This was just for fun - I've seen several fellow photographers and friends taking part in 'a photo a day' type projects - and some of the photographs I've seen have been stunning, and I love the whole idea of getting a daily, very brief glimpse into a persons life. This is a slight twist - for no other reason than I really wanted to take some pictures just for the sheer pleasure of doing so, I decided to photograph an hour in my day. Just an ordinary Sunday, and the only aim was to take a series of pictures that tell a short story and that I found visually appealing. I started to take the images, as soon as the decision to do it was reached, and I reached for the camera every time something about what I was doing, what I was looking at whilst I was doing, appealed to me - it might have been the light, or the texture, or whatever .
During the hour, I did what I often do on a Sunday - I started to prepare the lunch, I washed up and I started to iron.
Considering that I am a non-meat eater, there was something about the texture of the raw lamb I prepped for my carnivore family, that was visually, quite appealing. I liked the colour of the carrots, and the texture of the potatoes - and I loved the effect of the water hitting the food and the sides of the colander as I washed the veg. Washing dishes, and the water hitting the bubbles caught my eye. An accidentally broken wine glass occupied me for several minutes, and after watering a plant on my kitchen window, I got very into the way the light from the somewhat overcast day provided a nice backdrop for the flowers.
Doing this for one hour made me really look at what was in front of me, and consider light, texture and composition - and it was fun, and so nice to just take pictures because I wanted too. I enjoy working to briefs, and producing specific work for clients - but, now and again, its good to remember that taking photographs needs no justification other than doing it just because you want to :)
This was another busy day, although I again got chance to attend only one lecture - we had the Collective display running in the main foyer, and this gave us the chance to meet several people, and today through up the potential for a few new projects that we may well become involved with.
The one lecture I attended was towards the the end of the day - I was attracted to it, as during the week, we have been given lots of advice to network, network, network, and I felt it would be good to get as many tips and illustrations of its value as I could.
Whats Netwroking Ever Done for Us? Antonia Dewhurst
Antonia - or Toni, as she prefers - graduated from Coleg Menai in 2010.
Toni started off by introducing herself and then described the three main aspects of her work - I apologise that my Welsh spelling isn't up to me being able to give the Welsh translations she used to describe these aspects, but basically 'Between' focus's on her identity which falls between Welsh and English heritage, Shelter is her work creating a series of structures, as a metaphor for the human condition, as was inspired by the Welsh tradition of 'A house in a night',. and the third, 'Strand' focused on the interior, rather than the exterior of buildings - she says a lot of this work is inspired by her mothers home, which is encapsulated in a 1950/60's bubble - and her fascination with abandoned domestic spaces.
Tonis talk revolved around how she had developed her career through her willingness to take advantage of every opportunity she got for experience and exposure, and how the contacts she made through doing this eventually presented her with further career opportunities. The general message delivered showed how the advice that had been prevalent throughout Creative Futures week, about the benefits of networking, were valid - but sadly, added nothing to the knowledge I'd gained through several other lectures, particularly as it revolved around some aspects that would only be of use to fine and applied arts students. Toni did say, early on in the lecture that she had wanted to call the talk ' What I've done since leaving College' - and had been advised to come up with something more 'snappy' - however, the first title was probably more accurate, and I did feel that this talk was more about her work, and how aspects and options relating specifically to that genre had come into play.
Toni's work is extremely interesting, and I was intrigued by some of the projects she has been involved with, particularly Ty un Nos - an old Welsh tradition whereby if you could erect a house during the hours of sunset and sunrise, that by morning had windows and smoking chimney, you gained the freehold of the land - the project where she actually built a Ty un Nos was one that I particularly liked. However, throughout, I found myself more than a little annoyed that I wasn't getting what I had expected - perhaps more detailed information about the lectures contents would be helpful?
An Overview of the week.
Creative Futures was very different for me this year. Although I attended far less lectures than I wanted too (despite being in everyday) I actually feel I got an awful lot of out of it - for the most part, those lectures I did attend presented networking opportunities - which is the whole point of Creative Futures, I guess - and have led to several potentially exciting future opportunities and projects, that will hopefully advance and enhance my career . The business advice I found particularly useful, as were the talks given by organisations that are specific to my own particular field, as I found a lot of what they said relevant in terms of useful advice and giving insights .
The timetabling was perhaps the most annoying feature - for students involved in creative lens media, to find that on the Wednesday afternoon, lectures in photography and documentary film making were scheduled to run at the same time, was incredibly annoying - particularly as a lecture that involved events work within the Creative Industries , an area I am particularly involved in at the moment - was also scheduled for then.
Sad to think this is my last Creative Futures week at Glyndwr - I'd like to thank those involved in organising it for the last 3 years - overall, its been an extremely useful and informative event .
I was really looking forward to the two lectures I had marked down to attend today. However, events took an unexpected turn when I found my activities formed part of one of the lecturers deliveries - something I knew nothing about in advance, and in a way that I found to be quite upsetting. I have worried over writing about this, and finally decided that as I did actually learn something useful from it, I am going to give a brief account of what happened - though I am not going to identify the speaker involved. I hope my lecturers who will read this blog understand my reasons for doing so - given that it was all so very public, to ignore it and not write up its impact would, I feel, be somewhat dishonest .
I had attended a lecture by this same person, last year and found it to be one of the most informative and interesting of the week - I hoped (expected?) this years lecture to be just as useful . Although it contained a wealth of information, very little had changed from the previous year - I'm not going to criticise that, however, as I am sure there were plenty there who were hearing it for the first time, and there is no doubt that the information contained was well worth being informed about.
At the end of the lecture, the speaker was talking about doing free work to gain experience, and the pitfalls of doing it - concerns that I actually think are mostly justified and that I understand completely. However, although I wasn't identified by name, the lecturer then went on to use me and my activities, that had led to the formation of the Collective, as an example to illustrate all the pitfalls of doing free work, and to demonstrate that its wrong and foolish to do so - which is completely inaccurate, in my specific case. Others from the Collective were present, and they and several others besides myself recognised immediately that I was the student who was being held up as providing an example of what not to do. I raised my hand, and corrected what was said - politely - and to be fair, there was an immediate apology. However, what was said can't be erased that easily.
My major concern is that the recounting of this tale carried an implication that I may well have complained about the organisations that I had done the work for - this is far from being the case. I actively sought out the work experience, purely for the benefit of gaining practical experience - my choice, I looked on it as perhaps a bit of a gamble initially (as in it might not prove to be of any use) and then, after I started, mainly as an investment of my time and energy in order to grow and develop. And at no time did I expect monetary payment, or complain about not receiving any. I value immensely the practical skills I was able to develop, and I also value the fact that those involved have recommended me, written me testimonials, allowed me to network and develop contacts, given me the opportunity to meet some amazingly creative and interesting people, and given me practical advice and guidance, all of which is now starting to pay off in terms of my future career development.
On the heels of that, was embarrassment and anger that I was portrayed in such a poor light, with the speaker having never spoken to me or checked out the facts. It was worse because the speaker acknowledged, before they launched into their story, that the person they were about to speak about might well be sitting in the audience - and knowing that, they still continued to deliver what was, whichever way you look at it, criticism - and completely unjustified and inaccurate at that. The speaker acknowledged that they must have misunderstood what was said to them when I approached them after the lecture, and I later spoke to the person who had provided the speaker with information about myself, and they were horrified - they confirmed that what they had said had been completely misunderstood, and they were appalled that something that they had said during casual conversation had been picked up on and used in this way.
So - I said I learnt something from this. I guess it was a lesson in professionalism - any argument presented to justify what you are presenting in a professional capacity, has to be be backed by facts that you are 100% sure of. Otherwise it undermines the value of your argument, and detracts from any professional standing you may have.
Thankfully, the second lecture I attended that day proved to be much more enjoyable.
Starting a small business within the Creative Industries can be difficult - but it's achievable and Rewarding Dave Grey.
I've actually known Dave for several months now, and with the Collective, have been lucky enough to be involved in documenting several of the events he and his company, Rampant Dragon, have produced over the last year. I wanted to attend this lecture because I know Dave to be innovative, creative and knowledgeable, so felt that I would certainly pick up some useful information, and also because I was really interested in how Rampant Dragon had come into being in the first place - I usually spend time with Dave in the middle of either event planning or at the actual event, so there had never been a chance for me to hear about all this before .
Dave's talk encapsulated the last 7 years, explained what led to Rampant Dragon, what Rampant Dragon does and about the projects that they run.
7 years ago Rampant dragon evolved out of Dave's freelancing career - and in talking about it, he wanted to
1 Give an overview of Creativity and Arts
2.Identify Challenges to success
3. What you need in order to get success in Creative industry
4. Talk about spotting commercial opportunities
5. Talk about collaboration and partnerships
6. Talk about networking
7. Talk about marketing.
Dave started off working in accounts for the local authority, then moved into working with carnivals and events, then into business in the community, in a charitable organisation. He was frustrated by continually applying for internal vacancies within the organisation, and always missing out at the last moment to individuals who had NBA qualifications - so he made the decision to go to Bangor University, to get his NBA.
At the end of that, he realised that he wanted to work for himself. and then spent 2 years freelancing in a variety of projects and jobs, where he utilised skills in PR, for example.
The majority of the work he was involved in needed creativity - and he realised how hard it is to be creative when you are working solo - and he found he was used to and preferred being part of a team.
He came up with the concept for The Foundry - a base where a collaborative group could be gathered, giving the opportunity the talk, to 'bounce ideas' off each other - its easier to be creative in a collaborative organisation. So, 5 years ago, the Foundry came into being - a Creative Industry space occupied by both CI businesses and other businesses. Its the bedrock of what Dave does - Its a great springboard for creativity, and provides an infrastructure, in terms of shared equipment, that all can utilise. It offers a range of services - there are meeting places, print and marketing services, web and graphic design services. And its ultimately about bringing people together.
Dave went on to talk about the THIS project - this came about 2 years ago, as a result of Wrexham year of Culture, which gathered together all the organisations that hold events in the Wrexham area - and Wrexham holds approximately 400 events a year - more than Chester, Shrewsbury and Oswestry combined. After the year of culture, there was a wish to see this coming together continue, the THIS project, a magazine, was a way of facilitating this. They got a grant of £5,000 from the arts council, which gave Dave the opportunity to develop the idea and see what would work - for example, working out the most effective frequency of publication. It involved him working with a mumber of partners - the local authority, individual artists, galleries, and participation projects.
The first issue was that although there is so much going on, its hard to get it noticed. he worked on his first participation project with Jo Marsh (who the Collective and myself have also had the pleasure of working with, in both the contemporary art and music scene) and then came ReImagine Wrexham, with local artist, Mike Jones. ReImagine Wrexham was also the first time I met Dave - I was asked by the Wrexham Arts Council to photographically document this event, and later, the start of the Collective was born, when Holly Cooper, fellow Creative Lens Media Student, came on board to help me document the closing night of the event.
Above are some of the images I took during the 4 weeks this event ran - Dave presented a small documentary of the event - it was so funny to see my daughter (pictured in the last of the above images, and a huge fan of the whole event) featured in the documentary.
The success of ReImagine led to plans for future participation events.
So THIS is all about communication, and drawing the arts and culture closer together .
Future projects include the 'EMPTY SHOP project'.
A sister project to THIS is Creative International - and again, this is something that the Collective have already been asked to be involved in - which is hoping to bring together everything involved in Wrexham Arts Festival, creating activities between the different events, and involving Wrexham Council Partnership and Print International and FOCUS Wales.
FOCUS Wales has two branches - music festival and professional practise, by way of a two day conference - and hopefully, the Collective are going to be involved in part of that too .
Dave also spoke about FUSION - which is a project that hopes to bring together people from all aspects of the Creative Industries - along with traditional businesses, as a commercial market is necessary.
Dave went on to talk about another project, one he is very thrilled with - The St Giles Sessions. The Collective was fortunate enough to be involved in the filming of the last St Giles session, and we produced five 3 minute music video's of the acts performing, and an 10 minute documentary overview of the whole event for Rampant Dragon.
Above are two of the videos, filmed and edited by the Collective, featuring the amazing DRK MTR and the fabulous Baby Brave and the Love Bites - which includes Jo Marsh .
Dave then announced - for the first time - the next big project.
Its called 'I'm OK man' and its a text based language that is due to go on-line with mobile operators from around the world - its a hieroglyphic form of text speak that is designed to break down language barriers - and to me, its a mark of how creative and innovative Rampant Dragon is.
Dave then went on to talk about the Wrexham Christmas Light Switch on - a new venture for Rampant Dragon - and something else that the Collective have been involved with.
There are plans also to develop a project called Empty Space - which seeks to utilise empty retail spaces in the town, and Mountain Music, working with young people to develop art skills.
Dave went on to give an overview of Creative Activity in the Wrexham area. He touched on it being a mistake to separate art from creative industries - there is a need to put the two together, for mutual benefit. He mentioned Destination Wrexham, who we have also been recently involved with, which is involved with bringing people into - and keeping them in - the local area, and about developing an infrastructure.
He pointed out that though there is good support for creative Industries from the Assembly, arts are not so well supported - and that needs to change.
The need to celebrate and promote what happens in this area, is great - that would be one way of ensuring that people both come to - and stay - local.
Challenges to success in this area - there is a need for investments in the arts to increase. People need to share what they are doing - let others see and check out what you do, share information. And more Networking is needed - to ensure success, you also need to stand out from the crowd.
And on to spotting commercial opportunities - in CI, you never run out of opportunities to work for free - and this needs to be balanced with the need to earn enough to live - balancing out creative opportunities, with commercial opportunities is essential.
The benefits of collaboration and partnerships were highlighted - these increase capacity and increase resources for those involved .
And the benefits and need for networking and marketing were referenced using FUSION as an example, which is a network group that involves CI, arts and commercial businesses.
Dave said that to succeed in a career in CI, there has to be both work experience and training opportunities - and that you need to take advantage of both. He said that you have to be prepared to 'get your hands dirty' - to sometimes take on less glamorous roles, in order to see a project succeed. He stressed the need for confidence in what you do.
So - 4 things important in setting out - the people you are involved with - partners, staff - chose the right ones; communication - talk and utilise the skills of others, when you need to; Money - a difficult one to tackle, talking about it is difficult, but you have to learn how - just remember to balance that with satidfaction in what you do; And have confidence in your ideas, make them stand out, be passionate and love what you do.
I really enjoyed this lecture - as well as giving some useful advice, it was really interesting to find out in more detail about some of the things that I've been lucky enough to be involved in. Dave is extremely invested in what he does, and again - the importance of involvement in the local community was demonstrated as being so very important, alongside the benefits of collaboration and communication. Its a common feature of much I've heard during this years creative futures, and one that I think makes complete sense.
This was just a little bit of a manic day for me - it had been suggested that the group, that has developed as part of what was initially 'professional practise' for myself, should set up an information stall at Creative Futures, to promote and give out information - and once again, it attracted quite a bit of interest and tied me up for quite a bit of the day. And added to that, although there were two lectures that I particularly wanted to attend, I only made one of them - because the first lecture actually presented me with a chance to 'network' and make 'contacts' there and then, and I therefore missed the start of the second lecture. However, 2 excellent opportunities arose out of the day, at least, so despite only getting to one lecture, I really feel this was one of the most useful days of the week for me.
Live Events : Fun AND Work Alan Wright.
Alan is managing Director of Cascade Productions , a company that covers 4 areas - event production, meeting support, media and Hotel and travel - quite a large umbrella !
I found this talk absolutely fascinating. Alan started with a statement -
"What a fantastic time to be in the Creative world" !
However, as he said, not only exciting but scary, as there are two major threats to any creative business at the moment.
Firstly, technical advances have made what was previously 'specialist equipment and skills' readily available to all, which enables people to 'Do it themselves' - this struck a chord, as several times, as a photographer, I've quoted a price for wedding images, and had the response that to save money, actually the couple were getting 'a friend with a nice camera' to take the images for them. There is a perception that having the equipment bestows the skills - not always the case, sadly!
Secondly ROI - return on investment - in a time of recession, they don't want what we do. Spending on the service skills we deliver is seen as an unaffordable luxury in a time of economic strife, and they are not convinced that the cost will improve their profit to the extent that employing us is worthwhile.
So, Alan told us, today he intended to talk a bit about business, about lessons from the 35mm slide, changing to thrive and the future, and the themes would be evolution, convergence - and fun !
He gave us a bit about his background and how the business had developed. He trained as a photographer, and ended up starting his own business by 'accident' - the company he worked for, staging events, went bust - so Alan just carried on, finishing the job that he was involved in at that point - and pulled it off. And the work kept coming . The business now works with a formidable list of companies, individuals and groups including Iceland and Poundland, Peter Kay, The Saturdays - the showreel he screened at this point was extremely impressive. The company handles events in music, conferencing, marketing, and is able to handle all aspects of what that involves, from staging to travel. They deal with, as well as event production, marketing support, they have a media team, and even Cascade Hotels, so accommodation can be handled for those they are providing the service for. this demonstrates how the company has developed new skills and business arms, every step of the way, to meet all the needs that their customers have developed as the technology and needs have changed.
He talked about how advances in technology are causing creative tools to converge, demonstrating the need to keep on top of advances in order to compete in a very competitive market - for example, being savvy enough to use a tool like Squarespace for website hosting - does the job and cost effective.
He took us back to perhaps 10 years ago, when 35mm slides were the main tool used in presentations - each slide took 6 hours to make, and his company charged £12 per slide - which accounted for a large share in their profits . However, in just those short 15 years, technology has advanced so quickly, that we now have a situation that with developments like Power point being readily available and user friendly, their former client base can now create their own presentations. In a similar way, the advances in photography make the taking of images far more accessible to a larger number of people - as he said, most people carry a camera with them at all times - incorporated into their phone. Even the way people watch TV has changed - from just a couple of channels to hundreds available - and the signs are that internet hosting will eventually replace even them.
To tackle all this, there are things we need to offer -
CONTENT CRAFT CREATIVITY EXPERTISE
So what we produce has to be entertaining. And although a client may be able to film and take the images, may be able to edit - we have to be able to do it creatively to compete.
We have to be aware of all factors, be experts in what we do - for example, be aware of how long the attention span is for live presentations, for videos - and apply that knowledge, using our skills to produce work that extends or accommodates the attention span.
We also have to be aware of buying patterns - ever faster delivery expectations have to be met.
And then we have to add INNOVATION to that list . To compete, we have to change the traditional, think of different ways to present what we offer, make it more fun, more organic . Cascade hosted a 'conference' at Iceland - where all the 'delegates' remained in their own departments, in their own building throughout, and Cascade utilised multiscreens and short films they had got the various departments to make, to present a completely different type of 'conference' - and this provoked more engagement by those taking part, and was therefore more effective.
You need to offer what the customer cannot do themselves - so go mad, be creative, think outside the box. the experience and expertise you offer delivers the message - so its about using the random and the different to deliver a 'message' that stands out.
He used a phrase 'bump the lamp' which has its roots in the Disney organisation, and involves one of my favourite films - "Who framed Roger Rabbit". In one particular scene, during one of the takes, the lamp above the desk was bumped and swung back and forth, as the scene played out. Involving animated characters, as well as live action, the swinging light in this scene created issues with shadows, shades and light, that were difficult for the animators to deal with - however, by using this scene, and dealing with these difficulties, the end result was far better - so the message is use that swinging lamp to create a better end result.
He then went on the talk about the future - about not knowing what was going to happen means that you have to stay informed, involved and always continue learning ad finding out about what is going on.
His final point was that to stay ahead, we need use the sharing of information to stay informed.
I found the majority of what he spoke about to be useful and even inspiring, and I really enjoyed this lecture.
And I then missed the next lecture because I got involved in a chat with Alan which hopefully, is going to help create more possibilities for the future, for myself and others involved.
The next lecture I wanted to go to was "Creating Futures Creatively at TAPE Community Music and Film ltd', given by Neil Dunsire - although I missed it, several of the group were able to attend, and speak to Neil afterwards - with the result that he came to talk to us, at The Wrexham Film and Photography display stall . He was really interested in what we were doing, and we were able to set up a meeting, for later in March, for us to meet with Neil in Colwyn Bay, to discus what further advice TAPE can offer, and also, hopefully, the possibility of some Collaborative work between TAPE and the Collective.
Day two, as I said, was incredibly useful to myself and the group, despite only being able to attend one talk - hopefully, the outcome from this day will have a real impact on how the Collective grows and develops.
Creative Futures week kicked off this year with an opening address from Dr Stuart Cunningham - and what an entrance he made !
The William Aston Hall went dark, the screen brightened, and suddenly loud music and images started to appear - interspersed with the words 'DR STUART CUNNINGHAM', we were treated to a fast pace showreel, featuring footage and clips of Stuart, which put me in the mind of a hyped up entrance that would be perhaps more suited to an international celebrity - it got everyone in the room immediately sitting up, smiling, engaged and paying attention - and that, I think was the point of it. Because the over-riding and very true message was 'Sell yourself' - and you do that by being innovative, being different - and by grabbing attention.
Stuart talked about the aim of Creative Futures was to do several things.
1. To give us an insight into the realities of working in the Crative Industries.
2. To improve our employability.
3. To give us the opportunity to develop contacts
4. To allow us the opportunity to network.
5. To enable us to meet the academic requirements of our studies.
He stressed that professional development is incredibly important to us all - and pointed out that for a lot of us, the END of our studies is beginning . Half way through my 3rd and final year, and that rang particularly true.
He then introduced Sarah Maire Gates, who is the Manager for Creative and Cultural Skills, with the Sector Skills Council. I turned to the internet to find a concise definition of what exactly The Sector Skills council is, and does.
Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) are state-sponsored, employer-led organisations that cover specific economic sectors in the UK. They have four key goals:
to reduce skills gaps and shortages
to improve Productivity
to boost the skills of their sector workforces
to improve learning supply.
SSCs achieve these aims by, amongst other things, contributing to the development of the National Occupational Standards
Sarah's section is predominately involved with Cultural arts ,and covers visual arts, performance, live events and literature. The Skills council is involved with research, apprenticeships, The National Occupational Standards, career information and events, The National Skills Academy, and Industry related Training.
She delivered a series of statistics relating to this sector in Wales.
* 27,990 in total employment
* 1,745 businesses
* 28.6% of workers are part time
*45% are freelance
* 92% of the total businesses have less than 10 staff
* the largest sectors are those involved in performing arts, design and music.
She told us that there are 59 apprenticeships up and running in Wales, through the Creative Apprenticeships programme that the SSC has developed.
She went on to talk about a new delivery models being implemented for Wales, including Carousels and Hub Employer Model. The idea of the Hub Employer Model is new to me, but an approach that makes sense. Its about drawing together all the information necessary to create recruitment and training service that matches the requirements, and the supply and demand of the Labour market in this sector, in Wales.
She advised we look at www.creative-choices.co.uk where information on workshops, case studies, job opportunities, career development, and discussions and debate are available to help develop your carrer and improve your employability.
She finished by saying that the SSC not only gives advice and help with the perhaps most obvious job choices that our education and training may point to, and reminded us all to consider that though we may have perhaps trained as a photographer, we may discover that our personal strongest skills lie in perhaps in organising photographic jobs, or specialising in lighting or post production. In terms of employability, I found this sound advice - although its photography I have and am studying, the work that has developed as a result of my negotiated studies has shown me that I have organisational skills relating to photography and production that I hadn't previously considered, and I am now actively seeking information and advice to help me develop skills in that area.
Unfortunately, the next speaker had been unable to make the lecture, so Stuart Cunningham stepped in to deliver information on the subject instead.
He said that there are 2 main sector skills council, the second of which he was going to talk to us about - Creative Skillset Cymru . This 'arm' of the SSC sets to work with employers, educators and the industry in Wales to ensure that the needs of the Industry in Wales is matched by the skills and training of the available workforce, and also devises National Standards in the Industry.
He listed the key Sector Skills Issues.
*Global level performance - the skills and training available need to match the level and standards available and expected throughout the global industry.
*Leadership and management skills are needed.
*Business acumen and entrepreneurial skills are needed.
* Transferable and multi skills are needed within the workforce
* There is a need to develop and exploit multi platform skills.
The key message here was the value and importance of the workforce having breadth and depth to their skills - again, its going back to the information that we have often been given throughout our course, relating to the 'T Shaped Design Model' - there is not only value in having a depth of knowledge about your own specialism, but you are a better designer, and therefore, more employable if you have a working knowledge of the specialisms of others designers and the creative skills and Industries that you may come into contact with.
Stuart went on to talk about the need to provide flexible support for freelance workers, to examine the barriers that exist where freelance training needs are concerned, to ensure that the skills of those who's work lies in the Freelance market are not left behind.
And he said Skillset was also working to improve the employability of new entrants into the Industry.
Skillset have introduced a variety of ways to try and deal with these issues.
For People wanting to train, improve skills and entering the market -
The Welsh Baccalaureate
Skillset Apprentiships
Skillset Informed Provisions
Careers advice
And support for Companies and professionals, skillset have introduced -
Bursaries to attend courses
Financing and delivering courses in Skill Priority area's
Collaboration with Welsh Government Workforce Departments
Stuart then went on to talk about the growth in Creative Industries, and how to maintain and support it.
There is a need to examine how the Industry can keep people in Wales, and the UK, after training - we are creating, but not retaining talent.
In order to support the Industry, we all have to consider what we can give back - we need to think about how we can inspire.
A skills audit in Wales revealed two priorities - the need for management and transferable skills.
The Government launched, in the week prior to Stuarts address, a policy document that includes a commitment to Creative Industries. It talks about
* Tax breaks for TV, Film, Animation and Games Industries
*Funding and promoting Sector advocacy
*Establishment of Creative Industries Council
*Supporting local TV and enhancing digital radio
*Addressing online copyright issues
*Entertainment licensing changes.
Stuart ended by saying 'Don't just sell yourself - Sell the Industry' .
This highlighted that there is a wealth and minority gap that is affecting peoples involvement with the creative Industries, and asks how to address this. One of the suggestions is to perhaps find ways to give people just a taste of what the creative Industries is, and to also discover what are the barriers that need to be addressed in order to facilitate greater involvement. There are many benefits to encouraging and developing greater engagement with the Creative Industries - as an example, this is taken from a report on the CASE programme
"Creative Industries not only have the potential to generate jobs, innovation and productivity, but also the enhance the quality of Life within an area, and stimulate new ideas and thinking within a community" (The WorkFoundation.com - Investing in Creative Industries.)
Stuarts last point was then further emphasized by the Keynote address that followed .
Keynote Address - Painting Over The Cracks - Professor Paul Haywood
Professor Haywood is Vice Chancellor of Salford University, and Vice Chancellor for The National Association of Fine Art. He has a background in a broad range of Art and Design practise, especially in Social and Community Art and Design.
Dr Haywood's address solidified and gave 'real life' support to some of the issues covered by both Stuart and Sarah, in the preceding talks. Although some was a little hard to follow, as the enthusiastic and someone erratic delivery made it a little hard to join the points together at times, he talked initially about his early experiences and expectations of being involved in Art, about how he went to college expecting to - as he put it - 'learn to draw', and that as his studies and career had progressed, he found his expectations changed.
After college, he 'ended up' in Germany, where he set up a networking group, that involved collaboration all over the world, and which focused on performance art.
He jumped forward 30 years, to a world recession, and how he was trying to make sense out of the idea that art is pointless - which he felt had been 'proved to him' during a lecture he attended on Plato in his youth, He presented us with a list of statistics, which indicated how much in terms of real cash, is lost from the economy - for example, the estimated tax evasion is £3.1 trillion annually - which has led to the current situation of 'soaring prosperity for a tiny minority at the top'.
He then 'jumped back' 15 years, he cited a project experience, where he was supposed to be creating 'signage' over a large site. He found that there was a wealth of cultural activities taking place over this vast area, and ended up- working with a team - to draw together and unify what was going on. Working with the different groups, and in the different area's, Paul and the team identified colours that were prevalent over the area, in the landscape, and used these colours to develop a range of creative projects (like the development of a range of fashion) that could help unify the different communities and bridge any cultural gaps. Issues with communication had presented some barriers to this happening in the past - for example, fences had been erected in different area's, that were constantly being 'vandalised' by local kids. Talking to the children revealed that the fences were 'getting in the way' of a long established game the local children played, hence the perceived distruction . Making this information available between the the parties involved, a way could be found to resolve the issues.
Paul explained that very slowly, he began to realise that art could build cooperation and connection. That although he started off as an 'artist', he now aspires to being part of groups and collaborations where creative tools are a form of social enterprise stimulation.
He then listed a series of projects he has been involved with, that demonstrate the value of creative practitioners within the community.
This involved a community in Mosside, Manchester, where there were major problems within the community, dealing with the issue of the prevalence of guns being used, and there was obviously a desire to see gun crimes reduced. In dealing with this problem, the police force had amassed a vast number of confiscated and surrendered guns, and the disposal was costly - so Paul and the team looked at ways of utilising the melted down gun metal to create art objects which could then be sold, which would benefit the economy in the local area. This is an example of using art and design to create a commodity from a 'problem', that involves cultural engagement and brings benefit to the local community.
Paul cited other examples of projects he had been involved in, that encompassed the idea that community and cultural collaborations within a community, bring a vast number of benefits - and perhaps go some way to addressing the massive economic loss that he cited of earlier in his address.
His talk, in essence, was all about art and creativity operating within a community, to benefit those communites in a variety of ways -
*Finacial and investment
*drawing groups within a community together
*creating cultural links
*Creating opportunities
*Contributing to people communicating and joining together, irrespective of cultural/economic backgrounds.
Echoing Sarah's point about how you don't have to follow the obvious route, Paul said that though he trained as an artist - he ended up mainly talking.
Although I did have some trouble following Paul's delivery at times, on reflection, I actually agree and see the value in a lot of what Paul was trying to convey to us. The impact of Creative industries in the community is massive, and it does play a beneficial role . Collaboration, Communication, not always following the obvious route, promotion of the Industry as well as promotion of yourself, networking, engaging with others, working to break down cultural and economic barriers - all these aspects are ones that need to be taken on board and adopted as part of what being a part of the creative Industries means, to all involved, in order to promote the growth and economic contribution of Creative Industries as a whole .
Business Start Up Support Liz Wallens and Judith Alexander. (unfortunately, Judith Alexander was unable to make this talk, so it was delivered by Liz Wallens only)
This was the final lecture I attended today, and it focused on the support available, particularly in the Wrexham Area, to assist individuals and groups in starting up new businesses.
Liz works for Wrexham Council Business advisor's, based at Red Withers, Marchweil Industrial Estate.
The aim of this part of counsel services is the development of business within the Wrexham Area. To this end, it offers a wealth of services designed to promote the growth of business. For example
Workshops - it offers free courses for those that intend to set up a business in Wales
Bursary's and Grant information, and help with applying
It also offers one-to-one business advice and support.
Liz began by talking about the bursaries and grants on offer.
Graduate Bursary - this is for £6,000 and can be applied for by students at any time during the first 6 years after they graduate. However, Liz admitted that the qualification requirements actually prevent the vast majority of graduates from taking advantage of it, as one of the pre-requisites is that an applicant has to provide cash flow projections that show an expected turnover of £80,000 in the 12 months following application ! In the current economic climate in particular, this is not an attainable goal for the majority of new businesses, and its hard to see exactly what use this bursary is. However, should anyone be in the fortunate position of being able to prove that they will generate this turnover, the bursary can be used for running costs, such as payment of salary, marketing, advertising.
However, there are other grants available, including the Rural Development Programme Grant - up to £3,000 if under 30 years of age, up to £5,000 if over . Again, a cash flow forecast would be needed to apply, and the grant can be used for such things as equipment purchase. However, in order to qualify, you must have the sum you are applying for already demonstrably in your bank account, and once approved, you then have to purchase the equipment and will then be refunded. Should you move your business base out of Wales, during the following 5 years, the grant has to be repaid.
There is also a bi-lingual grant available, up to the value of £1,800, to cover marketing costs, if you produce all your advertising/ marketing material and publications in Welsh as well as English.
Liz went on to talk about the workshops that they run. These run both in the day time, and in the evenings, and include a basic 'taster', two marketing workshops, one on costing and pricing, and one one Finacial forecasts, including cash flows and profit and loss. Amongst other things, these workshops will advise on setting up of business accounts and developing and writing up business plans.
There is also funding available around training, through the Welsh Government. The courses are run at Yale, and once a one off fee of £50 is paid, you can attend all the courses on offer.
The one to one advice is funded, for up to 6 hours worth, by the Welsh Government, however Wrexham Council have undertaken to provide this service for as long as an individual needs it.
Liz went on to explain the definitions of the different types of business models - sole trader (where an individual is responsible for his/her own debts), a Partnership (where two or more are responsible) and a Limited Company, where the business has its own separate legal status from the individuals involved.
Liz also covered the VAT regulations, and tax self assessment.
This lecture was choked full of practical advice, and more than that, pointed the way forward to where to go to obtain more . I spoke to Lauren (Liz's associate, who is involved with the one to one advice) after the lecture, and explained that an idea that had started as just being 'part' of my studies, had now 'grown legs', so to speak, and how it had happened so quickly that myself and the others involved were now urgently in need of discovering what options there are for the somewhat 'different' type of business models, and she was also incredibly informative and helpful, talking briefly to us about the help available to idea's that are considered 'innovative', and we are now in the process of making arrangements to meet with her at a later date.
My experience of Ffresh was quite a bit different from what I was expecting it to be, when I first found out that we were expected to attend all 3 days, and the assorted presentations and lectures. Over the last few months, the work I'd started solo for my negotiated 1 studies had almost taken on a life of its own, with the inception of what is currently known as 'The Wrexham Film and Photography Collective', and the fact that it had developed into a thriving organisation that was taking up virtually every day of the week - and I do mean 7 days a week. By the time we were informed of the definite dates, for two of the 3 days of the festival, I was booked up with work relating to the Collective. We had also been asked to run a stall, advertising the Collective, for the full 3 days of Ffresh, and day 1 - the only day I would be able to attend - would be, we knew, an incredibly busy day, manning that.
So, I spoke to Marisse Mari, and explained the situation - she agreed it was a pity, but as she said, Ffresh was all about networking and developing industry skills and knowledge, and the two days I couldn't attend were all about those skills and knowledge, and equally, if not more, important.
So Ffresh for me was day 1 - manning the Collective stall and talking to literally dozens of students and guests about what the Collective was and what we hoped to do; Day 2 saw me in Llandudno, with a fellow Collective member, running a photography workshop for a group of 16/17 year old students, on behalf of Glyndwr University; And day 3 saw me out for the day, with my camera, documenting Destination Wrexham's field trip to the Blists Hill Victorian Village and other associated attractions at the Ironworks World Heritage site.
Day 1
Less than a week before Ffresh, Mike Corcoran, from the students Guild, approached the Collective and asked us to present a stall, to be sited in the main foyer of the Plas Coch Campus, for the full 3 days of Ffresh. This was an excellent opportunity for us to advertise the work of the Collective, and let other students know about the group, and we were encouraged to take part. The six 'admin' members of the group went into organisational mode, as we - with very little time - set about organising the production of posters, flyers, a show reel to display the film projects we had been involved in, and a slide show displaying some of the images taken at some of the events the Collective had covered. We also asked those of the group who were able, to bring in tiffs of some of their images, so we could print them out to display, alongside the posters, on the boards behind the stall. Beckah Hornsey, one of the admin, also sorted out a rota so the stall would be continually manned throughout the 3 days by Collective members.
First job - posters. We decided to produce 4 in total - 2 advertising the Collective as a whole, and 2 advertising the photography workshop aspect that is beginning to develop - one portrait, and one landscape for each theme. Grabbing the members who happened to be in uni on the Friday, we went into the studio, and I took a selection of images for the group shot. I also drafted in my daughter, to pose for the workshop posters. The images were edited that night, and sent off to Clarrie Anne Cooper, a graphic and web designer, who is part of the group, and who is responsible for designing our fabulous logo. As well as the posters, after Holly Cooper (admin) and I had worked out the wording, Clarrie Anne was also going to design our flyers.
Here are the finished 4 posters, presented banner style
And the flyers.
Front
And back .
Huge thanks to Mike Corcoran who arranged printing for us.
We also gathered up a selection of images that I had taken of the Collective at work, mounted on foam board, to add to the display.
Over the weekend, I put together a slideshow of the photographic images, taken by Collective Members, of some of the events we have covered over the last 6 or 7 months . Thanks to local band, The Fabulous 'Heal The Last Stand', who kindly agreed to allow us to use some of their music as a soundtrack to the slideshow.
And Andy Argyle, (admin) put together some of our film work into a showreel.
On the Monday and Tuesday, we gathered in and printed to A3 size, a selection of images from the events - and we were good to go.
Wednesday morning, I dropped off the posters and so on at Plas Coch campus, before heading off to a hospital appointment - back by around 10am, Holly and Beckah had done a fabulous job of setting up the stall .
Beckah Hornsey at the Collective Stall
Thanks go to Colin Salisbury, who provided us with an imac to screen the show reel .
And people started to arrive - and I don't think we stopped all day!
We drew a lot of attention from students within the university - some had heard a little about us, others had no idea who we are, or what we are about, but the response from both was one of extreme interest and enthusiasm. We passed on contact details and it looks like we will have several new and enthusiastic members as a result.
Interest wasn't restricted to the students. At a near by stall, The Printers Inc, James and Nick, were also extremely intrigued by us, and what we were doing. We have maintained contact with these guys, and it will be interesting to see what develops.
During the day, we were also approached by a couple of independent internet TV channel hosting platforms - one, from Glyndwr TV, the other from WebWaterfalls - and again, discussions with these are on-going.
Stuart Cunningham, Academic Leader for Creative Industries, also spent quite a while with us. Stewart Edwards, senior lecturer in Creative Media, and a person who has supported, encouraged and advised the Collective from the start, had spoken to Doctor Cunningham about the group, but I think until he saw the stall, and all the examples of the work we have undertaken, he hadn't fully realised just how much we did , and was taken aback by what we had to say. We are eagerly looking forward to a hopefully soon to be arranged meeting with Stuart, where we hope that with his support, the Collective can grow and develop even further, within the university and the local community.
Other visitors included Guild representatives, Neal from Focus Wales, and several other people from organisations and groups who were either eager to explore working with the Collective, or keen to offer advice and support in one way or another - without exception, the feedback we received was 100% positive, and I think we surprised a lot of interested parties, who had no idea just how organised and developed the Collective is.
The day absolutely flew by, and there was little break from the interest and visitors. The evening finished with an encounter with Mike Peters, from The Alarm, there for the premier of Vinyl, who I was able to have a few words with - I'd met Mike many, many years before, in London, when the Alarm supported another band I was associated with. He was - as ever - genuinely nice, and was kind enough to give us a point of contact - hopefully, at some stage, we will be able to organise for Collective Members to gain some work experience filming or photographing the Alarm, at one or some of their gigs.
Day 2
Photography Workshop, Llandudno.
A brief history - several weeks ago, I was approached by Stewart Edwards, and asked to help Colin Salisbury run a Photography Workshop, in Llangollen - this had been organised as part of an Assembly backed scheme to encourage secondary aged children to look at further education in the arts and science. Glyndwr had agreed to give workshops, in a variety of subjects, but unfortunately, the first one coincided with the assessment period for film and photography, at Glyndwr, and none of the lecturers were able to attend - so Stewart had suggested that I would be able to to help, and with literally 3 days notice, Colin and I had managed to pull together enough material to deliver a two hour workshop, twice in one day. I put together a slideshow, we took the workbook detailing the history and work covered by the Collective, Colin supplied a selection of books, and I spent an evening typing up basic worksheets that gave information on studio lighting, and which covered The Exposure Triangle and depth of field, and printed off 25 copies of each. I also printed out a selection of my own images, that illustrated points covered in the worksheets. The students involved were aged 13/14, and we would be having a group of 10 each time - in fact, we had 12 in the first group, and 14 in the second - with students from the first group also requesting permission to join us again for part of the second session, once they found out we had been able to organise going outside the venue, to work in natural light for a while. It was an incredibly enjoyable day, the students were so enthusiastic and great fun to be around, and it was really satisfying to see them so interested in what we did. By the end of the day, we were told that the Photography workshop had generated such a positive response, that they wanted us back the following day - which presented a problem, as I was already booked on a photo shoot elsewhere. However, this demonstrates one of the very useful functions of The Collective - maybe I wasn't available - but it was relatively easy to organise for Andy Argyle to be able to take my place the next day. Andy's group were in the 16/17 year old age bracket - and the response was again extremely positive. So - I was asked to cover the next scheduled workshop, in Llandudno the following month. Colin wasn't available, but Andy thankfully was, so we agreed, with pleasure. Thanks to Colin who helped us organise the equipment we needed for the day, and Thank you to Andy from Techniquest, who transported us and the equipment to and from Llandudno.
Two days before the workshop, we got the information that on this occasion we would be working with 6th form photography students - but we were also told that instead of the TWO hour workshop we had given last time, we were to give a FOUR hour workshop, working with the same set of students throughout. This was something of a shock, as it wasn't what we had planned for, but there seemed little else to do but hastily formulate a schedule that we hoped would allow us to deliver an interesting day to the group.
Just after 7 a.m., I arrived at Techniquest and we loaded up the techniquest van with our equipment - half a dozen DSLR's, the Collective workbook, photographs, worksheets and a basic light set up. Andy arrived, and 'Techniquest Andy', along with Sean, another member of the techniquest staff, loaded us into his car - and we were off. The venue was Llandudno Pavillion, and we had been allocated a large space within a cavernous lecture type hall within the building. Bacon rolls had been supplied for us all, but sadly, no alternatives for non-meat eaters like myself - however, there was a good supply of excellent coffee, which I was very happy about.
Andy and I set up the equipment -
Then headed down to the main foyer to 'collect' our group. By this stage, I think we were both a little nervous, as from talking to others giving workshops, very few, if any were delivering more than a two hour slot - and one or two expressed amazement that we were presenting a 4 hour session. I think it brought home to us that perhaps this was going to be a little more difficult than we had considered !
However, too late to worry - we collected our group of six and headed to the area designated.
The six were a little shy at first, but soon, as they became more and more interested and relaxed, their enthusiasm came through, and again, it was an incredibly enjoyable and satisfying experience. Obviously, it was not permitted to take images of the students during the workshop - which is a shame, though understandable. Most of this group had however, brought their own camera's - although they weren't all DSLR's, this at least meant that they could use their own memory cards for the practical tasks we had organised, so they were able to keep the images they had taken themselves.
We briefly went through DOF - but it was clear that the students had a really good understanding of this already, in terms of what it was if not how to achieve it manually, so we swiftly moved on to explaining the exposure triangle, which would encompass them understanding how to use their camera with a lot more control - none of the group were familiar with manually using their camera's, so this proved to be a great opportunity for them to start to understand the relationship between shutter speed, aperture and iso . To give them a practical illustration of this, we set them to 'balancing' a really fast shutter speed with F stop, and iso, to 'freeze' pictures of each other in motion - we demonstrated first with Poor Andy leaping up and down like a madman, much to the students amusement, whilst I captured him as though suspended in the air -
This really appealed to the group, and in 3 groups of 2, they set about practising this - and they obviously loved it. From this, we moved onto motion blur, slowing the shutter speed down, and asking them to adjust the f stop and iso to compensate - this proved even more entertaining for them, and they really seemed to enjoy this section - we had them leaping and spinning, and the girls were shaking there heads and whipping their hair around - great fun. Just to add a bit more fun to this, we also spent a while getting them into zoom bursting - and again, this was a massive hit, and it let them continue to get used to understanding the exposure triangle, whilst also demonstrating how much better it is to be able to control the camera manually, rather than relying on 'auto' settings, which most of them had been used to doing.
Just befor lunch, we set them a 'challenge' - each student in the group was to take turns as the 'photographer', and take a group image of the other 5, stood in a line - BUT one person in the group line up was to appear in the image twice !
Initially, they seemed utterly confused by this, but gentle prompting, and they realised that they had actually learnt what they needed to know to accomplish this, already. After each 'photographer' had taken their turn - eventually successful, in each case - Andy or I changed the settings on the camera, so the next in line would have to work it out by themselves. It was so satisfying to see these students really get to grips with and obviously start to really understand what we were trying to demonstrate - and gratifying that their response and comments clearly showed that they were thoroughly enjoying doing so. They actually were reluctant to break for lunch ! We promised them that we would continue after, to make sure all got a go at being 'photographer'.
After lunch, Andy and I headed back 10 minutes early, to have a quick chat to formalise what we could do for the afternoon session - we had talked to them about how different locations, because of potential different light sources, affected the manual settings, and they all wanted to try a session outdoors, to see how natural light impacted and we had managed to get consent for this - so much for having a chat - the whole group were sat there, early, eager to start again.
We continued with the 'challenge' started before lunch, and then, took the group outside to try and re-create what they had been doing all morning, but this time in Natural light - and they realised the difference it made. Freezing cold on the sea front, so this was a short session - but effective, I think.
Again dividing the group into 3 groups, Andy took one group to use the light set up we had organised, whilst I sat and had an informal chat session, very much led by the questions the students had - we talked about the different career prospects that studying photography could potentially lead too - one student, having spent time going through the Collective work book really was keen on the idea of event or journalistic photography, another keen on sport. Andy had brought a copy of the film show reel, and they clearly enjoyed that, again it prompted a lot of intelligent questions. I took the last group over to the lights, and the session developed into how a photographer has to compose an image and direct a shoot when working in the studio with a model - we talked about communication, helping the subject to relax, considering different angles and poses, and talked about helping to compose an image or direct a model in a way that captured the 'mood', and how that was as important as getting the lighting right.
It was a bit of a shock to realise that the time was up . Feedback from the group seemed to be very positive - one commented that he had no idea just how much more he could do with his camera and he was really eager to continue to practise what we had done that day, all indicated that they felt they had learned a lot - and it had been fun. All asked for the worksheets, and some had covered them in notes, taken as we talked. All agreed it had really made them think about possible career opportunities, and several seemed really enthused by the idea of studying further. In turn, we thanked them for a really enjoyable and interesting day.
We got back to Glyndwr at about 5.30 - 6pm - and straight to the stall. Beckah and Holly reported another busy day, and again, had a list of potential opportunities and new contacts and information. Headed home at around 8pm, to get the camera batteries charged up, for the next days' activities.
Day 3
Destination Wrexham
Steffan Jones-Hughes, Wrexham Arts Council Manager, had put my name forward to Joe Bickerton, of Wrexham Tourist Office, and told him about the work the Collective have done for the Arts Council and other organisations in the Wrexham area. Joe needed a photographer to come along, and document a trip organised by the Destination Wrexham Management Team, and after a phone conversation, I agreed to go along - not only could I do a job for the group, but I could also perhaps, as Joe said, let people know about the Collective, and there could well be ways that we could provide a service for the various people going on the trip.
Information what Destination Wrexham is, can be found HERE .
This trip had been organised primarily for local businesses around the recently designated World Heritage Site, around the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct .
It was to another World Heritage site, Ironbridge , and would include visits to several of the attractions within this area. The idea was to let the group see how having a World Heritage Site can perhaps help to boost the local tourism industry, and in turn, help boost local businesses. 9.10a.m. saw me at Waterworlds car park, where I met Joe, and was introduced to several other people in the group, then it was onto the coach, for a couple more pick ups, then onto the first visit of the day, at Blists Hill, Victorian Town.
We were met by Paul Gossage, Director of Marketing and PR at Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, who supplied us with hot drinks - very welcome as the day was absolutely freezing - and he spent some 25 minutes talking to the group, explaining the history of the site, its current management, and how it benefits from World Heritage status. The group were then able to ask some Questions before we headed into the Victorian town itself. This is a fantastic attraction, incredibly well thought out - its gives you a real sense of the era it depicts, as well as a fun and educational insight into the local history.
The group gather in the entrance into the village.
Inside the Chemist shop
Old Brick and Tile Works factory - impossible to resist turning this sepia in post production!
In the town pub, not only a warm fire, but entertainment too.
Even though it was exceptionally cold, with flurries of snow falling, and even though it was a school day, there were a good number of visitors, which is a testament to how well the area is managed and the interest it obviously generates. As I wandered, taking images, I spoke to several of the group - all were really committed to learning and putting knowledge gained to good use in their own area and businesses, and the sense of working for the community was very much there. One of the aims of The Collective is to forge closer links within the local community, both for the group, and hopefully, for the university as a whole, so I found this aspect, and the attitude of mutual support, extremely interesting and useful.
As with the previous two venue's, this is an interactive experience, and incredibly interesting.
It was a real shame about the biting cold, which made it difficult to take as much time over this attraction as it deserved - however, again, it demonstrated excellent management and obviously provided a lot of food for thought, for the group.
There was a brief group discussion - mercifully in a relatively warm classroom, which allowed us to defrost - before we boarded the coach for the trip home.
Throughout the day, I had spent time talking with various members of the group - as well as me gaining a greater understanding and appreciation of what they were hoping to achieve, several showed interest in the idea of the Collective, and discussions also took place on how perhaps they could utilise us, as a group, and as individual businesses - as well as a great deal of advice freely given that gave me some serious food for thought too. In terms of making contacts, and spreading information about the Collective, it was an incredibly useful and informative day - as well as an extremely enjoyable one.
Back at Wrexham, I headed to Glyndwr, to catch up on how the stall and the Collective had fared through the day. A reported from the Leader had been down, taking images and interviewing Beckah and Holly about the group, and I was also asked to provide an email detailing how the Collective had started and grown, and what my hopes were for it - we have been told that the Leader intend to do a feature on us, which is great news, as the more word about us spreads, the more opportunities are likely to emerge and develop.
Whilst I didn't exactly spend the 3 days engaged in Ffresh in the way that was perhaps expected, I certainly felt that all the experiences were extremely valuable and useful, and I enjoyed it all immensely. The contacts made on day one, and the amount of interest generated by our manning the stall, was invaluable. The success of the workshop on the second day, helped to crystallize how we could develop this branch of the Collective, to the benefit of group members and the University, and on day 3, again the potential contacts and the networking opportunities combined with highlighting the many benefits of greater interaction with the local community.
