An exciting opportunity for new and emerging artists to learn from leading national and International street artists:

Newly emerging professional street artists, or students of drama or theatre with an interest in working in the outdoors, are being offered the opportunity to spend a week working with leading national and international street artists to develop their skills and talents in the run up to Mintfest, 2010.

They will work on a show, created by their course tutor, which they will showcase at the end of the course to large audiences and industry professionals alike at Mintfest, Kendal’s International festival of street arts.

Now in it’s fourth year, Mintfest has already become one of the UK’s largest and most significant street arts festivals. It is a member of Without Walls, a consortium of 8 of the UK’s most strategically significant outdoor arts festivals, whose aim is to support the development and creation of outdoor work in the UK.

The week-long, residential course will take place in Kendal, Cumbria from August 29 – September 5, 2010. The course is open to both UK and International artists and will cost £200 (£100 if you are a Cumbrian resident), which includes all accommodation, tuition fees and meals.

Information and application forms can be found on the Lakes Alive website www.lakesalive.org/mintfest-summer-school/

The deadline for applications is March 26, 2010. Completed application forms should be returned to: Jenny Graham at Kendal Arts International at jenny@kendalartsinternational.com

Should you need any further information or have any queries please do not hesitate to contact Jenny on 01539 720252 or email as above.

click link below for full details
Mintfest International Summer School 2010 brochure final

Directing Actors for the Screen

Dates: Sat 27th/ Sun 28th Feb
Sat 6th / Sun 7th March

***The course costs are fully subsidised-applicants must be aged 16 or over and living in Cumbria. ***

Signal Films has 12 places available for people aged 16yrs + to take part in a free directing course led by an award winning filmmaker.
Deadline for application: Friday 19th February

Brian Gilbert, Golden Globe nominee and director of 2002’s awarding winning feature The Gathering starring Christina Ricci, will provide an in-depth insight into the process of directing actors for the screen at a 4-day course taking place in Barrow-in Furness

This is a great opportunity for aspiring directors to gain knowledge and expertise from an industry expert, working with professional actors, learning the best ways to communicate within a film set.

About the course:
The course will cover in detail the roles, methods and approaches of the director when composing scenes with actors. Through a combination of hands on exercises, screenings and demonstrations, participants will learn the fundamental skills needed to effectively direct performances to create a succinct and moving film.

This course will examine several different elements including
• Director and the script
• Directing actors
• Directing Different Genres
• Technical aspects- camera, lighting & crossing the line

About the tutor:
Course leader Brian Gilbert delivers the directing Actors course at the National Film and Television School, described as the world leader in high-end media training. He also directed the 1997 feature Wilde starring Stephen Fry and Jude Law and the classic 80’s body swap movie Vice Versa with Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage.

For a place on the course:
For an application form and more information contact Signal Films on signalfilms@gmail.com or 01229839983

Also: FILM INSIDERS TALENT FESTIVAL 2010!

In this, its second year, the festival is welcoming emerging filmmakers and enthusiasts of all ages to attend another packed programme of completely free events running from Friday 5th – Sunday 7th March in Barrow.

There will be an exciting mix of free filmmaking classes, animation workshops, screenings and advice sessions from industry talent from across the UK.

www.signalfilms.co.uk
www.filminsiders.co.uk

FREE DIGITAL ARTS WORKSHOPS
DIGITAL ARTIST Emma Tolmie will be leading a series of FREE digital art workshops in Barrow throughout March. People interested in exploring and learning new skills in digital technologies will be able to attend workshops to learn and experiment with new digital media & create pieces of work to be exhibited locally and online.

Emma Tolmie is an Edinburgh based digital artist who was awarded the Alt-w Award 2009 for her project Imagine 3D. Emma mixes low-tech gadgetry and high-tech imagery to explore digital culture through film, interactive sculptures, screen-saver landscapes and computer game animations. You can see more of her work on www.emmatolmie.co.uk.

The workshops will include hands on taster sessions on using digital media, photography, the web and film creatively. Participants can then go on to work in small group workshops with Emma to develop further digital art skills, from getting images and work online using flickr, youtube and vimeo to creating video artworks and web based artwork – an excellent opportunity to get up to date with current digital media technologies and digital art.

People of all ages, skills and experiences are welcome to come along to one or all of the following workshops:
- Digital Media Taster Sessions Sunday 7th March, 10am – 4.30pm
- Digital Art Workshops, 2 days over weekends & 4 evening sessions between 8th-25th March
- One-to-One Mentoring – Emma will also be on hand to offer advice and mentoring to artists starting out or wanting to improve their digital arts practice.

These opportunities are free and travel costs can be covered for people outside of Barrow.
Participants can take part in one or all of the opportunities by registering with Signal Films. For more information please contact us on: www.signalfilms.co.uk or 01229 839983
Deadline for registration is FRIDAY 26TH FEBRUARY 2010. Participants must be aged 16 or over

This project is funded by:The Arts Council, Barrow Regeneration, The Northwest Development Agency, Barrow Borough Council, Furness Enterprise and The Northern Rock Foundation

WOULD YOU LIKE TO GAIN HANDS ON EXPERIENCE IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY?
The Film Insiders Talent Festival 2010 is happening soon in Barrow from Friday 5th to Sunday 7th March.

Help us to stage three packed days of spectacular film screenings, live events, networking parties, workshops, masterclasses and talks from established names and the rising stars of filmmaking in the North West.

If you are able to help out for a couple of hours we’d love to hear from you….. We will be looking for volunteers in the following areas:
- Technical Event staff (workshops and parties)
- Box Office
- Art exhibition

If you think you might be able to help and state which area you would be interested in and contact Laura on 01229 839983 or info@signalfilms.co.uk

Clown lab takes place at Salford University, the price for the full lab is £120 which includes the 6 sessions and a full weekend with guest teacher Jon Davison. The dates are as follows:

Sunday 31st Jan 10-5.30 CLOWN PRESENCE
Sunday 7th Feb 10-5.30 CLOWN PRESENCE
Sunday 14th Feb 10-5.30 CLOWN PRESENCE
Saturday 20th Feb 10-5.30 PRESENCE & GENERATING MATERIAL
Sunday 21st Feb 10-5.30 PRESENCE & GENERATING MATERIAL
Sunday 28th Feb 10-5.30 CREATING MATERIAL
Sunday 7th March 10-5.30 CREATING MATERIAL
Sunday 14th March 10-5.30 CREATING MATERIAL/ SHARING

Contact Alice Robinson at robinson_alice@hotmail.com for more information and to book a place.

The topics covered include Personal and Organisational Communication, Working with Volunteers, Business Planning for the Third Sector, Monitoring and Evalutaion Skills, etc.

The course takes place every Thursday at Frenchfield Sports Centre, Penrith, starting on 7th January 2010. If you’d like to find out more information, there will be a Taster Session to meet the tutor and find out more about the course on Friday 4th December from 10am-1pm at Frenchfield Sports Centre.

Free to volunteers, varying fees for organisations.
To book your place call Nicola Howells at Cumbria CVS (West) on 01900 819191, or email nicolaho@cumbriacvs.org.uk

The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) has distributed the official Home Office guidance on the new vetting and barring scheme, which was launched last month to protect young and vulnerable people.

The scheme will have a major impact on the recruitment and monitoring practices of people working or volunteering with children. The official guidance includes information for both employees and employers.

More information about the forthcoming changes can be viewed and the guidance downloaded from  

The idea for this project came through the Centre’s association with local artist Helen Gorrill, who was visiting the farm to draw livestock as part of her work. Helen’s work and inspiration confirmed our belief that the farm is a special and beautiful place. It was with this in mind that we decided to develop a project to share the farm and its creative opportunities with other young artists from across the County.

The project will be delivered in three phases. Phase one will involve participants in two farm based residential training weekends, under the guidance of Adam Clarke a qualified artist and experienced teacher who possess an excellent track record of working with community and disadvantaged groups.

During the first residential weekend participants will be familiarised with the farm and encouraged to develop their creative responses to the farm landscape and the environment. The second weekend will introduce the practicalities of preparing and delivering art activities in an outdoor setting for young people and community groups.

Phase two will engage participants in the planning and delivery of environmental art based activities. This will be facilitated with the support of Sue Bone Low Lucken’s Educational Development Officer.

Finally we will celebrate and promote the project with a three week art exhibition at Carlisle City Library who has kindly donated the exhibition space free of charge.

Participating artists will be able to access bursaries of up to 50% from Cumbria Cultural Skills Partnership for subsistence and transport costs.

Low Luckens farm has a rich tradition of supporting the Arts, with Sheila Tilmouth as the artist in residence in 2006 and a variety of craft events and activities, including an exhibition and workshop on Saturday 18th July with Helen Gorrill.

Further information and an application pack are available from Jill Jones, Centre Manager, Low Luckens Organic Resource Centre, Roweltown, Carlisle, CA6 6LJ. Tel: 016977 48186 Email: lowluckensorc@hotmail.com

www.lowluckensfarm.co.uk/