Tag: commission

Creative Chat ‘n’ Blog – Belona Greenwood

Posted on by Alice Cramer

Listen to Bel’s podcast episode here.

The Challenge

It was a shock. I lost all my arts in education work and income overnight.  At first, I pretty much panicked in that I applied for any work, anywhere with a sense of dread that I would end up having to leave behind a creative life I had spent so many years trying to put together. At the same time, suddenly there was a space which I couldn’t negotiate productively.  I would have loved to have used the time that opened up before me creatively, but I was too anxious about money.  And then I benefitted from an emergency grant from the Arts Council. I was so grateful and promised to use my time well, even as I disinfected everything in sight, even as I limited going out to an early morning gallop with the dog, even as I stressed about my keyworker daughter exposed to the public.

Developing Ideas

Gradually, my heartbeat slowed, and I began to think and write again – in that gloriously beautiful weather in the first year. I sealed off the world and zoomed.  It has made me think of hybrid theatre forms and I have discovered the potential for intimacy, as well as theatre’s wider online reach, but still, a year on the yearning for the energy of live performance is very strong.

I count myself lucky. I was commissioned to write a play with funding put in place before the pandemic. It was a stop start experience for the theatre company – even as auditions, and script read throughs were held and rehearsals began, they were postponed, the project settling into a waiting time as theatres closed and new variants emerged and made being together impossible. I think we learnt patience this year. 

There are limitations to not being in the same room.  Part of my working life is spent in a writers’ room with two other scriptwriters where we develop television and radio drama.  It is a crucible where we hammer out a series, it is so much harder to interrupt each other passionately, the creative energy is missing in action. We adapt but it is not evolution. 

Belona Greenwood’s book The Flying Shop of Imagination, is full of inspiring ideas to get children writing and inventing.

Final Thoughts

It is a year since I have spent time in a school with real, 3D children.  Delivering an arts project to six-year-olds for a day in maverick weather this week was brilliant. A real return. But I cannot forget. We all carry a sorrow for the suffering of then and now.  I cannot but believe that as artists we are in a fragile peace, we live in uncertainty and with that there is a challenge. Out of chaos comes creation.

Written by Belona Greenwood.

Listen to Bel’s podcast episode here.

Read about Bel’s Writing the Landscape project here.

Creative Chat ‘n’ Blog – Kaitlin Ferguson

Posted on by Alice Cramer

Listen to Kaitlin’s podcast episode here.

I am an environmental artist based in Norwich, my artistic practice crosses between many disciplines, but my particular focus is on sculpture, drawing and printmaking. 

As an extension of this I also create participatory projects which involve working with people, connecting them with nature through artistic activities. Before lockdown, this involved traveling across the country, working with audiences of all ages.

At the start of lockdown, all of the projects I had been working on got cancelled or postponed, within the matter of a few days, this was a scary state to be in as a freelancer! 

Then, with more time on my hands, I had a chance to pause and reflect. I decided to use this time as a chance to teach myself some new skills; video recording and editing. I also taught myself how to use a series of digital design packages.

One of the first projects I was able to use these digital skills on was a commission from MarketPlace as part of their ‘Creative Conversations in Isolation’ programme. I created a four-part video series entitled ‘Art and the Fens’ exploring different environment aspects of the Fens and shared ideas for how to make different creative responses. 

Activities included making a recording card for documenting a walk, how to make a pocket sketchbook to draw in, a video on anthotype printing using food and spices, and finally a video about using textiles to explore Fenland geology.  

It was important to me that the videos felt relaxed and like a conversation between me and the viewer. I also decided I wanted to create a handy guide to each video for people or download or print, hopefully making the project even more accessible.

Working in lockdown has really made me miss connecting with the people, and even though I know the videos can’t replace the joy of being in the same room, they are an important way for people to connect with others in isolation and use creativity for its therapeutic and relaxing benefits.

Since the project, I have been incorporating my newfound video and digital design skills into all of the other projects I am working on. I’ve found that, even though it can take a little while to get the hang of, using videos can be a really helpful way to share your ideas and artwork with others.

Written by artist Kaitlin Ferguson.

Listen to Kaitlin’s podcast episode here.

Read about Kaitlin’s Art and the Fens project here.

Creative Chat ‘n’ Blog – Leanne Moden

Posted on by Alice Cramer

Listen to Leanne’s podcast episode here.

When lockdown came into force in March 2020, I lost all my freelance work overnight. As a performance poet, I do a lot of arts and music festivals, and the cancelation of these left a real hole in my calendar. I also run workshops in schools, and I had two large schools projects cancelled because of the pandemic. 

It was certainly a shock to begin with, but as a freelance artist, I’m fairly used to precarious working. Thankfully, since Spring 2020, I’ve been able to work with wonderful organisations like MarketPlace, and be part of innovative projects bringing creativity to communities in the digital space.  

As an educator, I was initially concerned that video conferencing would be complicated and sterile when compared to face-to-face facilitation. Luckily, the fantastic folk at Paper Cranes – the writing collective I run in Nottingham – were supportive and patient while we worked out how to switch to online sessions. Now, I relish the challenge of teaching groups online, and being able to continue to write with our collective has been a real boost to my mental health too! 

I also took the opportunity to do a number of live performances over Zoom, and I’ve really enjoyed ‘visiting’ events across the world. Being able to connect across borders and time zones has enabled collaboration on a scale I certainly never thought possible before!  

Over 2020, I’ve been intensely grateful to those organisations providing creative opportunities for artists and communities to work together. The MarketPlace Creative Conversations project in August 2020 was a wonderful example of this. The collaborative poem we produced is something that I am immensely proud of. 

Writing during a pandemic has been tricky at times, especially when the news seems so consistently overwhelming. But I have learnt how to ‘go with the flow’ a little more, and pounce on inspiration when it strikes. I’ve also learnt some brand-new skills, like video editing and production, which has allowed me to explore new ways of working and flexed my creative muscles. 

It’s been a hard year for the creative sector, but I’m grateful to have learnt new skills, participated in exciting projects and connected with so many lovely people. More importantly, I am grateful to all the key workers in the UK, who have ensured that our hospitals, care homes, supermarkets, post offices, healthcare, education services and other vital facilities continued to run through 2020. 

Thank you all.  

Written by poet, Leanne Moden.

Listen to Leanne’s podcast episode here.

Read about Leanne’s More Than Music project here.

Creative Chat ‘n’ Blog – Ric Savage

Posted on by Alice Cramer

Listen to Ric’s podcast episode here.

Art and video in lockdown 

I have been an artist illustrator for about 30 years or so.  My work has covered a fair bit of ground from figurative to wildlife pictures and childrens’ illustrations.  In a way Covid and the various lockdowns over 2020 haven’t affected my actual art making process, but it dramatically altered how I teach art and the way I make my living from art. In my pre-lockdown world, I was teaching in schools, libraries and in my own studio. 

In March of last year, my conventional teaching work and face to face projects, stopped overnight. It was a heck of a shock and it profoundly changes your perception of your self-worth. How exactly do you make a living when you are not seeing people?

I had never tried teaching via video link before, and the only videos I had made before were very short promotional art videos. I am an old dog, and this was going to be a new trick. It was a very steep learning curve for me, the only equipment I had was an iPad, no editing software, and no real budget to do anything about it.  I cobbled something together.  I remember feeling like a door-to-door salesman, trying to push myself into any job that would have me. 

I was lucky that there were a couple companies with projects that suited how I work as an artist.  20Twenty Productions CIC asked me to take part in two of their digital projects which got me started, and then later on a video link art mentoring class which I am still currently working on.  In addition to that, MarketPlace offered a commission for three videos on the subject of book cover design.  I loved working on that as a project and interacting with people on Facebook and Instagram.

I am profoundly grateful for all the support I received from friends, artists and arts organisations during this time.  

So, what does the future look like? At this point, I feel very optimistic.  We adapt, we grow and we look at new things and new ways of doing them.  Teaching via Zoom is ok, but there are limitations, I know this is an area that a lot of us have struggled with, reading the body language of the people we are teaching.  Video is a very interesting medium and I am going to be developing that a lot more in the coming months.  All of these new tricks will form a new part of my practice, but I can’t wait to get back to face to face teaching, being back in the studio with fellow artists will be great! 

Written by publisher and illustrator, Ric Savage.

Listen to Ric’s podcast episode here.

Read about Ric’s The Book Cover Club project here.

Creative Chat ‘n’ Blog – Sally Rose

Posted on by Alice Cramer

Listen to Sally’s podcast episode here.

What has lockdown meant for me?

I will be honest: to begin with, I didn’t miss the frantic journeys to and from the car, arms laden with P.A. equipment, with bags… bags of songbooks, bags of instruments (shakers, foot tambourines, hand bells, boomwhackers), bags of tea (3 kinds of), coffee, milk, squash (2 kinds of) and biscuits (numerous varieties).  Then came the realisation that all my future work and income had gone. 

Gone!  

At first, I tried to continue as best I could – positively – and like so many , I spent time recording videos and posting online.  I wanted to continue to reach out to the communities that I had established over the previous 4 years.  I wanted them to have something to refer to – a kind of guiding light in the face of growing darkness. Listening to the birdsong in the garden, throughout last summer, I spent wondered for hours thinking about the people who I no longer saw; those with whom I no longer had a physical connection; those whose collective voices had been cruelly silenced by an unknown killer.  

Unfortunately, the very nature of my work meant that not everyone could access and interact with online content. This got to me and gradually, I eased back.  Sometimes, for no reason at all, I felt the unstoppable, overwhelming urge to weep, tears rolling down my cheeks with the realisation that I could not connect fully with others through the internet.  I missed connecting in person: in real time.  Several people who attended my groups have lost their lives since last March. 

If they do return, my communities will not be as I knew them.

When lockdown eventually lifted last summer, the March Can’t Sing choir met up for several outdoor, Covid 19 secure, singing sessions. On those days, my heart burned as brightly as the summer sun and tears flowed down my cheeks, yet again, as I heard the collective voice soar as one with the buzzing bees overhead.  It is something I will never forget! 

People sometimes ask me why I lead people who ‘can’t sing’.  Well, all I can say is that the very act of singing is a magical thing.  Having a focus, having a purpose, connecting, breathing as one, having a go, laughing when things go wrong, being proud of something that you achieve, lifting depression, raising self-esteem, learning to use your body to sing, all brings people together in no other way that I know of… and it is so worth it!

As I reflect, I know that keeping my passion for singing is one thing that I will do.  There is a new dawn on the horizon, yet the world on which it will shine is still uncertain.  I still have my moments. I only hope that singing will rightly take its place, centre stage and re-unite communities once more.

Written by singer, Sally Rose.

Listen to Sally’s podcast episode here.

Read about Sally and the March Can’t Sing Choir here.

Creative Chat ‘n Blog – Michelle Brace

Posted on by Alice Cramer

Listen to Michelle’s podcast episode here.

Imagination – Connection – Voice

This past year has challenged me to refresh my practice and align with new priorities. The world got into a slower gear but I felt a renewed sense of urgency for my work to be relevant and in some way useful and meaningful. For it to connect.

In ‘the age of isolation’ a priority human need surely has to be connection. We’ve all needed to reach out to others for mutual support. As a solo artist I’ve found working and connecting with communities of like minds online to be a lifeline. Virtual meet-ups, courses and skills sessions have been so valuable in helping me to meet new people, keep up to speed, deepen existing skills and, believe it or not…. get excited about the future!! 

A lockdown commission opportunity with Marketplace prompted me to realise an idea which I’d had on my mental shelf for years gathering metaphorical dust. Mantelpiece was about creating a community of voices, displaying treasured objects together – on a digital Mantelpiece – and sharing the stories they told. Mantelpiece – now in a new phase of research & development – was adapted for Marketplace to be a neat little creative conversation starter for online group work. The hope is also that the process of sharing such unique and personal stories helped to promote greater empathy, insight & understanding between the people involved.

I think that living through a pandemic has sharpened everyone’s awareness of the fragility of life. The change in pace we experienced gave us a rare chance to much more fully appreciate its beauty and constantly changing states. In the piece of work I made for The Library Presents at the end of 2020, Let the Leaves Change, I was trying to visually communicate something about the magic of late autumn / winter. With my camera and my homemade light box I got deeply into looking at the incredible and intricate detail, colours and textures appearing in the leaves and in the natural world around me. I thought about the inevitability – Covid or no Covid – of change.. of nature moving with ease and without resistance, from one season to the next. 

This continuously evolving visual mix, produced by Collusion, was created to be back-projected at night into a town centre shop window in Wisbech and the library window in March. It included a layer of leaf drawings and designs made in collaboration with local communities. I really loved the raw quality achieved by mixing hand drawn and coloured leaves with layered filmed clips and I could see the potential for working more in this way….

My most recent piece of work Where Are We Now? was the product of an experimental 8-week programme, ‘Mindful Making’, designed to support adults experiencing mental health difficulties. We used a range of creative activities to explore the idea that if you immerse yourself in the creative moment you can temporarily suspend your worries & fears. Our aim was to create a relaxed, pressure-free environment and offer an open, fun and playful approach to making art. This project got very close to the heart of Unlocked Creative – encouraging people to be courageous and make instinctive decisions about what comes next. If we can let go of pre-conditioned ideas and get into the process of making something we can feel totally liberated & renewed. This is a healing, empowering and adventurous place to be that opens up all kinds of possibilities….! 

Written by artist, Michelle Brace.

@mich_unlockedvj

Director, Unlocked Creative CIC | VJ & Digital Artist

Listen to Michelle’s podcast episode here.

Read about Michelle’s Mantelpiece project here.

The Story of Molly Whuppie with Marion Leeper

Posted on by Colin Stevens
A photo of Marion in a glittering tent telling a story to four small children.

Marion answered our Inkling & Connect call-out last year with a problem she wanted to try and solve.

The problem? How could Marion take the interactive fun and learning from a playgroup setting and transfer it to the flat screen of Zoom and YouTube?

It was certainly a challenge and we were keen to support Marion. Take a look at the first part of her Molly Whuppie story.

As she says about her first video story:

“The Bridge of One Hair that I’ve had to cross, was the big move to telling stories online. Live storytelling in the early years is a conversation.  Young children respond to stories with their whole bodies: not just joining in with actions and rhymes, but pointing, laughing, moving the props around, deciding how the characters are feeling and what they had for breakfast.  

I had to take a leaf out of Mollie Whuppie’s book, and make a virtue of a small screen.“

A photo of Marion’s makeshift set at home using household objects.

Marion persevered, tried out techniques and collaborated to bring in film skills.

“I struggled to learn so many things – lighting, set-building, framing. Then my film-buddy and mentor, Inés Alvarez Villa, came on the scene. Working remotely, she patiently taught me how to focus a shot, film close-up sequences of props and many other skills.”

You can read about Marion’s experience in her recent blog here.

If you are interested in finding out more about the use of storytelling in Early Years learning contact Marion via her website.

Here are the rest of the Molly Whuppie adventure series.

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Evaluation Case Study: Writing the Landscape

Posted on by Alice Cramer

This case study is part of our project evaluation for 2019/2020

Writer Bel Greenwood was commissioned as part of our Creative Conversations in Isolation programme to bring together a group who were interested in creative writing with a landscape and environmental theme. Everyone had to get used to being on Zoom rather than meeting in person, but the group enjoyed getting to know each other and experimenting with their writing guided by Bel. People were finding new connections to their local environment and nature through lockdown, this group were no different, giving them lots to write about. They produced a blog to share their work and have continued to meet and write.

Read the Writing Inspired by the Landscape blog here.

Download the full Writing the Landscape case study here.

Read the full 2019/20 evaluation report here.

An excerpt from the case study:

Recognising an increase in people’s connections to their local environment, this commission was a way to develop interest and community audiences connected to this theme.

Images reads "It's about generating a sense of imaginative connection with the landscape - they have a very strong relationship with the landscape and I want them to generate a successful collection of work. I hope I'm building confidence in people in their own stories and starting them off on an adventure." - Bel Greenwood, writer.
Images reads “It’s about generating a sense of imaginative connection with the landscape – they have a very strong relationship with the landscape and I want them to generate a successful collection of work. I hope I’m building confidence in people in their own stories and starting them off on an adventure.” – Bel Greenwood, writer.

The group had mixed previous writing experience from academic papers and books to one creative writer. Their passion for the natural environment unified the group.

Each workshop consisted of a combination of surprising writing challenges and the opportunity to collaborate and share. As well as the experience of having a professional writer critique and support edits in work produced.

Key outcomes for the group were to improve their skills in writing creatively through their connection to the landscape. Also to support them to increase their confidence in sharing their work publicly.

Graphic showing participation and audience numbers. Facebook: 1191, Participants: 9, Twitter: 4417
Graphic showing participation and audience numbers. Facebook: 1191, Participants: 9, Twitter: 4417
Pictured: A photo of a robin singing. Text on the image reads: "Dear Robin. If I'd only sat up and taken the time to smell the damp earth and appreciated the beauty of my garden instead of considering my work a trial to endure, things could have been different. By Jaqui Fairfax".
Pictured: A photo of a robin singing. Text on the image reads: “Dear Robin. If I’d only sat up and taken the time to smell the damp earth and appreciated the beauty of my garden instead of considering my work a trial to endure, things could have been different. By Jaqui Fairfax”.

Download the full Writing the Landscape case study here.

Read more about the Writing the Landscape project with Bel Greenwood here.

Evaluation Case Study: Creative Collective and Mantelpiece

Posted on by Alice Cramer

This case study is part of our project evaluation for 2019/2020

We brought together a group of volunteers from communities in the local areas we work with. Known as the Creative Collective, they have worked with us over the last year to co-commission creative practitioners and plan arts activity in their towns and across the area. They got involved when we changed our programmes in response to Covid-19 helping us in decision-making for our micro-commission programme.

For one of the commissions, we wanted the group to have the chance to be participants too. They chose Mantelpiece by artist Michelle Brace. The project explored our connections with objects and their personal significance through recordings of each person telling the story of their object. Michelle encouraged the group to consider the meaning and memories behind their chosen objects and they worked together to learn and share digital skills needed for their recordings.

Download the full Creative Collective and Mantelpiece case study here.

Read the full 2019/20 evaluation report here.

An excerpt from the case study:

The Creative Collective directly builds on work developed in Phase 1 to give opportunities for local voice to feed into MarketPlace programming. The group had newly formed at the end of Phase 2 Year 1 and had begun joint planning a new programme of activity to roll out across the seven towns.

This year the Creative Collective has been integral in the commissioning process, user testing potential roll-out projects and matching artist ideas with relevant communities. The MarketPlace team identified a commission with the potential for cross-generational roll out across the towns. In discussion with the Creative Collective, they selected the commission as one they would participate in themselves.

Mantelpiece

Mantelpiece is a project in which groups share stories associated with objects to create a collective digital portrait of who they are to accompany their oral stories.

It has a very clear simple structure – set a group a brief to choose an object in their home and to share why it’s important, what it says about who you are, and a memory associated with it. In the sharing of the story, it gets recorded. Each object is photographed and composited into a group shot around mantelpiece, a place known for showing prized possessions.

Pictured: Left: The final image of the groups items in pride of place on the mantelpiece. Right: Screenshot of the audio files of the group telling the stories behind their chosen object.

Download the full Creative Collective and Mantelpiece case study here.

Read more about the Mantelpiece project with Michelle Brace here.

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