Filed under: meetings | Tags: arts, drama, excellence, olympics, training, UK, volarts
I was in Stratford-upon-Avon on Thursday to meet Geraldine Collinge and Ian Wainwright at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Our RSC Open Stages project is progressing well: the first of the 263 amateur productions within the project took place in February 2011 on the Isle of Skye and there will be Open Stages productions across the UK through to the end of 2012.
RSC Open Stages map
We have now completed the programme of skills sharing sessions across the country. The RSC Open Stages Skills Exchange team has travelled 5,047 miles this year, running sessions from Glasgow to Southampton, working with 2,320 amateurs. The learning from these sessions has been immense and, as well as the ways in which amateur theatre groups have benefited from the knowledge and experience of the professionals, it was fascinating to hear how much the RSC has learned about the nature and state of amateur theatre in the UK. On Thursday we discussed how we might use this learning to help to plan further work together after the Open Stages project finishes at the end of 2012. We also discussed details of the regional (and national) Open Stages showcase events being organised by our 10 partner theatres in Spring 2012 and the World Shakespeare Festival/Open Stages performances in July 2012. On 14, 15, 21 and 22 July 2012 at least 10 amateur productions, selected from the Open Stages programme across the UK, will perform in Stratford-upon-Avon as guests of the Royal Shakespeare Company as part of the official World Shakespeare Festival (which is part of London 2012 Festival, the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad). It’s going to be a fantastic opportunity for the chosen groups and a great chance for us to demonstrate the excellent standards achieved by UK amateur theatre groups.
Robin Simpson.
On Thursday I took part in a telephone meeting of the steering group for our Connected Communities research project ‘The role of grassroots arts activities in communities’. We discussed the arrangements for our ‘Growing the Grassroots’ consultation event at Cecil Sharp House in London on Tuesday 18 October. We also agreed plans for the publication of our literature review, final report and journal articles.
Robin Simpson.
Filed under: meetings | Tags: England, Europe, politics, volarts, volunteering
On Thursday afternoon I was in the grand surroundings of the Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs building on Parliament Street in London – the new home of the Cabinet Office – for a meeting of the European Year of Volunteering 2011 working group. As well as a general update on the progress of European Year of Volunteering activities, we heard presentations from Volunteering England and Volunteer Centre Warrington on the specific strands of work focussing on employer-supported volunteering and volunteer management. We also discussed the details of the European Year of Volunteering Tour event which will take place at the Coin Street Community Centre, just off the South Bank in London, from 28 October until 3 November.
Robin Simpson.
Filed under: meetings | Tags: arts, olympics, politics, Scotland, volarts
I was in Edinburgh on Wednesday where Fiona, David and I met the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, at the Scottish Parliament. It was a very encouraging first meeting with the Cabinet Secretary. We talked about the nature of the voluntary arts sector in Scotland and the work of Voluntary Arts Scotland. We focussed on our People Making Waves: Make a Splash! Project (which is part of The Scottish Project to create a cultural legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Scotland) and discussed the possibility of extending this work through to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. We also talked about the Year of Creative Scotland 2012, the Olympic Torch Relay in Scotland and Fiona Hyslop’s interest in supporting traditional skills, including heritage crafts.
Robin Simpson.
Filed under: meetings | Tags: politics, vcs, volarts, volunteering, Wales
I was in Newport on Monday to take part in a seminar called ‘Building the Big Society in Wales’. When Aled and I met David Jones, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, in May, the Minister told us he was planning this seminar. Given the difficulty of trying to progress the UK Government’s Big Society agenda in Wales, where the Welsh Assembly Government is of a different political hue, David Jones had done a very good job of gathering together a substantial range of representatives of civil society in Wales. The event was jointly presented by the Wales Office and the Cabinet Office and the Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd, was present to speak about the Government’s vision of the Big Society. David Jones opened the seminar by stressing that Big Society is nothing new. He said “Big Society is something that has been going on for a long time, particularly in Wales. The Government isn’t claiming credit for inventing the Big Society: the Government wants more of it and to help organisations like yours to expand, to grown and to do more”. Nick Hurd added that “two very small words have triggered a hell of a debate”. He said suggestions that Big Society was cover for cuts or empty rhetoric are myths: “It’s a debate that really matters. It’s a debate about responsibility and how communities work, how public services could and should be delivered. And it is even more important in the light of the riots that shocked us all.” Nick Hurd argued that “successive governments have transferred too much power and responsibility to the state and have lost something in terms of community vitality: is that what we really want?” He said “of course there are good examples all over the country: there is nothing new about Big Society. We’re not inventing something here: we are shining a spotlight on activities we want to encourage.” Nick Hurd stressed “this is about much more than just volunteering: it is a big transfer of power to communities. Don’t underestimate the potential for change.” He said the role of charities and social enterprises was very important to this project. There are three main opportunities:
- to do more in relation to public services
- to give voice to people who would otherwise struggle to be heard
- to provide opportunities for more people to volunteer
But Nick Hurd admitted this is a difficult time for the sector with much less money around.
As well as hearing from the two Ministers, the seminar included presentations by Nick O’Donohoe, the Chief Executive of Big Society Capital (a social investment bank funded from dormant bank accounts and the four major UK banks) and the winner of Welsh Social Enterprise Leader 2011, Sharon Jones, the Director of the inspiring Crest Co-operative in North Wales.
At the end of the seminar David Jones concluded that the groups around the room seemed generally well-disposed towards the Big Society concept, if not the Big Society brand or name. He announced plans to establish a Big Society Advisory Group for Wales and invited those present to suggest potential members for this group.
Robin Simpson.
Beer mat gallery at Up for Arts/Celf Amdani Carmarthen
On Saturday I was in Carmarthen for our first Voluntary Arts Wales Up for Arts event. It was a great day, despite the weather. Hundreds of people stopped to take a look at the wide range of artforms and crafts being demonstrated by local amateur groups. And the occasional downpour only served to drive more people into our marquee! It was wonderful to see so many people, young and old, having a go at screen-printing, spinning, candle-making, mask-making and much more. And there were some wonderful performances in Guildhall Square throughout the day, including poetry, creative writing and lots of music. I particularly enjoyed the local teenage kora maestro – who knew that Carmarthen harboured such expertise in the West African harp-lute?
Kora player at Up for Arts/Celf Amdani Carmarthen
As always, the more you talk to enthusiasts from local arts groups about their particular artforms, and the more you get involved in trying the activity yourself, the more you understand the complexity, the fascination and the satisfaction of taking part. After a few minutes talking to a member of the screen-printing group on Saturday, I could see completely how it could become a real passion. Enthusiasm for any creative activity is truly infectious and what Up for Arts always achieves is to demonstrate the wealth of enthusiasm and expertise that exists in any local community.
Congratulations to Fliss and Sioned for putting together a great event in Carmarthen and good luck for the second VAW Up for Arts event in Rhyl this weekend.
Robin Simpson.
Spinning at Up for Arts/Celf Amdani Carmarthen
On Tuesday morning I was at the British Museum in London for the official launch of the 2012 World Shakespeare Festival. The World Shakespeare Festival is a celebration of Shakespeare as the world’s playwright, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, in an unprecedented collaboration with leading UK and international arts organisations. There are over 50 formal partners in the World Shakespeare Festival, including Voluntary Arts. The festival runs from 23 April to November 2012 and forms part of London 2012 Festival, which is the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad, bringing leading artists from all over the world together in a UK-wide festival in the summer of 2012.
Speaking at the launch, Ruth McKenzie, Director of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival said “the World Shakespeare Festival will be one of the most remarkable celebrations of Shakespeare the world has ever seen”. Royal Shakespeare Company Artistic Director, Michael Boyd, called it “this most outrageously collaborative and ambitious festival”. Deborah Shaw, World Shakespeare Festival Director, said “we are trying to redefine what’s possible in creating a festival for a globalised age”.
Michael Boyd stressed the importance of the involvement of amateur groups in the World Shakespeare Festival. He talked of “Britain’s wonderful amateur theatrical tradition” and said he wanted to “redefine the relationship between professional theatre and the amateur theatre movement in the UK”. More than 260 amateur groups involving 7200 people (aged from 6 to 90) are taking part in the RSC Open Stages project, sharing skills and working with the RSC and 9 partner theatres to perform their own interpretations of Shakespeare everywhere from castles, parks and village halls to pubs, churches and a coffin works. Michael specifically mentioned the Royal Navy theatre group’s amateur staging of Much Ado About Nothing – an outdoor production in the naval dockyard at Portsmouth which will take place in July 2012 and will involve officers recently returned from active duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. Deborah Shaw singled out the pro-am production of West Side Story at the Sage, Gateshead, as one of the highlights of the Open Stages project. This will be a huge production, taking place from 4 – 7 July 2012, directed by Will Tuckett and featuring Northern Sinfonia and a cast including young performers, amateurs and semi-professionals. The amateur productions showcased by Open Stages include 19 Macbeths, 18 A Midsummer Night’s Dreams, 13 Tempests, 12 Romeo and Juliets as well as 30 new plays, 6 new musicals and 26 devised plays. Some of the most exciting amateur companies will perform at the RSC’s Stratford-upon-Avon home as part of the World Shakespeare Festival on 13, 14, 15, 21 and 22 July 2012.
Dominic Drumgoole, Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe, described ‘Globe to Globe’ which will take place from 23 April to early June 2012 and will involve productions of all of 37 Shakespeare plays at the Globe, each in a different language. Dominic’s flawless recitation, from memory, of all the relevant countries and languages was a tour-de-force which demonstrated both his skill as an actor and his direct involvement in developing the programme.
Peter Mather from World Shakespeare Festival sponsors BP said that “BP has always believed that arts and culture are vital to the health and wellbeing if the fabric of society”. He spoke about ‘My Shakespeare’ – a digital project supported by BP connecting people to Shakespeare’s places.
Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, described ‘Shakespeare: Staging the World’, an exhibition on the world of Shakespeare at the British Museum from 19 July to 25 November 2012. The exhibition will bring Shakepeare’s London to life through objects from the Museum’s collection and from across Europe, marking the moment at which London became a world city.
The World Shakespeare Festival is a massive undertaking and has so many strands it is difficult to remember them all, let alone describe them coherently. But it was great to hear so much prominence given, at the launch, to Open Stages and the involvement of amateurs. The World Shakespeare Festival is going to provide a fantastic international platform to showcase the best of UK amateur theatre. More details at http://worldshakespearefestival.org.uk.
Filed under: meetings | Tags: ace, arts, England, Europe, volarts, volunteering
On Wednesday I spoke to Michael Blake at Arts & Business who is leading the Culture & the Arts theme within European Year of Volunteering 2011 in England. Arts & Business is planning four key components of this work: there will be 6 ‘speed-dating’ events to match potential volunteers with arts organisations; ‘cultural ambassadors’ will be appointed to spread the word about volunteering; there will be celebratory events in London; and Arts & Business will develop volunteering toolkits for arts organisations or signpost to existing resources. We discussed this last point in detail in relation to the toolkit Voluntary Arts England is developing with Volunteering England as part of our Volunteering in the Arts project (funded by Arts Council England). We agreed to work together on this and to focus on trying to make existing volunteering advice and information more accessible for arts organisations rather than creating new resources.
Robin Simpson.
Cultural Playing Field 