This case study is part of our project evaluation for 2019/2020
We brought together a group of volunteers from communities in the local areas we work with. Known as the Creative Collective, they have worked with us over the last year to co-commission creative practitioners and plan arts activity in their towns and across the area. They got involved when we changed our programmes in response to Covid-19 helping us in decision-making for our micro-commission programme.
For one of the commissions, we wanted the group to have the chance to be participants too. They chose Mantelpiece by artist Michelle Brace. The project explored our connections with objects and their personal significance through recordings of each person telling the story of their object. Michelle encouraged the group to consider the meaning and memories behind their chosen objects and they worked together to learn and share digital skills needed for their recordings.
The Creative Collective directly builds on work developed in Phase 1 to give opportunities for local voice to feed into MarketPlace programming. The group had newly formed at the end of Phase 2 Year 1 and had begun joint planning a new programme of activity to roll out across the seven towns.
This year the Creative Collective has been integral in the commissioning process, user testing potential roll-out projects and matching artist ideas with relevant communities. The MarketPlace team identified a commission with the potential for cross-generational roll out across the towns. In discussion with the Creative Collective, they selected the commission as one they would participate in themselves.
Mantelpiece
Mantelpiece is a project in which groups share stories associated with objects to create a collective digital portrait of who they are to accompany their oral stories.
It has a very clear simple structure – set a group a brief to choose an object in their home and to share why it’s important, what it says about who you are, and a memory associated with it. In the sharing of the story, it gets recorded. Each object is photographed and composited into a group shot around mantelpiece, a place known for showing prized possessions.
Pictured: Left: The final image of the groups items in pride of place on the mantelpiece. Right: Screenshot of the audio files of the group telling the stories behind their chosen object.
This case study is part of our project evaluation for 2019/2020.
We’ve worked with Shelby, owner of the lovely Barleycorn Cafe in Mildenhall on creative projects over the last few years. Before the pandemic, we were running a series of taster sessions with local Meet Up Mondays group and creative practitioners from the region. The group enjoyed the activities and the company, feeling less isolated and more connected.
The Covid-19 pandemic changed everything and we had to stop the live programme. To keep something going, we worked with The Barleycorn and artist Marian Savill during the first lockdown to create a series of ‘make along’ videos about Art Journaling.
Find out the difference this project has made and the challenges of delivering online as we all adjusted to doing more things digitally.
The Barleycorn Cafe in Mildenhall is only three years old, but has become a hub in the community. They decided to start a Meet-up Monday group, hoping to tackle loneliness and isolation by offering a free cuppa and a place to chat and meet people. Working with owner Shelby and a group of regular Meet Up Monday members a taster arts programme was established to reach new audiences, create new art opportunities locally and increase well-being.
Tea and Tasters
A series of taster workshops were delivered with different artists for the group to choose one they would like to work with the longer term.
These workshops included:
creative journalling
singing
printmaking
ceramics
expressive drawing
Pictured:Three photos from the taster workshops. Left: For this workshop, the group were trying singing with singing teacher, Sally Rose.Sally is grinning while sat on a chair with a little guitar. Middle: The group were trying pottery. In this photo, Clare the artist is showing a member of the group how to throw a pot on a potters wheel. Right: The group were trying screenprinting. In the photo the group are sitting and standing around a large long table, with rollers, paint and printing stamps scattered on the table.
The group decided to pursue additional singing sessions alongside holding a longer creative journaling project using a democratic vote.
The plans for additional journaling workshops were curtailed by the pandemic. This resulted in a commission for mixed media artist Marian Savill to produce four online tutorials to journal from home, using resources you would find around the house.
Extending the commission in this way was a means of continuing to maintain the group’s connectivity. As well as to manage further isolation for this vulnerable group and transition activity into digital outputs in a meaningful way.
Pictured:Two photos from the taster workshops. Left: The group were trying pastels. In this photo, a large piece of paper has been covered in drawings in pastel, including images of coffee cups, flowers and words like “sun” and “hope”. Right: The group were trying art journaling. In this photo, a table is covered in magazines and collages.
Art Journaling with Marian Savill
Pictured:The opening image for Marian’s workshop. It reads “Art Journaling with Marian Savill” in collaged letters.
Initially the commission was developed as an experience for the Meet Up Mondays group to continue their journlling activity with Marian, during the first national lockdown through April – May 2020.
Marian was commissioned to make a series of four workshop tutorials and an introductory promo video. The tutorials cover how to make a book, creating backgrounds, adding text and embellishing your journal.
To mirror in-person experiences, the videos were launched weekly, on a Monday at 10am, within a Facebook event on the CPP MarketPlace account and the Barleycorn Facebook page.
Pictured:Two screenshots from Marian Savill’s Art Journalling workshops. In the images Marian experiments on her desk with paint, wax crayons and collaging in colourful handmade books.
This case study is part of our project evaluation for 2019/2020.
Art in the Fens with artist Kaitlin Ferguson was one of the first Creative Conversations in Isolation commissions. With Kaitlin, we trialled new ways to use digital creative activity to encourage connection with the green spaces on our doorsteps.
We’ve worked with Kaitlin before on the Brandon Tales and Trails event so this was an opportunity to respond to the changes we all faced in the pandemic through different creative activity. People were finding connections or reconnecting with nature on their daily walks during lockdown and Kaitlin’s project showed simple art projects and interesting techniques to make a creative response to the Fenland landscape.
Kaitlin was commissioned to deliver four online ‘make along’ tutorials to be shared through IGTV on Instagram and promoted through new environmental partner networks that align with current strategic activity in Fenland.
The videos were shared through our social media channels over four weeks. The launch of the project coincided with ‘Celebrate the Fens‘ Day on 20th June 2020, which was hosted by @FascinatingFens.
Pictured above: Two screenshots of Kaitlin’s video workshops – On the left, drawing plant materials from observation, and on the right using felt to create a textural representation of the soft strata of the Fenland landscape.
This case study is part of our project evaluation for 2019/2020.
In this case study we’re looking at the Young Producers Programme developed in partnership with 20Twenty Productions C.I.C. 20Twenty use creativity and participation to build essential life skills in young people and provide mentoring and career opportunities for them within the creative sector.
Through this project, 20Twenty supported two young artists to develop skills as creative producers through co-designed activities for and with young people.
The Young Producer Programme has been established to build the skills of young artists into audience focussed art producers, whilst increasing the relevance of cultural opportunities for young people, particularly those based within March. 20Twenty Productions supported two young producers to develop and deliver programmes of activity whilst working towards the Gold Arts Award.
Right: Image from the Tagged & Filtered project [Description: A young girls photo is obscured by writing of negative words like “ugly” and “loner” across the image.] Left: Logo from the Viral project [Description: An image of a virus cell with the word “VIRAL” across a background of blue social media icons.]
Tagged and Filtered
Young producer Nicola Baxter was commissioned to develop her ongoing artistic themes into a co-produced series of workshops across Easter half term with a group of young people identifying as female. Tagged and Filtered was a series of workshops developing photography skills through the exploration of identity, selfies, online safety and engagement to inform a new interactive digital exhibition. This mentoring project was to develop Nicola’s work further through an audience focussed approach.
Young Producer Libby Ward was the second commission in this partnership. Libby has a BTEC in performing arts and had been a performer with the Connexions youth group in March. Libby’s proposal was a theatre in education offer exploring mental health issues in local schools. This project plan changed in response to the pandemic and through inspiration from a shift to digital productions.
This case study is part of our project evaluation 2019/2020
In this case study we’re looking at the ways we responded to the pandemic as a team, how we reviewed and changed our ways of working. Unlike many arts organisations who had to close venues, the Creative People and Places national programme continued working with local communities throughout the lockdowns of 2020, but we had to approach things differently, change quickly and respond sensitively. This was a situation beyond all of our experience.
The impact of Covid-19 and national lockdown restrictions on local communities, artists and organisations meant that new ways of working, supporting creative practitioners and communities was a priority.
This case study looks at the ways we changed our artist commission support and skills development and the difference this made from participant feedback.
Creative Conversations in Isolation Impact on Artists
The MarketPlace team amongst their CPP colleagues recognised a need to provide opportunities for local audiences to engage in creative and cultural opportunities during the first national lockdown. They also identified a need to be an integral part in supporting the local arts economy and freelance artists in a meaningful way for their communities whilst honouring their artistic ideas.
Marketplace developed the ‘Creative Conversation in Isolation‘ two-tiered commission. Artists were invited to submit ideas that could then be funded as an ‘Inkling’. These would be developed into a working project idea after an advice surgery session with the MarketPlace team.
This enabled artists to gain direct support and insight to make their ideas audience focused with their time being valued financially. Upon approval of their delivery plan submission, the project would be funded at the ‘Connect’ level to engage communities in the activity.
Of the 19 projects commissioned this year, seven were commissioned directly at Connect level as their project plan was fully formed. Ten of the projects have moved from Inkling to Connect and two projects are still in the Inkling development phase.
Graphic showing participation and audience numbers. Arts Commissions: 19, Participants: 40, Training: 1
The commissioned artists reflected upon the impact of the commission on their current employment, stability and new ways of working. This commission, alongside a measuring digital impact training day enables the development of local capacity to grow at the same time as the audience appetite for this type of cultural content.
In this short video, Creative Agent Ali reflects on the Connect and Inkling projects commissioned by MarketPlace during lockdown.
In this short video, Creative Agent Colin reflects on the importance of creating during the pandemic in 2020.
This case study is part of our project evaluation for 2019/2020
Digital artist Lee Mason applied to the Creative Conversations in Isolation Inkling programme with the idea of using Mozilla Hubs Spoke to make a virtual gallery with other artists. We saw an opportunity for a collaboration with a local community group and commissioned Lee to work with members of Brandon Arts Society to create a digital home for their 40th anniversary exhibition. A 3D virtual gallery experience became their exhibition space for the celebrations.
As a commission, this met a local need for connection, routine and a way to reduce isolation in a group of older amateur artists. The digital nature of the project challenged the group to see and experience their work in a new way. Lee worked with Brandon Arts Society, Brandon Creative Forum and Creative Collective members to liaise with the group’s membership to collate and curate high-quality images and interpretation for all of their exhibition submissions.
Visitors to the gallery created an avatar to explore the exhibition space. The event was complete with wine and nibbles.
Lee built the virtual reality gallery in Mozilla Hubs after conversations with the MarketPlace team and Art Society member Terry to discover more about the local area and the group, in order to inform the aesthetic of the space. This enabled the creation of a space filled with local references and events that could make this virtual space feel owned and relevant to the artist participants, who were embarking on a new digital experience together.
Building the exhibition himself enabled artist Lee Mason to personalise the space to include features associated with Brandon. This included a roof garden to commemorate their Anglia in Bloom 2019 win and special guest, the infamous Brandon bunny.
As COVID-19 – and the resultant lockdown – forced us into physical distance from one another, digital tools and online engagement became key to maintaining connection, communication and friendship. For many CPP Places, what followed was a steep learning curve – an intense live experiment in the online delivery of creative projects. The urgent drive to move engagement online has been an opportunity to investigate the role that digital engagement can play in place-based projects, and to explore the factors that can best enable effective online delivery. We’ve been looking back on what’s been learned through this intense period for digital engagement.
Of all the restrictions COVID-19 has imposed on our lives, loss of touch and physical contact came up again and again in interviews with CPP Places. There was talk of the big, fundamental moments in life, such as hugging a grandchild or the traditional last washing of bodies so important in Muslim funeral rites. But we missed small moments of touch too – helping a neighbour over the road, a touch of the arm in conversation, the reassuring contact of sitting side by side with a friend. In conversation with CPP Places and some of the artists and communities they support, we’ve been exploring the role of creativity in supporting, overcoming and capturing this profound experience of 2020.
The effects of COVID and lockdown starkly highlighted the divisions and inequalities in British society. With lives and health under threat, poor (or no) housing, inadequate food and loss of work meant that many people were struggling to meet even their most basic needs. Essential needs agencies and key workers fought to keep up with demand for food parcels, meet housing needs and provide debt and welfare advice.
Drawing on an earlier conversation with East Durham Creates, who are embedded within a charity (East Durham Trust) providing basic needs services, I was keen to explore how CPP Places had experienced their role in this context. As people struggle to meet their most basic needs, what is the role for creativity in communities?
Of all the restrictions COVID-19 has imposed on our lives, loss of touch and physical contact came up again and again in interviews with CPP Places. There was talk of the big, fundamental moments in life, such as hugging a grandchild or the traditional last washing of bodies so important in Muslim funeral rites. But we missed small moments of touch too – helping a neighbour over the road, a touch of the arm in conversation, the reassuring contact of sitting side by side with a friend. In conversation with CPP Places and some of the artists and communities they support, we’ve been exploring the role of creativity in supporting, overcoming and capturing this profound experience of 2020.
The 33 Places funded by the Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places (CPP) programme are no strangers to working hand in hand with their local community. Nonetheless, lockdown created an immediate and profound shift – both in the needs facing their communities and in Places’ ability to respond. Many Places saw their established community networks reorientate their energy to focus on immediate and basic needs. Simultaneously, their networks of artists and creative collaborators faced new and frightening challenges, as work fell away and income dropped or disappeared overnight.
In order to support more people to take a lead in choosing, creating and taking part in arts and culture experiences in their local area, Places needed to rethink how they could work alongside artists, as well as with communities. Artist and talent development is not – in itself – a feature of the Programme, but the process of co-creation with communities often sees CPPs working closely with artists to develop their practice and deliver on community decision-making. Lockdown challenged many Places to test new ways of working with artists to continue to achieve communities’ creative aspirations.
As the first phase of the COVID-19 crisis passes, and Places take a moment to catch their breath, we’ve been reflecting on the process of working with artists over the past six months:
1. Flexible opportunities are needed to cope with fast-changing environments
The early phases of lockdown saw Places navigating a fast moving, uncertain environment. There was a need for Places to rethink delivery plans and to reconsider how their funding might best be used to support communities. For Places typically accustomed to designing projects slowly, collaboratively, and in consultation with partners, the rapidly-changing context made this approach more difficult. In the early days, challenges arose from making plans – only to see the national context change within days and render those plans unfeasible.
“There was a real contrast between the speed society was changing, and the time it takes to work in an ethical way alongside communities”
Seed, CPP Sedgemoor
Many Places sought to balance a thoughtful, responsible and co-created ethos with the need to move at speed – to provide nourishing creative activity in a time of uncertainty and unhappiness, to support the local creative ecosystem and to sustain relationships with local people. In an environment where the rules changed day by day, as well as week to week, CPPs’ deep understanding of their communities and adaptable approach to delivery meant that many were well placed to respond.
“We had to think on our feet – to scrap the plan we had, and change course completely.”
Right Up Our Street, CPP Doncaster
2. Embracing uncertainty enabled meaningful collaboration between artists, communities and Places
In the uncertain context of lockdown, CPPs reached out to help artists to re-imagine how they could work with and for communities. Many Places developed microcommissions with flexible terms, focused on helping artists to explore, adapt and test their practice. Others offered commissions focused on research and development, designed to create thinking space, or to incubate new ideas – creating new spaces and building connections to help artists engage meaningfully with communities.
MarketPlace, CPP Fenland and Forest Heath, designed a two-part process that invited artists to come forward with ‘Inklings’ – a germ of an idea – and receive support to work in a collaborative way with the CPP team, community members and other artists. This approach allowed money to reach artists quickly, whilst retaining the co-creation ethos and allowing time and space for the whole team to learn to navigate the new national context.
“They’ve been supportive in that they support the process of making connections, having conversations, and exploring how things might work – which is a tricky old business. They’ve been very patient, very keen, very clear, very supportive”
Stuart Mullins, supported by MarketPlace, CPP Fenland and Forest Heath
Images from Click Therapy Lockdown and Easing. MarketPlace.
Investing directly in local artists brought new partnerships and stakeholders to the table, as artists drew on their local connections to realise their creative aspirations. This approach recognises artists as community members, rather than as external agents delivering for communities.
“It’s interesting because a number of the ‘inklings’ projects have changed quite a lot since the initial conversation we had with the artist – simply because the environment changed, week by week. The level of flexibility has been massive, but it’s a really interesting way to work, it’s been really creatively exciting”
MarketPlace, CPP Fenland and Forest Heath
“The opportunity with MarketPlace came at just the right time, giving me the chance to focus on a short, community-focused project, flex my creative muscles, and work collaboratively with two musicians to build a series of workshops based around music and creativity.”
Leanne Moden, Poet and Workshop Facilitator, supported by MarketPlace, CPP Fenland and Forest Heath
The practicalities of designing a sensitive and proportionate process of responding to a commission was emphasised by all Places. It was seen as a vital factor in creating the circumstances that made it possible for artists to come forward at such a challenging time. Keeping the scale of commissions relatively modest was felt to have enabled more artists to respond, without the pressure of a larger project.
“We needed to offer things [to artists] that weren’t just a promise”
Creative People & Places Hounslow
3. Developing artist relationships is a long-term investment in the future of a place
Many Places recognised that success in their long-term vision ultimately relies on a diverse and thriving creative ecosystem – one where communities can partner with artists who understand the local context, who can tailor their work to suit the local environment, and who have genuine and trusting relationships with local communities. This can be especially pertinent to CPP Places, which are often affected by locally-born artists moving away to progress their careers.
“When we were locked down all of my work – like everybody else – virtually stopped overnight. And then I saw a callout from Right Up Our Street in Doncaster looking at new ways to work during lockdown. I work all over and I live in Doncaster, but I don’t work in Doncaster a great deal – and I really want to work in Doncaster more. So it kind of felt like a perfect opportunity”
Wayne Sables, Quarantine Creates, supported by Right Up Our Street, CPP Doncaster
August Charles performing his debut single ‘Take Me Away’, part of project All Eyes On Culture, led by artist Charlotte Felters. Right Up Our Street.
In Hounslow, microcommissions prioritised local artists – helping them to develop their skills at working in a socially-engaged way, and to explore how their lived understanding of the hyper-local environment might help them create work that was especially relevant. During lockdown, of course, locally-based artists had the additional advantage of being able to feasibly (and legally) deliver ‘real life’ creative opportunities in local communities – whilst those artists based further afield were more reliant on an exclusively digital offer.
4. Trusting relationships can maximise impact in a crisis
At Heart of Glass, CPP St Helens, existing warm connections with local authorities and arts organisations made it possible to work quickly – and to realise partnerships in new ways – to maximise the support available to artists in the early phases of lockdown. An initial commitment of money from the CPP toward artist microcommissions was quickly matched by local partners. The nimble, responsive approach of the CPP enabled a distinctive and sizable commitment to be collaboratively agreed, and the scale expanded from 10 to 51 commissions within just a few days. Furthermore, the existing good reputation of the CPP enabled them to negotiate a trusting, light touch approach to the awarding of microcommissions that enabled a growing project to be managed within the constraints of furlough and lockdown.
“We’ve all been able to be more equal, more honest, more sensitive. We’ve all been a bit more human”
MarketPlace, CPP Fenland and Forest Heath
Click Therapy Lockdown and Easing. MarketPlace.
5. CPP Places bring a radically generous approach to their partnerships with artists
“It’s about how best to deploy our funding to enable as much work as possible to go forward”
Right Up Our Street, CPP Doncaster
Places described a real sense of care toward the artists they worked alongside, and in many cases went to additional efforts to help sustain their initiatives to help them continue to connect with communities over the long term. At Right Up Our Street, Project Leads collated and shared data, write ups, transcripts and case studies with funded artists, with the specific intention of helping them present a strong case to funders for enabling them to continue to develop the approaches and initiatives begun during lockdown. As many artists they partnered with were relatively new to working in a socially-engaged way, many Project Leads found that they could offer practical and impactful support in areas such as evaluation, data collection, consent and collaborative working.
“Working relationships with artists have felt more intimate, including greater need to check in on how people are on a personal level in the context of lockdown”
Museums Northumberland bait, CPP South East Northumberland
Whilst this approach is at the heart of much community development activity, its application in an arts context is distinctive. It sees commissioners – those traditionally in a position of power – bring a humble and pragmatic approach to making the best investment in a community as a whole.
“It’s started a train of thought about the processes we use in the future”
Creative People & Places Hounslow
Identity Crisis – Tale Be Told Theatre. Photo credit: Cristina Schek.
6. The future will bring different challenges again
The reflective, learning-oriented approach of CPP Places has enabled them to test new ways facilitating relationships between artists, communities, audiences and participants. That said, we should be cautious of drawing simple conclusions from unprecedented times, and thoughtful reflection with Project Leads also identified the challenges and limitations of applying learning in a blanket way to the new circumstances we will no doubt face in the months ahead.
“We should be talking about testing, piloting, starting things, not ‘achieving big change’”
Creative Scene, CPP West Yorkshire
Whilst the crisis may have seen important and necessary changes to working practices, the ethos at the heart of CPP Places – to enable communities to realise the creative activity they most want to see in their area – has been at the heart of it all. As such, Places are emerging from lockdown with new insights about the role that artists can play in building deep and trusting local relationships, generating ideas with and alongside communities, and adapting flexibly to deliver creative activity in uncertain, fast-moving and difficult circumstances.
So… tell us a little about yourself and what you do.
Typically I would say I’m a mixed media artist because I cover so many things I suppose. Nowadays I refer to myself a as a recycled artist because my practice is centred on using pre-used or recycled materials. I’m thinking I might need a different sort of term – I’m trying to focus on making my practice more ethical, sustainable and greener. I’m vegan and I’m moving towards trying to only use vegan art materials where I can, so maybe I should be an ethical artist.
What are the biggest challenges you face living and working in this region?
It is a cultural desert, it has to be said, but I do think it’s improving! I think one of the big problems is that people just aren’t used to engaging in the arts across the fens, we’re so rural so it is harder for people get anywhere. I think that’s why doing workshops and community stuff, I like doing that because it shows that the arts aren’t all about paintings hanging in a white walled gallery.
Why is being creative important to you?
I always say in my art journaling workshops, “it’s not therapy, but it’s therapeutic” it’s that whole, getting your head out of regular life and doing something freeing – it’s calming, it’s fun, it takes you out of your normal life and gives you something more. It’s trying to encourage people and getting them into the mindset of random acts of creativity, again, it’s about the process.
My workshop delivery ethos is “I don’t teach anything, I’m not a teacher, I’m a sharer” because the thing with art journaling particularly is I don’t think there’s any rules, you can do anything you like, but sometimes I will take a technique along and explain the technique but I will always have a backup of “if you’d don’t want to do that, you can do it this, this this or this way”, or “you can adapt it this way”. I don’t like prescriptive art so if you go to an art workshop and you’re all doing the same thing, that’s my worst nightmare.
What are your plans for the future? Do you have any thoughts about the arts in the future of this region?
I always want to do more art journaling workshops, just so that I can dominate the world with art journals and get everyone doing it. I’ve also started to work a bit more with textiles. I’ve become quite interested in the overconsumption of clothing, textiles, fast fashion, synthetic materials and the impact that that’s having on the environment, and work conditions as well. I’ve become quite interested in slow clothing, slow stitching and making do and mending.
I’d really like to start making my own paints and inks and glues, even papers. Just being more sustainable. I do have ethical dilemmas. You go into a school, you’re going to be working with 60 kids and you need 60 glue sticks. I’d love to go into schools and show them how to make their own glue and paints and inks and go out and have a forage round the field and find leaves and mud and that we can be creative with and make our own paint out of.
You’ve got to be positive and I hope that we’ll continue to build more engagement with more people of all ages and backgrounds, wherever they are across the fens as well. I really hope that just continues to build. You’ve just got to keep trying, hopefully that will never stop with MarketPlace. I hope that there is a shiny, bright, arty future for the fens and beyond.
![Right: Image from Tagged & Filtered project [Description: A young girls photo is obscured by writing of negative words like "ugly" and "loner" are scralled across the image.] Left: Logo from Viral project [Description: An image of a virus cell with the word "VIRAL" across a background of blue social media icons.]](https://www.cppmarketplace.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Case-Study_YPP-Viral-Tagged_Infographic.jpg)
