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Could you benefit from professional development in Arts in Health practice or evaluation techniques? Willis Newson, in partnership with the University of the West of England (UWE) is offering day workshops and courses in subjects related to participatory arts and in evaluation. Gain new skills, hone your practice, and meet other practitioners while learning from leading professionals and academics and external specialists with significant experience in the sector. Visit: http://willisnewson.co.uk/uwe-arts-in-health-and-social-care-courses.html to find out more. The courses are open to arts in health professionals, health and social care professionals including arts and occupational therapists, activity co-ordinators, health care professionals, public health specialists, psychotherapists and researchers interested in exploring connections between arts and health and developing practice in this area. They will also be of interest to artists, writers, musicians, theatre professionals and other arts practitioners currently working or seeking to develop their practice in arts in health. “It’s really helped my practice […] very timely and helpful,” said one student on the courses last year. “Quality of teaching was superb,” said another. Pick and choose the individual day workshops that interest you, or work towards a formal qualification with the full 6-session accredited module. Participatory Arts in Health and Social Care Settings (2012 workshops) • 3rd October. The Context of Arts and Health: Research, policy and practice. • 17th October. Setting up and Facilitating Arts and Health Projects • 31st October. Safe and Ethical Practice in Arts and Health • 14th November. Introduction to Research and Evaluation in Arts and Health • 28th November. Marketing and Presentation Skills: Bringing your project to life Evaluating Arts in Health Initiatives (2013 workshops) • 16th January. Understanding Evaluation: Developing evidence-based practice in arts & health. • 30th January. Evidence Reviews and Document-Based Evaluation Techniques. • 13th February. Developing an Arts & Health Evaluation Framework (Part 1): Aims setting to data collection (including quantitative, economic and qualitative approaches). • 27th February. Developing an Evaluation Framework (Part 2): Data analysis to dissemination. • 13th March. Creative and Arts-Based Approaches to Project Evaluation. All workshops will be held on the UWE campus in Bristol. For further details, including cost and where to register, contact Miranda Borman: (info@willisnewson.co.uk)

A total of six schools and other education settings in Milton Keynes are amongst the 256 in the south east and 1580 across England which have been successful in achieving an Artsmark award. A broad range of arts activities encouraging pupils to reach their potential through arts and creativity have helped the schools to secure the awards. Artsmark is the national programme that enables schools, further education colleges and youth justice settings to celebrate, strengthen and evaluate the arts activities they provide. The award supports and encourages formal education institutions to deliver rich and high quality provision. By achieving Artsmark, a school or education setting shows its commitment to providing a high quality arts and cultural offer for children and young people. This is the first application round since the programme was re-launched to include further education colleges and youth justice settings, with the award now also having a greater focus on the quality of arts provision as well as the quantity. This renewed emphasis on quality arts provision has been developed to support Arts Council England in achieving its 10 year goal of ensuring that every child and young person has the opportunity to experience the richness of the arts. Sally Abbott, Regional Director at Arts Council England, South East, said: ‘We know that children and young people who have the opportunity to experience the arts in some way, are more likely to fulfil their potential throughout their lives. ‘That’s why we are so delighted to be making 259 Artsmark awards to educational settings across the south east in recognition of their outstanding commitment to the arts. What an achievement - congratulations to them all!’ The latest round of applications reflected the wider range of settings that can apply, with 70 per cent of Founder FE colleges taking advantage of their new eligibility for the programme by applying for Artsmark status. Other changes to Artsmark include the streamlining of the programme to create two award distinctions; Artsmark and Artsmark Gold, with Artsmark now the equivalent of the old Artsmark Silver. The Arts Council has also introduced the term ‘Working towards Artsmark’ to replace ‘Not achieving’, in order to support the evolution of Artsmark into an auditing and development tool as well as a mark of quality. ‘Working towards Artsmark’ will involve a support visit rather than an assessment visit. The support visit will help develop a successful application for next year, allowing the school to begin their Artsmark journey. The Arts Council recently announced that Trinity College London had been successful in its application to become the national provider for the Artsmark scheme. Trinity will therefore be responsible for the next round of applications which are due to open in September 2012. Alan Davey, Chief Executive, Arts Council England, said: “The Arts Council has a long history of involvement in arts education and it’s great to see schemes like Artsmark becoming an integral part of more and more school curriculums. “We took some time last year to review Artsmark and listen to what schools and our other partners had to say about the programme and how we can improve it. The high number of applications from schools and other educational settings clearly illustrates how well received these changes were. “This re-launched Artsmark programme will play a significant role in achieving our ambition of every young person in the country experiencing what the arts have to offer.” Using the same provider for Artsmark and Arts Award will result in a more joined up approach to delivering cultural education for children and young people, both in and out of school Artsmark awards in Milton Keynes: • Slated Row School • Stantobury Campus • Brooksward • Oldbrook First School • Loughton Manor First School • Wavendon Gate School

PLACE and somewhereto_ NI are currently recruiting project champions to assist in the delivery of the somewhereto_ project across Northern Ireland. somewhereto_ is a movement to liberate underused, disused and empty spaces in the UK and get everyone thinking creatively about their communities. Run by Livity, in media partnership with Channel 4 Education, somewhereto_ is funded by Legacy Trust UK, creating a lasting impact from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by funding ideas and local talent to inspire creativity across the UK.

MzTEK is a non-profit collective with the aim of encouraging women artists to pick up technical skills in the fields of new media, computer arts, and technology. Based in London and supported by Hackney arts institution (Space), and Centre for Creative Collaboration in Kings Cross, where they are located, they host a range of workshops talks, and self-initiated tinker sessions. MzTEK have been invited by Access Space to give a workshop and this will be an introduction to Arduino and how to get started programming and setting up basic interactive elements. You’ll cover the basic circuitry, programming Arduino, and users various sensors and components. MzTEK will be bringing bubble blowers to add even more fun to the mix. This workshop is free but you need to book a place by emailing: jake@access-space.org . There will be an opportunity to buy the Arduino you've been using at the end of the workshop. For more information visit: www.mztek.org Or: www.arduino.cc

• A new proposal document from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea places culture and the creative industries at the heart of future development
• Kensington and Chelsea aims to become the first local authority to undertake a borough-wide approach to cultural placemaking and to integrate culture into the borough’s economic development through planning.

The new proposals, which put cultural placemaking at the heart of major future development and planning activity across the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, were announced last night [22 May 2012]. The proposals seek to spark debate and stimulate ideas from across development, planning, cultural and creative sectors to form new thinking and partnerships to create new places. Feedback on the proposals will influence future Council policy in this area. Download the document here: http://bit.ly/J6AMK2. The Royal Borough is home to some of the world’s most significant visitor attractions, cultural organisations and creative industries and is home to large numbers of artists, designers, musicians and the creative professions.  The borough’s focus on the creative industries mirrors the Capital’s status as a global leader in the creative industries (one in 10 jobs in London is in the creative industries and the sector has outperformed most industries since 1998). The Council’s new cultural placemaking proposals, developed in partnership with Futurecity and BOP Consulting, aim to build on the Royal Borough’s Arts and Culture Policy.  This Policy sets out to create a stronger, more sustainable creative economy, placing the borough at the forefront of contemporary creativity, and enabling residents to access internationally excellent culture and using culture to attract inward investment. Central to the new thinking is:

• Placing cultural commerce and the creative industries at the heart of the Council’s future economic development through planning. (The Council will be the first local authority in the UK to take this approach.)
• Applying the concept of cultural placemaking right across Kensington and Chelsea - viewing the borough as a tapestry of existing and possible creative districts and neighbourhoods, which can realise their full potential through cultural placemaking.
• A new Creative District Profiler developed by Futurecity and BOP Consulting, to assist in cultural placemaking.
• The opportunity for internationally significant collaborations between developers and the creative and cultural sectors to produce bold new ideas.

The Council’s new thinking seeks not only to benefit its existing neighbourhoods, residents and businesses but also, crucially, to help realise the right environment for the creative and cultural economy of the Royal Borough to flourish and grow, making it as attractive as possible for the creative and cultural industries. The Royal Borough, although the smallest London borough in size, is the fifth largest in terms of the importance of the cultural and creative sectors to its economy. The borough is home to 4,000 creative businesses, over 15 per cent of its employment is in the creative and cultural sector, while over 30 per cent of the borough’s business units house creative and cultural businesses.  Maintaining a vibrant high street with a strong retail mix is also important: research shows that the number one reason for visiting the borough is ‘to shop’ – each year, more than 13 million people visit Kensington and Chelsea, spending a total of £1.3bn. The new cultural placemaking proposals follow in the wake of Saatchi Gallery’s arrival on the Kings Road in 2008, and the reopening of Exhibition Road earlier this year, transforming the home of world-renowned institutions such as the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum and the V&A, into the UK’s most accessible cultural space. In 2014 the Design Museum will move into the former Commonwealth Institute building on Kensington High Street, establishing the heart of a major new design quarter in the Capital and creating a significant moment for cultural placemaking in the Royal Borough. The Council’s cultural placemaking proposals call on developers seeking to work in the Royal Borough to:

• Embed culture and the creative industries into their thinking right from the start of the development process.
• Be even more imaginative and bold in their thinking and proposals, in particular masterplanning design, the animation of new places and creative and commercial ideas for the public realm.
• Explore and anchor the heritage and contemporary cultural context of their sites as fully as possible.
• Work with the Creative District Profiler to identify the potential of a proposed site to become a creative district.
• Brand and animate their developments, through interventions, temporary creative spaces and long-term cultural provision, partnerships and programming.
• Be active in forming creative partnerships with the Royal Borough’s diverse communities, local and international cultural providers and the creative industries to influence development
• Form long-term partnerships with cultural providers to influence the style and content of cultural amenities, not merely their existence.

Cllr. Nicholas Paget-Brown, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Transportation, Environment and Leisure, says: “The borough’s economic future and the vibrancy of our neighbourhoods are closely linked to the success of our creative industries, tourism and the cultural sector. We believe that adopting a cultural placemaking approach to planning and development across the entire borough has the potential to create places to benefit present and future residents and businesses, stimulate home-grown cultural talent and make the Royal Borough the choice for international creative companies seeking to locate in London.”

• Event: One Day in the City: UCL Festival of London and Literature
• Location: UCL’s Bloomsbury Campus and neighbouring venues
• Date: Friday 15 June 2012

A free one-day festival dedicated to the celebration of London and Literature will give the public an opportunity to listen to and share thoughts with celebrated authors, poets, and academics on all things London. ‘One Day in the City’, organised by UCL English Language & Literature, includes talks and readings from Man Booker Prize-winners A.S. Byatt and Alan Hollinghurst; 2003 Granta-listed novelist, Adam Thirlwell; renowned poets Daljit Nagra, Alan Jenkins, Sarah Maguire and Mark Ford; filmmakers Chris Petit and William Raban; and the iconic London voices of Iain Sinclair and Will Self. Panel topics include walking in the city, urban technologies, parkour, and what makes London a writers' city. Novelists, poets, and academics will come together to read, perform and discuss some of the greatest works inspired by London. The majority of the day’s events will take place within UCL’s Bloomsbury Campus, within the square created by the Euston Road, Gower Street, Torrington Place, and Gordon Street. The British Museum, British Library, Senate House Library, and the Royal Institute of British Architects will also be holding some linked events. Organiser Dr Nick Shepley, UCL English Language & Literature, said: “The festival aims to celebrate London and the creativity it inspires – and to be inclusive. That’s why we felt it was important that it was free, entirely focused on London and held in some of London’s most iconic buildings. “For one day we aim to create intimate and dynamic forums through which the city, research on the city, and creative talents within the city can be celebrated and showcased to as wide an audience as possible. “At a time when student fees are rising and funding is being slashed in Arts and Humanities faculties across the UK, this day will demonstrate, on a practical and visceral level, the importance of creativity and its non-quantifiable value within the city.” Alongside the festival, an art exhibition at UCL will juxtapose representations of life in London: past, present, and future. Rare items from UCL’s collections will sit alongside images streamed “real-time” from London’s streets. Two exhibition spaces will be populated with caricatures, paintings, sketches, books, photographs and digital media. The full festival programme is available here: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/onedayinthecity/festival/programme

Following the success of the ‘Glimmer in the Earth’ documentary film made last year by the CARAD Film Group, film-maker Bethan Edwards-Wilson and CARAD are now on the hunt for the next generation of young Rhayader film-makers. If you are aged under 24 years old and want to take part in a series of fun and practical workshops in June 2012 we want to hear from you. We will explore your views of your hometown and surrounding area, collect your stories and make them into an original short film. Using a mix of live action, stop frame animation and projection, we will bring to life some of the things that matter to you. So if you see yourself as a budding camera operator, sound engineer, editor or director, please email by 24 May up to 100 words to projects@carad.org.uk or write to CARAD telling us why you are interested in getting involved. The free afternoon workshops will run over a series weekends in June, starting with a storyboard & plan session on 10 June, followed by the filming weekend on Sat 16 and Sun 17 and finally the edit weekend on Sat 23 and Sun 24. You need to be able to attend at least 4 out of the 5 sessions. The finished film will be screened as part of an exciting new multimedia exhibition, 'Finding Rhayader' at the Rhayader Museum & Gallery opening on 7 July and featuring original watercolour paintings of Rhayader Bridge by JMW Turner and Edward Dayes, on loan from The Tate and The National Museum Wales. So email: projects@carad.org.uk now to tell us why you're inetersted or for more information contact Rebecca Ray, CARAD, East Street, Rhayader LD6 5ER Tel: 01597 810 192

Liverpool’s nocturnal celebration LightNight was a resounding success, with thousands of switched on cultural night owls out and about enjoying the city’s annual arts and culture festival. It all took place on Friday 18th May 4pm till very late with over 70 free events at over 50 venues, making it the largest of the UK wide Museums at Night.

Christina Grogan of Open Culture, Producers of LightNight said “We’re ecstatic to see thousands of people out enjoying LightNight, there was a real buzz in the streets and venues, I saw a lot of happy smiling faces! LightNight has shown off the spectacular cultural energy of the city, and highlights to residents and visitors alike that there are amazing cultural events taking place almost every day in Liverpool.” LightNight highlights included Rolf Harris wowing crowds at the Walker Art Gallery as he painted live, the uplifting ceildhs at the Anglican Cathedral and St Georges Hall, the atmospheric kaleidoscopic projections by Andy McKeown and ever popular Candle Lit Labyrinth at the Metropolitan Cathedral, Polly Morgan sparking curiosity during her live taxidermy demonstration at the Victoria Gallery and Museum, the theatre extravaganza at the Liverpool Town hall. Plus many more cultural events delighting visitors of all ages. Be sure not to miss LightNight 2013 in Liverpool; sign up to the mailing list at: www.lightnightliverpool.co.uk

Two creative young people from Leeds have come together to make their own film festival for young people, Impact Yokshire, which will make its debut at Hyde Park Picture House on Friday, 1 June, 12- 4pm. Thom Burgess of Northern Film School and Ryan Curtis of the University of Leeds were matched up through the help of somewhereto_, a nationwide project which helps young people find the space they need to do the things they love within the arts, culture and sport. With the help of somewhereto_ Regional Coordinator, Rebecca Legg, Thom and Ryan have developed Impact Yorkshire, a documentary film festival which showcases films made by young people about something that has made an impact on their lives. Young people from Yorkshire and beyond have submitted their films for screening at Hyde Park Picture House. Ryan Curtis said: “Although the festival was always aimed at young people across the country, we never thought we would receive anything from outside Yorkshire, but we were very wrong. We have received submissions from as far as Prague and Canada!” Impact Yorkshire will include film screenings, guest speakers and of course, prizes for the winning films. Submissions are still being accepted until 20th May by emailing: impactyorkshire@yahoo.co.uk and tickets are available via Eventbrite on: http://impactyorkshire.eventbrite.com Ryan Curtis said: “Working with somewhereto_ has been fantastic. It’s been so helpful knowing that if there are any areas we are unsure about there is someone who can personally support you. We couldn’t have done it without them.” If you’re 16-25 and need somewhereto_ check out: www.somewhereto.com to find out more.

The deadline is coming up soon for submissions to GFEST - Gaywise FESTival, the premier annual lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) arts festival in London. The festival accepts submissions in three categories: ·        films ·        visual arts ·        performance Submissions are accepted on the website: www.gaywisefestival.org.uk The theme of this year’s festival, which takes place in November in venues across London, is ‘Queer Art queries...’ Niranjan Kamatkar, artistic director of GFEST said ‘Since we put out the open call for artists this year we have had great interest from all over the arts community. There is still time to submit ideas to us. GFEST are looking for submissions from artists and organisations, with a particular focus on collaboration across art form, age and cultural backgrounds. ‘We want to encourage artists to work together on exciting, thought provoking and innovative work. We want to query what happens in the queer arts world.’ About GFEST Now in its 6^th year GFEST enjoys showcasing an exciting selection of work from LGBTQ artists around the world as well as hosting emerging and established artists from London. Past works shown have come from Iran, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand as well as Europe, the United States and Canada. Past performers have included cabaret artist Marcus Reeves, performance poet Dean Atta, accomplished multi-disciplinary performer Janice Perry, Resonance FM DJ Rosie Wilby, as well as many other artists from across the world. Subject matter in the festival has ranged from gay marriage, civil partnerships, political satire and sexual awakening to male rape, homophobia across the world and a tribute to Tom of Finland by a drag king. Niranjan says: ‘In these challenging times it is vital that there is still a space for LGBT and queer arts. GFEST continues to support these and looks forward to putting on a truly diverse selection and celebration of LGBT and queer themed art.’ The deadline for submissions is Friday 29 June 2012. For more information please contact Subodh Rathod, Wise Thoughts Tel: 0208 889 9555 Email: info@wisethoughts.org Visit: www.gaywisefestival.org.uk