high peak community arts

ANNUAL REPORT 2008-2009

CHAIR’S REPORT

High Peak Community Arts has continued to develop its arts programme focussing on arts and well-being and youth arts. During the year our project work included a celebration event to conclude our Coaster Art project, workshops with elders in residential homes, the creation of our Yurt to provide children’s arts events in a number of High Peak communities, our annual residential summer school for secondary school students and regular singing workshops open to all.

During the previous year the staff and trustees had worked on a business plan to provide the organisation with a framework to look at its development over the longer term. During this year we have conducted research into new sources of funding for the strategic priorities of our arts programme, arts and well-being and youth arts. We were successful in securing funding from the Arts Council ‘Grants for the Arts’ Programme for a major part of our youth arts development. This has enabled us to recruit a new member of staff to concentrate on this work. We enabled Hope Valley College to secure grants from the National Foundation for Youth Music and the Performing Rights Society and we are now managing a major music project in the Hope Valley with students from the College and local primary schools.

Our fundraising activities have been given a huge boost this year with support from Wendy Bullar, working with the staff to identify a greater number of potential sources of funding and to make a wider range of grant applications during, what is now, a much more In March 2009 we appointed Sophie Mackreth as the challenging economic climate. This work continues in Project Manager for our Youth Arts Programme. 2009-10. Three longstanding Trustees stood down at our last During 2008-09, we have continued to maintain contacts AGM, Keith Ball, Jon Taylor and Carol Taylor Bruce. We within PCT and the arts and health networks, thank them for their support as Trustees over many to be well placed to benefit from positive developments years. These departures left our Board somewhat within this sector. This investment in research depleted. Fortunately, in the summer of 2009, we has recently enabled us to secure a contract with welcomed Jane Taylor and Sandy Schofield as new Derbyshire LINk to make a series of films about people’s Trustees. Charity Trustees play a vital unpaid role in experiences of health and social care. setting a framework for the organisation and I would like to thank my colleagues for contributing to this work. Our staff continue to maintain our current project work whilst working to secure funding for future work. David Finally, I thank all the funders who have supported us Bell who had worked as our Resource Centre Manager over the year and enabled us to continue our work in since 2002 left us in February 2009 to pursue his career the High Peak and beyond. in Counselling. We thank him for all his hard work, in particular for the digital arts projects that he managed Arthur Burns over the period. ARTISTIC PROGRAMME

The Youth Arts Development Strategy The Youth Arts Development Strategy was developed in response to last year’s commitment to developing youth arts within the organisation. Our successful bid to the Arts Council for Grants for the Arts funding has allowed us to develop the three year strategy, defining the role of a new member of staff to implement the work. This new role plans to map current provision in Youth Arts in the district; highlight gaps and identify those young people with the least access to activity. The Arts Council funding will allow us to pilot new work and develop new partnerships, particularly with children in care and those involved with, or at risk of entering, the youth justice system. New work will aim to complement existing and statutory services, sign posting new contacts to other providers, and through this we aim to play a part in the development of a Youth Arts Network for the High Peak. By the end of the three years the work aims to have used Tales in a Tent fund raising and advocacy for the arts to set up long-term This project was funded by Awards for All and designed to sustainable provision, targeted to those young people who link in with the 2008 Derbyshire Literature Festival. Phase can benefit most. David Bell finalised the strategy document One of the project included a number of workshops set up before leaving the organisation in February 2009 and the new for older children and adults in the community of . post begin in April 2009. Artist/Craftsperson, Alistair Hayhurst, led the group, showing how to create a Yurt made from locally sourced wood. Hope Valley Music Making Workshops were well attended throughout and proved to be Two successful bids by Hope Valley College, in partnership with a wonderful opportunity for skill-sharing and socialising. Once High Peak Community Arts allowed our two organisations to completed and sporting a custom made canvas cover, we held put together a major programme of work for 2009 and 2010. a celebratory day for the group, tying in with Phase Two of Spread across three phases, Hope Valley Music Making aims to the project, The Tales in a Tent - story-telling and associated approach the musical development of young people of all ages art based activities during the Literature Festival. Storytellers in the Hope Valley from a fresh angle. Phase One looked to and Artists brought new literacy experiences for all, within the celebration of Hope Valley College’s 50th Anniversary and the delights of our yurt visiting Bamford, Peak Dale, Whaley used a grant from the PRS Foundation to commission Ornette Bridge, and . The yurt made it possible to Clennon, a musician whom their Head of Music had met at bring professional artists to small local communities. One artist last year’s Peak 11 Summer School. Ornette is collaborating creating a communal song said ‘We have had people aged two with the Big Band and Choir of the College to write a new to sixty-two adding their comments’. Everybody joined in and piece of music for their 50th Anniversary Concert. This phase a real sense of community was experienced throughout the began in January 2009 and will culminate in May. A larger grant project. from the National Foundation for Youth Music has supported the collaboration and funds the rest of the programme. Young Camera Obscura people from Phase One will then put themselves forward to We created a Camera Obscura within our yurt as part of the take part in Phase Two, a series of Leadership Training. New Mills Festival. This was a pilot project and was open to the general public to attend with two sessions specially aimed at local primary school children. Fortunately the weather was good so visitors were able to see the image projected onto the board fairly clearly. The lead photographer, Julian Tate, talked about the optical experiment and explained the concept of ‘camera obscura’. Visitors asked questions and were keen to discover more. Participants gave very positive feedback and we were encouraged to repeat the experiment another time! We plan to develop this further next year.

First Taste Our second film project with First Taste was a mixture of video footage, and stills and sound recording. First Taste has used this film as a way of evaluating professionally their crea- tive and educational work with people in day care centres and old people’s homes. Working with Ornette and Pete Moser of More Music Arts and Wellbeing Morecombe they will gain skills and experience in leading workshops themselves, and will be recruited at the end to Projects with Elders form a delivery team of ‘trainees’ who, in Phase Three, will This year, we did two projects in residential homes. In each visit primary schools across the valley. Phase Three will run setting, we worked with elders, many of whom had dementia. throughout the new academic year and complete in 2010. The Hawthorns: Jess Bagnall, Hope Valley College’s Head of Music hopes that We ran a nine week project at the Hawthorns, in , the year 6 primary school pupils will see music making at the with three poetry sessions, four dance and two Sonas aPc (a college as a vibrant and active option, where students take multi sensory programme for people with dementia). John charge of their own learning. Lindley read a selection of poems at each of his sessions, much enjoyed by residents, some of whom remembered poems they had learnt by heart, and requested favourites. Included were quite a few comical ones, too, giving rise to much laughter. One resident also read her own poems. Moira Dickens led the Dance and Sonas with two support workers, Susan Smith and Jean Harrold. They had a large group to work with, and engaged residents in gentle exercise, ice breakers, seated dance, and in the Sonas, other sensory activities – tasting chocolate, smelling oranges, lavender etc, singing, and a gentle shoulder rub. The Sonas is designed for a group of nine people, so the artists did well to make it Look Out East work with 22! The project Peak 11 Summer School 2008 went well, with residents The fourth annual three day residential summer school for enjoying themselves and 100 14 year olds took place at Sheffield Hallam University with good support from the 24-26 July 2008. In partnership with the Peak 11 Federation staff. The staff commented of Secondary Schools, High Peak Community Arts was that residents’ moods were creative co-ordinator for the event, bringing teachers and lifted for some time after the artists together in imaginative partnerships. With China sessions were ended, and that hosting the Olympic Games, this year’s theme was Look Out it had been “most beneficial East. Pete Moser of More Music Morecombe gave us the for the residents”. keynote presentation and participants chose to take part The Argyle: in one of 8 different modules, including Bollywood Film and This ten week project, also in Buxton, was funded by the PCT, Dance, Asian Fashion, Indian Ceramics and Japanese Language. via the North Derbyshire Mental Health Forum. This time, the Everyone at the final presentation was amazed at the depth home chose 5 sessions of music and singing; and 5 of poetry. of work achieved by the year 9 pupils in such a short space Aidan Jolly and Lis Murphy’s music and singing workshops of time. Everyone involved puts this down to the intensity of included warm ups, participation in percussion and singing, a residential summer school, which conjures up a fast-paced, music to listen to from Lis and Aidan (violin, symphonie and collaborative atmosphere. Plans for the fifth annual summer guitar),conversation and reminiscence. They were a mixed school began in February 2009. group in terms of interest and desire to join in, and some clearly benefiting from and enjoying the sessions, some Clarion Choir preferring to ‘sit out’. One woman who had been told not This community choir continues to meet weekly in New to sing at school or to do ‘silent singing’ as she ‘wasn’t good Mills, exploring a wide genre of songs. Its aim is to provide enough’, really loved the sessions, and she was joining in, and local people with an opportunity to come together to sing, even sang a song in Polish. The poetry worked very well, as the sessions are open to anybody keen to improve their with the Hawthorns. Some residents were encouraged to vocal skills and wishing to learn new songs. It is self- led with read, and read very well, whilst other suggested poems and occasional visits from professional singers. The choir is now commented on those heard. Individual residents said how essentially self-managed, but has administrative support from much they had enjoyed the sessions, and were disappointed High Peak Community Arts. They have performed locally when it ended. The support from the staff during the project at several community events during the year and hope to was minimal, which was a shame, though feedback from the perform more in the future to raise their profile and bring in manager afterwards was very positive, “the residents felt funds. There will be a change of venue after Easter to High Lea comfortable with the artists, and got involved (which they Hall to help the group save money on rent. don’t always); the activities helped break up the day” and said that they would definitely appreciate further projects. Research and Development PEOPLE

This year, we have researched ideas on Arts and Wellbeing, and High Peak Community Arts is managed by a voluntary board built links to assist in its future development. We have held of management, who are trustees of the charity. They are discussions with Derbyshire PCT; done presentations at the drawn from our members - individuals, community groups and Mental Health Strategic Commissioning Group, and an NHS independent organisations. We strive to be accountable to our Managers’ Forum; met with Clive Parkinson of Manchester community, and so actively encourage broad membership. Metropolitan University during his research into Derbyshire’s Arts and Health for the PCT, to produce his report “Fully Trustees 2008-2009 Engaged and Culturally Connected” and are to be involved in Arthur Burns - Chair the follow up from this report with the PCT and Derbyshire Sarah Males - Treasurer Arts Partnership. In researching an Arts on Prescription style Jon Taylor - Secretary (to 17.11.2008) project, we visited similar schemes in Nottingham and Salford, Robert Gill - Secretary (from 17.11.2008) and have also put thought into how we might provide arts Bob Auld activities within the incoming ‘personalised budgets’ through Keith Ball (to 17.11.2008) Social Services. We have maintained and developed our links Dawn Bryan with the Arts and Health Network across the Pam Garside through conferences, training, and attendance at two summits Carol Taylor Bruce (to 17.11.2008) of the Derbyshire Health and Well being Partnership. We have been part of the Healthy Buxton Stakeholders Group, Jane Taylor and Sandy Schofield were appointed trustees in attending regular meetings about the redesign of Buxton’s June and September 2009. health facilities, in order to promote arts in both the new Membership buildings and as possible ‘services’. Likewise we have made con- There are currently over 200 members. tact with the North High Peak Out of Hospital Project, who will be building a new centre in /. Staff During 2008 – 9, we began research into project eARTh, a five Alison Bowry – Project Manager year environmental arts and health project. At the time of writ- David Bell – Resource Centre Manager (to February 2009) ing, we have just completed an application for this to Reaching Sophie Mackreth - Project Manager (appointed March 2009) Communities (BIG Lottery). Rick Seccombe – Administrator Jill Turner – Project Manager FUNDING with fundraising support from Wendy Bullar Freelance Artists High Peak Community Arts is an independent organisation We have a pool of freelance artists who we contract to work - a limited company and a registered charity. During the year with community groups for projects. New participatory artists revenue funding was received from; continue to join our pool of almost 100, bringing in a range Arts Council of of arts skills including music, digital arts, dance, visual arts and Derbyshire County Council theatre. High Peak Borough Council

We raise funds independently and additionally for all our High Peak Community Arts exists to create opportunities for artistic activity. people to participate in creative arts, and develop their quality of life through self-expression, focusing on people who have During 2008-2009 grant funding for projects was received least access to the arts. from: Arts Council Grants for the Arts We work with agencies, special needs groups, schools, Derbyshire County Council community organisations and individuals to generate High Peak Borough Council participatory arts projects across the High Peak. Awards for All Derbyshire Community Foundation If you’re developing a project in your community, and you’d Lynn Foundation like to make use of the resources of the media centre, or to develop some new ideas using digital technology, come and see us first. ACCOUNTS Copies of accounts for 2008-09 are available on request High Peak Community Arts High Lee Hall, St Mary’s Road, New Mills, High Peak SK22 3BW. Tel 01663 744516 Fax 01663 744808. Email: [email protected] Website: www.highpeakarts.org High Peak Community Arts Limited Registered Charity No. 517887 Company Registered in England No. 2036083