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Director’s Blog – January 2018

Director’s Blog – January 2018
The year has started brightly for us here at Creativity Works with the news that we, alongside other consortium members Kilter and Bath Dance, have been awarded the contract to deliver arts development activities in Foxhill over the forthcoming year. This commission complements our work as Cultural Producers for both of the B&NES arts development commissions in Foxhill and the Somer Valley. We are very much looking forward to starting our venture in Foxhill, working alongside the community to develop a vibrant and sustainable arts offer, with young people and families at the heart of our plans.
The concept behind our Cultural Producer role is modelled on Arts Council England’s own co-production methodology, and as such we are still very keen to hear from members of the community who would be interested in becoming part of the Co-Producers group.
People who live or work in either area would be extremely valuable to the group, however if you have a passion for the arts and how they can change lives, but you don’t live in these areas, we would still very much like to hear from you. Please do see further details of this role in the newsletter.
Further to these two commissions, and indeed our longstanding commission, The Mental Health Creative Support Service, we are also about to embark on a newly commissioned piece of work for Somerset Libraries called ‘Engaging Libraries.’ This will see artists working alongside adults with autism and the wider community to redesign library spaces so they are more welcoming and functional for people with autism.
This raft of work will feed into our co|Create programme over the next year, ensuring that the experience we gain is not lost, but rather disseminated to other socially engaged artists in the region. The themes of co|Create will reflect our current work, exploring mental health and autism, spaces and places, and community development. The newly formed co|Create steering group, made up of socially engaged artists at various stages of their careers, will meet in February where we will discuss and sculpt the programme for the year.
Although we have yet to confirm a venue and date, March will see a truly inspiring co|Create session from Jill Carter, one of the most highly thought of and adventurous socially engaged artists around. Jill will be leading a day on Creative Journaling, an open-ended process, which can be intuitive, practical, poetic and playful! This workshop will offer space and time to explore ideas around how to use a journal to document thoughts in relation to the self, people and place, journeys and happenings. If you are interested in finding out more about this workshop or reserving a place, please do email me (oliver@creativityworks.org.uk) or look out for more information on our website and in our next newsletter.
Olly
Director, Creativity Works

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