I know that sometimes the idea of introducing computers into teaching can seem daunting! Computers are pretty unstable, so add children and pressure into the mix and it’s a potential recipe for disaster! This course really did show me that multimedia doesn’t have to be all that confusing and some of the simplest technology can have the greatest effect.

Here’s one of the pieces I produced:

It’s not fancy, but for children, and even the people attending the workshop it was really really fun, and I think that’s one of the more important things about education and learning.

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An accredited training scheme for artists – working in any art form – who want to gain workshop planning and delivery skills and experience of community arts and participatory arts work.

The inspector was very clear to note that whilst she was from Ofested that this wasn’t actually an inspection. In the five years the course had been running it was identified as an example of good practice* and she was here to get feedback for their website from people who were on the course.

Overall it was really great to talk to her, but I think the general consensus is that it’s a crime that this course wont be carrying on as there is nothing quite like it anywhere else. Sure, you could attend the MA in Community Arts at Staffs Uni, but there’s only so much studying you can do before being thrown into the workshop delivery world. In the three months of the course you really do learn not only how to deliver a workshop, but also a bit about finance, networking, project planning and self promotion, which is something I feel university doesn’t cover enough.

The course is obviously needed, so if anyone from Birmingham City Council is reading this, sort it out and get Flying Start back!

*I may have got the actual terminology wrong, but you get the idea.

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I can understand this reasoning if a journalism student was study online journalism or if an art student was making a web based project, but to teach web design ‘just in case’ seems like something that is more likely to irritate and frustrate people on the course.

I think a review of why subjects are taught is in order.

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Supported by Black Country Creative Partnerships: Soapbox is an informal space where creative practitioners who work in learning can meet up with each other to:

• question, ponder, debate and wonder
• get inspired, irritated, encouraged, creative
• connect up, catch up, talk through what’s up and simply meet up

Soapbox is a space for creative practitioners who work in learning to share and learn from each other in an open and honest way. It’s a space to reflect upon our own creative thinking and practice. It’s about us doing something for ourselves and it will run for as long as it proves useful to sufficient numbers of us to keep it going.

To suss out if it’s something for you, come along to our first session on:

TUESDAY 8TH APRIL (6.00-8.00pm)
Atticus Bar, 113/114 Three Shire Oak Road,
Bearwood, Birmingham, B67 5BT (Google map)

This session will be started by Noel Dunne, freelance producer and creative agent who’ll be exploring the question: ‘Do we know our own value?’

Confirm your attendance by e-mailing Janine Millington on janine.millington@wlv.ac.uk. See y’all there!

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Stepping on Rakes presents a new piece of physical and movement theatre. Three young women return to Papa Miel’s Family Circus in memory of loved ones left behind. Their long-lost world is recreated through imaginative puppetry in this funny and touching coming of age story.

Having studied with the directors of this play during Flying Start I felt like I should go to see this play and learn more about physical theatre. After seeing it I was enlightened and delighted!

The overall story was at first a little difficult to grasp, but soon into this approximately 40 minute play I understood it all. The visual tricks really help in letting you delve into their world and the actors, although mostly mute, really do communicate their energy and feelings really clearly. For me the most impressive visual “trick” is the one seen on the poster. I wont ruin it for you by explaining, but instead will urge you to go see it yourself! Tonight is the last of it’s two nights at the Old Joint Stock Theatre (yes, it has a theatre on the second floor) and tickets are £6 (£4 concessions) from their website

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Here’s a image from a workshop I delivered as part of a group on the topic of Culture in relation to Birmingham. It was a big project, so we decided to collaborate online, which proved very useful!

Flying Start is now over and, due to a lack of funding, looks like it will completely end after five years It’s a real shame that funding has affected what is quite an essential course for budding community artists. The only other one I’ve seen is one at Staffordshire University but, unlike Flying Start, you have to pay for it.

The course has been of great benefit to me! Prior to it I had just graduated and had only done a bit of work in schools thanks to the Student Associates Scheme. Thanks to the course I now feel a lot more prepared to work in schools and the community on small and big projects! Check out more information on my workshops here.

Also, for all you budding workshops deliverers, here’s a useful pdf booklet about delivering workshops

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I think that the general consensus is that Open Source software apps such as Inkscape, GIMP and Blender will never replace their industry standard counterparts because there’s nothing wrong with these products in the first place. FOSS packages such as Open Office and Firefox (and to a lesser extent Ubuntu) have only really gained popularity because their counterparts are kinda rubbish. Neither Microsoft Office or Internet Exploder are as standards compliant as their FOSS counterparts and, in relation to Microsoft Office, you can save a lot of money by using Open Office that, whilst it has its flaws, offers very similar functionality to Microsoft’s product at zero percent of the cost! Brilliant!

When I start planning workshops soon, I’m still going to plan them assuming that they don’t have the necessary software (not all schools have Photoshop-like software) so will offer the use of FOSS packages. I think education is where Open Source will find its place in terms of design. What do you all think?

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