annual report for 2008 – 2009 produced by Young at Art Ltd 15 Church Street, BELFAST BT1 1PG Web: www.youngatart.co.uk Company Number NI 37755 Charity Ref: XR 36402 introduction 2008 – 2009 marked Young at Art’s 10th year in operation and 11th festival. The organisation delivered projects and activities to around 27,413 children and adults in Belfast, Northern Ireland and also in England, time and again achieving its vision to make life for children and young people as creative as possible through the arts. While the company continued to experience growth in its activities and its turnover, it also was a year of change as committed staff members moved on to new challenges. Following their departure, the organisation agreed to review its staffing structure and examine it in relation to a new company strategy from 2010. “All in all a fabulous festival, we loved it.... roll on next year!” contents Festival 2008 Page 2 Festival Goes To The Waterworks Page 3 Projects Page 4 Touring & Commissions Page 6 Advocacy & Development Page 7 Management Page 9 Funding & Finance Page 10 Appendices Page 12 I. Personnel II. Attendance & participation figures III. Marketing & print IV. Press & publicity Copies of this report and an executive summary are available from the Young at Art office or for download from the website. The text and images contained in this report remain the property of Young at Art and its featured artists. No duplication or use is permitted in part or in full in any territory without prior consent. 1 Festival 2008 The 2008 festival was inspired by the water that surrounds this island and the wind that sweeps through the city from the sea and the mountains. Like the traders throughout the history of the port of Belfast, it brought exciting and exotic products from all parts of the world to children and families in Belfast. In doing so, it brought many families into the city for celebration, entertainment and a unique cultural experience. The festival blended performance and participatory activities with a healthy mixture of free drop-in and ticketed events, combining local and international artists, multiple artforms and cross-artform events. Participating artists came from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Germany and Denmark. Festival in a Weekend at Belfast Waterfront returned, drawing families into Belfast for a range of family-friendly activities and performances under one roof during the opening weekend of the festival. Festival venues included the Black Box, Old Museum Arts Centre, Waterfront Hall, Community Arts Forum, No Alibis Bookstore, Lagan Valley LeisurePlex (Lisburn) and the Waterworks Park. Over 10 days the festival mounted over 200 events and 3 exhibitions in 7 venues attended by over 23,600 children and adults, involved over 170 artists, supported by 37 volunteers, 25 staff and the staff and volunteers of participating venues “The Bedmaker was simply wonderful. I had never imagined that there could be theatre for three year old children like our son.” Many events sold out with an average capacity of 78.6%. Total attendance of the festival combined with a substantial weekend event in the Waterworks Park was 23,693, more than double the attendance at the 2007 festival, thanks in part to the large event at the Waterworks Park. This included participation by over 50 schools and groups, many from areas of high deprivation. Families and groups were able to select from a range of activities on offer, including performances and workshops in theatre, music, dance, puppetry and visual arts, and for all ages from infancy upwards. For those parents with young children, the 2008 festival offered good provision with among others, the return of the Baby Rave with a Baby Afro theme. For children over 8 years, Det Fortaellende Teater from Denmark explored the epic tale of Beowulf with a watering can as the only prop while El Retablo stepped into a fantasy world of animals in a unique puppet show. Audiences were transported to a world of black and white and then showered with colour in Queen of Colours by German company Erfreulichestheater Erfurt. Following the success of The Little Mermaid in 2005, Big Telly Theatre Company returned with their latest water theatre telling the adventures of Sinbad, while Monkeyshine also presented a small-scale performance on a giant bed – The Bedmaker. Organisationally the organisation encountered difficulties with the introduction of new visa regulations with two artists being refused admission to the UK to perform, leading to cancellation of one event. The organisation also encountered difficulty recruiting freelance staff for box office and production management. Despite these challenges, it was a successful and happy festival enjoyed by all – families, schools, artists, staff and volunteers. Arts for children and young people were advanced and the scale of the annual event continued to expand. The organisation once again achieved ASSITEJ International Festival Status, the only festival in Northern Ireland to have achieved this and a stamp of its growing international presence. See appendices for a summary of events and download festival brochure from www.youngatart.co.uk 2 Festival Goes To The Waterworks Festival goes to the Waterworks was a partnership between Young at Art and New Lodge Arts. It took place between January and June 2008. It complemented the Belfast Children’s Festival and New Lodge Arts’ involvement in the Channel 4 Big Art Project. It created a large-scale outdoor event in the Waterworks Park, fed by a programme of outreach, local capacity building and citywide promotion. The park straddles an interface area and had a history of violence and anti-social behaviour. The project sought to reclaim the site for local residents, the city and the wider community through cultural activity. Beginning work in January 2008, a freelance coordinator ran both the outreach programme and the two- day event . The project benefited from significant goodwill and support from a range of local community organisations, local residents, agencies and public bodies working in the area, including the Community Empowerment Network, the PSNI, ACNI (through the National Lottery Fund), Belfast City Council (Parks Department and Anti-Social Behaviour Unit), and event sponsor, Environment & Heritage Services (NI). advance outreach and engagement Prior to the event, a range of outreach activities took place: Children’s Park Rules – drama-based primary schools programme The Fisherman – primary schools programme using educational resources and school visits Belfast’s Next Top Fisherman – youth drama project with Little Flower Girls’ School Wind Tunnel - an audio/metalwork installation in the park by Aardvark Studios Environmental Clean up with local groups and Park Rangers Wind power – a giant windmill installation in the upper park Youth/Community Screening – screenings of locally made short films at the weekend event Community Engagement – substantial local promotional campaign, information sessions, participation at neighbourhood meetings and meetings with local groups The project also included Young at Art’s festival-wide Community Ticket Scheme and Friendship Fund initiatives. The project included training, employment and volunteering opportunities, including: Working with artists in advance of the event (through outreach work and technical preparations) Volunteering opportunities during the weekend and throughout the Belfast Children’s Festival Freelance employment opportunities again at the park and throughout the festival. the weekend event The weekend balanced a combination of arts-based activities with non-arts, including a children’s market, attracting a broad mixture of attendance of regular and non-arts attenders. Very good weather assisted the success of the event as it attracted at least 10,500 people and filled the park. Attendance was recorded from all over the greater Belfast area, across Northern Ireland and beyond (Bangor, Antrim, Downpatrick, Crumlin, Lisburn, Donegal, Cavan and Louth recorded) with high numbers of local residents also attending. The weekend was peaceful and feedback afterwards extremely positive with a desire to repeat the event in the future. Full details of all the activities are included in the appendices and in greater detail in the report on the project, available for download from www.youngatart.co.uk “Absolutely fantastic!!! A glorious day and fantastic activities.” 3 Projects Young at Art engaged in an extensive programme of activity throughout the year. Projects included special festival support schemes for children in need, educational resources (print and online), professional discussions, exhibition programmes, volunteering programmes, and a youth-led initiative in partnership with OMAC. festival outreach Community Ticket Scheme The Community Ticket Scheme returned for a third year in 2008, working with North Belfast Sure Start, the 174 Trust, also in North Belfast, LORAG Children’s Project in lower Ormeau, and Shankill Sure Start. The Community Ticket scheme was devised to provide access to arts and cultural events for children in communities who cannot or do not attend arts events on a regular basis outside of their communities. In 2008, the scheme was administered by Young at Art staff who offered one-off community box office opportunities within the targeted communities, mainly through existing meeting points, playgroups, etc. The Community Ticket Scheme allowed Young at Art to offer half price tickets to families in areas