Working across the Black Country
For the last few years, the Creative Development Team has been spreading out to forge new partnerships in the three other Black Country boroughs – Dudley, Sandwell and Wolverhampton.
In 2000, initial meetings between arts officers from three of the boroughs and regional performance promoters Black Country Touring, identified the potential value of collaborative working.
Over the next two years the partnership grew, and with Wolverhampton Council getting involved in 2002 the Black Country Arts Partnership was born.
Working with Arts Council England, West Midlands, the Partnership aims to bring in more arts and development funding to the sub-region.
To date, a strategic research report has been drawn up to highlight priorities for joined-up working in the Black Country, and now a Cultural Events and Tourism Officer has been appointed to implement those findings.
Arts Into Health development workers have also drawn up a blueprint for arts development across the Black Country and will draw together leading arts and health professionals to commission work.
Arts Into Health development workers and the Creativity team have worked with Black Country Arts Partnership (BCAP) to draw up a blueprint for arts development across the Black Country.
Arts Into Learning
3D digital sculptures that examine issues around head injuries.
Not everyone wants to learn from a book.
Not everyone has the confidence to enrol on a college course.
But most of us would like to have a go at something new, and enjoy learning in a more interesting way.
And that’s where Arts Into Learning came in.
A variety of art forms are being used across the Black Country to encourage people to learn new skills and get involved in new activities.
Most recent projects include creative web design with older teenagers in Walsall; visual art with Wolverhampton people who have suffered head injuries; puppet making and creative technology with young moms in Sandwell and video production with a group of people with Multiple Sclerosis in Dudley.
The Open College Network course, ‘Art On Line’, interweaves the arts activity and the use of technology, so one can’t happen without the other.
EQUAL
The Creative Development Team is also involved in the trans-national EQUAL programme, funded by the European Social Fund. These projects include The Black Country Learning Kitchen development partnership supporting people back into work and Black Country Communities in the LEAD focusing on developing social enterprise.
Projects to emerge include the Big Night Out development, providing entertainment and social activities in a highly accessible way for people of all abilities. A group of people with disabilities trained in Event Management (Open College Network Level 2) to run club nights themselves, covering aspects of event promotion and management such as making and selling tickets, marketing and stage management.
Teenagers from Redhouse Youth Club promoted a show for all the family as part of the EQUAL (Black Country Communities in the Lead) programme.
Touring theatre company Bash Street performed their 'live silent movie' Cliffhanger in the playground at Redhouse Primary School.
In partnership with Creative Development Team and Black Country Touring, the Youth Club ran all aspects of the evening, from selling tickets to organising seating. As a social enterprise project, they keep any profit they make and plough it back into club funds for future activities.
Families from all over the neighbourhood said they loved the evening, watching the play as the sun set and joining in stalls and sideshows organised by the youngsters.