Bel Greenwood Archives | Market Place

SURVIVING LOCKDOWN

Posted on September 2021April 2022 by Colin Stevens

We’ve loved working with Click Therapy in co-creating their second book SURVIVING LOCKDOWN. The colourful book is a powerful combination of photography and heartfelt writing about life during the lockdowns of 2020/21.

The book contains moving, sometimes funny stories and naturally lend themselves to monologues and performance.

Discover CLICK THERAPY

How the book began

Wisbech community members were working with Click Therapy, taking photographs that reflected their personal lives and situations during the pandemic. Talking with Jenna and Steve about the difficulties of meeting during lockdowns, we suggested trying some creative writing – a new development for them.

The writing began in a short series of lunchtime online workshops with writer Bel Greenwood acting as facilitator. Community writers shared their personal contributions, and with Belona’s support formed creative documentary pieces.

SURVIVING LOCKDOWN is an honest snapshot of people’s lives during one of the most difficult periods of recent history. How they coped. Thier fears, worries and their successes.

Founder of CLICK Therapy, Steve Hubbard said: “The creative writing aspect was new to us all, a photograph can speak a 1000 words, but a blank sheet is filled with the silent voices within you”.

Creative Agent Colin began to feel that the writing would be served well by some theatrical attention. It was lucky then that he was talking to three young people in Fenland who were beginning to explore the idea of setting up a theatre company.

AlternateOrbit Theatre

Community performers Jodie Hicks, Christopher Crowther & Glen O’Gorman met each other during their teenage years with 20Twenty Productions. They were interested in establishing a theatre company in Fenland . Colin felt their energy and age would offer some interesting adaptation to the Surviving Lockdown content.

In just 3 short rehearsals the team brought a staged rehearsed reading at The Oasis Centre in Wisbech on Friday 22nd October. It was received with great enthusiasm and thanks to a Community Connector’s links to the local Libraries the show was presented at Wisbech Library and March Library.

Many will connect with the themes of loss, isolation, mental health and community support. There is emotional content but it is suitable for a family audience (12+ yrs).

_{Image reads: “The Lockdown has made me aware of how selfish people can become. Selfish people were buying everything up and not thinking of the elderly and vulnerable…”}

Take a look at some highlights of the show or watch the full performance at the end of the page:

_{Highlights from the performance at the Oasis Centre in Wisbech}

Bel Greenwood – Facilitator

Belona is a former journalist and an experienced co-writer with community groups. She has been helping many groups find and develop their voice through writing and is also the lead facilitator of the Fenscapers who produce the Leaping the Landscape blog.

We have all been through so many different emotions and experiences over the last year. Isn’t it time to hope that we can move on? Here’s hoping…

Grab a cuppa and watch the full performance of SURVIVING LOCKDOWN here:

^{Subtitled by Stagetext}

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Creative Chat ‘n’ Blog – Belona Greenwood

Posted on June 2021June 2021 by Alice Cramer

Listen to Bel’s podcast episode here.

The Challenge

It was a shock. I lost all my arts in education work and income overnight. At first, I pretty much panicked in that I applied for any work, anywhere with a sense of dread that I would end up having to leave behind a creative life I had spent so many years trying to put together. At the same time, suddenly there was a space which I couldn’t negotiate productively. I would have loved to have used the time that opened up before me creatively, but I was too anxious about money. And then I benefitted from an emergency grant from the Arts Council. I was so grateful and promised to use my time well, even as I disinfected everything in sight, even as I limited going out to an early morning gallop with the dog, even as I stressed about my keyworker daughter exposed to the public.

Developing Ideas

Gradually, my heartbeat slowed, and I began to think and write again – in that gloriously beautiful weather in the first year. I sealed off the world and zoomed. It has made me think of hybrid theatre forms and I have discovered the potential for intimacy, as well as theatre’s wider online reach, but still, a year on the yearning for the energy of live performance is very strong.

I count myself lucky. I was commissioned to write a play with funding put in place before the pandemic. It was a stop start experience for the theatre company – even as auditions, and script read throughs were held and rehearsals began, they were postponed, the project settling into a waiting time as theatres closed and new variants emerged and made being together impossible. I think we learnt patience this year.

There are limitations to not being in the same room. Part of my working life is spent in a writers’ room with two other scriptwriters where we develop television and radio drama. It is a crucible where we hammer out a series, it is so much harder to interrupt each other passionately, the creative energy is missing in action. We adapt but it is not evolution.

_{Belona Greenwood’s book The Flying Shop of Imagination, is full of inspiring ideas to get children writing and inventing.}

Final Thoughts

It is a year since I have spent time in a school with real, 3D children. Delivering an arts project to six-year-olds for a day in maverick weather this week was brilliant. A real return. But I cannot forget. We all carry a sorrow for the suffering of then and now. I cannot but believe that as artists we are in a fragile peace, we live in uncertainty and with that there is a challenge. Out of chaos comes creation.

Written by Belona Greenwood.

Listen to Bel’s podcast episode here.

Read about Bel’s Writing the Landscape project here.

Art of #CovidChat

Posted on June 2021April 2022 by Colin Stevens

A new MarketPlace/ DMJ Imagery Ltd podcast series

For many creative practitioners, the Lockdown period during 2020 and 2021 was both a stressful challenge and a opportunity for experimentation and learning. Inevitably, this has raised questions about what we do, how we do it and most importantly, why we do what we do.

In the Art of #CovidChat, Chatteris based filmmaker and podcast producer, David Johnson (DMJ Imagery) had the idea of hosting ‘creative conversations’ with artists from our Inkling and Connect micro-commissions.

_{Pictured is a photo of David Johnson (DMJ Imagery) with his camera.}

David wanted to explore how artists have coped with transferring their skills and practice to online workshops, digital technology and downloadable resources. He also wanted to discuss how they managed to continue the creative sharing process despite not being able to be in the same physical space as workshop participants.

The podcasts include a great line-up of artists discussing music, writing, digital technology, fine art and performance.

The creative conversations launched on podcast platforms early this summer. Listen to them below.

Listen to the podcast series below:

Episode 1

Read the transcript of Episode 1 here.

_{This episode David Johnson interviews artists Genevieve Rudd and Marian Savill. The topic for this episode is Mixed Media Arts. They discuss:-}

_{Permission to be an artist}
_{Cyanotype & anthotype}
_{The changing of art materials and the impact of recycling}

Read Genevieve’s blog post here.

Read Marian’s blog post here.

Episode 2

Read the transcript for Episode 2 here.

_{David Johnson interviews poet and writer Leanne Moden and writer Belona Greenwood}. _{The topic for this episode is Poetry and Written Word.} _{They discuss:-}

_{Initial process to start writing}
_{The effects of lockdown}
_{Learning new skills during the last year}

_{The challenge:}

_{To write a short poem}
_{Short story about a stone}

Read Leanne’s blog post here.

Read Bel’s blog post here.

Episode 3

Read the transcript for Episode 3 here.

_{This episode, David Johnson interviews environmental artist Kaitlin Ferguson and publisher and illustrator Ric Savage. The topic for this episode is Use of Video in Art Projects. They discuss: –}

_{How they learned to create videos}
_{Their experiences of using videos in their work}
_{Missing the audience engagement}

_{The challenge:}

_{Record the changes of nature using video}
_{Capture something about you}
_{Additional challenge – Film a one-minute elevator pitch}

Read Kaitlin’s blog post here.

Read Ric’s blog post here.

Episode 4

Read the transcript for Episode 4 here.

_{This episode, David Johnson interviews singer/ music leader Sally Rose and artist Michelle Brace.} _{The topic for this episode is Music and Technology.} _{They discuss:-}

_{What is VJ-ing?}
_{Music and Mental Health}
_{Folk music in the Fenland area}

_{The challenge:}

_{Go for a walk and listen to the rhythm of your feet as you move}
_{Get two images – patterns/textures and digitally blend them or collage them.}

Read Sally’s blog post here.

Read Michelle’s blog post here.

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Evaluation Case Study: Writing the Landscape

Posted on April 2021 by Alice Cramer

This case study is part of our project evaluation for 2019/2020

Writer Bel Greenwood was commissioned as part of our Creative Conversations in Isolation programme to bring together a group who were interested in creative writing with a landscape and environmental theme. Everyone had to get used to being on Zoom rather than meeting in person, but the group enjoyed getting to know each other and experimenting with their writing guided by Bel. People were finding new connections to their local environment and nature through lockdown, this group were no different, giving them lots to write about. They produced a blog to share their work and have continued to meet and write.

Read the Writing Inspired by the Landscape blog here.

Download the full Writing the Landscape case study here.

Read the full 2019/20 evaluation report here.

An excerpt from the case study:

Recognising an increase in people’s connections to their local environment, this commission was a way to develop interest and community audiences connected to this theme.

Images reads "It's about generating a sense of imaginative connection with the landscape - they have a very strong relationship with the landscape and I want them to generate a successful collection of work. I hope I'm building confidence in people in their own stories and starting them off on an adventure." - Bel Greenwood, writer. — _{Images reads “It’s about generating a sense of imaginative connection with the landscape – they have a very strong relationship with the landscape and I want them to generate a successful collection of work. I hope I’m building confidence in people in their own stories and starting them off on an adventure.” – Bel Greenwood, writer.}

The group had mixed previous writing experience from academic papers and books to one creative writer. Their passion for the natural environment unified the group.

Each workshop consisted of a combination of surprising writing challenges and the opportunity to collaborate and share. As well as the experience of having a professional writer critique and support edits in work produced.

Key outcomes for the group were to improve their skills in writing creatively through their connection to the landscape. Also to support them to increase their confidence in sharing their work publicly.

Graphic showing participation and audience numbers. Facebook: 1191, Participants: 9, Twitter: 4417 — Graphic showing participation and audience numbers. **Facebook:** 1191, **Participants:** 9, **Twitter:** 4417

Pictured: A photo of a robin singing. Text on the image reads: "Dear Robin. If I'd only sat up and taken the time to smell the damp earth and appreciated the beauty of my garden instead of considering my work a trial to endure, things could have been different. By Jaqui Fairfax". — **_Picture**_{d: A photo of a robin singing. Text on the image reads: “Dear Robin. If I’d only sat up and taken the time to smell the damp earth and appreciated the beauty of my garden instead of considering my work a trial to endure, things could have been different. By Jaqui Fairfax”.}

Download the full Writing the Landscape case study here.

Read more about the Writing the Landscape project with Bel Greenwood here.

How the book began

AlternateOrbit Theatre

Take a look at some highlights of the show or watch the full performance at the end of the page:

Bel Greenwood – Facilitator

Grab a cuppa and watch the full performance of SURVIVING LOCKDOWN here:

The Challenge

Developing Ideas

Final Thoughts

Written by Belona Greenwood.

A new MarketPlace/ DMJ Imagery Ltd podcast series

Listen to the podcast series below:

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

An excerpt from the case study:

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