Community Arts North West Annual Report 2010-11 by Community Arts North West

Annual Report 2009-2010

Community Arts North West

Annual Report

www.can.uk.com

Community Arts North West

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.

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.

“As one of the most sustained programmes of arts work with refugee communities in the country the Exodus programme has made a unique and invaluable contribution to refugee arts in the UK. Since its beginnings it has developed a new and radical strand of art work with communities where issues of home, belonging and citizenship have been creatively explored. A great deal of thought, research, care and attention to detail has gone into each project. Exodus has not only helped to amplify and develop marginalised voices but has sustained a strong programme of professional, artistic and community development among the individuals, groups and communities with whom they work.” Dr Alison Jeffers, Lecturer, University of Manchester/ In Place of War

Annual Report 2010 –2011

Between April 2010 and March 2011 Community Arts North West;

engaged with audiences in excess of

undertook

37 projects

Community Arts North West

generated over

delivered

30 participatory arts programmes

in which a total of

as part of the Exodus

2,650 attended

sessions for arts and culture of artistic in greater manchester activity offered over provided employment for

65 24 volunteer promoted

projects

opportunities

Enormous thanks to all of our funders AGMA

Refugee Arts programme

working with over

83artists/ freelance

creatives and people of whom over core 400+ were refugees and

10 staff

asylum seekers

Community Arts North West

Annual Report 2010 –2011

Community Arts North West

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 well-documented histories 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.

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 2010 and 2011 was principally supported by an award from the Big Lottery Fund – Reaching Communities.

Other Partners Ajah Asian Music Talent Band On The Wall Black Health Agency Bloco Novo Bosnian Women’s Group Commonword Contact Theatre Cross Street Chapel Dems Ndume DRIM Educated Thugz/School Fo’ HardKnockz!

Eritrean Women’s Group Fat Northerner Records Gay in the UK Heritage Survival Kalayasasa Kokoriko Leadership Lab Letwin Berebende and Rumba Maestro MADLAB Manchester Chinese Centre Manchester School of Samba Manchester Sudanese

Cultural Society Manchester Youth Volunteering Project Nexus Arts Café Norba Crafts Nouvelle Alliance Pakistani Refugee Organisation Rainbow Haven Drop-in RASA Theatre Productions Refugee Action Royal Exchange Theatre Speakeasy Sudanese Cultural Association

Sustained Theatre Hub NW Testimony The Beating Wing Orchestra V-Trix WAST (Women Asylum Seekers Together) Women from the Far West Rafiki Queer up North Radio Regen Rafiki Wigan MBC Youth Service Wigan WOW Festival

Bolton Red Cross Bury Art Gallery Eagles Wings Karen/Kayin Community NESTAC The Lowry Musicians Without Borders Ordsall Community Arts Tebu Productions University of Salford Iranian Music Box Kurdistan Arts and Culture Peacemaker

Hyde Bangladeshi Welfare Association West African Development British Red Cross Men’s Group British Red Cross Youth Group Waterside Arts Centre Community Foundation for Greater Manchester Consortium for Participatory Arts Learning (CPAL ) North West Playwrights Nu Xpression Zion Arts Centre

Exodus Greater Manchester Refugee Arts Partnership

Community Arts North West

Annual Report 2010 –2011

Community Arts North West

Exodus Events

Exodus Festival 2010

“ Fantastic feel, great to have a refugee friendly space in the city centre. High quality music, performance. Really worth travelling for ( from Birmingham) .”

Albert Square and Manchester Town Hall

Festival attendee

“ The workshops were brilliant and I loved the bands. Such a good event bringing people together from all different groups and walks of life and all having fun and sharing something. It’s such a good way of cutting across any divisions.”

On Sunday 18th July, the ninth Exodus Festival took Manchester by storm. Situated in the prime location of Manchester Town Hall and Albert Square, the Exodus Festival brought the best of live world music and culture to the heart of Manchester. Audience feedback reflected that this was the best Exodus Festival yet with attendance of 12,000 significantly higher than previous years. This dynamic one day extravaganza celebrates Greater Manchester’s diverse refugee communities, a cultural feast with live music and dance, workshops, children’s activities, a festival parade and an array of colourful stalls. Delicious international food from Eritrea, Sudan, DR Congo, Bosnia, Cameroon and Pakistan, always popular with the public, was served by refugee groups.

Festival attendee

“ It’s great to see the Exodus Festival in Albert Square this year. It’s gone from strength to strength over the past few years celebrating the tremendous diversity that we enjoy here in Manchester. It’s a lively and creative family-friendly event which people of all ages will enjoy and I strongly encourage everyone to come along and join in the fun.”

Two stages showcased an amazing diversity of music from Tuareg Desert Blues to Afro-Jazz and Reggae; and from Samba to Hip Hop. This year we also had use of Manchester Town Hall, which was transformed into a colourful ‘souk -style’ atmosphere with stalls, face-painting, Chinese Lantern-making, a photography portrait workshop and lots more.

Councillor Mike Amesbury, Manchester City Council

12,000 people attended our festival last year

staff 33 15 23 and 27 volunteers

32 countries

groups

MAKING WORKSHOPS

work

shops

performance

7 food stalls

93 18 craft individual performers

information stalls

92 pARTICIPANTS

IN SITE DÉCOR AND PARADE

770 AND ARTS WORKSHOPS ON THE DAY pARTICIPANTS

IN DANCE, MUSIC

“ Our dad is working nights but insisted on taking us into Manchester on the bus to catch the excitement. We loved the music, costumes, dancing, food (Bosnian curry,...... yum, yum). The best bit of the day was the willow sculpture activity. With Yasmin’s help we made some beautiful butterflies that are hanging in our bedroom.” Six year old festival attendee

Exodus Festival Site décor programme A particular highlight of the Exodus Festival was the beautiful site decoration which included colourful parasols, banners and willow shapes produced by six groups from Greater Manchester in the lead up to the festival.

Community Arts North West

Annual Report 2010 –2011

Community Arts North West

“I had the chance of talking about myself, about our group and experiences as migrant women.”

Exodus Onstage Refugee Theatre

Participant

“We enjoyed being part of a women’s programme, made us feel special.”

Festival 2010

Participant

“Sometimes putting oneself in somebody’s shoes is the most effective way to create awareness and be sensitive to people, human beings. I was affected by the experience and this was theatre.” Audience feedback Another Country In 2010, CAN produced the second Exodus Onstage Refugee Theatre Festival involving theatre and performance events taking place in several major theatre venues across Greater Manchester including the Royal Exchange Studio, Contact Theatre, the Lowry, and Zion Arts Centre. The festival featured a launch, twelve productions, two exhibitions, a conference and a practitioner’s seminar. Two productions also transferred to London after performances at The Lowry. The season encompassed a wide diversity of themes and ideas as well as theatre and performance, from the hard-hitting, Another Country, which led audiences on the journey undertaken by a refugee; to Souk Kitchen, a women’s food and theatre installation where the audience were actively encouraged to actively take part in the performance.

As a whole, Exodus Onstage involved 340 participants, 114 artists and played to 3,637 audience members with an additional 670 people participating in workshops. Many of the performances sold out or played to full audiences in spite of the recession blues, evidencing a strong appetite for theatre exploring human rights and related issues. Audience feedback reflected the power of the productions in communicating experiences that are often overlooked or misrepresented. Exodus Onstage also gained good media coverage with 45+ pieces in local newspapers, online articles, radio features, e-newsletters and national coverage in The Guardian.

“So overwhelming, thrilling. The most powerful piece of ‘theatre’ I’ve ever experienced.”

Souk Kitchen was an ambitious and exciting food and theatre installation where refugee and host community women shared their vibrant cultures through music, dance, singing, food, fashion, digital media textiles and visual arts.

Audience feedback Another Country

“It was really powerful, not only in the things that it told us, but also in the way that it told us. As a piece of theatre, it was very moving.” Audience feedback Another Country Photography: Shaw & Shaw

Exodus on stage partners

Souk Kitchen engaged with 62 women participants aged 25–70 from over 13 global nationalities in a series of mini-projects leading towards the creation of a live-performance in October 2010. The final production, staged at Zion Arts Centre as part of Exodus Onstage, was a magical afternoon of cooking, eating, poetry, dancing, singing, music and storytelling. It was a memorable and heartwarming event that left a lasting impact on all those involved.

Community Arts North West

Annual Report 2010 –2011

Community Arts North West

Exodus Onstage

Another Country

Speakeasy Exodus Live Speakeasy Exodus Live was developed in response to frequent requests for artistic development opportunities from refugee and asylum-seeker poets throughout the Exodus programme. It brought together novice and experienced refugee and asylumseeker writers and poets with experienced performance poets and musicians from the Speakeasy Collective, to create a spoken word, music theatre performance under the direction of theatre practitioner, Steven Luckie.

Another Country was an artist development programme for experienced refugee artists to work alongside host community artists and a professional theatre director. The project aimed to explore the nature of belonging, profound displacement and re-attachment in relationship to people and place using diverse artforms including music, poetry, theatre and multi-media. Another Country involved a collaborative workshop process over two months for eight artists from diverse backgrounds leading to a sell-out performance at Zion Arts Centre as part of Exodus Onstage in November 2010. This process provided a unique development opportunity for the artists to experiment with new forms and to learn about each other’s background and experience. The project also engaged with a diverse group of volunteers as performers and ushers including students

Eight workshops led to a final performance at The Royal Exchange Theatre Studio as part of Exodus Onstage which saw 13 artists perform their work. With over 89 attendances, the performance sold-out in advance, with both audience and participant feedback expressing a strong desire for more work of this kind in the future.

from Manchester University’s Applied Theatre department. These volunteers brought in additional skills and expertise and proved to be crucial to the show’s success. The final performance was an exciting and thought-provoking piece of immersive theatre which led audience members on the journey of an asylum-seeker fleeing persecution. During this journey, audience members were blindfolded, taken outside and left standing in the rain, shouted at and told to kneel down. The piece utilised the venue in creative ways making use of outdoor service areas and basements to create a sense of urgency and dislocation. Another Country had a profound effect on audiences and elicited active post-show discussion about themes relating to asylum. The piece was subsequently selected to perform as part of the national decibel showcase in 2011.

“Original and thought-provoking performance. The fact that the audience actually takes part brings more questions to mind than if we were just watching similar developments from a distance.” Audience member

“Beautiful, heartfelt, inspiring music and poetry.” Audience member

Hymns for the Drowning

One Night There

Hymns for the Drowning explored the unique stories of survival of Sri Lankan Tamils living in Greater Manchester, with the aim of illuminating the past and present and enriching the lives of the participants.

One Night There is a theatre piece exploring the specific pressures and issues faced by Kurdish women both in Kurdistan and as refugees in other countries. Written by Kurdistan Art and Culture member, Bhean Ali, the piece was originally developed and premiered in Kurdish at CAN’s Tower of Babel event at Contact Theatre in March 2010.

Artistic Director of Rasa Theatre, Rani Moorthy facilitated a series of workshops with Tamil community members leading to the development of a series of monologues. A sharing of work in progress was performed by Rani at Nexus Art Café as part of Exodus Onstage 2010. The event combined live performance with news footage and videos of participants’ stories, and was presented in a relaxed, cabaretstyle format, where interaction between performer and audience was encouraged. Hymns for the Drowning successfully engaged with, and shared the experiences of one of Greater Manchester’s hidden communities.

“Moving with light touches – ‘entertaining’, thought-provoking.” Audience member

Following a number of successful performances in the Kurdish Autonomous Zone in Iraq during Summer 2010, an English language version of the play was developed for Exodus Onstage 2010 by playwright Crystal Stewart, in collaboration with the playwright Bhean Ali, Kurdistan Art and Culture and North West Playwrights. This English language version was directed by Borhan Mohammadi and involved some of the original Kurdish cast members and two British female actors. One Night There had two well-received performances at Waterside Arts Centre as part of Exodus Onstage 2010. A post-show discussion with the actors, writer, translator and the director created a lively forum for audience members to engage with and explore issues raised by the play. One Night There was subsequently selected to perform at Manchester’s 2011 Re:play Festival.

Community Arts North West

Annual Report 2010 –2011

Exodus Onstage

Practitioner Seminars

Partnership productions In addition to CAN’s dynamic programme of work, Exodus Onstage 2010 was joined by a wide range of partners in producing and delivering the festival. Amnesty International Manchester hosted a range of events as part of their Freedom from Fear Burma Campaign including Northern International Theatre’s The Burma Play.

The first seminar, facilitated by Rani Moorthy and Janine Waters explored issues pertinent to practitioners who are engaged in theatre work with diaspora communities, including the ethics of storytelling.

Feelgood Theatre Productions also presented the World Premiere performance of Slave – A Question of Freedom which transferred to London following a successful run as part of Exodus Onstage 2010. An International Conference exploring themes linked to Slave – A Question of Freedom, was produced by Feelgood Theatre Productions and The University of Salford. WAST’s (Women Asylum Seekers Together) thought-provoking play, How I Became an Asylum Seeker was performed at this conference, before transferring to the Riverside Studios in London.

The second seminar, facilitated by In Place of War featured an international real-time video link providing delegates with the unique opportunity to connect and exchange ideas with theatre practitioners in DRC, Kosovo and Sudan. Themes included the creation of theatre in places of conflict and the use of theatre to resist oppression.

The Royal Exchange Theatre’s Exchange Education also produced Into the Blue, an evening of brand new, devised theatre by World Wide Workshop and the Medical Foundation Drama Group in association with In Place of War.

CAN worked in partnership with In Place of War and individual practitioners to hold the Breaking the Silence Practitioner’s Seminars exploring themes related to the Exodus Onstage 2010 programme.

Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST)

During 2010–2011, CAN continued to work with WAST, building on the successful development of Lydia Besong’s powerful play, How I Became an Asylum Seeker during 2009. The play raises awareness of the plight of women within the asylum system and has galvanised significant local and national public support around the issues raised. How I Became an Asylum Seeker was performed at The Voices of Slavery, Asylum and Freedom Conference organised by Salford University and Feelgood Theatre at the Lowry as part of Exodus Onstage 2010. Subsequently the play was hosted at Break the Silence, a public event at Riverside Studios hosted by London WAST and supported by actor Juliet Stevenson. The play performed to a packed audience and received a standing ovation. In addition to developing the play, CAN also worked in partnership with Musicians without Borders to support the WAST Nightingales Choir with whom we delivered 12 workshops working with over 30 women attending each session. This has established WAST Nightingales as a performance choir and gives them flexibility in the future to tour the work nationally as part of their talks and workshops. The choir performed at the Exodus Festival 2010 and the launch of Testimony’s Nitaishi CD at Band on the Wall in September 2010.

“It was inspiring to hear the stories of these women refugees and to witness their remarkable courage and creativity.” Juliet Stevenson

Community Arts North West

Annual Report 2010 –2011

Community Arts North West

The Heart and Soul of It Exodus Participatory Arts Programmes

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 programme that the real development takes place, where people can tell us about their lives, concerns and creative aspirations. In 2010/11, CAN produced 37 participatory arts programmes of work, 22 of which were based in Manchester and 15 in Greater Manchester. Many of the projects were linked to Exodus events, particularly Exodus Onstage 2010 which enabled us to showcase and give profile to developed work. Amongst the dynamic and exciting projects that CAN delivered during 2010/11, some clear themes emerged. CAN continued to support asylum-seeking and refugee women to achieve their creative aspirations. Programmes of work such as Souk Kitchen, and work with Testimony and WAST, sought to address the specific barriers women refugees face whilst providing them with positive and engaging arts opportunities.

The LGBT Refugee Arts Programme was created in response to the lack of arts provision for gay and lesbian refugees and asylum seekers, many of whom find it difficult to express their identity within the established refugee support networks. CAN worked in partnership with Queer Up North, Gay in the UK (supported by volunteers from Refugee Action) and the Lesbian Asylum and Immigration Support Group (supported by volunteers from the Lesbian Community Project) to deliver this important pilot programme. Funding from the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales enabled us to deliver a Refugee Digital Media Inclusion programme reaching out to 149 people from refugee and host community backgrounds. As part of this programme, CAN delivered two creative projects and 12 days of digital media training offering practical support from a digital technician and access to the media lab and resources.

Exodus Participatory Arts Projects Exodus Participatory Arts Programme in Manchester Exodus Beat Jam: Band on the Wall Gay in the UK Video Animation Workshops: Refugee Action, Northern Quarter Hide and Seek Media Project: Green Fish Resource Centre Speakeasy Music Development and Exodus Live: Royal Exchange Studio Another Country: Artist Development and Immersive Theatre Piece, Zion Arts Centre Souk Women’s Food Coop Mini-Project: St Andrews House, Wythenshaw Souk Eritrean Women’s Group Mini-Project: Zion Arts Centre

Exodus Festival Site Decoration Project: George House Trust, Rainbow Haven (Gorton) Eagles Wings (Bury), British Red Cross Youth Group (Bolton), Peacemakers (Oldham), British Red Cross (Bolton)

Souk Women from the Far West Mini-Project: Roby Community Centre, Longsight

NU X-Pression Theatre Company with young people from Manchester, Rochdale, Bolton and Salford. Green Fish Resource Centre, Nexus Art Café, Manchester

Souk Testimony Mini-Project: Venture Centre, Beswick

Digital Media Training Programme: Green Fish Resource Centre, Manchester.

Souk Ensemble Community Kitchen: St George’s Community Centre, Collyhurst Souk Jamaican Folk Ensemble: Zion Arts Centre

Exodus Participatory Arts Programme in Greater Manchester

Souk British Red Cross Mini-Project: WISP Group, Ada House

Rainbow Haven Choir (Salford)

WAST Nightingales Choir: Ada House

Bury Art Gallery Film Project (Bury)

Exodus Film Jam: Green Fish Resource Centre, Mad Lab and Anthony Burgess Foundation

Hope African Film Project: Stannyfield Community Centre (Middleton)

Testimony CD Project and Launch: Green Fish Resource Centre and Band on the Wall

TAFWA Film Project (Tameside)

Hymns for the Drowning: Creative development with the Tamil community, Green Fish Resource Centre and Nexus Arts Café The Machine Speaks in 3D: Green Fish Resource Centre, Zion Arts Centre, Contact Theatre

CAN produced in total 37 participatory arts programmes of work

Exodus Participatory Arts Programme in Manchester and Greater Manchester

Peacemakers Outreach Workshops: Peacemakers Manchester

Red Cross Men’s Group Taster Sessions (Trafford)

NESTAC Drumming and Dancing Workshops 2010 (Rochdale)

Rafiki Digital Media Project (Wigan) Hyde Bangladeshi Welfare Association (Tameside) Virtual Migrants Digital Training Project One Night There: Kurdistan Arts and Culture Theatre production (Trafford)

Community Arts North West

Annual Report 2010 –2011

Community Arts North West

Exodus live

Exodus Film Jam

Exodus Beat Jam Exodus Beat Jam has been developed by CAN and the Beating Wing Orchestra as a major new project utilising learning from the Exodus Jam Band pilot project run by CAN in December 2009. Exodus Beat Jam provided singers, poets, MCs and musicians with a rare opportunity to experiment, collaborate and perform together. The standard of performance, sense of achievement and feedback from audiences showed a marked development for the participating musicians. Three child-friendly Sunday Jam events were delivered alongside partners, Band on the Wall, as well as a performance at the Exodus Festival 2010 where the Exodus Jam Band entertained over 12,000 people.

“Thank you for the opportunity to be involved in this. I really enjoyed working as a member of a team and I loved our film.” Participant

“Now that we have learnt all these technical things we have more confidence to make our own movie.” Participant

Wigan WOW The Wigan One World Festival ( WOW) is celebrated annually in Wigan borough and is organised by Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust. In 2010, CAN was approached to programme an Exodus Live stage for WOW. CAN programmed six prominent bands and soloists from the Exodus programme giving performers the unique opportunity to reach out to new audiences, whilst raising the profile of refugee and other diverse communities living in Wigan. Approximately 2,000 audience members attended the festival.

“By practicing film-making with technically experienced people I am a lot more confident.” Participant

Exodus Film Jam emerged from the Exodus Shorts Film programme of previous years. The project gave new and emerging film-makers from refugee, asylum seeker and a range of other backgrounds the unique opportunity to shoot a film over a weekend. Over the course of a week 18 enthusiasts wrote, filmed and edited 10 stylistically and thematically diverse short films. The Film Jam structure worked really well creating a sense of camaraderie amongst participants and enabling them to act in, direct and support each other’s projects. The final films were screened at the Anthony Burgess Foundation in February 2011.

Community Arts North West

Annual Report 2010 –2011

“This project is giving me confidence to achieve my best. The Machine Speaks in 3D is going to be wow!” Participant

NESTAC Dancing and

Drumming Workshops

Community Arts North West

“I never used to mix with the African kids on the estate, but now we play out together sometimes.” Participant

New Step for African Communities (NESTAC) is a refugee-led community organisation who run educational and cultural activities for African and local communities in Falinge, a deprived estate in Rochdale.

The Machine Speaks in 3D

Exodus Participatory Arts Programmes for Young People The Machine Speaks in 3D was developed and produced as part of the Nu Britannia Youth Showcase for Exodus Onstage 2010. Following an outreach campaign to various groups and organisations, a group of 14 culturally diverse young people aged between 16–25 emerged. These young people worked intensively over the course of 22 workshops with directors Matthew Goodall and Sarah Sayeed, to produce an exciting multi-media production featuring hip-hop, dance, theatre, film and multi-media elements exploring young people’s attitudes to technology. The final production was performed at Contact Theatre as part of Exodus Onstage 2010. The second strand of the project included a young producer’s development programme to assist emerging young and diverse producers. Three of the young people involved in this programme had been involved in the Exodus-developed Nu Xpressions group thereby providing a further development opportunity for these diverse young people. A third strand of the project, featured a series of outreach workshops for 15 young refugees and asylum-seekers from Peacemakers in Manchester. These outreach sessions gave young participants access to a series of drama, music and African drumming taster workshops.

CAN have a longstanding relationship with NESTAC and have sustained artistic activity with the group resulting in mutual trust and good social and artistic outcomes.

Following successful delivery of African and Street Dance workshops, choreographer Magdalen Bartlett and trainee workshop leaders supported children and young people of African and British heritage to create an African and Street Dance performance. The resulting piece was performed at The Heywood Civic Centre in Rochdale during July 2010 and at Contact Theatre as part of the Nu Britannia Youth

Showcase during November 2010. Both performances provided an exciting opportunity for the young people to showcase their creativity and share something of their culture in professional venues. This increased the young participants’ confidence and team-working skills and widened their aspirations. A particular success of the project was that it brought children from White British and African heritage backgrounds together.

Rafiki Rafiki is a recreational, cultural and educational support group run by Wigan Youth Service for refugees and migrant young people aged between 12–20 years. Exodus has developed creative work with Rafiki since 2006 resulting in high quality artistic outputs and huge personal outcomes for the participants. CAN delivered a programme of digital arts, script-writing and performance activities from November 2009–March 2011 involving 19 young people from a range of refugee and asylum-seeker backgrounds. Two of the young people were also employed as supporting artists on the project providing them with a unique development opportunity.

The programme resulted in two high-quality creative products; a short documentary-drama film, Classique FM touching on issues of race and conflict, and a short comedy film, Dress Your Heart Out. Both were screened/performed to a large audience as part of the Nu Britannia Youth Showcase at Contact Theatre during November 2010. The projects also helped participants to develop confidence, English language skills, political awareness and independence as well as providing a safe space for the group to share ideas and have fun.

“The film project was a good opportunity for bringing everyone together in Rafiki... I gained confidence after standing up in front of lots of people at the theatre and doing a presentation and acting out a scene.” Participant

Community Arts North West

Annual Report 2010 –2011

The unseen work

Orchestra

maclade

bezy british red cross

wisp

peacemaker

eritrean women’s

group

The Toolkit

bangladesh

Toolkit Training sessions took place in the final quarter of the financial year 2010 –11. They included: workshop leaderships Skills; Emergency First Aid at Work; CVs, Job Applications & Interview Skills and How to Set Up a Creative Enterprise.

organisation

The Toolkit website continued to be a useful source of information for people planning & running community arts projects. There were 2,317 visits by 1,926 unique visitors between April 2010 & March 2011.

ensemble

community

kitchen

Artsnet www.artsnetmanchester.co.uk artsnet-manchester@googlegroups.com The final issue of the quarterly Artsnet e-newsletter and hard-copy newsletter was produced in April 2011, as funding for the Artsnet Manchester project came to a close. Artsnet has been an invaluable resource for Manchester based artists, groups and organisations, enabling people to publicise their work and connect up to the city’s creative networks, employment and training information and other opportunities.

women’s

food coop

Raising Standards www.thetoolkit.net

welfare

In 2010/11 support was given to the following groups:

hide and seek

Information and Training

hope africans

Beating Wing

Community Arts North West

Testimony

danto

aiya

women asylum

seekeers

together

The subscriber lists of the Artsnet Googlegroup & Facebook groups continue to grow and are used on a daily basis by members for sharing information about events, job opportunities and training. CAN also maintain an online presence on other social networking sites such as Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube. The Artsnet Twitter account has grown to 2,844 followers.

Incubation and Capacity Building CAN continued to support groups and individuals in the development of their own cultural organisations and activities, resulting in a wider range of creative outcomes. This work represents an often invisible, but nonetheless important aspect of the company’s work that the CAN staff team are passionate about.

We were able to continue to support Artsnet networking and information exchange; professional development services; and support for groups and individuals through our online information services.

Kurdistan art and culture

women from the

far west

A number of CAN video clips, including work produced through Exodus Onstage 2010 are available to view on www.youtube.com/user/CommunityArtsNW and the CAN MySpace page at www.myspace.com/communityarts.

Community Arts North West

Annual Report 2010 –2011

Financial Matters

A full copy of the 2010/11 audited accounts for Community Arts North West 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

Allocation of Income and Expenditure

Other

Income

Core Grants

£3,847

£205,575

Community Arts North West

Acknowledgements Board of Directors Julie McCarthy – Chair

Governance

Martin Hazlehurst – Treasurer

£11,181

Marla Cunningham

Gurdeep Thiara

Rhonda Finlayson

John Wallace

Yvonne Hepburn-Foster

Janine Waters

Trupti Patel

Building costs

& Admin

£61,006

Income

Company Secretary Angela Bezer Board Observers Janet Leach – Association of Greater Manchester Authorities

Core staff & contract

services

£144,952

Louise Sutton – Manchester City Council

Expenditure

Angela Chappell – Arts Council England Staff Team Cilla Baynes MBE – Creative Director Angela Bezer – General Manager Faye Salisbury – Arts Development Manager Katherine Rogers – Exodus Coordinator

Project costs Project Grants

£305,479

£274,232

Dave Morris – Finance Worker Adelle Robinson – CAN Information Worker Ian Marsh – Exodus Artistic Manager – Greater Manchester Sarbjit Kaur – Administrative Assistant Segun Lee-French – Exodus Artistic Manager – Manchester Yasmin Yaqub – Lead Artistic Manager Dot Lomax – Cleaner

Community Arts North West

Annual Report 2009-2010

Artists and Creatives who have contributed to the 2010/11 Artistic Programme Abas El-Janabi • Aidan Jolly • Aisha Lourenco • Ajah UK • Akiel Chinelo • Akinyemi Oludele • Alan Oatley • Alison Jeffers • Alison Vaas • Amanda Milligan • Anita Whitehead • Anthony Watt • Arsene Bamba Essabe • Asian Music Talent • Azeldin El-Sharif • Beating Wing Orchestra • Becky Dibben • Bezy Maclade • Bhean Ali • Billal Mahmood Bloco Novo • Borhan Mohammadi • Buzz Bury • Chanje Kunda • Cheryl Martin • Chris Nelson • Chris Whitwood • Claire O’Rourke • Clive Hunte • Crystal Stuart • D.R.I.M • Danto Aiya • Darren Gordon • Dave Morris • Dave Norton • Dawn Crandell • Debra King • Dedam Abdullah • Deene Brown • Dems de la Paix • Diane Rickerby • Educated Thugz! / Skool 4 Hard Knox • Ejovi • Elmi Ali • Emma Ryan • Emmanuel Bajiiji • Emmanuela Yogolelo • Ephremme Gezaie • Exodus Beat Jam • Fage Koroma • Gbenga Afolabi • Gemma Lees • Gift Nyoni • Glenn Sharp • Greg Akehurst • Hannah Bold Helen Davis • Helen Jenkins • Heritage Survival • Holly Prest • Iranian Music Box • Jack Quarshie • Jade Greyul • Jaheda Choudhury • James Gill • James Walmsley • Jane Barrek • Janine Bull • Jason Lock • Jaydev Mistry • Jean Azip Blanchard Jeff Thompson • Jenny Vickers • Jess Penny • Joey Hateley • Kalayasasa • Kashif Ali • Kokoriko • Kuljit S Chuhan Lawrence Reekie • Lee Kirby • Letwin Berebende • Lis Murphy • Lucas Martin Buigues • Lugemba Mackela • Luke Marsh Lydia Besong • Lydia Hirst • Magdalen Bartlett • Manchester Chinese Centre • Mario Posada • Matthew Dennis Matthew Xia • Mauro Camal • Mazaher Rafshajani • Mbackeh Darboe • Mete Dursun • Mike Atkinson • Miselo Kunda Monique Chiappi • Musicians Without Borders • Natalie Persoglio • Nawzad Mahmood • Nicki Dupuy • Nouvelle Alliance • Owono Essono • Pakistani Refugee Organisation • Pauline Lozoya Hocking • Prosper Donnir • Rachel Brogan Rachel Horley • Rani Moorthy • Raphael Sherriff • Richard Ramchurn • Robin Downe • Sarbjit Kaur • Sabinah Shah Sahera Parveen • Sara Teiger • Sarah Gbeleyi • Sarah McKenzie • Sarah Sayeed • Selina MacMillean • Sashwati Meera Sengupta • Serge Tebu • Shaheda Choudhury • Shirlaine Forrest • Shko Juanrow Aziz • Sidiki Dembele • Sonia Hughes Sophie Willan • Steven Luckie • Stewart Kelly • Testimony • Tochino Cornwell Tolu • V Trix • WAST Nightingales Wendy Meadley • Ya Freddy • Yusra Warsama • Yvonne McCalla • Zhou Juan

A big thank you to all of 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 Photography by: Shaheda Choudhury, Shirlaine Forrest, Jason lock, Segun Lee-French, Lee Kirby Designed by Reform Creative www.reformcreative.co.uk