Tag Archive for 'workshops'

Thanks and praise to Flying Start

Published
by
Antonio
on June 8, 2008
in Education and Flying Start
. 0 Comments

Last week myself and others were invited to talk to someone from Ofsted about the Flying Start course. For those who don’t already know what it is, here’s the blurb:

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.

Soapbox

Published
by
Antonio
on March 22, 2008
in Events and Workshops
. 0 Comments

Something that I saw some time ago on the artsjobs mailing list but forgot to post. It’ll be great for workshop deliverers and anyone else involved in learning (perhaps you, Bobbie?):

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!

Flying Start

Published
by
Antonio
on February 2, 2008
in Education, Flying Start and Workshops
. 0 Comments

Flying Start

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