Meet Kent's Advisers: Nova Marshall

Here at the Forum we thought it would be nice to catch up with some of Kent's Advisers who are out there delivering Arts Award in different settings. Please use their experience and ideas when delivering the award yourself as it always helps to see ideas passed on.

Our first adviser to be interviewed is the lovely Nova Marshal

Name	Nova Marshall
Company/School/Group	Aim4 Partnerships
Artform(s)	Visual art – ranging from sculpture, printmaking, photography, collage, collaborative painting, textiles, graphic design, site-specific art installations
Where are you based	Margate, Kent
Registered Centre Name(s)	Aim4 Partnerships (I am also linked to Turner Contemporary and Kemsley Community House)

Hi Nova, to begin with can you tell us in what settings have you delivered Arts Award?

I have delivered the arts award in a number of settings:

• Working with a youth group (6 – 11 years) as part of a housing association (informal setting)
• Working as part of Turner Contemporary, in an outreach youth setting (11 years +)
• Working with a Young Adult Parents group as part of a Children’s Centre 

What has your best experience been?

Working with the children from the youth group within their community was a rewarding experience for me and for them. I had gone into the project to be an additional youth worker/artist, however during the time I was working there I wanted to be able to make a really positive impact. Through discussions with the staff, we created an art project around World War 1 that would enable the children to achieve Arts Award Discover. Many of these children visited an art gallery and took part in the gallery’s creative workshop for the very first time.


Do you have an arts award story?

As an adviser, I worked with a young woman who was part of a Young Adult Parents Group. Whilst she attended each week, she was fairly hostile about what she was prepared to do and what she wasn’t. One week, an issue regarding taking photographs became apparent. She explained to me that she was very unhappy about her photograph being taken as she had body-images issues. I explained to her that we needed to take photos as proof of her involvement as part of the wider project. I suggested a way that we could take photos of her that didn’t have to include her whole body, in which she agreed. Each week she would look at any photos taken of her self, delete the ones she didn’t like and keep the ones she did.

At the end of one particular week, she came up to me and said that I was the first person to really listen to her and to understand her needs. From this moment onwards, each week she became more confident and her self-esteem began to grow. By the end of the 13-week project, she had lost weight through a process of healthy eating and started to really consider her future, not only for herself but her children too. She achieved her Bronze Arts Award and took part in a celebration event.

She is now doing an apprenticeship at a health and beauty salon and is really enjoying learning skills, meeting new people and earning some money.

This is not a typical arts award story but just by listening and supporting her, she was able to take the next step in transforming her life.


What is challenging about the award?

The structure of each award can seem quite ‘fixed’ but with some creative thinking you can find different ways of tackling this and documenting work.

Children and young people work at different paces and can be working on different elements of the award, so it can be challenging to keep up with where they are in their arts award journey.

Time – making the best of the time that you have with the group is vital so they remain on track to achieve the award.


What advice would you give other advisers?

• You need to be very organised so you have a grip on where each person is in their personal learning journey.
• If you don’t already, get to know each child/young person so you can best advise them when working on their award.
• Being open and flexible is essential.

Nova is a freelance practitioner and able to deliver Arts Award in you setting, she says: As a visual artist I can offer a range of creative workshops in various art forms as well as visits to artist spaces and studios.  Contact Nova at novamarshall.org

January's Arts Award forum is all about reviewing arts events with Becci Smith of Total Theatre magazine. Book your places here.

Six Ways to Wellbeing

Do you have young people wanting to do their Arts Award? We have this opportunity for young people to do their Bronze or Silver Award with Six Ways to Well-being in Swale.

Six Ways to Wellbeing with Wide Eyed Theatre

Your ideas, performed from scratch - Join our unique young persons performance group in which we create a story of people, place and events that make us happy and share them with the world.

All the ideas come from you...

Book your place here

Timetable:

Project Launch - Tuesday 28th October - 10am till 4pm - Bluetown Heritage Centre
This session will launch the project and is open to anyone interested in joining the project. It will be a day of building our performance company and creating project ideas.
Lunch will be provided - if you need support with transport please email vicki@wide-eyed-theatre.co.uk

Weekly Evening sessions in November and December - Location and times TBC

Celebration Event - 6th December - Location and times TBC

This is part of the Six Ways To Wellbeing programme being managed by Ideas Test and Swale CVS and is funded jointly by Kent County Council, Artswork and The Royal Opera House Bridge. Find out more about the Six Ways to Wellbeing at www.sixwaystowellbeing.org.uk.

You can find Ideas Test, Swale CVS and Six Ways to Wellbeing on Twitter @IdeasTest @SwaleCVS and @liveitwelluk, all of whom will be tweeting about the project under #sixwaystowellbeing. Six Ways to Wellbeing is also on Facebook, please search for ‘liveitwellkent’.

You can find out more about Wide Eyed Theatre on www.wide-eyed-theatre.co.uk

FAQs

Is there an age limit/restriction to take part?
You must live in Swale (which includes Faversham, Sittingbourne, Sheppey and surrounding villages) and aged between 13 to 19 years.

What happens after I book?
We will email you to confirm the details and send you some forms for you and your parent/guardian to fill in.

What do I need to bring on the day?
You must send us signed consent from your parent/guardian in advance or bring it on the day. If we don't have it you won't be able to take part.

Where can I contact the organiser with any questions?
Yes, please get in touch if you have any questions. Call Cassy Fry Programme Coordinator on 07713 865955 or email cassy@creativepeopleplace.info.
Do you have questions about Drama Workshop with Wide Eyed Theatre? Contact Ideas Test

Book your place here 

September's Arts Award Adviser Forum

The September Arts Award Forum was attended by Nova, Polly, Linda, Katie, Peter, Emma and Vicki, on 24th at the Gulbenkian.

The forum featured a creative session with musician and artist Peter Cook. Peter brought with him some beautiful beech branches.

First we explored the branches, stating what words they evoked for us: brown, rough, bumpy, elephant.

We then played with sounds, seeing how the branches made different noises depending on how they were struck. It was good fun to take turns as the leader, with the rest of the group mimicking the leader's rhythms.

Peter played to us Bernie Krause's recording of trees – a fascinating soundscape of cells popping.

The diversity of sounds associated with branches and wood was interesting, and great to discover as a group.

Peter also showed us how to make small instruments simply, out of straws. Simply flatten the tip of a plastic straw and snip a vent near the top with scissors. Blowing through the straw then produces a great sound!

Discussion:

The Advisers discussed bringing musicians into class to create interesting lessons. 

We talked about how to make young people's heroes more exciting, and Vicki suggested the idea of encouraging young people to write to their heroes. Getting a response can be incredibly inspiring.

Linda emphasised the importance of teaching young people that they are responsible for their life, and that they have to make things happen. This is what is so great about Arts Award as it allows young people to take control.

The difficulty of the school timetable was discussed, and it was decided that bringing a guest into school rather than sending individuals off to meet people would be easiest and safest.

Regarding units, Vicki confirmed that you do not have to follow units in order.

Arts Award Gold Training

Arts Award Gold Training will be on Thursday 13^th November from 4-8pm, for any Bronze or Silver Advisers who wish to reach Gold. It costs only £75 (usually £110). Contact vicki@wide-eyed-theatre.co.uk for more information and to book your place.

October's Arts Award Forum

October's Arts Award Forum is on 29th October. Come along for a creative session with Improvisation and Comedy performer Lucy Fennell, plus interactive planning session for all levels of the award.

An exercise to begin the Arts Award

In our last session Vicki introduced the forum group to an exercise she uses regularly with groups of all sizes, ages and abilities. Its great at identifying skills and areas of interest that the participants have. It is also is a way of identifying an individuals arts challenge that can be used in Bronze and Silver and other levels. When coming to evaluation it is a point to look back on a develop progress. The best thing about it is that its fun!


Materials needed: Something to draw with, Paper

1) Ask the group to draw around both their hands on one side of paper. If they have large hands they can overlap!

2) In one of the hands ask the group to write/ doodle/ draw positive things about them selves e.g. skills, their personality, what they enjoy. This can sometimes be an exercise within itself as some groups find it very hard to say positive things. You can suggest things to encourage them by telling them your own or ask the to ask someone else in the group to give them a positive point they've noticed about the person. Aim for a minimum of 5 things and 3 of those to be arts related.

3) In the other hand we create wishes for ourselves. Try to not call this a 'negative' or 'bad' hand. Changing the language to 'I would like to be a better listener' is more proactive than 'I am rubbish at listening'. Again make sure some of these are arts related.

4) The final stage is to discuss your 'hands' and find challenges. How this is done depends on the group; some groups may be willing to share with everyone, others may want to work with a partner or you on a one to one basis. The idea is to identify a goal or challenge for the individual that they feel comfortable about. This may jump out of the I wish hand, or it may be a combination of using skills they are already good at to achieve something new. For example many of our participants are great at drama but want to take it further by writing a script or directing. Others have combined feeling comfortable in the group with a new skill such as photography and photographed the group rehearsing and performing.

Enjoy the exercise and don't forget to revisit the hands when evaluating and reflecting!

GOLD TRAINING - An exclusive offer for Kent's Arts Award Advisers

Wide Eyed Theatre are delighted to invite you to train with us in Gold Arts Award at Gulbenkian in November. For a discounted fee of £75 you can attend the twilight session and up your Arts Award Offer. This is open to all advisers in Kent. For more info please contact vicki@wide-eyed-theatre.co.uk.

Gallery oppurtunity from an Arts Award Supporter

 
For anyone looking for an opportunity for young people to engage directly with with artist and gallery there is a a private exhibition viewing in Ramsgate next Thursday for young people. There's a chance to talk to the artist and meet the gallery director to know more about galleries. its a really good opportunity for anyone doing arts award or studying arts subjects. Click the link below to find out more.

http://artsawardvoice.com/magazine/events/inside-art-gallery

Hello to all Advisers and Supporters

Our blog is currently undergoing a few changes to make things better for you. 

In the meantime here is our new flyer with all of the forum dates.

Arts Award Surgeries for Kent Advisers

Support Surgeries for trained Advisers

 
Are you an Arts Award Adviser who needs some need some expert advice? You can attend one of the Arts Award support surgeries – these free sessions give you the chance to refresh your knowledge, ask questions and explore ways of making Arts Award work in your environment.

http://www.artswork.org.uk/artsaward-surgeries

Artsbox, Objects, Stories and Puppets

In March we had two forums so we also welcomed Peter Morton, from Knuckle and Joint Theatre, to the second session with his great Puppetry workshop. Peter demonstrated some fun and interesting tasks on how to transform an ordinary object into something creative and imaginative.

Rose, from Artwork, provided everyone with fliers and leaflets and a look into the new 'ArtsBox' concept. ArtsBox is an online dropbox service whereby you can link and collate any photos, videos or imagery to portfolio's, viewed by a Moderator.

Please see our earlier post on signing up to Artsbox here

Peter lead the creative activity...

Using Objects:

1. Pass around an object, eg; an umbrella, a book, a shoe
2. Each person had to respond with "This is not a ...","It is a ..." In which people were invited to think creatively of a different object instead, i.e; "This is not a shoe, this is a ship, sailing in the sea".
3. Change the object for new ideas.
4. Pass around again without repeating and of the previous objects already mentioned.

Secondly, Peter split the group in two to create our very own puppets, simply out of a mug and a dish cloth. The key was to:

1. Accentuate the body stance with detail to movement and breathing.
2. To establish a point of focus on the puppet from the puppeteer/puppeteers. This enables the audience to focus on the puppet.
3. Add an objective; a daily routine for the puppet to move to i.e. getting out of bed, getting dressed, etc.
4. Change the object and do the same.

The outcome of the sessions were great and we look forward to welcoming everyone to the future Forum sessions.

Arts Award Advisers Forum: 26 March 2014

How to become a Supporter

The last Arts Award Forum welcomed Rose Kigwana who is the Programme Manager for Arts Award. Rose covers the South East and is connected with the Arts and Cultural sector. She helped to explain how to become a Supporter with a step-by-step guide. During the session, Rose went into fine detail about what it meant to be an Arts Supporter, with all the additional information of what it entails.

The best place to start is here with this short guide.

So what are the pros of being a supporter? If you are an arts venue or heritage organisation you can attract more visitors by displaying the supporter logo on events which are suitable for Arts Award participants alongside talks with experts and artists, exhibitions and more. By offering discounts and incentives to groups you can join the Arts Award Supporter map to promote your centre to schools and groups undertaking the award in your area.

The activity comprised of the group splitting in two; each group were asked to discuss and plan a hypothetical situation, e.g, how one School or Youth group can be a Supporter to others; where they would start, and what the plan of action would be. The two groups were then asked to report back to each other to share ideas.

The Gift of Gold

Our last forum welcomed artist, musician and facilitator Peter Cook. Peter lead a thought provoking session stimulated by GOLD! We listened to music, viewed pictures and played games before launching into the main activity.






I always find other people's games really interesting and have 'borrowed' 3 of Peter's already.









One great game for warming up was 'Pass the Clap':

Group size: 5 or more players Group age: 5 up (may need to be adapted)

1) Ask the group to stand in a circle
2) Start off a clap that gets passed around the circle from player to player, you can slowly build up speed. Make sure it is passed consecutively and no one claps too soon!
3) Introduce the two clap rule. If someone claps twice on their go the clap gets sent the other way around the circle (Peter advised us to only let each person use this once or it tends to get stuck).
4) If the group get the hang of it introduce the 3 clap rule. If a player claps 3 times on their go the clap skips the person next to then and jumps to the next player!

A great simple and fast paced focus game.



We continued the session exploring poetry and comparing our feelings on Gold to the actual award.



We really got into discussing how gold is a precious gift, showing maximum effort and dedication. It is also a gift that is passed on the next person. This is exactly one of the aims of the Arts Award, in creating young creative leaders to pass on their gifts to the next generation.



We discussed how the progression of Bronze, Silver and Gold could be used in this way to pass on experiences between groups. If you were running them simultaneously, in schools for example, you could have the groups delivering to eachother i.e. the taking part of bronze could be a project run by silver or gold particiapants.

 

Thanks to Peter's diversity as an artist and facilitator, we were easily able to grasp sing cross art forms from poetry, to drama to music. This really relates to the challenge set in Gold Award in participants finding  new art form or challenging their existing one.

Artsbox has arrived!

Artsbox for online portfolios was released last week. I have just had a quick look around it and its looking good.

Firstly I would say if you're planning to use it sign up in advance as it can take up to 48 ours to register.

To begin with you are greeted by the rules of Artsbox, clearly laid out and with templates for letters etc.

The first thing I saw was the chance to make an avatar, so without looking anywhere else I began. The graphics made me chuckle straight away and much fun was had making my mini me!

On with the serious business! Next I made a practice page for the forum. You can upload Pictures, Video and Text. This is going to be great for our reviews which we have always shared online.

Over all it looks simple to use. I'm not sure how the comments box works, I'm wondering if this is open to all? I will watch what happens.

Vicki

What is the value of Gold?

February's Arts Award Forum

Wednesday 26th February
5-7pm
@ The Gulbenkian

Join us for an evening of creativity, inspiration and Gold!

On Wednesday 26^th February, Wide Eyed Theatre will be joined by the talented Peter Cook who will be leading a fascinating workshop on the value of gold. Come along and explore the representation of gold using music, poetry, drama and colour!

Book your place today through the Gulbenkian's website. You can join in the fun!

We will also be joined by Leanne Macdonald, Artswork, who will be showing participants how to use the new Artsbox to get their Arts Award evidence together.

This is February’s Arts Award Forum and it is open to one and all. Not only will you have the opportunity to experience an inspiring workshop, but there will also be the chance to share ideas with other Arts Award Advisers, including our resident Advisers, Vicki and Emma of Wide Eyed Theatre.

Do you have questions about the Arts Award?
Do you want to learn some creative skills?
Do you want to be inspired?

The value of gold materialises when it changes hands, and that is what the Arts Award is about: Passing on something valuable.

And bring a friend! Thanks to our brilliant location in the Gulbenkian, there is room for all. Free to attend, but please book in advance so we can supply materials for everyone.

Come and create with us.
Come and learn with us.

Best wishes,
Wide Eyed Theatre