Grow Our Own Artists

GROW OUR OWN ARTISTS PROJECT UPDATE Funded by Creative Scotland, Grow Our Own Artists is a Artist Residency

project

exploring

co-production,

community

empowerment and progression routes at WHALE Arts.

What follows is brief update on where we are right now, how we

have

adapted

to

the

challenges

of

working

within

COVID

restrictions; and what is still to come as we move into the final stages of the project.

PROJECT OVERVIEW AND COVID ALTERATIONS

Originally the project was

due

to run

for

9

months between February

and October 2020 with two months - (November/December) set aside to evaluate the project.

We began as planned in February 2020 but when lockdown came into force

at

the

end

of

March,

we

paused

the

project

until

June.

We

restarted as restrictions eased and plan to run until December this year - a total of 9 months. We have set aside February and March of 2021 to complete the evaluation and reporting.

While

WHALE

Arts

kept

going

throughout

lockdown

-

mainly

focusing on hot meals and tons and tons of art packs, we paused the Grow Our Own Artists residency due to the heavy emphasis on co-production.

With small

all

our

group

participant of

key

and

staff

volunteers

coming

into

stuck the

at

home

building,

and

only

a

co-producing

became seriously challenging. We thought it a much better use of resources

to

pause

and

engage with our people.

re-start

at

a

time

when

we

could

better

WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR

WHALE Arts TEAM SUPPORT In

June

Morvern

was

actively

involved

in

working

with

the

WHALE

Arts team which needed to respond quickly to meet the needs of the community in lockdown.

While continuing her research into how co-production could be an integral

part

instrumental in

of

WHALE’s

work

in

Wester

Hailes,

Morvern

was

co-ordinating the various projects which reached

the community via our community meal home delivery service.

POD PRESS Pod

Press

is

a

new

publishing

house

for

Wester

Hailes,

centred

around risograph printing and creative platforms for local voices.

The set up & development of this has so far included:

Risograph Printer & 6 colour drums acquired & set up Risograph Staff

printing

training

developed/

delivered

for

WHALE

POD PRESS...

Pod Press space in WHALE - construction including shelving and cladding to make the balcony space useable & safe.

Logo Voted for by community on social media

Externally printed publications Volunteer

Handbook

-

developed

with

Volunteers

&

volunteer

coordinator Freelance Handbook, Stitch N Time Tutorials & Lockdown Tutorials

Internally printed publications/Risograph publications Pamperphlet with Louize Gibson Clay Pinch Pot Instructions with Lillian Shipton The Happy Sentinel Newspaper, Explorers Guide to Westburn Woods WHALE’s lockdown cookbook, Risograh printing training manual An Open Source Manifesto for Co Production in Wester Hailes Open Source Designs for socially distant exhibition spaces Webpage with submission and publishing formats for the Press moving forward

SOCIALLY DISTANCED EXHIBITION STRUCTURES Before

the

second

lockdown

we

explored

the

possibilities

of

holding exhibitions and needing mobile and modular structures to create

safe

spaces

within

the

WHALE

building.

Different

boards

and frames were designed with ease of movement and distancing in mind.

The

builds

boards.

include

Though

we

8

stand

have

alone

not

yet

boards, used

4

them

A

frames,

due

to

3

the

Z

fold

second

lockdown restrictions they will be used in the future for both indoor and outdoor exhibitions and events.

VOLUNTEER DAY This

event

was

delivered

in

partnership

with

the

Volunteer

Co-

ordinator as a celebration event for the Volunteers in WHALE. The Volunteer Wall was co-designed and made with the volunteers on the day, and we shared lunch and thank you packs.

MUMS INTO BUSINESS STANDS Before groups.

lockdown During

Morvern

lockdown

met

she

with

worked

all

of

with

the

adult

Mums

into

programme Business

via

zoom and together they co-designed set of business stands which were

laser cut in plywood for their future markets and events.

WHAT'S ON THE HORIZON

TASTER SESSION MICRO GRANTS 5

micro

grants

Freelance

group

of

up

to

leaders

experimentation/trying

£250 as

new

a

will

way

ways

of

be to

made

provide

engaging,

available

to

opportunities a

year

into

the for the

Coronavirus pandemic.

Freelancers will be invited to apply for the grants and applications will open in December. They will close at the end of January, with activities being delivered in February and the first half of March.

OPEN SOURCE & CO-PRODUCTION MANIFESTO Morvern will draw on the projects from within the residency: Coproduction and engagement frameworks / How-To’s / Workshops / Discussions / Designs, to develop the Co-production manifesto.

This

will

community

include by

the

publishing

learning

from

examples

of

participants work

using

and

open

local source

methodologies. Open Source licences will be used and supported, and the possibility for WHALE Arts becoming a licence provider will be explored.