Coordinator Hall Green Arts Forum
March 2012 – Present (11 months)
Kings Heath, Moseley, Hall Green, Sparkbrook
The local arts fora build a network within each Constituency to enable local arts development. Artists, arts organisations (funded and non-funded) and local community groups can establish dialogue in each constituency raising the profile of local arts and offering opportunities for participation and professional development. Hall Green Arts Forum is a meeting place to network and develop ideas to develop arts in our constituency.
The forum is funded by Birmingham City Council and works in collaboration with Arts Champions - The Drum is arts champion for Hall Green. KHCCP lead the forum.
See http://www.facebook.com/HGAForum
Trustee Parks for Play
March 2012 – Present (11 months)Kings Heath Parks for Play provides and supports inclusive creative outdoor play in Birmingham.
We support open access play as a way of improving opportunities for all local children and to make parks a safe, welcoming inclusive place for local children.
We are raising funds for an inclusive community vision to create a beautiful, accessible, adaptable, enclosable natural play, sports and leisure space in Kings Heath Park. It will welcome everyone; toddlers, children with autistic spectrum disorder, vulnerable young people and adults, school children and elderly folk.
Creative Agent Paganel Primary School
September 2008 – Present (4 years 5 months)Birmingham
Following the end of funding from Creative Partnerships last year, Paganel Primary School has continued to employ me as a Creative Agent.
Creative Agents are creative thinkers and ideas generators, negotiating partnerships between schools, the wider creative and cultural sector and other learning partners,supporting schools in planning, brokering, managing and delivery of creative learning.
Community art worker
Self-Employed August 1996 – Present (16 years 6 months)
I bring people together to make things and explore personal, local and global issues.
I have worked in a range of settings including stay & play groups, schools, adult education, special needs groups, youth justice, mental health, youth centres, hospitals, care homes and sheltered housing for older people.
I am interested in working with people to develop understanding and confidence. Much of my work has been to bring young and old together to work creatively.
Please see my website for more details.
Secretary
Kings Heath Community Centre Stay & Play October 2003 – August 2012 (8 years 11 months)Kings Heath
Was Chair, Treasurer and Playleader at different times over the last 8 years. Kings Heath CC Stay & Play is a registered charity - I am also a trustee of our charity, and parent attending the stay and play.
I am also responsible for development of the garden and the garden club - see khccgardenclub.blogspot.com. We were recently part of the Kings Heath Floral Trail which won Gold Award in the '2011 Britain in Bloom' Urban Community Category.
Creative Agent Bright Space
May 2008 – July 2011 (3 years 3 months)
Creative agents supported delivery of Creative Partnership's programmes in schools, administered by Bright Space in Birmingham. They work closely with all the partners involved in the planning, delivery and evaluation of each project.
Creative Agents are creative thinkers and ideas generators, negotiating partnerships between schools, the wider creative and cultural sector and other learning partners,supporting schools in planning, brokering, managing and delivery of creative learning.
Creative agents work in schools to embed creative learning. I worked in over 30 primary and secondary schools as a creative agent and also as a creative practitioner.
Community Engagement Officer Birmingham Library Services
2007 – 2008(1 year)
Work on 'A Shared History' Project. This project explored the ways in which slavery in all its forms throughout history has operated, and how it relates to our lives in Birmingham. We worked with over 1000 people in Birmingham, in over 150 workshops, reaching many more people through our audiences, examining issues related to slavery, working with artists and heritage experts, using material within the libraries and Archives and Heritage. Participants worked to create stories, artwork, banners, protests, games, films, dances, drama, video performance and many other art forms, to express our emotions, our understanding, our empathy and disgust of slavery.
We created a resource pack, the liberty box, cataloguing collection of resources presenting a range of campaigns, projects, displays, exhibitions, events and performances in Birmingham in 2007.
I coordinated activities, workshops and events throughout the year, including a march through the city centre, activities and performances in various city venues on 1st August to commemorate the 1838 march led by Joseph Sturge.
Please see http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=Lib-Central-Archives-and-Heritage/PageLayout&cid=1223092751498&pagename=BCC/Common/Wrapper/Wrapper
Creative Learning Officer (maternity cover)
Birmingham City Council March 2006 – January 2007 (11 months)Birmingham Archives and Heritage
Birmingham City Archives and Heritage employs a Creative Learning Officer (CLO) to support, plan and coordinate creative heritage projects using archives with schools in Birmingham.
This post was supported by additional funding from creative partnerships working with clusters of primary, secondary and special schools across Birmingham.