all very reasonably priced! For information about classes please contact Sophie Johnson: sjohnson@bval.co.uk 01670 542589 www.bval.co.uk Facebook – Move It Community Dance Twitter – @BVAL_MAKEAMOVE These classes only run through term time!

Monday

Cheer Camp! : 5.15 – 6.00pm Northburn Sports & Community Centre -

Young @ Heart : 11.00 – 11.45am Nelson Village Community Centre -

£1.50

Free

Hoop Dance: 5.15 – 6.00pm Seaton Sluice Community Centre - Free

Ladies Salsa! : 12.00 – 1.00pm Buffalo Centre, Blyth - £3.00 Cheer Camp! (Blyth) : 4.30 – 5.15pm Buffalo Centre, Blyth - £1.50 Hoop Dance : 5.15 – 6.00pm Buffalo Centre, Blyth - £1.50 Adult Just Jhoom: 7:30 - 8:30pm Seaton Delaval Arts Centre - £3

Thursday Young @ Heart : 10.30-11.30am Seaton Sluice Community Centre £3.00 Freestyle Disco : 3.15-4.00pm Sporting Club Cramlington - Free

Tuesday

Diddy Divas : 3.30-4.15pm The Buffalo Centre, Blyth - £1.50

BOP 2 the TOP : 4.15 – 5.00pm The Buffalo Centre, Blyth - £1.50

Funky Divas : 4.15-5.00pm The Buffalo Centre, Blyth - £1.50

Funky Divas : 4.15 – 5.00pm Sporting Club Cramlington - £2.15

Ability 2 Play Dance : 4.30 – 5.15pm Concordia Leisure Centre - £2.00

Wednesday Adult Salsacise : 3.00 – 4.00pm Bedlington Salvation Army - £3.00 Break-a-Move : 4.00 – 4.45pm Concordia Leisure Centre - £1.50 BOP to the TOP : 4.30 – 5.15pm Northburn Sports & Community Centre - £1.50

Friday Zumba Gold! : 11.30 – 12.15am Bedlington Salvation Army - £3.00 Mini Moves: 4.00 - 5.00pm Northburn Sports & Community Centre £2.00

Mega Moves: 5.00 – 6.00pm Northburn Sports & Community Centre £2.00

e

0

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Dance and performanc

Dance & Performance

-

DANCe distraction IN ASSOCIATION WITH DANCING FOR CHARITY

Presents A

BEGINNERS MODERN JIVE CLASS AND FREESTYLE @ forest hall social club NE12 9DQ every Wednesday & CRAMLINGTON VILLAGE CLUB NE23 6QJ Every THURSDAY 8pm – 10.30 PM Beginners class 8pm Freestyle and individual coaching 8.40 – 10.30pm ENTRY ONLY £3 Modern jive is a fun, male led, partner dance which consists of a huge number of eclectic moves which take their origins from rock and roll, swing, lindy hop and salsa.

It is very easy to learn and footwork is minimal. With just 6 classes it is usually possible to learn sufficient moves so that you can join in with a freestyle session with some confidence. You don’t need to come with a partner as everyone just mixes up whether beginner or experienced, this form of dancing is very social.

Dance & Performance

Five Ring Circus, Youth Club @ North Tyneside

We are North Tyneside Youth Circus; a club that was created for children and young people in the area to encourage them to run away and join the circus! We are based at Whitley Bay High School and meet every Tuesday evening.

The club is mainly made up of young people from the age of 12 upwards, with a few big kids there to teach us stuff, like Helen, Steve and Rob from Let’s Circus.

Most sessions, we learn skills like juggling and aerial as a group, and there is also an ‘open toybox’ so that people can practise with toys of their choice.

Circus leaders are always around to help us learn new tricks and to make sure everybody stays safe.

Touring performers and teachers occasionally come along to the club with new or more advanced skills to share. The North Tyneside Youth Circus group is a great place to learn new skills, and has a really friendly, relaxed atmosphere where it is easy to make new friends.

There are often circus events and street festivals in the area, and most of the North Tyneside group usually go along to these. We often get the chance to perform at these events, as well as join in with the other activities that are going on.

Getting involved with the club has meant that many of us have had the chance to meet international artists and we have also been given various opportunities to travel and to get involved with other youth circuses in the country.

General Five Ring Circus queries Helen Averley – helen@circuscentral.co.uk

Events or workshop queries Steve Cousins info@letscircus.com

Visual Arts

Newbiggin Art Trail leaflets are available from various outlets in Newbiggin including The Old Ship, The Maritime Centre and The Library. They can also be downloaded from www.keapcreative.org.uk or www.newbigginbythesea.co.uk.

There are now over sixty pieces on display ranging from a stained glass window to carved sculptures, ceramic sculptures, ceramic panels, a community installation, a community woven tapestry and community photographs.

In addition a number of miniature sculptural heads have been installed in hidden spots along the promenade between the Piazza and the Horseshoe Steps. You are invited to discover as many as you can. Their story, “Safe Haven�, is available on the two websites above and also on www.theoldshipnewbigginbythesea.org.uk or if you prefer you can read it in the bar of The Old Ship.

Visual Arts Doodle Workshops is dedicated to making Arts & Crafts accessible to everyone.

Tuition is available in screen printing, ceramics, glass fusing, slumping and laminating, silk painting, glass painting, quilting & handicrafts, machine knitting, textiles and lots more .........

Rooms are available for individual or group tuition and also for hire.

The rooms are equipped with silk screen printing table & exposure unit, potters wheels & kilns, sewingknitting machines and overlockers, hot press, looms and projectors.

Exhibition space is available to showcase and sell the work of local artists & commissions undertaken Art & Craft materials are on sale at competitive prices and items can be sourced & ordered.

CHILDRENS ARTY PARTIES You can book your children in for their party and they all go home with their unique hand made piece.

Favourites have been sock monkeys, Silk or Glass painting but she’s happy to cater to your needs.

She can also offer clay where they will have to wait for the firing but it will be unique to them Unit 2 Central Arcade 14 Woodhorn Road Deputies Kist Telephone: 01670 854422 07501023346 doodleworkshops@hotmail.co.uk

Old Hexham/New Songwriters Stories 8th-14th September

Old Hexham/New Songwriters Stories 8th-14th September

Heritage & Local Attractions

Northumberlandia is a landmark feature designed by world renowned artist Charles Jencks, which celebrates the earth's natural power and the human ability to reshape landscape into a dramatic form.

Lying at the entrance to south east Northumberland, near the town of Cramlington, she is around 34 metres high and 400 metres in length.

Most importantly Northumberlandia is the centrepiece for a 19 hectare public park in the urban fringe between the rolling countryside of mid Northumberland and the urban areas of south east Northumberland and Newcastle to the south.

Work has been ongoing constructing the landform since 2010 and Northumberlandia has gradually risen from the ground. In total 1.5 million tonnes of soil and clay from Shotton Surface Mine has been used to create this ambitious piece of public art. The construction was privately funded by the Banks Group and Blagdon Estate.

Northumberlandia opened on 3rd September 2012.

VISIT THE HARTLEY PIT PATHWAY Open daily@ Hartley Pit Memorial Garden,

New Hartley Village, Northumberland Designed by Rob Walton and Russ Coleman

Woodhorn always have things to do for the whole family. To find out about he latest exhibitions and events or for more information and opening times, visit the website: http://www.experiencewoodhorn.com This stunning 18th century house, garden and surrounding land has recently been handed into the care of The National trust.

Opening times and further details call 0191 237 9100 or visit http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-seatondelaval-hall.html The watch house was built in 1880 as a base for the Seaton Sluice volunteer life saving company. It served as a lookout, training base and social venue for over 110 years before it closed in 1990. during its history, the volunteers were involved in a number of notable rescues from wrecks on the coast between Whitley Bay and Blyth. The museum is open on Sundays between 2pm and 5pm from June to September.

If you would like to rent a beach hut, please contact Blyth Sports Centre reception on: 01670 542222 Daily lets are available for: £15.50 per day. Plus £5.00 refundable deposit.

Blyth Battery is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays from 3rd April– 30th September, from 11:30am-4pm. Guided tours of the site are available when possible. The Battery is also open on a number of additional days throughout the year.

The Dave Stephens Centre has an excellent meeting space with a fabulous view of Blyth’s coastline.

The community room is perfect for meetings, seminars, training sessions or workshops. The room can host up to 30 people theatre style and up to 24 people board room style.

All bookings and arrangements to be made with at least one weeks notice via Concordia leisure Centre central administration on 01670 542564

Heritage & Local Attractions

Local Attractions

Voluntary Arts is the national development agency for arts participation and one of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations. Voluntary Arts raises

awareness of the contribution that the

voluntary and amateur

arts and crafts make to the well-being of communities, social

inclusion, lifelong learning, active citizenship and volunteering.

Voluntary Arts is proud to announce that the Epic Awards 2013 are now open for entries. The Epic Awards are open to all amateur art and craft groups in the UK and Republic of Ireland and are free to enter. The search is on to find winners from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales who can demonstrate that they have achieved something Epic – whether that’s improving life in their local community, working across generations, or using technology in a creative way.

Last year’s winners included a drumming group who made a video about how music helped them recover from mental health issues; a choir who dramatically increased membership and brought choral singing to a new generation; a pioneering photography gallery and a community festival.

The Epic Awards give groups an excellent opportunity to raise the profile of their work as well as the chance to win a package of prizes including cash, vouchers, training and publicity. Voluntary Arts is hosting the prestigious Epic Awards winners’ reception in Derry~Londonderry to celebrate the city’s designation as UK City of Culture 2013, and winners will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to collect their award.

Speaking about scooping the Scottish Epic Award, Jane Bentley from The Buddy Beat said:

“We are all over the moon! I think the win will have a huge effect on the group in terms of boosting confidence, and hopefully creating opportunities to play.”

The awards have captured the imagination of the general public, with the incredibly popular People’s Choice Award. Last year saw a staggering 53,807 votes cast on the Epic Awards website, giving an unprecedented opportunity for local amateur arts and crafts groups to have their work showcased on a national stage.

More information about the awards and details of how to enter can be found at www.epicawards.co.uk.

The official Epic Awards 2013 trailer is a 2 minute video which highlights the diversity of groups that get involved with Epic. Watch it here: http://youtu.be/ljTR_ws6YPc

Social & Other

HAVE YOU THOUGHT OF TAKING ON A CREATIVE APPRENTICE?

Today, there are 2,000 creative apprentices in the creative and cultural sector. The employers working with them consistently tell us how much they value their apprentices, and the opportunity apprenticeships give them to train a new employee up to their standards, their way.

What is an apprenticeship?

An apprenticeship is a job with a training element. Apprentices work with an employer for a year or more, learning how to do a job by doing it.

How an apprenticeship works An apprentice works with you as an employee. During this time, they develop their skills on the job, working with you and a training provider.

The employer You employ the apprentice in your workplace doing a job that they want to learn and you want someone to do. You pay them a salary throughout their apprenticeship, which lasts a year or more. While they're with you, you train them on the job. This allows them to work towards a vocational qualification in their chosen job role.

The training provider Your on the job training is supplemented with separate training towards the apprentice's qualification (or 'technical certificate'). This is usually delivered 'off-site' with a college or training provider. The training provider also assesses the apprentice's formal qualification in the workplace. The cost of this aspect of the training is generally funded by the government (with some rules and restrictions).

The benefits of taking on an apprentice Fresh insight into your business Apprentices come from many different backgrounds - they might be completely new to the workplace, or they might have already completed some training or work experience before.

But they're with you to learn, which means you can work with them to instil your own personal values and good practices from day one. You'll also benefit from a fresh pair of eyes on your business and some new perspectives on what you're already doing.

Apprenticeships are good for business Independent research conducted by Baker Tilley found that 79% of participating employers felt that creative apprenticeships had made a significant contribution to their business. Apprenticeships offer a cost-effective way to grow your workforce, and an opportunity to develop your existing staff as they work with your apprentice.

And it's not just your business that benefits. Baker Tilley also found that each cohort of 200 apprentices makes a long -term contribution of over ÂŁ2.4 million to the national economy. You can calculate what return on investment your own business can expect from an apprenticeship on the National Apprenticeship Service website.

If you are interested in apprenticeships and would like more information or to discuss this further, please contact me.

There are financial incentives available for employers who haven’t recruited an apprentice before Cath Critchley Creative Apprenticeships Gateshead College 0191 490 2272

Creative Apprenticeship Provider of the Year 2013

New grant programme to support community projects The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has launched “First World War: then and now”, a new grants programme to help communities mark the Centenary of the First World War. The programme offers grants of £3,000 - £10,000 for community heritage projects. We hope these will help people across the North East to deepen their understanding of the impact of the conflict, for example by:  researching, identifying and recording local heritage  creating a community archive or collection  developing new interpretation of heritage through exhibitions, trails, smartphone apps etc  researching, writing and performing creative material based on heritage sources Projects can focus on any heritage related to the First World War, and we are encouraging new perspectives and stories not previously told.

Cheering troops on converted B-type buses in Arras, France

In the North East we really like to help groups before they fill out an application form, so if anyone is thinking of applying under this programme, we strongly recommend that they express their interest online. We will then let them know if their application is suitable for this programme and they can then decide whether to go ahead. http://www.hlf.org.uk

Funding

Boost for First World War commemorations

Arts Funding for Libraries (England) Under this programmeArts Funding for Libraries will support projects that stimulate ambitious and innovative partnerships between libraries and artists and/or arts organisations, encouraging communities to part in cultural activities. Public libraries can apply for grants of between £1,000 and £100,000 covering activities lasting up to three years.The funding will run until March 2015.

For Further Information: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/supporting-libraries/

Co-operative Membership Community Fund The Co-operative Membership Community Fund provides grants of between £100 and £2,000 to voluntary groups, community groups and local charities throughout the UK. The scheme is funded by Co-operative members donating some or all of their share of profits, which is then given away in the form of small grants in their local communities. Grants can be used to help fund anything from equipment to event costs, rent or fixtures, sport or computer equipment. http://www.co-operative.coop/membership/local-communities/community-fund/

Paul Hamlyn Foundation Education and Learning Programme The Paul Hamlyn Foundation invites applications to its Education and Learning Open Grants Programme.

In particular, the Foundation is looking to fund projects that address the themes of; tackling school exclusion and truancy, developing speaking and listening skills and supplementary education. The costs that can be covered by the Foundation's grants include running costs such as staff salaries and overheads such as stationery, rent, rates and utilities.

There is a two stage application process: First stage applications can be made at any time. Those that are successful will be invited to make a second stage application.

For more information, visit: http://www.phf.org.uk/landing.asp?id=3

Shell Live Wire

Shell Live Wire have up to 4 x £1000 Grand Ideas Awards to give away each month to new businesses in the UK and in their first 12 months of trading. Applicants and all business partners must be aged 16 - 30. For further information www.shell-livewire.org/awards-start

The aim of the trust is to help improve the conditions of people living and working in the North East of England, applications are normally accepted three times a year in the spring, summer and autumn. Donations are on the themes of; community issues and events, service charities, historic buildings and heritage, education, young people, arts and culture, health and sport, environment, public services and housing. For further information www.knott-trust.co.uk.

Hadrian Trust (North East England)

Small grants are available to help social welfare and charitable organisations working to improve the lives of people in the North East of England, the average grant is between ÂŁ500 and ÂŁ2,000. Grants can be for a specific project or part of a project, purchase of equipment or as a contribution towards running costs.

Applications will be considered in July and October 2013; restrictions and T&C apply, for further information www.hadriantrust.co.uk

Funding

The Sir James Knott Trust