PREVIOUS PROJECTS
Whose Town Is It Anyway?
In partnership with Stockton International Family Centre, Tees Archaeology and Stockton Museums Service, Arc are hoping to run a project with funding through Heritage Lottery Young Roots programme to explore the settlers who have moved through Stockton On Tees.
Through sessions attending a dig and participating in research sessions with Museum Staff with handling boxes, the participants could start to research the history of these people, the places they had travelled from and the impact they have had upon the make-up of Stockton On Tees today.
There will also be an element within the project at the research stage to look at recent settlers, drawn from the current/ recent asylum seeker community. It is hoped that interviews will be held by the young people and then examples can be drawn from the historical figures researched and comparison made with the local community to encourage further understanding.
When the participants have this information, they will start work on developing a project, with a theatre company which will culminate in a performance. This can be an organic process and the whole of the project will be youth led, with choices being made by the youth steering group which will include members of the different groups working on the project- The Cornerhouse, SIFC Homework group and Asylum Support.
There is plans to make a loan box on cultural awareness which will be used to take out to local schools when delivering sessions on cultural awareness.
The intention is to encourage community cohesion, and to heighten relations through historical understanding and awareness, and comparison with current asylum issues.
To encourage different cultures to further mix and understand each other.
To engage with local community organisations to encourage attendance at Arc events and courses.
To increase Arc’s presence within the community.
To strengthen partnerships with local organisations and encourage joint working.
To further increase historical understanding of the area and to give participants a historical context for the current area they live in.
Street Sounds
AIMS
We have created the Street Sounds music project to engage and inspire young people from Stockton through music creation. The project will be available to young people aged between 12 and 18. Street Sounds aims to give young people the opportunity to explore and create their own style of music, regardless of their ability or experience. The ability to play an instrument or read music is not necessary. With the help and guidance of our experienced music leaders and music technicians, they will gain the confidence and self esteem to produce their own professional piece of music.
OUTCOMES
Each group of six participants will have an intensive course of workshops involving creative writing sessions to improve literacy and practical sessions in music production by using a variety of music software packages. The lyric writing classes will encourage the young people to articulate their own thoughts and feelings about their lives and experiences, as well as provide them with a platform to address issues which affect both them and their peers. The technical equipment requires no previous experience and will be used effectively to produce a finished composition recorded onto CD. They will then work together to create a final performance live at the Arc for family and friends. By working towards a final performance the participants learn essential team building and communication skills which go towards building their confidence and self esteem. Overall, we aim to inspire and motivate young people as well as raise their awareness of the music industry and the further learning opportunities in music technology which are available to them.
Creative Solutions
Creative Solutions is a ground breaking new partnership project between Arc and Creative Partnerships. The project will involve intensively working with primary schools in the Stockton Borough to support and develop creativity and learning. The project will involve professional development for teachers and artists learning together.
- A CPD programme for teachers and creative practitioners, looking at ways to address issues in schools through creative process and practice.
We are offering the selected artists paid continuing professional development sessions and the opportunity to work alongside teachers in the classroom to deliver a creatively enhanced scheme of work.
To create a model for arts partnership working.
To establish a culture of creative approaches to learning and teaching
To provide the tools through CPD to enable teachers to be confident with creativity in their teaching methods
To provide the tools through CPD to enable artists to understand and address school needs
Creative Partnerships provides school children across England with the opportunity to develop creativity in learning and to take part in cultural activities of the highest standard.
Based at Arts Council England Creative Partnerships has a unique approach to working with schools. It first helps schools to identify their individual needs and then enables them to develop long term, sustainable partnerships with organisations and individuals.
Good Grub Club TS18
January - June 2007
OUTLINE
As health is a huge priority nationally and locally as scheme was needed to teach young people enjoyment of healthy food. Following a pilot in July 2006 at St John’s Primary School ARC and ABC have devised a programme of activities which will engage pupils hands on with good food to help them make the right choices at the dinner hatch. We also recognise the importance to work with, value and support the Kitchen Staff of schools who are so often vilified in the press. So our chef, Matthew Brown will work with the staff to enrich what they are offering children and give them some top tips. The project will involve a celebration event in school assemblies to embed the learning and we will visit the schools once the project is over to see how they have done.
AIMS
1. To instil enjoyment and awareness of healthy foods
2. To teach young children food preparation skills
Tilery Performing Arts Project
January - July 2007
OUTLINE
This project is designed to introduce pupils of Tilery Primary School to the excitement and exhilaration of performance arts, with the ultimate aim not to create a polished performance but to enrich confidence and communication skills in an exciting and fun way. The project will culminate in an in school performance on the 11th July to celebrate all they have learned, the piece will be devised by the group. The Name of the project will be decided by the young people.
AIMS
1. To raise confidence and communication skills through performing arts.
2. To instill an awareness and enjoyment of the performing arts.
3. To forge a link between Arc and Tilery Primary school.
Tilery Good Grub CLub
January - June 2007
OUTLINE
The Good Grub Club was created to address the need to get children and their parents excited and positive about eating healthily. This project will work with children and parents to learn their current attitudes towards food. Also working with kitchen staff to find out what areas they need new ideas for. In addition to awareness of food choices and preparation we will also be involving the soil association to show children and their parents where their food comes from and the environmental impact of food miles.
AIMS
1. To encourage parents and children to enjoy, choose and prepare healthy food.
2. To work with kitchen staff to reinforce the concept of healthy food.
Lawson Street Surgery Art Work
April 2007 - July 2007
OUTLINES
This is a project which will work alongside TS18 students resident of the Parkfeild and Mill Lane area to raise awareness of health issues, through working alongside the PCT and working with a professional artist who will work with students to create art work and develop and design collaboratively.
AIMS
1. To install four pieces of interactive educational art work within Lawson Street Surgery based on health issues
2. To raise awareness of specific health problems within the TS18 area- Chronic respiratory illnesses, heart disease and cancer and drugs and alcohol abuse and the effects of this
3. To enable a professional artist to work alongside sixth form students to produce art work
4. To raise awareness of the benefits of art as an educational tool
Shakespeare Youth Festival
May - July 07
Outline
To encourage local young people aged 16-21 to create their own theatre company and to perform in a nationwide festival in Feb 2008.
Aims
• To encourage and equip young people with the skills to run their own theatre company and rehearse and create a 45 minute Shakespeare play
• To encourage the local young people to engage with theatre and Shakespeare plays
• To involve local young people in a national festival and give them the opportunity to perform at the Liverpool City Of Culture celebrations 2008
• The opportunity for ARC to be involved in a national pilot project with other venue’s nationwide and the opportunity for young local people to be supported in running their own theatre company
Substance Misuse
ARC was commissioned by Stockton Borough Council to deliver a Substance Misuse Awareness Campaign funded by the Young People's Substance Misuse Commissioning Budget.
The aim of the project was to inform young people about the implications of substance misuse in an honest manner drawing on the experiences of other young people and case studies to raise awareness and help reduce the number of young people affected by misusing drugs and alcohol including issues of homelessness and addiction. Another key aspect of the project was to highlight the support services available and promote community cohesion.
The project was intended for people under 18 living in the Stockton Borough but specifically targeted people from the following groups; young homelessness, those not in employment education or training, young people in the Looked After Service, young carers, young people whose parents misuse drugs and/or alcohol, those who misuse substances.
ARC commissioned ENGAGE TV and Superkrush Films to work alongside young people from Stockton-on-Tees to devise and deliver the project. ARC worked with local support providers to engage young people, involved with various levels of substance misuse with the initial phase of the project and encouraged their real life accounts to shape content of the production for the final performance.
The project ran from July to October 2009 and was based at ARC. The young people attended weekly workshops, where the company delivered drama workshops which were captured on film. The workshops used drama and improvisation to build participants confidence and develop script ideas. A professional writer collated the ideas and then the young people began to rehearsing the piece. During this stage, two short films were produced within the project which became part of the campaign and were used within the final performance. This initial phase engaged with 12 young people.
The key issues that arose were around aspirations and dreams. The performance aimed to address how young people need to be aware that taking drugs can affect their futures and the choices may be weighing up how much they are willing to sacrifice.
The focus of the project has been in forward-thinking and coming to terms with the fact that continued use of drugs may affect what they hope to achieve in the future; working with children, owning a business, having a family of their own etc. They've learnt that if they have goals they want to achieve, drugs/alcohol cannot be a part and that their futures are more precious than a few moments of being high. Although the brief stated that substances included alcohol, the focus of the piece ended up being focused primarily on drugs.
Two performances were held at ARC on 21 and 28 October 2009, the first performance was aimed at schools and the second at youth organisations.
The project culminated in two performances held at ARC and attended by almost 300 people, including local secondary schools and young people from Alternative Provision services. The performance included a live performance as well as a making of DVD and a Q & A Session. The company did a brilliant job of enabling young people who had never acted before to perform on stage in front of a large audience. The young people enjoyed performing and really enjoyed being part of the project.
As well as the two awareness raising short films and performance, the company also produced a DVD which included footage of consultation sessions between the young people and practitioners, Interviews with key participants in the project and footage from the performance, devising process and rehearsals. This DVD will ensure the project positively impacts a large number of young people in the region.
Carr Gomm
After a successful pilot scheme in 2008 ARC worked to develop an ongoing project working with Carr Gomm, Norton Road Day Centre to provide weekly creative workshops for people overcoming homelessness, substance misuse and mental health issues.
The project aimed to raise the self-esteem and social skills of the participants and enable a smoother transition into the community. The participants have worked on film, photography and creative writing projects.
Through this project we engaged the participants in positive activity to aid rehabilitation, challenge the negative stereotypes they face in daily life and enable the participants to celebrate their strengths and value their contribution to society.
The inspiration behind hosting the sessions at Carr Gomm in the first instance was to enable easier access for the participants. The project also included daytrips and excursions stimulated by the subject matter in the workshops and chosen by the people taking part.
Arlington Court
In Autumn 2008 ARC worked with residents from Arlington Court sheltered housing on a design project. Working with artist, Jill Brewster the older people learnt woodcarving and printing skills and used these techniques to capture memories. The materials produced were then sold on a market stall in Stockton high Street as part of the Multicultural Market event held by Stockton Borough Council in November 2008.
Full Circle
Full Circle is a group of adults with learning disabilities who work at ARC twice a week. In bringing their talents to the public they are supported by Stockton Borough Council development workers Caroline Rankin and Alan Pearson, who are committed to making a reality of the government's policy of Valuing People with learning difficulties. The group work with performing arts practitioner Lindsey Porteous.
After the success of Full Circle's film screening of their first DVD, Is Toto Dead? at ARC. The film was screened successfully to 130 people on 4 February 2010, with a further screening on 25 February.
Full Circle Theatre group have devised and performed their first live theatre production at ARC. Happiness is based on a piece of music as stimulus for a theatre performance which took place at ARC on Thursday 1 July at 11am and 1pm. The piece covers the story of a couple's relationship, the breakdown in communication and the gradual rebuilding and rediscovery of love and trust.
The group are now working towards their second performance in Jan 2011 at ARC.
Jenni Owen, Community Arts and Education Officer at ARC has worked alongside the group for the past two years to plan a programme of theatre work and successfully gained funding from Northern Rock to enable the group to be based at ARC two days a week until June 2011.
The group meets twice a week at ARC and Tuesday's sessions are about exploring issues faced by Adults with learning disabilities in Stockton, focusing on Access and College Courses, Housing, Emergency services and Bullying/Victimisation.
"We've learnt to be more confident in what we can do and we are a good team because we now listen to each other and work together." Alyson Groat/ Brian Shaw, Members of Full Circle
