Bright Space recruiting youth bloggers for new arts and social media project
Bright Space is launching a new and exciting social media project entitled Platform(www.projectplatform.org.uk) for 16-19 years olds living in Birmingham. Platform will be a blog featuring articles, reviews, events listings and much more, written by young people for young people and will represent a unique perspective on arts activity in Birmingham. Bright Space is now looking to recruit 15 young people who are interested in reporting, reviewing and attending the many cultural events in and around the city. This includes theatre, dance, exhibitions, launches and gigs. Deadline for applications is Monday 19th July 2010.
Successful applicants will receive a £200 bursary and the opportunity to attend a week long intensive summer school, which will highlight the many techniques and skills they will need to become fully fledged Platformbloggers. During the week they will take part in workshops led by industry experts including; journalists, photographers, bloggers and film-makers. Subjects covered will include:
Journalism, writing, reviewing and interview techniques
Podcasting with audio and video
Photo blogging and social media tools
Events management, promotion and marketing
The Platform bloggers will then organise a live launch of the website to their peers, parents, friends and mentors. The group will meet regularly throughout the project with continued access to and mentoring from industry professionals who will support them in creating content, researching articles and building their on-line readership.
The core group will improve skills in; ICT, literacy, independent learning and critical thinking. The project will also support those wishing to pursue a career within the creative and cultural industries.
The aspiration for Platform is to amplify young people as unique, dynamic, cultural commentators that successfully communicate, inspire and engage other young people, while at the same time propose significant debate about their cultural offer. It is also hoped that Platform will become a vehicle that cultural organisations, venues and promoters connect with to ensure their programming reflects the breadth and individuality of young people in Birmingham.
How to apply:
Applicants need to write a 200 word article on a creative passion that they have
Include their name, address, date of birth and contact details
Send the completed article with all the necessary contact details to: Bright Space, Studio 222 The Custard Factory, Gibb Street, Birmingham, B9 4AA
Bright Space (www.brightspace.org.uk) is committed to developing and encouraging activity that helps young people find creative progression routes in and beyond the arts. Bright Space works actively to encourage sustainable cross-sector partnerships that broaden the horizons and opportunities available to young people.
Naz Koser is the Artistic Director of Ulfah Arts based in Birmingham. She has kindly written this post for Best Believe giving an insight into her recent month long trip to the states on a programme for arts workers entitled ‘Promoting tolerance through Arts in the USA’.
Very few journeys in a person’s life leave an ever-lasting mark on one’s memory. I’ve just been on one and even though I enjoy coming back home after long travels, the emotions are much more mixed this time. My name is Naz Koser and I’m the Founding Director of Ulfah Arts a social enterprise based in Birmingham but working internationally developing artists and arts practices by engaging communities that don’t engage with the arts.
The journey in question is my recent trip to the Unites states of America as a part of an international programme – Promoting Tolerance Through Arts organized by United States department of State.
This three week program included meeting leaders of major art institutions, community arts organisation, museums and independent artists in Washington, New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Texas and Los Angeles Starting in Washington on the East coast and finishing in Los Angeles on the West Coast, my journey lasted almost a month but felt like a lifetime of learning.
I was part of a 20 member strong contingent made up of other arts professionals , each representing a different country . There is no arts council in USA and no public funding so all arts organisations’ have to find other ways of existing and doing their work. There was one good practice/excellence I saw in each city however majority of the time I ended up sharing my work based in Birmingham and received recognition for the contribution I am making. New York based City of Peace project developed a youth theatre production with young kids from foster care, giving an insight as to why some children end up in care. It was one of the best youth productions I have seen, with a quality and humorous script, and having seen a Broadway show the day before I recognised some of the formula used and the potential of this work. This stirred the ongoing debate in mind around how to close the gap between community/professional arts.
I’m convinced there are ways in which both the need for quality of art achieved through arts for arts sake and social change using arts as a tool can combine to have really powerful impacts on the various levels and audiences. This is one of the driving forces behind my work in bringing different groups of people, perspectives together. Just thinking about this makes me so excited and almost being in the USA made it feel so easy and achievable. Having come back to Birmingham I’ve realized that power and influence are also things needed to really help arts make an impact. It requires a degree of working outside of my comfort zone in building a profile and associating myself with people who have power and influence who may not necessary know about the power of the arts. It’s a conflict because I personally want my work to speak for itself rather than me talking about what I’m going to do. I do it and it speaks.
For the first time I’m thinking about place and whether there is a place that is more conducive for people like me. Where a city supports great ideas without compromising the artist, a place where exploration is appreciated and valued as even in the arts their are conventions and conforms that restricts creativity and it becomes exclusive. The LA Gallery walk is one of my favorite memories. Artists are invited to showcase their work in empty shop windows, other unusual spaces as well as restaurants and shops, everything from performances to visual artists in the process of making work. The atmosphere was inspiring and as an artist contagious! It really felt like a city encouraging ideas and creativity. There were thousands of audiences walking around the rough streets of LA. A bit like Birmingham’s arts fest but less corporate and more rooted from an organic growth.
Who am I? And What am I (Best Believe) on about?…here is what I came up with..
CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development. The term is said to have been coined by Richard Gardner, who was in charge of professional development for the building professions at York University in the mid-1970s. It was chosen because it did not differentiate between learning from courses, and learning ‘on the job’. CPD embraces the idea that individuals aim for continuous improvement in their professional skills and knowledge, beyond the basic training initially required to carry out the job.
CPD has never been more necessary than for those of us who work within the cultural and creative industries. For the purpose of Best Believe I would like to call it Continuous Creative Professional Development. CCPD can take on many forms; from seeing work, to attending seminars or workshops, to social networking, to going out, to reading a book/blog/magazine or to finding out about other creative types and their work. CCPD is as unique and bespoke as you are, an activity that makes you feel more informed or that gets your creative juices flowing.
Best Believe strives to reflect the interests of the hugely diverse creative community in Birmingham by highlighting the most exciting and valuable opportunities, news and events that are going on. Endorsing independent arts, culture and creativity in the city.
Author
My name is Amy Martin and I am a freelance creative consultant, project manager & event coordinator. I also am a DJ and promoter for Mama Feel Good! In 2004 I graduated from City University in London with a Post Graduate Diploma in Cultural Management. I studied all aspects of Arts Management including Cultural Policy & Framework, Finance & Fundraising, Arts Management, Arts Marketing and Education in the Arts.
I have a working knowledge of current cultural and creative trends in arts education and have worked within the creative sector, specifically in theatre and dance development roles for a number of years. This year as a freelance project manager I have coordinated, facilitated and managed creative projects & events for BBC Blast, Find Your Talent, Centre for Advanced Training, Sampad, Breakin’ Convention, DanceXchange, Birmingham Hippodrome, Bass Festival, Arts Award, Stan’s Cafe, Cultural Olympiad and Birmingham City Council’s Arts Education team. I am currently training as a life coach to individuals and small businesses in the creative industries and working with Bright Space as a Creative Agent.
From this blog you will get a flavour of what I am into but in short it is collecting Soul/Funk/Latin/Roots records & black music (pre 1995), fashion, design, what some might call ‘youth culture’, food, blogging, knitting, carboot sales, creativity and I would give away all my toes to own an original Miss Van and a pair of Christian Louboutin Malokos.
If you have anything that you would like me to feature please holler via the comments box. You can also follow me on twitter at either Sister45 or Bestbelievebrum if that kind of thing tickles your social networking fancy.
The Birmingham Book Festival encourages the city of Birmingham to engage with words – written, read or otherwise. It has evolved into a literature-focused arts organisation which recognises the value of participatory activity, inspirational thinking and creative writing. While its predominant delivery is of writing and reading based activities, it continues to pioneer unusual and innovative arts experiences which connect the West Midland with the communities in its midst.
Birmingham Book Festival are offering a CPD and networking opportunity for writers on 21st November at South Birmingham College.
The Writers’ Toolkit is our second annual gathering for emerging and established writers and anyone working in the writing industry. It offers a unique opportunity to learn about aspects of the business of being a writer and to network with others writing and working in literature development through a mixture of panel discussions and Q&A sessions.
Subjects covered include Understanding Publishing, Pitching Ideas, Social Networking for Writers, Working with the BBC, Writing with Communities, Promoting Poetry, Working with Agents and Writing in the Digital Age. Other individuals and organisations involved include Arts Council England, Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, Arvon Foundation, National Association of Writers in Education, BBC Radio Four, The National Academy of Writing and Bloodaxe Books.
Screen WM has announced that on 14th October Power to the Pixel is bringing a satellite event to Birmingham. The day long event will be held at Novotel Birmingham on Broad Street. This event is free to attend and will be of interest to anyone working in content creation (film, television, animation, games) and digital media.
Power to the Pixel’s London Forum is firmly established as the leading event in the UK film industry calendar for creators to connect with key digital innovators: pioneers who are developing new models of storytelling, film financing and film distribution across multiple platforms.
Power to the Pixel’s Birmingham event will feature sessions directly from the London Forum as well as studio debate from Birmingham. Sessions brought to you from London will include award-winning producer Ted Hope’s keynote presentation. International speakers including Slava Rubin, Co-Founder of New York-based IndieGoGo and Rachel Mordecai, producer and digital content strategist.
