Annual Report 2009-2010
Community Arts North West
Annual Report
www.can.uk.com
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Community Arts North West
Annual Report 2009-2010
Community Arts North West (CAN) Community Arts North West (CAN) is a Manchester based, arts development organisation who since 1978, have worked in partnership with communities, artists and agencies to encourage, create, and produce cultural programmes of work. CAN’s main priority is to create access to cultural production for people that are excluded or on the fringes of mainstream cultural resources.
Between April 2009 and March 2010 Community Arts North West;
The Exodus project, produced by CAN, is a dynamic programme of participatory cultural production working with refugees and asylum seekers and local host communities. With a strong focus on cross cultural collaborative production, the Exodus programme brings together a great mix of people, artists and communities – working creatively together in shared arenas and drawing upon the rich heritage and experiences of Greater Manchester’s diverse communities.
for arts
Engaged with audiences in excess of
Generated over £452,725
and culture in Greater
Manchester
trained
180 people through
23 training events
Annual Report 2009-2010
Undertook
35 projects 37 & promoted
events in which a total of
4627
attended
302 sessions of
artistic activity
Raised over
ÂŁ100,000 for new creative
enterprises
Undertook
over35 projects Offered
& promoted
62
Worked with over
events in which a total of
4627
attended
221 sessions of
from host and refugees communities in participatory artistic activity
programmes of work
17
Community Arts North West
DELIVERED
3
DELIVERED
27 25
volunteer
opportunities PARTICIPATORY
ARTS PROGRAMMES AS PART OF EXODUS
WORKING WITH Provided employment for 359
98 ASYLUM SEEKERS
&
NEW REFUGEES freelance artists/
creatives and
10
PARTICIPATORY
ARTS PROGRAMMES AS PART OF EXODUS
WORKING WITH
ASYLUM SEEKERS
NEW REFUGEES
&
122
core staff NEW PEOPLE FROM HOST COMMUNITIES
NEW PEOPLE FROM HOST COMMUNITIES
refugee groups have been
supported to develop their
own projects and events
A special thanks to all our funders AGMA
vam
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EXODUS ‘Movement of The People’ The Greater Manchester Refugee Arts Partnership Greater Manchester hosts more asylum-seekers than any other conurbation outside of London. In addition there are many more people with refugee status and many failed asylum-seekers who are unable to return to their country of origin and remain here in destitution. According to the Home Office, 50% of Greater Manchester’s refugees and asylum-seekers have fled Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo, all countries with a well-documented history of human rights abuses. People arrive in Greater Manchester disorientated and apprehensive. Many have experienced persecution, torture and terror. Many have lost loved ones, or have left their families behind. Refugees and asylum-seekers experience barriers to interacting with mainstream society, including isolation, prejudice, poverty and fear.
Other Partners Ada House Arlaadi Centre AWAD Band On The Wall Beating Wing Orchestra Bolton Red Cross Bolton Refugee Action Brewery Arts Centre Bury Groundwork Trust Bury MBC Candella Films Central Arts Manchester
Cheshire Dance Common Word Contact Theatre Cornerhouse CPAL (Consortium for Participatory Arts Learning) Eagles Wings, Bury East Manchester Cultural Regeneration Ensemble French Supplementary School
Evangelical Church Bethesda GAP Unit Gay in the UK Greenroom Groundwork in Bury Kurdish Creative Film Kurdistan Art and Culture Lesbian Asylum and Immigration Support Group
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Since 2005 CAN has worked with people seeking sanctuary and with the Greater Manchester Refugee Arts Partnership to create Exodus – an artistic programme that promotes both artistic endeavour and social engagement amongst refugees and asylum-seekers. Exodus challenges negative representations, supports the arts and culture of people in exile, promotes cultural cohesion through cultural exchange, but above all creates a voice for refugees and asylum-seekers. Exodus continues to encourage integration and dialogue, providing a platform and visibility for refugee arts in Greater Manchester. The programme of activity between 2009-2010 is supported principally by an award from the Big Lottery Reaching Communities fund.
Exodus Greater Manchester Refugee Arts Partnership
Lesbian Community Project Let’s Go Global Manchester Academy Manchester City Council Manchester International Festival Manchester Supplementary Schools Manchester University Migr@tions Online Film festival Canada
Nestac (New Steps for African Communities) New East Manchester North West Playwrights Peacemakers Oldham Picture House @ FACT Promofest: Madrid Queer up North Radio Regen Rafiki (Wigan MBC Youth Service)
Rainbow Haven: Salford and Gorton RAPAR Rochdale Federation of Tenants and Residents Associations Salford City Council Salford Rainbow Haven Salix Homes Somali Bravanese Sisters St Cuthbert’s Church Sure Start
TAFWA (Tameside African Families Welfare Ass) Urbis Wai Yin WAST Whitewood and Fleming Wigan MBC Women From The Far West Yard Theatre Zion Arts Centre
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Exodus Events:
Exodus Festival 2009 Urbis and Cathedral Gardens
Over 10,000 people were entertained by 142 performers on two stages.
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‘It all makes for one of the most vibrant days in Manchester's summer and offers a chance to really celebrate the cultural mix that makes the city so special.’ Guardian Guide On Sunday 2 August, 12-6pm, Urbis and Cathedral Gardens in Manchester was for the second year running transformed by live world music and culture as local communities united for the 2009 Exodus Festival. Now in its eighth year, the one day extravaganza celebrates Greater Manchester’s diverse refugee communities – a cultural feast with live music, dance, workshops, craft activities and an array of colourful stalls. International food from Eritrea, Sudan, DR Congo, Cameroon and Pakistan, always popular with the public was provided by refugee groups. From Congolese rumba, to Beat Box and driving Bhangra rhythms – there was certainly something for everyone to enjoy at the 2009 Exodus Festival.
‘The Exodus Festival is where it belongs, bang in the City Centre, visible, vibrant, out and loud’. Festival attendee
The two main stages were filled to capacity with a diverse and exciting range of global music and dance, and despite rain earlier on in the day, the sun decided to shine on what was the best last hot day of summer. The Exodus festival (now in its 8th year) has come to represent the very best of Manchester’s Community festivals. A regular calendar event and one of the best family friendly days out.
Exodus Festival Site décor programme One particular highlight of the Exodus Festival was the beautiful site decorations produced by groups from Greater Manchester in the lead up to the festival. CAN worked with Students from Manchester Academy, Bury Eagles Wings, Rainbow Haven drop in Salford and Bolton Red Cross Esol class. They created predominantly textile based work including processional banners, flags, bunting and other artefacts which brought the festival site together and helped attract passers-by.
Volunteers: The Festival was greatly enhanced by the enthusiastic support of the CAN volunteering team including young people from Manchester Youth Volunteering Project (MYVP). A big thank you.
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Exodus Events Exodus Live
Beating Wing Orchestra at Manchester
International Festival
‘This was joyful music made with love and excitement – a real Mali-Manchester soul stew’ Manchester Evening News
Photography: Shaw & Shaw
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‘Inspired by the Beating Wing Orchestra’s ceaseless energy and visible enthusiasm, tracks such as Ce N’est Pas Bon, Djuru and I Follow You elicit broad smiles throughout the venue, as their infectious rhythms take hold.’ MusicOMH
Formed in Manchester from musicians of refugee, asylum seeker and diverse host communities backgrounds, the Beating Wing Orchestra is a unique group of musicians who speak a global music vocabulary.
This development spanned two years of the Exodus Programme and included collaborative workshops with Amadou and Mariam in December 2008 and April and June 2009. The 2009/10 phase of this project saw the culmination of what was to become a huge journey for the BWO.
Members of the orchestra come from countries as diverse as Kurdistan and Cameroon, Bangladesh and Brazil and each The performances took place on 7-8 July 2009 at the Pavilion bring their own individual musical style and talents. As an Theatre in Albert Square. Capacity was 450 each night and international music group, Beating Wing Orchestra (BWO) both nights were performed to a full capacity audience. Tickets helps to forge new connections between were sold out for both nights, months before the city’s rich mix of musicians. Bringing the performances. ‘The music unites the communities together through music to crowd in a sweaty mess of share experiences, ideas and understanding. The collaboration captured the imagination of clapping and dancing’ journalists and commentators and, ahead of **** BWO was originally brought together by the performances, the work was covered in a The Guardian CAN to undertake a commission for the range of print and broadcast media including 2007 Manchester International Festival (MIF) the Metro, the Guardian, the Manchester ‘Heart warming and working with Palestinian singer and composer, Evening News, Society Guardian, New York uplifting they play Reem Kelani. The resulting performance was Time Out, Guardian Weekend Guide, Guardian a colourful set that one of the highlights of the 2007 Festival, Online and City Life. moves the crowd and earning a 5* review in the Metro newspaper. A seven minute film entitled Speaking Through has them smiling from To help the orchestra to build on this success, Music and featuring the BWO rehearsals with the inside out’ MIF and CAN proposed to work with the Amadou and Mariam was aired on CNN. In Click Lancashire group on a second commission for the 2009 addition, a six minute film on The Guardian Manchester International Festival, this time Online featured the stories of the refugee and ‘It was like it wasn’t a inviting the orchestra to develop a full-length asylum seeker musicians of the orchestra, as new collaboration; it was well as footage of their rehearsals. concert with Malian musicians, Amadou and like they had been playing Mariam. The artistic approach for this project together for years.’ was quite different to the 2007 commission. In 2009/10 CAN also undertook a successful BBC Manchester Online Rather than having new work composed for programme of capacity development, to build them, it supported the orchestra to bring their a sustainable future for the orchestra, raising own musical ideas and expertise to the table, to re-imagine over £45,000 for its continued development. The BWO is now Amadou and Mariam’s music with different sounds, styles an independent organisation with a solid organisational basis and cultural influences. The weekly workshops were led by to support their future activity and creativity. Music Director Arun Ghosh.
‘There is a truly memorable moment during this collaboration between Malian duo Amadou & Mariam and refugee/migrant collective The Beating Wing Orchestra. Amadou is playing a delightfully evocative African guitar lick. Meanwhile, a Chinese bel canto opera singer is singing, there’s a Kurdistani saz player in the background, and a Bangladeshi rapper is about to make her entrance… music can transcend borders, nationalities, races and colours... Fantastic.’ The sheer joy of Amadou & Mariam and The Beating Wing Orchestra. Metro Wednesday, July 8, 2009
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Exodus Events Exodus Live
Exodus Live at
Band on the Wall
Exodus Live took place on 10 December 2009 at the newly reopened Band on the Wall. Over 300 people attended to watch some of the best Exodus music bands. Featuring African Gospel from Testimony Congolese women’s vocals through to the cross cultural sounds of Beating Wing Orchestra – this event rocked. Many of the bands were troupes that have had support from the Exodus programme to develop their repertoire, performing experience and music making networks. This was also the debut performance of the Exodus Beat Jam, a spoken word and music collaboration.
‘I teach World music at the university. Tonight has been amazing. I had no idea we had such quality world music bands right here in OUR region’ Audience member
Exodus Beat Jam Debut Following the inspirational performances of the Beating Wing Orchestra, it was clear that there were many other musicians keen to benefit from similar collaborative opportunities between host and refugee communities. CAN in partnership with BWO created Exodus Beat Jam for music artists to experiment and collaborate on new material with a view to performing at Exodus Live and other events. Led by music director Kevin Davey, 12 MCs, spoken word performers, vocalists and musicians attended four workshop / Jam events held at Band on the Wall which led to an eclectic performance as part of Exodus Live. They have since gone on to create new work and perform at other events.
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Exodus Events
Exodus Shorts
Exodus Shorts is a festival of film shorts addressing issues of migration and sanctuary, which has been held as a part of Refugee Week celebrations since 2005. A total of 30 shorts were programmed; including work from local and national filmmakers, as well as contributions from internationals filmmakers in collaboration with the Canadian based Migr@tions Online film Festival and Madrid based Promofest. Alongside the screenings Exodus Shorts also offered a series of workshops in scriptwriting, stop-motion animation, and talks and seminars with refugee filmmakers. The Shorts programme consisted of: Experimental films screened exhibition style at Urbis as a week long event. Drama films screened at Cornerhouse during one evening. Films from the Migr@tions Online Film Festival at Cornerhouse. Compilations of the ‘Best of Exodus Shorts 09’ and films made by Liverpool based Sola Arts at Picturehouse@ FACT in Liverpool. Film making workshop in collaboration with LiveWire at Cornerhouse with young people from both refugee and host community backgrounds. Alan Amin (Kurdish Film Festival) Talk at Urbis. Selected Exodus Shorts 08 films were also screened as part of Bolton’s Refugee Week celebrations.
Later in the year selected Exodus Shorts were screened on the BBC Big Screen alongside the Exodus Outdoor Festival.
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The Heart and Soul of It
Manchester and Greater Manchester Exodus Participatory Arts Programmes The Exodus participatory arts projects represent the very heart and soul of the Exodus programme. It is from this work that all things flow. The content of and engagement with the Exodus events can only happen through our relationship and knowledge of the groups and individuals with whom we work. It is also through the participatory arts programmes that the real development takes place, where people are able to tell us about their lives, concerns and creative aspirations. In 2009/10 CAN produced in total 25 participatory arts programmes of work. 13 in Manchester, 9 in the other Greater Manchester Boroughs, and 4 major programmes that spanned a number of boroughs. Many of the programmes were either linked to the Exodus events which brought people together/and or culminated in their own events. Recurring themes identified by groups are opportunities to create and expand social circles; connecting with diasporas; practice of traditional art forms; contributing to life in Britain through sharing culture with host communities; the need to bear witness; and to also help British people understand why people seek asylum.
In addition, many artists with refugee backgrounds see themselves as ambassadors for their countries of origin and have strong artistic aspirations to create innovative contemporary work in collaboration with artists from host communities. They want to create work that will resonate with British audiences and will impact on their own communities and how they are perceived in this country. We are delighted to see some of the artists that started out with the Exodus programme achieve their Indefinite Leave to Remain status, enabling them to start their own professional careers in this country and be employed on the Exodus programme.
CAN produced in total 25 participatory arts programmes of work
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In 2009-10 we worked with people from all these countries
Communities The programme has been able to support a number of refugee led groups based in their own geographical locations such as NESTAC in Rochdale, Rafiki in Wigan, Eagles Wings in Bury and Ensemble from Collyhurst, Manchester. For Ensemble and NESTAC the work has also been about extending opportunities to children and young people from local host communities thereby creating better social cohesion and connections with their neighbourhoods. We have also supported groups that work with their diasporas across Greater Manchester such as Stockport based Kurdistan Art and Culture through their new production of ‘One Night There’. A good number of the programmes also bring people together from many refugee backgrounds such as the Refugee Digital-Media Inclusion programme, Beating Wing Orchestra and the projects with refugee service providers such as Rainbow Haven, and Red Cross.
Women’s Voices This was the second year of our women’s positive action programmes and CAN was really pleased to support nine very diverse women’s led projects. Some programmes centred on well being and social interaction such as Somali Bravanese Sisters where mothers and daughters worked together through poetry, music and traditional crafts. This year we have also started to see refugee and asylum seeker women develop the confidence to speak out, and be given full expression through the cultural production processes. There is now a strong female presence in the majority of music making programmes including BWO, Exodus Jam Band and Testimony.
‘How I Become an Asylum Seeker’ by WAST (Women Asylum Seekers Together) demonstrated how the arts can galvanise and change public opinion through the specific narratives of asylum. When their playwright, Cameroonian Lydia Besong was taken into detention, their story not only made the BBC New Media North West News but also helped in the campaign to secure With help from the Lloyds TSB Foundation we have also her release. They have since gone on to inspire the London been able to respond to popular interest in new media by branch of WAST and recently received a standing ovation increasing our digital arts offer through training, specific cultural programmes and digital support for individual groups. for their play at the Riverside Studios in London.
The majority of projects bring people together from immediate neighbouring boroughs/and or districts to form communities of interest.
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‘I had no idea what Asylum Seekers go through until tonight. This story really moved me and helped me to understand what people have to face in this country’ Audience member
Exodus Cross Borough Programme Exodus Festival Site Decoration: Manchester Academy, Moss Side. Eagles Wings, Bury. Rainbow Haven Drop In, Salford. Bolton Red Cross.
Exodus Participatory Arts Projects Exodus Manchester programme Beating Wing Orchestra: Green Fish Resource Centre, Manchester University and Albert Square, City Centre. Ensemble French Supplementary School: Cameroonian music and dance. St George’s Community Centre, Collyhurst. Somali Bravanese Sisters, Kofi Brava Hat Making Exhibition: Arlaadi Community Centre, Moss side and Contact Theatre. Somali Bravanese Sisters Poetry and Music Workshops: Arlaadi Community Centre, Moss Side. Rainbow Haven Film Training Project: St Paul & St John’s Church, Abbey Hey Lane, Gorton. WAST (Women Asylum Seekers Together) ‘How I Became An Asylum Seeker’: Women’s Electronic Village Hall, City Centre. Zion Arts Centre, Hulme. Contemporary Urban Centre, Liverpool. ‘Small Rocks’ publication launch: Greenroom, City Centre. A project developed to document the stories of destitute Asylum Seekers in partnership with RAPAR (Refugee and Asylum Seekers Participatory Action Research) and Commonword. ‘Testimony’ vocal training and CD Recording Project: Green Fish Resource Centre, Northern Quarter. Exodus Jam Band: Band on the Wall, City Centre. ‘Gay in the UK’ Digital Animation: Refugee action, City Centre. ‘Once Upon A Time’ Women’s Theatre Outreach Project: Red Cross WISP, Wind Rush Millennium Centre, Moss Side. Gorton Rainbow Haven. Wai Yin and Contact Theatre, City Centre. ‘We Need More Than This To Live’: Lesbian Asylum Immigration Support Group, Lesbian Community Project and Queer Up North, at Green Fish Resource Centre, Manchester City Centre.
Tower of Babel: music and spoken word event in many tongues. Groups and individuals from many boroughs performing at Contact Theatre in Manchester. ‘NU X-Pression’ Theatre Company: young people from Manchester, Rochdale, Bolton and Salford. Green Fish Resource Centre and Nexus Art café, Manchester City Centre. Grange Arts Centre, Oldham. Brewery Arts Centre, Kendall. Grizedale Resource Centre, Lake District. Digital Media Training Programme: Green Fish Resource Centre, Manchester. Exodus Greater Manchester Programme Eagles Wings: Film, Dance and Textiles. Mosses Centre, Bury. NESTAC (New Step for African Communities): African and Street Dance. Falinge community base, Rochdale. Iraqi Refugee Resettlement Programme Film: Bolton Refugee Action, Bolton Community College and CAN. Rainbow Haven Digital Arts Programme: Emmanuel Church, Salford. Rafiki Youth Arts Film Programme: Penson St Youth Centre, Wigan. Peacemakers Digital Arts Programme: Peacemaker Centre, Oldham. Trafford Film Jam: ‘Lets Go Global’, Trafford and Contact Theatre, Manchester. TAFWA Film Course: Ashton under Lyne. ‘One Night There’ KAC ( Kurdistan Art and Culture): Theatre production. St John’s Church Hall, Stockport and Contact Theatre, Manchester.
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Women Asylum Seekers Together WAST Women’s Electronic Village Hall Manchester. WAST is a constituted, non-governmental organisation formed in 2005, founded under the following statement of aims: “Sharing our experiences, empowering and supporting each other, fighting for our rights, raising awareness about the issues that force women to seek international protection and the effects of the injustices of the UK immigration system.” Members of WAST are women asylum seekers of different nationalities living in Greater Manchester, who have been through the asylum process and in many cases are under threat of deportation. In August 2009 CAN were approached by WAST to deliver a performance project that incorporated a diverse range of art forms including dance/ movement, drama, singing and performance skills. The group were extremely keen to produce a live performance that would raise awareness of their organisation and their experiences as women asylum seekers. WAST member Lydia Besong had already written a play ‘How I Became an Asylum Seeker’ with contributions from other women that the group were keen to develop. From September to November 2009 CAN worked with WAST developing and shaping ‘How I Became an Asylum Seeker’. The play shared the powerful and emotional journey of Monique, as she seeks asylum in the UK following the murder of her husband. Monique finds herself isolated within the UK’s unsympathetic immigration system as she eventually finds support through a women’s asylum self help group. On 3 December 2009 at the Zion Arts Centre, 20 women from the group gave a dynamic and an emotional performance to a packed auditorium of 230 audience members, followed up by a powerful Q&A. This was intended to be a sharing of a work in progress only and everyone was taken a back by the level of support from audience members. Lydia Besong was taken into custody a week after the performance under the threat of deportation to Cameroon. The campaign that followed, was greatly enhanced by the play itself and we are sure that this was a factor in Lydia’s final release from detention. In January 2010 the GAP Unit a not-forprofit organisation based in Manchester, received funding to continue the development of the play as a tool for advocacy, awareness-raising and policy change.
With the Gap Unit’s Support, two performances took place at Zion Centre on the 24 March and at CUC in Liverpool on 30 March, plus a Film shoot at Yard Theatre on 8 April A further 290 people attended performances in Manchester and Liverpool, with 90 people participating in the workshops. The project was extremely effective at engaging with a wide range of stakeholders including council employees, journalists, solicitors, a barrister, local councillors, people from different NHS trusts, six housing trusts, Sure Start, Greater Manchester Police, Partners of Prisoners, Connexions, ESOL co-ordinators, three higher education establishments, Government Office North West, Her Majesty’s Courts Service, a range of arts organisations and asylum seekers from 8 refugee projects from both Greater Manchester and Liverpool. The reach of the project spanned 10 local authorities. WAST have continued to perform their play, to speak out for the rights of asylum seekers. Lydia Besong is still fighting for her right to stay in the UK.
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Somali Bravanese Sisters Somali Bravanese Sisters: based at the Arlaadi Centre, Moss Side in the 2008/9 Exodus programme reconnected with their traditional culture through the making of their elaborate embroidered Kofi hats. The workshop process was documented by digital artist, Shaheda Choudhury for an exhibition which took place in 2009. Percussionist Aisha Lourenco also encouraged the sisters in their traditional music making. The Kofi Brava hat-making event was successfully launched on the 14 July with an evening of arts, traditional food, music and great hilarity and enjoyment at Contact Theatre. The event was well attended by mainly Somali women and host community members. The women were particularly interested in developing a future poetry/music programme and with help from the Learning Revolution Council, a new group of young Somali women were able to join existing members, in a series of
poetry, music and drama workshops 33 women aged between 12 and 52 years took part. For the older Somali women, the opportunity to meet once a week, make music and have a good time in a space away from domestic duties was a big success. This environment allowed the women to express themselves freely, and what emerged were interesting stories, ideas, sketches, poems, thought and debate. For the younger women, the drama and poetry proved to be a powerful tool for the expression of their identity as British born or residing Somalis. They were also able to learn about their own Somali culture and rich heritage. In particular the focus on mother-daughter relationships enabled the young women to investigate more freely the conflicts of their Somali identity within the context of the dominant wider culture. The final sharing of their thought provoking poems and sketches were both revealing and humorous.
Annual Report 2009-2010
‘One Night There’ Stockport based Kurdistan Art and Culture (KAC) is a talented collective of Kurdish artists (filmmakers, visual artists, musicians, dancers, theatre directors, actors, poets and writers) living in exile in and around Greater Manchester. The group exists to promote Kurdish culture in the UK across all art forms and to share Kurdish culture with other communities in the UK. For the Kurdish people, the arts play an important role as a cultural and political expression of identity. They represent one of the world’s largest stateless nations, with a long history of displacement. ‘One Night There’, a Kurdish language theatre piece was developed and premiered at CAN’s Exodus Tower of Babel event at Contact Theatre on 25 March. It explored the specific pressures and issues faced by Kurdish women both in Kurdistan and as refugees in other countries. Written and directed by a member of the group, Bhean Ali, it explored the experience of being both in a new culture and caught between two cultures. It was subsequently performed at several venues in the Kurdish Autonomous Zone in Iraq in the late summer. A powerful performance was attended by an audience of 75 mainly Kurdish people, followed by a dynamic post show discussion. KAC will work with CAN and North West Playwrights to continue to develop the piece for an English language performance as part of the Exodus Onstage Refugee Theatre Festival scheduled for November 2010.
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With funding from the Celebr8/Woven Cultures (North West programme for the UK Wide Cultural Olympiad) the groups were supported to take the lead in designing, developing and managing their own creative programme. The Celebr8/Woven Cultures project also aimed to introduce a group of diverse urban young people to a different aspect of the culture and environment of England’s North West in rural Cumbria. There were five strands to the programme: Leadership Group Master Classes Workshop Facilitation Training Development of an online presence Collaborative Creation (peer-led workshops, a residential and a performance event).
Working with
Young People NU X-Pression Woven Cultures (Next Unlimited Expression)
In 2009/10 CAN supported the continued creative development of a core group of 18 young people from Manchester, Salford, Bolton and Rochdale, who had participated in CAN’s 3 year UMT programme (Urban Music Theatre Project: 2006 – 2008). This was a young people led creative and leadership development programme facilitated and mentored by Chris Sudworth (artistic director of the UMT programme). NU X-Pression aims to: Produce imaginative and innovative cross-art form productions developed through collaborative creative processes, drawing on the company’s personal experiences; Develop the artistic, facilitation and project management skills of company members to enable them to take the step from being participants to being artists in their own right.
Master classes were held in physical theatre, music, dance and creative writing. Two days were also dedicated to learning workshop facilitation skills. Four skill sharing and development sessions also took place in the build up to their residential weekend. For all the young people who attended the residential based at the Yan Centre in Grizedale Forest, Cumbria, UK born or otherwise, the opportunity to create in response to a rural environment was a new experience. Here, the young people were able to develop material for a new performance greatly inspired by the new found emotional links they experienced between the English countryside and memories of the countryside in their countries of origin. This became one of the core concepts of the performance they developed. The group were also able to successfully facilitate workshops with members of the Brewery Arts Youth Theatre in Kendal, who appreciated the opportunity to work with an Urban Music theatre inspired team of young artists. This project was an empowering experience for the young people involved, helping to accelerate their learning and confidence and which culminated in the sharing of their new work in progress.
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Digital Arts Programmes Refugee Digital-Media Inclusion programme Funded via The Lloyds TSB Foundation, CAN’s Refugee Digital Media Inclusion programme (2009 - 2011) aims to engage refugees and asylum seekers in digital development initiatives; creating access to technology, resources, support and advice from specialists from within the media sector. Particular attention was paid to developing people’s digital skills, increasing interaction, creating links with networks and mainstream digital resources. The 2009/10 programme included: Two creative media production programmes. A digital media training course. Practical one to one support offered through a technician Salford Rainbow Haven 24 people from the Salford and other project staff and through access to CAN’s media Rainbow Haven project learnt about the basic principals lab and equipment. involved in filmmaking and photography. Participants worked collaboratively on a range of practical exercises Classifique FM was created by young people from The culminating in the production of two film shorts. Rafiki Youth project in Wigan with Filmmaker Kooj Chuhan. It told the story of a fictional local music radio station that Digital media training programme twelve training also broadcasts stories of human rights abuses. Classifique sessions were facilitated by specialists from diverse media FM is a thought provoking film about censorship and the training industries and included: A musicians guide to need to speak out. basic home audio-recording/mixing and net media for promotion. Internet site production and distribution. Recording and mixing sound for stories, radio, podcasts, theatre. Campaigning use of digital and net media. Simple and basic methods for creating great photographs and logos and video. A master class for directing actors and local people for film and video. Promotion, dissemination, distribution. Networking, social & project development drop-in. Graphic design. Basic video training. In Year One of the Digital-Inclusion programme, CAN created learning, development and cultural production opportunities for 151 Refugees and Asylum Seekers, from 26 different countries of origin, who live across the 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester. This included 46 women and 32 young people. This programme was particularly successful in reaching the dispersed and in many cases isolated refugee communities in Greater Manchester with 78% attending from the 9 Greater Manchester boroughs (118), the remaining from Manchester.
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Where do we go from here? The unseen work
Testimony
Kurdish Creative Film
Manchester
Manchester
Congo Fellowship Community Manchester
Rainbow Haven Salford and Manchester
Educated
Congo
Intendre
Thugz
Manchester
Salford
Afro
Integra Salford
In 2009/10 Support was given to the following groups:
Ensemble
Manchester
Incubation and Capacity Building CAN continued to support groups and individuals in the development of their own cultural organisations and activities which resulted in a wide range of creative outcomes. This work represents an often unseen, but none the less important aspect of the company’s work, that the CAN staff team are passionate about.
NU X-pression
Manchester
Rep Africa 54
Manchester
Somali Bravanese Sisters
Manchester
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Information and Training
NESTAC
Rochdale
Raising Standards The Toolkit www.thetoolkit.net
Britannia
Rhumba Manchester
Central Arts (Polish migrant Artist Collective)
Manchester
The Toolkit provides bespoke practical information, training and one-to-one support sessions to people working across a range of art forms. It is a free information service that has a demonstrable impact in helping artists and communities to navigate and accessing opportunities for future cultural development. Ten Toolkit Training sessions were delivered in 2009/10. The Toolkit website continues to be a useful source of information for people planning & running arts projects, with 248 new registrations and 2,628 visits to the website in 2009/10. Over 60 delegates attended a Toolkit music networking event which was held in March 2010 at Band on the Wall. People were given the opportunity to network informally with a number of local and regional resources including the Musicians’ Union, Manchester Music Service, Greater Manchester Music Action Zone (GMMAZ), MusicLeader and The Drake Music Project.
Artsnet www.artsnetmanchester.co.uk artsnet-manchester@googlegroups.com Artsnet is a service hosted by CAN for people employed in, or interested in arts and culture. It helps them to engage with the wider strategic issues which affect their work, play and quality of life in the City of Manchester through the Manchester Cultural Partnership.
Beating Wing
Orchestra
Greater Manchester
Rafiki Wigan
Artsnet distributed a quarterly Artsnet hard-copy and e-newsletter with a total distribution of 7008, reporting on creative arts information and opportunities within Manchester. Interactive versions of the back catalogue of Artsnet newsletters are now accessible to anyone online. The subscriber lists of the Artsnet Google and Facebook groups continue to grow and are used on a daily basis by members for sharing information about events, job opportunities, training etc with 520 Artsnet Google group members and 1186 Artsnet Facebook group members: Artsnet received 384 followers on Twitter: www.twitter.com/artsnetmcr. It’s a great last-minute tool for broadcasting information. CAN also maintains an online presence on other social networking sites such as Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube. The Exodus Facebook ‘fan’ page now has 928 fans: www.facebook.com/ExodusManchester A number of CAN event video clips are available to view on www.youtube.com/user/CommunityArtsNW and the CAN MySpace page at www.myspace.com/communityarts
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Financial Matters Allocation of Income and Expenditure
Other Income
£510
Project Grants
£249,891
Income
Core Grants
£202,324
Annual Report 2009-2010
A full copy of the Community Arts North West 2009/10 annual accounts is available at www.can.uk.com or from the General Manager, Community Arts North West, Green Fish Resource Centre, 46-50 Oldham Street, Manchester. M4 1LE
Building costs
& Admin
Governance
£11,180
£34,893
Community Arts North West
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Acknowledgements Trustees and Directors Sue Fletcher – Chair (retired Jan 2010) Martin Hazlehurst – Acting Chair (until 4 Mar 2010) Julie McCarthy – Chair (elected 4 Mar 2010) Angela Harris – Treasurer Teresa Adesanya Marla Cunningham Sara Domville Rhonda Finlayson Yvonne Hepburn-Foster
Leanne Manfredi Trupti Patel Gurdeep Thiara John Wallace Janine Waters
Secretary Dr. A. D. Martin (until 31 Jan 2010) Angela Bezer (from 1 Feb 2010) Board Observers Janet Leach – Association of Greater Manchester Authorities Louise Sutton – Manchester City Council Julie McCarthy – Arts Council England (until Dec 09)
Expenditure
Core staff & contract
services Project costs
£265,357
£148,157
Staff Team Cilla Baynes MBE – Creative Director Amy Cham – Digital Arts Manager (until 14 Aug 2009) Natasha Evans – Administrative Assistant (until 25 Sep 2009) Sabbi Kaur – Administrative Assistant (21 Sep 2009) Segun Lee-French – Exodus Artistic Manager – Manchester Dot Lomax – Cleaner Ian Marsh – Exodus Artistic Manager – Greater Manchester David Martin – General Manager (until 31 Jan 2010) Angela Bezer – General Manager (from 27 Jan 2010) Erin McNeaney – Exodus Coordinator (until 15 Feb 2010) Katherine Rogers – Exodus Coordinator (from 8 Mar 2010) Dave Morris – Finance Worker Adelle Robinson – CAN Information Worker Faye Salisbury – Arts Development Manager Yasmin Yaqub – Lead Artistic Manager
CAN were saddened to hear about the death of Bryan Harvey in 2009. Bryan was a much loved and respected member of Naked Sub Culture, the theatre company created by CAN and The Big Issue in the North. Bryan was a role model to many, known for his kind and generous spirit. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him.
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Community Arts North West
Annual Report 2009-2010
Artists and Creatives who have contributed to the 2009/10 Artistic Programme 1AM Events Support Akinyemi Oludele Alan Amin Alan Budd Alison Kershaw Alison Vaas Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia Anastasios Sotiriou Andrea Kirby Anisa Saleh Anita Whitehead Arun Ghosh B Zamba Chocolat Beating Wing Orchestra Billal Mahmood Bjorn Norrgard Blackpool Promoting Music CIC Blanchard Jean Azip Blanchard Kabusu Bloco Novo Ltd Borhan Mohammadi Cedrick Mbuyamba Chris Sudworth Christopher Gardiner Clive Hunte Dawn Crandell Donkey Stone Films E M Murphy Emmanouil Sarantidis Ensemble French Supplementary School F E Dance UK Filsan Ismail Gabriela Gwiazdowski Heidi Schaefer Ian Marsh Ismaeel Sabir Jaheda Choudhury James Walmsley Janine Bull Jason Lock Jaydev Mistry Jean Azip Blanchard Jeff Thompson Jennifer Vickers Joan Oldham Joseph J Harrison Juan Zhou Robinson Kashif Ali Kawele Mutimanwa Kendilonda Ndombasi Kerry Tuhill Kevin Davy Kim Harrison Kuljit Chuhan Lawrence Reekie Lee Kirby Liz Murphy Louise Shelly Luke Marsh Magdalen Bartlett Marizu Okereke Mat Johns Michelle Udogu Nathaly Tientcheu Nicki Dupuy Ooma Mae Photography Raphael Sherriff Richard Mujeri Richard Ramchurn Sabbi Kaur Samuel Maitland Sarah Lovell Sarah Sayeed Sashwati Meera Sengupta Segun Lee French Serge Tebu Shaheda Choudhury Sharon Raymond Sheila Katzman Shirlaine Forrest Sidiki Dembele Siobhan McGuirk Sonia Hughes Susan Guest Tameside African Families Welfare Association Testimony Tochino Cornwell Tracey Zengen Tshepe Tshepela Tyndale Thomas Upasana Wendy Meadley West African Development Word Play Intellect Yusra Warsama
A big thank you to all our volunteers
Community Arts North West Ltd Company limited by guarantee 1400213 Charity registration 277135 Greenfish Resource Centre 46-50 Oldham Street, Manchester. M4 1LE
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www.can.uk.com
Cover Photography: Shaw & Shaw
Photography by: Shaheda Choudhury, Shirlaine Forrest. Jason lock. Segun Lee French. Oona Mae. Lee Kirby Roy. Marizu Okerike.