Elemental

On Monday 8th June the ‘elemental’ in the South West took place at Watershed Media Centre in Bristol.

Our keynote speaker for the event was Rose Fenton, Co-Founder of LIFT talked about her experiences around times of boom and bust, linking to the theme for the region:

‘In the South West our focus is on partnerships required to make work happen - a practical and inspiring session from someone with experience in times of boom and bust!’

Following Rose’s great presentation (which will be posted as very soon), Richard Crowe, London 2012 regional Creative Programmer gave his overview of the Cultural Olympiad and the ‘Inspire’ initiative.

The second part of the afternoon took shape as breakout sessions looking at real issues in the sector.

Were you at the South West event? Please share your experience from the event by commenting below.

To see more about the South West please click here.

In the setting of Manchester Central Library on Friday 5th June elemental North West took place prior to the x.trax showcase starting that evening.

Verena Cornwall from the Circus Development Agency was our chair for the day, firstly introducing the unfortunate news André Pérusse our keynote speaker had missed his flight due to a Montreal road incident.

Fortunately, Liz Pugh and John Wassell (Co-Founders & Co-producers) from Walk the Plank stepped in to talk about their work for the closing ceremony of Manchester’s Commonwealth Games.

Starting with a little context from London 2012 Creative Programmer for the North West, Debbi Lander, she talked about the three areas that were her priority:

Moving on to talk a little about the curating and commissioning of the ‘We Play’ initiative and the ‘Inspire’ programme for smaller scale projects.

Following Debbi, Julie Tait (Director of Kendal Arts International) talked the work her company are involved with and they work on the premise of partnership and sustainability with around 15 – 20 core partners.

Julie talked about the pilot projects they have worked on and a little more about Mintfest, leading us into her presentation about Lakes Alive – moving from “small scale to large scale in one big step”.

Liz Pugh and John Wassell, then stepped in to talk about the work of Walk the Plank, and showing a piece of video to illustrate their closing ceremony work and with the limited timescale of making:

Something to be truly in awe of…It helped their organisation step up to the next level, strengthen core staff ready for the next large projects – Liverpool 08 opening and currently working with Kinetika on ‘Imagination: Our Nation’

After a short break, Marta Almirall Elizalde arrived with her translator and talked about her work as an Artistic Director and her work as Director of Festivals for Barcelona City Council. She spoke about the lessons to be learned from Barcelona Olympics and what happens after large scale sporting ceremonies.

The presentations of the days speakers will be online very shortly, to read all about elemental in the North West, please click here.

Were you at the event? Do you have any burning comments or feedback – lets get people talking on elemental…

On Tuesday 19th May we kicked off the West Midlands event at Playbox Theatre in Warwick with the keynote speaker, Ali Williams from No Fit State and break out sessions with Bill Ferguson and Stewart McGill (find out about them here) and not forgetting Ros Robins from the Arts Council England WM as MC.

Starting with setting the scene exercise, interesting and thoughtful ideas and thinking came from the section and leading nicely into the keynote address from Ali Williams. The address was suitably informal looking at the progression route that No Fit State has taken from “little acorns” to becoming the internationally acclaimed company we see today. Starting with today – and the Tabu video:

Interestingly the development from little acorns to what we see today came from little investment from ACE in the beginning, and a lot of risk as a company! Full presentation and notes will soon be available.

Following a lovely lunch and some fabulous brownies courtesy of Playbox, breakout sessions with Bill Ferguson and Stewart McGill gave examples of how Street and Circus work on ground level and indeed the Playbox’s work nurturing the “Oak Trees” of the future.

Stewart’s presentation included an aerial demonstration by Christina Newman.

A national conference for Outdoor Artists, Practitioners, Arts Development Officers, Programmers, Policy Makers and Funders exploring Outdoor Arts in practice and its impact on people and places

Thursday 11 & Friday 12 June 2009

Peel Park, Cliffe Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD3

Convened within a tented village and initiated by Arts Council England, Yorkshire, working in partnership with Bradford Mela and regional artists, Quest is a 2 day exploration of the following key questions:

The Village will include a number of themed tents and, as a delegate, your Quest will be to visit and contribute to each tent at least once during the conference, meet new people and leave inspired with new ideas for the development of the Outdoor Arts sector.

Programme

Welcome to the Yorkshire region - Andy Carver, Executive Director, Arts Council England, Yorkshire

A new role for the artist - John Fox, Founder and Artistic Director of Welfare State International 1968-2006 and Director (with Sue Gill) of Dead Good Guides

How does the art form touch, influence and affect a change in the lives of its audience?- Hilary Westlake, Performance Writer and Director

Collaborative, cross art form legacy projects for the Cultural Olympiad -Ali Pretty, Artistic Director, Kinetika & Collaborator, Imagination: Our Nation

Professional development programmes for circus artists and directors -Leila Jancovich, Co- founder Circelation & Senior Lecturer in UK Event Management at Leeds Metropolitan University

International cross cultural collaborations and emotional and dramatic depth in outdoor work - Mike Lister, Street Theatre Specialist & Co-founder, Avanti Display

Performance as a state of encounter - Alice Bayliss, Lecturer in Applied Theatre Educational, Community and Interventionist Contexts, University of Leeds

A wet Saturday afternoon in Batley: The importance and reach of the small scale - Tony Lidington, Showman & Director, Promenade Promotions

Providing time and space for professionals and communities to explore outdoor work - Richard Sobey, Executive Producer, IOU & Bev Adams, Artistic Director, Faceless

Highlights of UK–wide ‘elemental’ conversations on street and circus arts - Helga Henry, Fierce Earth Ltd

Independent Street Arts Network (ISAN) - Julian Rudd, ISAN co-ordinator

National Association of Street Artists (NASAUK) - Adam Gent, NASAUK Steering Group

Themed tents

Impulses: Creative provocation

Mechanics: The practicalities of making outdoor arts projects

Think Tank: Engaging, theoretical debate

Emergence: Exploring the small scale, emergent work and training for the sector

Hive: Registration, speed dating market place, networking space, refreshments

Sustenance: Fantastic food, socialising and networking

Yurt: Gayurty! Informal cabaret evening in a Yurt, Thurs 8pm-10pm

Details

11th June 10.30am-5pm, Gayurty 8pm-10pm & 12th June 9.30am-4pm

£75 includes optional table in speed dating market place

£50 (unwaged/students)

Fill in form by email or online at by clicking here

Here is a taster of Bill Gee’s presentation at the South East ‘elemental’ event held on the Wednesday 8th April – for more information about the South East please click here.

Bill Gee talked about Inside Out and used images and audience quotes to demonstrate his work.

Periplum - Arquiem

“an amazing magical night that transformed the town into a candybox of colour and fire” Audience member

“Thought provoking and wonderful - do come again - splendid use of the town centre” Mayor of Wimborne

1,370 spectators over two nights

Counter Currents - small scale mixed programme

“Just fab, every act a glorious surprise and stunning out in the open and great food! The hairdressing performance was hilarious” Audience Member

2,600 spectators through the afternoon

Fire Gardens - Carabosse

“The most amazing, magical and just stunning piece… it was a real mix of locals, students, tourists and people of all ages, and backgrounds” Audience member

“What a magical, atmospheric evening it was… we’re so pleased to see so many people attending the event” Councillor

22,100 spectators over three nights

For a full pdf of Bill Gee’s presentation please click here, all images are copyright of Roy Riley.

On Wed 8th April the Arts Council Offices in the South East welcomed delegates from around the region for the ‘elemental’ event. Our speakers were Neil Butler from UZ Events, Brigitte Orasinski from Strange Cargo and Bill Gee from Bill Gee Associates. (To find out more about the speakers click here).

The speakers shared their experience and expertise surrounding the theme of international work. The event was a success and we have received some positive and encouraging feedback from the delegates.

Neil Butler was first to talk about his experiences from UZ Events in terms of commissioning and the development of partnerships for international work.

Bill Gee gave a presentation around his role as producer of Inside Out Festival, amongst his many other productions and gave real practical insights into the budgeting requirements of making work happen.

Brigitte Orasinski gave a presentation about Strange Cargo’s work internationally and their award-winning project Other Peoples Photos. She emphasised the importance of visits overseas as a way of inspiring artists and bringing best practice to the UK.

Following lunch delegates separated into teams and began a Dragon’s Den style session pitching to the speakers and James McVeigh, Head of Resource Development at ACEse for the average spend for the sector.

And the winner was…

SCALEXTRIC M25 (In the words of Indy Hunjan)

“Using the 4 key service stations around the M25 there would be periods of time when the traffic would come to a standstill and people would reclaim the road/land. The service stations would serve as climatic spaces for huge events to take place and you may even see the odd Giant coming out the trees to take on the cars and lorries. The Giants may even have magnetic hands where cars or lorries would be lifted and dropped (naturally without people in them) as part of the finale events.

We successfully pitched for the full amount of money and with that got the expertise and support of all 4 Dragons - happy days :)”

More information from the day will appear on the site as soon as it is available, so please come back regularly or click here to see other ways to get involved.

If you attended the event and didn’t have chance to carry out your evaluation, please take the time to complete it today online by clicking here or give us your feedback by commenting below!