Blog #8 - "Stop, Collaborate & Listen"

18/05/18

Howdy folk!  Paul here!

Sorry for the delay since our last blog entry. We have been doing our usual of simultaneously juggling balls whilst spinning plates . .

The sun has been shining and our May half term programme is just around the corner. We have finally pinned down our Summer events which we will be announcing, in full, very shortly over social media. Keep those eyes peeled.

What else have we been up to? Well, we have also been preparing funding applications to support our ongoing plans with venue renovations and our community arts programme.

But some exciting news that we can announce is that . . . *DRUM ROLL* . . . our outdoor space is being cleared and spruced up in readiness for the six weeks of the summer so that those attending our summer events will have the option to get creative OUTDOORS!

This is a really exciting prospect, and we are hoping to involve members of the community in the maintenance of our outdoor space, so do please get in touch if community gardening is your bag. Furthermore, we are very keen for community members  to participate in the design of the outdoor area. We're currently considering a community vegetable patch, benches, interactive elements for young children and much, much more . . . your ideas about this are also of course very welcome!

But it hasn't been all work and no play, however. We attended the Bristol Life Awards a few weeks back. Once again, we were nominated in the 'Arts' category (which we proudly won last year).   It was a blast! We drank, danced and networked. We also caught up with the lovely folk from Bristol Old Vic and Travelling Light Theatre, and were very happy when the awesome Window Wonderland  won the Creative category. Our warmest congratulations also  to Spike Island who won the Arts  category this year.

I'll hand you over to Gill who is going to give you the lowdown on a few other things, as this blog entry is all about collaboration . . .

Hello everyone, Gill here, in italics so you can tell it's me.

That fact that Creative Workspace's 1st Birthday  is coming up on 30th May is a pretty key moment for us both. We have survived our first year  running a community arts centre and rehearsal space.   We've worked really hard  this first year, and it's much clearer exactly what Brave Bold Drama offers through Creative Workspace This makes it  much easier for us to form partnerships with other organisations and plan collaborative projects together, and of course these projects will reach more people than we could if we just remained as we are. Which is what I've been doing a lot of recently.

The networking Paul mentioned at Bristol Life Awards has already resulted in a new partnership with The Bottle Yard Studios, just down the road from Creative Workspace in Whitchurch. They gave us a really exciting whistle-stop tour of their  site  and are soon  coming to visit us. Exactly how we might work together is still being extrapolated, so watch this space!

Another fruitful piece of partnership happened last weekend as our Silver Arts Award students exhibited photographs and graphic designs at Tobacco Factory and the Southville Centre as part of the Southbank Bristol Arts Trail. Our students are all local teenagers. They were really proud to see their work  presented at a public event, and both Tobacco Factory and Southville  Centre were hugely supportive and encouraging.

I'm also thrilled  that once again we will be working more closely with the Children's Centres in South Bristol, particularly  Bishopsworth, Four Acres,   Hartcliffe, Stockwood & Hengrove.   Brave Bold Drama's first gig way back in 2013 was a funded residency from Bristol City Council to run "PlayTimes" which are imaginative play sessions in children's centres. It was hugely rewarding and delightful work seeing the youngest of children engage with their creativity. It seems fitting that we are  launching our new partnership with a  week of "PlayTimes" out in  the children's centres and local libraries in June. After this, we  will welcome Children's Centre staff to support some of our drop-in creative play sessions at Creative Workspace in the summer.

Also coming up is a residency with Knowle West Media Centre. Paul and I will be working with a wide range of community groups to co-compose a Filwood & Knowle West song that will be performed by us and local residents at the Knowle West Fest in September.

Finally, we are currently formulating a very exciting collaboration with Young  Bristol to deliver our  next Arts Award course in partnership with them at their Hartcliffe Youth Club.  They are based just up the road on  Gatehouse Avenue, so we won't have to walk far. 

Well, thanks for stopping and listening about our collaborations.

Maybe see some of you  soon at Creative Workspace for our May half term programme...(which includes yet another collaboration with Hartcliffe Health and Environment Action Group who  are partnering with us to deliver our Withywood Photowalk  Challenge on Thurs 31st May, as part of Bristol Walk Fest.

Tatty bye!

Gill