Biennial Report 2018-2019 St Albans Arts Team
St Albans Arts Team Biennial Report 2018 - 2019 The St Albans Arts Team organises events and community engagement activities in partnership with St Albans City & District Council and a wide range of other partners including statutory bodies and community organisations. The team’s aims are: l To support the creative community in St Albans and ensure access to artistic experience for all l To reach marginalised communities and tell their stories through the arts l To make a difference to people’s lives through quality arts experiences
£ Mayor’s Pride Award for Arts on Prescription plus Nominations for Squatlife and UR Crew
Partners Abbey Theatre Aboyne Lodge School Active Support Education Batford Memorial Hall Cardboard Citizens Centre 33 Cottonmill & Sopwell Hub Creative Hertfordshire Emmaus St Albans Empire Records Fleetville Community Centre Friends of Victoria Playing Field
Heritage Lottery Fund Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust Herts Young Homeless Hightown Housing Association Jubilee Centre Lemonrock London Colney Parish Council Metro Bank Mind in Mid-Herts Open Door Park Side View PK Promotions
Radio Verulam Redbourn Folk Club Rumball Sedgwick Special Olympics St Albans St Albans Architectural and Archaeological Society St Albans Cathedral St Albans Film Festival St Albans Folk Music St Albans International Organ Festival St Albans Museum & Gallery St Albans Museums and Galleries Trust St Albans Podcast
Provided bySt Albans City & District Council. Managed in partnership with WFLCT.
St Albans Tour Guides St Michael’s Folk Evening The Daylight Club The Bid St Albans The Blue Angel Acoustic Cafe The Farmer’s Boy The Odyssey Cinema Trestle Arts Base VIDEOfeet Digital Arts Young Archaeologists Club
Events
IOFringe
Larks in the Parks
Council events
UR Crew
An eclectic Fringe to the International Organ Festival aimed at widening the reach of the main event and featuring live music and entertainment, community and schools workshops.
Larks happens annually at five green spaces in and around St Albans. The locations are in areas with diverse communities and is a free family fun event to encourage community cohesion. In 2019 we invited the Sopwell space at The Marlborough Pavilion back on board, and had a record breaking capacity at many sites, with over 8000 visitors.
Programming stages and walkabout artists at events including Alban Street Festival, Food & Drink Festival, Christmas Lights Switch On and the Christmas Festival Programme. These events provide an opportunity for local artists and groups to perform at high profile events alongside inspirational acts from further afield.
Learning disabled young adults DJing in mainstream venues and at high profile events. The group also write and record their own music. Whilst developing skills and selfconfidence the group also challenge societal barriers.
“Once again, the IOFringe proved to be a terrific curtain-up to the festival with a broad-range of events across the city. The weekend events were especially popular, and those I attended in Vintry Garden drew enthusiastic tourists and locals supporting various performing ensembles. All in the IOF office enjoyed working with Grae Wall and his team who have the knack of putting together a programme of events which have creative panache and appeal and our collaboration is hugely valued” David Titterington, Artistic & Executive Director of St Albans International Organ Festival
St Albans Arts Team offers the programming and infrastructure support, with volunteers, community groups and Parish Councils managing the events.
“I didn’t know this park existed” “Excellent event - brilliantly organized and super to bring the whole community together” Larks in the Parks Attendees
For more information about St Albans Arts Team E: saarts@1Life.co.uk www.facebook.com/saasharts www.twitter.com/saasharts www.instagram.com/stalbansarts www.1Life.co.uk/stalbansarts
“1Life’s knowledge in the local arts industry is invaluable in helping us schedule some fantastic music, dance and community groups for our stage areas at our city centre community festivals.” Katie Foweraker, Community Engagement Officer at St Albans City & District Council
“I enjoy UR Crew because I’m with my friends and it’s fun to DJ music.” Rob, UR Crew Participant
“I like coming to UR because I can use incredible equipment when rapping and making music. I like the gigs they organise for us as I like to perform in front of an audience.” Robbie, UR Crew Participant
Community Engagement l Homeless participants developed and performed a theatrical production with Cardboard Citizens l Excluded students from Active Support Education and those from the Young Archaeologist’s Club created props and displays
Arts on Prescription Studies have shown that taking part in an arts activity has a positive influence on mental health and general wellbeing. The Arts on Prescription programme is funded by St Albans Health and Wellbeing Partnership to offer district residents with mild to moderate mental health issues, the chance to participate in courses in different art forms, including visual art and photography. Sixty percent of programme participants have reported an increase in their sense of wellbeing whilst taking part in the courses which promote the enjoyment of learning new skills and increasing confidence in a relaxed and friendly group environment.
“It’s been a really beautiful experience because whilst the outside world can feel so closed off, Arts on Prescription allows you to take a risk in a safe environment and that’s a real confidence boost. It gives each of us a chance to develop in our own way, at our own pace, whilst bringing us out of ourselves in a way that makes us feel safe”. Arts on Prescription Participant
Sheltered Housing Project During 2018 the Arts team ran two sheltered housing projects, bringing a range of arts activities into homes for the elderly in the district. Residents at Lea Springs in Batford and Park Side View in Marshalswick completed surveys to select their preferred art forms for the projects. The votes were counted and residents tried their hand at activities such as sculpture, film-making, painting and singing with wonderful results.
“It’s been good to try something different – it felt good to use my hands with the sculpture class” “I recently lost my pet dog but the singing has really cheered me up” Sheltered Housing Project Participants
Squatlife Launched in July 2018, this thought-provoking, inclusive and accessible Photographic Exhibition at the St Albans Museum + Gallery featured Dave Kotula’s squat images of the 1980s, following a successful HLF proposal and an award of £50,000.
l Complimentary events included Launch and Closing Parties at The Metro Bank; Huff Puff Blow Your House Down children’s workshops; Squat Sounds, and two film screenings in St Albans Film Festival 2018 - 2019, including Invisible People. Launched in January 2019, this stark video documentary featured poignant stories of the present day homeless and to date has received over 9000 views on social media.
l Squatlife Exhibition visited by over 32,000, highlighting the district’s contemporary and historical homelessness
“An exhibition with a great heart and empathy. Wonderful - but even today it’s back, the spectre of homelessness, look out the windows. More compassion and fight for affordable homes! Well done to all concerned. Brill.”
l Collaboration with homeless charities, arts venues, Cardboard Citizens and St Albans & Herts Architectural and Archaeological Society
“Incredibly important exhibition highlighting an issue we all hide from. Congratulations to the team and to the homeless folk who have taken part. Let’s hope it brings a change for the better.”
l Panels produced by SAHAAS, documenting the historical treatment of paupers l City centre workhouses and slums walk developed by St Albans Tour Guides l Herts Young Homeless captured snapshots, showing life on the streets and sofa surfing
“A beautiful, uplifting and creative insight in to a hidden narrative of St Albans life.” Comments from members of the public
Summary 2018 will be defined as the year of Squatlife - a truly ground-breaking Heritage Lottery funded project that engaged with the homeless community and the wider public as well as media and policy makers both locally and further afield. The exhibition of Dave Kotula’s photographs brought over 32,000 people through the doors of the new St Albans Museum + Gallery for the first community focused exhibition in the building. The Cardboard Citizens Theatre project and Walk a Day in my Shoes photography project offered learning and skills development along with giving voice and self-confidence to local homeless residents both young and old. The project demonstrated how the inclusion of marginalised communities in the cultural narrative of a district can challenge perceptions, encourage community cohesion and change people’s lives. The legacy video – The Invisible People - has had over 9000 views, a project that will continue to influence and inspire. The profile of the Arts Team has grown steadily and in their micro-influencer role, both physically and online, they are a well-respected conduit between the local arts sector, the general public and St Albans City & District Council. The team’s dedication to inclusion and access has garnered a genuine trust with artists, arts organisations and audiences alike. The team has continued to work closely and effectively with The Council’s Community Engagement & Events Team providing aspirational and inspirational platform to local and national artists. These stages offer both developmental and profiling opportunity to amateur and community artists as well as the chance for local audiences to witness top quality performance from beyond the district.
2019’s IOFringe proved the most successful and popular to date with a programme focused on diversity and originality both complementing and enhancing the International Organ Festival. The IOFringe Community project saw the coming together of students from Aboyne Lodge School, residents of Parkside View Residential Home and members of Trestle’s (mixed ability) Sing Out Choir to perform with exuberance in the heart of St Albans Charter Market on a Saturday afternoon, a moment that proved truly uplifting and inspiring to participants and audience alike. The Team continues to play an active and important role in developmental groups such as The Venues Group, Creative Hertfordshire, The Arts & Culture Network and Sustainable St Albans. During 2018/19 the Team have been instrumental in supporting the planning and shaping of Hertfordshire 2020 Year of Culture. Over the last two years there have been six Arts on Prescription courses including visual art and photography and two public exhibitions. The team have also worked with two Retirement Homes engaging older residents in familiar and unfamiliar arts workshops as well as offering collaboration with other community groups. The Arts Team recognise the importance a healthy arts sector plays in maintaining good mental health and wellbeing, social cohesion and community pride as well as it’s positive effect on cultural tourism and economic growth. Perhaps above all The Arts Team offer the opportunity for those potentially marginalised or excluded to be included and for them to help shape the cultural narrative of the district which benefits us all.
Provided by St Albans City & District Council. Managed in partnership with WFLCT.