Kent Creative Awards 2016 - Programme by Kent Creative

Kent Creative

Awards In association with

Ashford School 18th May 2016 Alexander Centre Faversham

Contents

Contents:

page:

Foreword

Introduction

Our Sponsors

Our Judges

3D Art & Objects

8-9

Design

10-11

Visual Arts

12-13

Audiovisual

14-15

Performing Arts

16-17

Publishing

18-19

Event of the Year

20-21

Venue of the Year

22-23

Creative Business of the Year

24-25

Arts Organistion of the Year

26-27

Creative Champion of the Year

28-29

Special Mentions

30-31 3

Focused, capable AND

exceptionally creative at problem solvinG Are your children seizing lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s adventures? Scholarships are available for entry into Years 5, 7, 9 and 12 in September 2017

Pick up the phone and speak to us at Ashford School

01233 739030 registrar@ashfordschool.co.uk Adventurous Learning

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FOREWORD We, at Ashford School, are sponsoring the Kent Creative Awards because creativity and artistic endeavour are at the heart of what we believe are vital for all young people to explore; because these experiences are transformative and involve, as they do, a deep personal enlightenment on the part of the young person, a greater understanding of who they are and how they ﬁt into the world; and because the arts are being increasingly squeezed out of some schools. Participation in and appreciation of drama, music and art are amongst the most powerfully transformative experiences you can have because they

require you to express yourself. I heartily congratulate all those who were brave enough to put themselves forward to be judged. There were many imaginative, exciting and, above all, creative entries. I am sure the creative life and juices of Kent will grow and flourish as a result of these Awards.

Mike Buchanan Head of Ashford School

A CELEBRATION OF ARTS AND CULTURE IN KENT

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Culture is at the heart of happy communities. It lifts our spirits and offers crucial opportunities that contribute to our wellbeing and quality of life. Arts and culture in Kent raise the proﬁle of the county; places with a strong cultural identity attract tourism, bring in more visitors and energize the local economy.

With Kent Creative Arts CIC, our goal is to encourage and promote creativity, enable community engagement, support professional development and maximise the impact of the arts and culture on the wider community of Kent. These ﬁrst Kent Creative Awards have been set up to celebrate those who help maintain and develop the creative sector in our county. The event rewards contributions to the cultural world of Kent from individuals and organisations that embrace creativity, promoting creative talent in Kent. The aim is to inspire, encourage artistic excellence and motivate entrepreneurship in the creative sector. To build and foster an arts based community, we need to focus on relationships; it’s all about people, so we are here tonight to help build a

thriving community for creative people in Kent.

This event would not have been possible without the support of our headline sponsor Ashford School, our category sponsors the FSB Kent & Medway (Federation of Small Businesses), Shepherd Neame, Stormchasers Digital and support sponsor Mad Creative. Some sponsors have asked to remain anonymous and we’d like to thank them too. Our thanks also go to the 16 judges who went through 144 submissions between them, with the difﬁcult task of selecting 11 winners. Finally, we thank everyone who entered their work. The variety and quality of what we have seen in the submissions is remarkable. We look forward to celebrating Kent creative talent again next year. Nathalie Banaigs Director of Kent Creative Arts CIC

www.kentcreativearts.co.uk

OUR SPONSORS HEADLINE SPONSOR

Ashford School is one of the UK’s leading coeducational, independent schools and was voted Independent School of the Year 2010/11. The School was endorsed as outstandingly successful in every category during the most recent inspection in 2014. Through its adventurous approach to learning its aim is to ensure children are ambitious, articulate and conﬁdent, with excellent social skills and a secure moral framework and, at the end of their time, gain a place at the school, university or college of their choice. www.ashfordschool.co.uk

CATEGORY SPONSOR

Stormchasers Digital

The digital agency getting creatives onto the best online platforms to publish amazing content, sell their work and measure performance. Websites, Social Media, Newsletters, Google Analytics, and SEO. All with a sprinkle of special sauce. Whatever your budget, come and have a chat. www.askstormchasers.co.uk

CATEGORY SPONSOR

The Federation of Small Businesses is the UK’s largest campaigning pressure group promoting and protecting the interests of the self-employed and small business owners. The Kent & Medway Region is structured differently than other regions as it has adopted a team of ten Members. These Members are elected annually by the Kent & Medway Membership and each have a different role to promote business opportunities, equality, policy, local advocacy, events, training and engagement with stakeholders. FSB Kent and Medway regional chairman Bill Fox says: ” The Federation of Small Businesses, the UK’s leading business organisation, focuses on supporting the selfemployed and small businesses across the UK. With the launch of the Kent Creative Awards, the FSB have taken the opportunity to support the creative sector in Kent and Medway, and we hope that this event will make a signiﬁcant contribution to the creative businesses in our region. ‘ www.fsb.org.uk

CATEGORY SPONSOR

Shepherd Neame is Britain’s Oldest Brewer, based in Faversham, Kent, since 1698. It is a family business with strong family engagement. The Whitstable Bay Collection is named after the traditional ﬁshing village of Whitstable; renowned for its annual Oyster Festival, village life and unique beaches. Shepherd Neame chief executive Jonathan Neame says: “We are delighted to sponsor the Cultural Venue of The Year category in the ﬁrst Kent Creative Awards. Arts and culture contribute hugely to our community and economy, and here in Kent we have a particularly strong creative sector. These awards are a fantastic way of celebrating those talented individuals who help maintain and develop our county’s cultural success.” www.shepherdneame.co.uk

Creative design agency based in Maidstone. www.wearemadcreative.com

OUR JUDGES

Christine Allum. Deputy Head & Director of Teaching and Learning. Ashford School

Brian Aris. One of the leading celebrity photographers working in Britain

Mike Buchanan. Head of Ashford School

Sarah Dance. Freelance arts consultant; Project Director of Culture Kent; Chair of Kentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cultural Transformation Board

Bill Fox. Chairman of the FSB Kent and Medway

John Hall. Director of Music, Ashford School

Bay Lees. Artist; Former Head of Arts at Ashford School

Amicia de Moubray. Journalist and author Patron of Kent Creative Arts CIC

Moray Neame. Communications executive, Shepherd Neame

Jaye Nolan. Director of the Rochester Literature Festival

Jo Nolan, MD at Screen South

Will Palin. Architectural writer & Conservation Director at the Old Royal Naval College.

Antony Penrose..Photographer and Director of the Lee Miller Archive and Penrose Collection at Farley Farm House.

Victoria Pomery. Director of Turner Contemporary

Deborah Turner. Founder of YOU Image Consultancy. FSB Champion for Women in Business

Richard Yeates. Head of Prep School, Ashford School

3D Art & Objects

Kate Linforth

Joan Mac Karell

HIVE was a temporary, mobile installation intended to target all our senses; viewers were invited to touch and smell the work, made from Kentish beeswax. The beeswax was cleaned and cast into ecclesiastical patterned tiles inspired by the beautiful floor in Rochester Cathedral. The tiles were mounted onto

In her enamel jewellery pieces, Joan evokes fragments of childhood memories spent on the Atlantic coast of Donegal. These often explore the influence of the natural world, the geology of the Boglands and the symbolism of animals and plants. Joan also designs boxes, vessels and undertakes public commissions. Over the last few years she has been part of a team designing large-scale escapement clocks such as the extraordinary Corpus Christi clock in Cambridge. In addition, as one of 7 artists, she runs a gallery in the Oxo Tower, London, a venue that showcases the work of other international artists who use diverse media and techniques. The aim is to support young graduates by providing exhibition space in the gallery. She is currently involved in teaching apprentices at the Goldsmith’s Centre, London. www.joanmackarell.co.uk

reclaimed doors alongside blank tiles which were carved by members of the public. The project was environmentally low impact and when the installation was taken apart the doors were sold and the wax tiles were returned to the beekeepers. HIVE was funded by Ideas Test. My intention is to tile an entire room in beeswax. The honey coloured wax will insulate sound, smell and feel wonderful. www.katelinforth.co.uk

Salt Design – Stella Chapman & Victoria Johnstone Salt is a brand design consultancy founded by Stella Chapman and Victoria Johnstone after 18 years in the London creative industry. We work with clients to tell their story through meaningful and memorable branding. Creating a visitor experience for the 2015 Folkestone Book Festival was an exciting opportunity. We transformed the Quarterhouse theatre into a celebration of writing with a four metre bespoke papercut installation as the centrepiece, representing the creative process of writing – the snowstorm of ideas that fall and settle on the page. We were proud to work with the Creative Foundation to promote creativity in the local community. www.saltdesign.uk

Design

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Newton Paisley Ltd Dr Susanna Paisley I am a conservation biologist and artist. I use textile design to tell stories about real neglected and endangered species. I then create ornate pigmentprinted eco-textiles for interiors. The design submitted for this award is inspired by Dr Suess’s wonderful conservation parable, The Lorax. I have taken his imaginary species and substituted real British plants and animals, most of which are endemic to our precious

Salt Design - Stella Chapman & Victoria Johnstone Salt is a brand design consultancy founded by Stella Chapman and Victoria Johnstone after 18 years in the London creative industry. We work with clients to tell their story through meaningful and memorable branding. Creating a visitor experience for the 2015 Folkestone Book Festival was an exciting opportunity. We transformed the Quarterhouse theatre into a celebration of writing with a four metre bespoke papercut installation as the centrepiece, representing the creative process of writing – the snowstorm of ideas that fall and settle on the page. We were proud to work with the Creative Foundation to promote creativity in the local community. www.saltdesign.uk

Storm Bird Design - Mark Sosbe Mark Sosbe is an experienced graphic designer who established his own freelance design company at the beginning of 2015. Mark has over nine years of professional experience in design for both print and the web. The work shown here is the culmination of a project funded by Ideas Test and Swale Borough Council – 1915: Then And Now. An art history competition for young people in Swale, the work encouraged a creative engagement with both the arts and the history of the area. Mark created and oversaw the entire look of the project. www.stormbirddesign.com

ancient woodlands. As well as raising awareness, for every metre of our fabric sold, 100m2 of wild habitat is preserved. My business, Newton Paisley Ltd, will be launched at London Design Week in September 2016. www.newtonpaisley.com

Visual Arts

James Cockburn

Julia Groves

Thirteen Media LTD - Dean Samed

James Cockburn (St Martin’s) observes then draws the world around him. People and places are what interest him. Whether this be full-on action or peace and quiet he always aims to get to the kernel, the sacred spot, the sine qua non, without which there is nothing. His paintings are undeniably colourful but they are based on precise, even exact, looking. His drawings are direct, full

I use a multidisciplinary approach in my Art practice with a strong research base informed by my experiences working in Horticulture and Community Gardening Projects. My recent focus is on drawing as a mechanism to explore my interests in ethno botany, I also harvest and process plant material for more sculptural pieces. I engage with plants accessed from my local landscape, Community Projects and the National Collection of rare and endangered Conifers at Bedgebury Pinetum. I am a member of Bedgebury Pinetum Florilegium and the Artists Co-operative ‘Making Art Work’. www.juliagroves.co.uk

Dean Samed is a professional cover artist / horror specialist, from Ramsgate. In recent years, he has illustrated the works of many titans in the genre, including Stephen King, Clive Barker and H.P. Lovecraft... and a range of independent publishers and authors internationally. As a lifelong resident of Thanet, Dean is excited about the cultural regeneration of his home district. His regional projects include The Art of Sound with Turner Contemporary / Pie Factory Music, Screamland with Dreamland Margate, and lecture series with the students of Canterbury Christchurch University. Dean holds a ﬁrst-class degree in Digital Media, and is currently studying for his MA in Fine Art (CCCU) - in which he is developing his contemporary art practice. He likes to explore horror, occult, sci-ﬁ and cyberpunk themes in his personal and commercial work. www.deansamed.com

of signiﬁcance, on a knife edge. His ceramics are based on more than thirty years of practice but no-one would say they are carefully crafted: they are alive. www.jamescockburn.co

Audiovisual

Genetic Moo Tim Pickup & Nicola Schauerman Genetic Moo is an art group consisting of creative coding couple Nicola Schauerman and Tim Pickup, based in Margate. We specialise in interactive art using digital technology and coding.

In 2015 we were commissioned by the Wellcome Trust to make an animation about inflammation. We used full body interaction and motion capture. We organised a series of events and invited people to generate original footage: dancers, acrobats, gymnasts, tumblers, cyclists, children and grandparents. We ran events to encourage interest in art and science. We’ve learnt there is an appetite for creative coding workshops for kids. So in 2016, in addition to running events like Bits & Bytes at Dreamland, we have started delivering local workshops. We are looking to team up with Kent based organisations and inspire the future generations of digital artists. www.geneticmoo.com

Emma Pierce

51zero.org – Margherita Gramegna

Motion Graphic designer from Dartford. I have a passion for motion graphics, design and illustration. I spent 3 years studying at Ravensbourne University to get a BA(Hons) in Motion Graphic design and went on to work with short ﬁlm, music videos, wedding videography and graphic design.

Directed by Margherita Gramegna, 51zero promotes artistic co-production and collaboration, bringing to the Kent area international independent artists’ ﬁlm and video as well as providing platforms for expanded moving image practice and support to emerging talent. 51zero activities includes: 51zero/festival that takes place biannually, presenting a programme of international ﬁlm, video and digital arts, screened in alternative venues, outdoor settings and gallery spaces, showcasing emerging and established artists exhibiting alongside students and graduates. 51zero/voyager, an ongoing strand of events, projects and touring activities taking place between festivals, that engages with the communities of Medway, Kent, Northern France and is expanding internationally. www.51zero.org

I created this music video for band ‘Emcave’. The Vocalist Emma Arden wanted to tell the true story of this love song in a unique, innovative and quirky way. Including over 50 images, I animated all of the original vintage prints including a subtle cameo of the band members illustrated by EmCave’s guitarist MaW, that stand out as the only 3D-like moving images within the video. www.emmapiercedesign.com

Performing Arts

Richard Navarro Richard Navarro is an extraordinary singer, songwriter and composer bringing infectious energy and passion to all his live performances and collaborations. Combining lyricism, storytelling and sharp social commentary with violins, keyboards, infectious bass lines, percussion, live looping and - more recently - his own 45-piece choir, his show also features illustrations and animations by bassist and cowriter Nicholas Thurston. The duo are in demand for venues and festival across the UK, with 2016-17 dates including a Spiegeltent show at Edinburgh’s Fringe-by-the-Sea, Greenbelt, Henley and In the Woods festivals, as well as MIDEM Cannes in France, where Richard will be an invited artist this coming June. “FINELY-CRAFTED SONGWRITING” JOAN ARMATRADING “CLASSY” ROBERT PLANT www.richardnavarro.co.uk

Knuckle and Joint Theatre Company - Rebecca O’Brien & Peter Morton Knuckle and Joint was born in 2014 and is run by visual artist Peter Morton and producer Rebecca O’Brien. The Kent based company produces both indoor and outdoor performance that tour both nationally and internationally. Knuckle and Joint has been funded by Medway Council, Ideastap and most recently the Arts Council for their puppet cabaret, The Black Hoods Cabaret, that sold out at the world famous Edinburgh Festival Fringe! We thrive to create wonderfully visceral worlds through our intelligent puppet design and innovative visual theatre. We are fun, passionate and gloriously sarcastic. www.knuckleandjoint.co.uk

Jim Jam Arts - Sue Blakesley & Sadie Hurley Sadie Hurley and Sue Blakesley studied Performing Arts at Canterbury Christ Church University and formed Folkestone-based theatre company, JimJam Arts, soon after their graduation in 2010. Since then, they have created nine major family events in Folkestone’s Coastal Park, run regular theatre and writing projects and even opened a ‘Happiness Bank’. Last December saw the launch of their biggest project yet, The Folkestone Living Advent Calendar. This 24 day festival of music, drama, dance, opera, storytelling, puppetry, poetry and more is a ﬁrst in Kent. It involved all sections of the community and created a heart-warming festive spirit in the town. www.jimjamarts.wix.com/jimjamarts

Publishing sponsored by Stormchasers Digital

Stormchasers Digital

The Middlesized Garden Blog Alexandra Campbell

Wordsmithery - Sam Fentiman-Hall & Barry Fentiman

I’m an author, blogger and I coach writers and bloggers. My passion is writing (books, articles, posts...) and helping other writers to fulﬁll their creative ambitions. My garden blog, The Middlesized Garden, is No 5 of the UK Top 10 Garden Blogs, and it’s for people whose gardens are larger than a courtyard but smaller than an acre. Posts come out every Sunday morning. www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk

Wordsmithery is a literary arts organisation and micro-publisher run by husband and wife writer team Sam Hall (playwright) and Barry Fentiman (poet). Founded in 2010, its aim is to encourage people to get into writing and reading, and to create interesting literary projects. We specialise in managing literature events and projects, Literature Development, and publishing; and have managed over 100 literary events and projects. We also offer a range of editorial services. Our lit-art anthology ‘An assemblance of judicious heretics’ is the culmination of a large scale collaboration between writers and artists from Kent and beyond. www.wordsmithery.info

WOW Magazine - Emma Dewhurst WOW Kent is an award-winning arts and entertainment magazine featuring the best of What’s On Where. Actress and editor Emma Dewhurst founded WOW in December 2010, growing its initial print circulation of 2,000 to a current high of 10,000 copies. WOW is known for the quality of its features and stunning visuals by Paul Baker (of A Stonesthrow Design). Emma has recently been able to expand WOW’s previously tiny team as the result of WOW’s successful crowdfunding campaign at the end of 2015, via which £35,000 was raised in contributions from the magazine’s amazing community of readers and supporters. www.wowkent.co.uk

Event of the Year

Deal Festival_A4 poster.qxp_Layout 1 27/04/2015 10:52 Page 1

DEAL FESTIVAL www.dealfestival.co.uk

2 weeks of music & the arts in Deal including

FESTIVAL BOX OFFICE 01304 370220 www.theastor.org OPENS 11th MAY

Ukulele Orchestra of GB Grimethorpe Band

Best Fest - People United

Canterbury Festival

Deal Festival

The Best of Us, in association with Newington Big Local Best Fest was a unique neighbourhood arts festival which celebrated the Newington community in October 2015. Along with the support of artist-inresidence, Nova Marshall, Creative Champions have been uncovering stories that reflect the best human characteristics and strengths of people. At Best Fest, over 200 individuals and families took part in arts activities around Newington. Participants told stories of kindness, courage, creativity, humour, hope and spirituality. After completing all the activities they received a gift handmade by members of the local community. www.peopleunited.org.uk/project/the-best-of-us/

Canterbury Festival, Kent’s International Arts Festival, is the highlight of the county’s cultural calendar. Drawing an audience of over 60,000 from the UK and internationally with over 200 events, the programme brings the best of the world’s artists to Canterbury, and shows off the City and its performers to locals and visitors alike. The Festival ﬁlls Canterbury’s historic streets and buildings with a wide range of events spanning Music, Theatre & Dance, Comedy, Cabaret, Science, Circus, Exhibitions, Walks, Talks and family friendly shows. In addition to the Festival period, the team work year round within the community on various projects encouraging talent and delivering workshops. In 2015 over 2,000 children and young people participated in Festival activities. www.canterburyfestival.co.uk

Scott's All Stars DealRonnie Festival is about far more than its summer Primavera Two Gentlemen of Verona festival. We reach deep into education activities, raising Worbey and Farrell awareness, aspiration, opportunities and providing Wiener Kammersymphonie and many more platforms for music making. We special–partnerships leading organisations 26have JUNE 12 JULYwith 2015 including Trinity Laban, The Purcell School, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Turner Contemporary, Kent Music.

Photos: Manu Palomeque

Academy of Ancient Music with Canterbury Cathedral Choir and GSMD

Photo: Katie Garrod

We offer a diverse programme of events which appeals to a wide demographic and especially offer encouragement to young artists at the beginning of their career. We incorporate outdoor theatre, children’s events, walks and visual art into an action packed two weeks. We involve the local community and local artists. www.dealfestival.co.uk

Cultural Venue of the Year

Sponsored by Shepherd Neame

The Alexander Centre

Folkestone Quarterhouse

The Marlowe Theatre

The Alexander Centre Trust is a Community Interest Company set up in 2012 to manage The Alexander Centre in Faversham. As well as providing and maintaining a beautiful heritage building in the centre of the town with facilities to hire for business, social and leisure use; the Trust actively strives to provide and promote cultural activity in the town.

Quarterhouse offers a weekly programme of professional theatre, children and family theatre, comedians, gigs and talks. At the core of Quarterhouse’s work are its plans to build local audiences for contemporary performance, including theatre, dance and work in the public realm. This is being achieved through a series of co-curated festivals taking place throughout the year, developed in partnership with people and organisations in Folkestone. During 2015 Folkestone Quarterhouse made several leaps forward to establish itself as one of Kent’s most important cultural venues. Quarterhouse played a key part in organising community focussed events and co-curated four festivals including Women of the World Folkestone and Normal? Festival of the Brain. Quarterhouse also supported the Six School’s Project working with theatre collective The Paper Birds. www.quarterhouse.co.uk

The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, is one of this country’s leading regional theatres. It presents a broad programme of high-quality performances throughout the year, including visits by companies such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Glyndebourne Opera and leading West End shows. Its Creative Projects team provide an ambitious programme of community workshops, productions and a thriving Marlowe Youth Theatre. It also contributes more than £30million to the local economy of East Kent. www.marlowetheatre.com

Highlights from the past year include curating a series of free lectures by eminent speakers to complement the Magna Carta exhibition; hosting the sell-out music gigs; launching ‘The Alexander Collection’ a new initiative offering free exhibition space to local artists; and showcasing ‘The Door’ an innovative dance piece for 2-6 year olds. www.thealexandercentre.com

Creative Business of the Year Sponsored by the FSB Kent & Medway

Fable & Base

Folk in the Barn

Lilford Gallery

Francesca Baur set up Fable & Base a design led textile studio based in Whitstable. Our beautiful fabrics offer you striking designs printed onto natural materials including linen, hemp and organic cotton. The designs are all printed with eco friendly dyes. My aim is to connect to the natural world and bring the outside inside. Workshops are a part of our collaborative way of working offering walking and foraging print workshops connecting to your natural surroundings. The workshops help you develop a project for your home whether it’s giving new life to old furniture or prints for the home. www.fableandbase.co.uk

Debs Earl, with Folk in the Barn, aims to bring the World’s best Folk/Acoustic artists to beautiful and interesting venues in the East Kent region. To inspire, entertain and enhance the lives of those who come along, and provide stunning settings for artists to perform. We want to explode the perception that ‘Folk music is ‘fuddy duddy, it’s awesome! Now over 3800 followers. Many tell us how much it means to them. Friendships and a community have been created, but with a national and international reputation. It’s put Canterbury on the folk map, artists approach us from all over the world. www.folkinthebarn.co.uk

During the past year in our Palace Street Gallery we have presented exhibitions of works by some of the UK’s leading artists such as Mark Demsteader. Emerging talent like Maria Rivans, Bonnie and Clyde and Garry Pereira as well as an exhibition of works by Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró. We also presented Play Me I’m Yours (Street Pianos) in the city during the Canterbury Festival, as well as curating the Glass Microbiology Exhibition in Canterbury Cathedral. In July 2015 we opened our new gallery in the Creative Quarter in Folkestone and have been heavily collaborating with artists and art organisations in the area. In our Castle Street gallery we have 3 floors of space dedicated to emerging artists and a framing workshop. www.lilfordgallery.com

Arts Organisation of the Year

The Creative Foundation

DAD - Dover Arts Development

The Creative Foundation is an independent visionary arts charity dedicated to enabling the regeneration of Folkestone through creative activity. Working with the people of Folkestone, partners and other stakeholders we are transforming the town making it a better place to live, work, visit and study. Creative Foundation have developed and look after ﬁve key projects and a range of other events. During 2015, Folkestone Creative Quarter achieved an occupancy rate of over 95% and opened two buildings which were instantly occupied by a number of creative businesses and artists. Ten artworks from Folkestone Triennial 2014 were secured. Folkestone Book Festival achieved record numbers. Folkestone Quarterhouse introduced four co-curated community led festivals! www.creativefoundation.org.uk

DAD is a cultural producer. Set up by artists Joanna Jones and Clare Smith, DAD instigates projects of excellence within the visual arts, poetry and music in Dover District, across South East England and Europe.

Jim Jam Arts Sadie Hurley and Sue Blakesley studied Performing Arts at Canterbury Christ Church University and formed Folkestone-based theatre company, JimJam Arts, soon after their graduation in 2010. Since then, they have created nine major family events in Folkestone’s Coastal Park, run regular theatre and writing projects and even opened a ‘Happiness Bank’. Last December saw the launch of their biggest project yet, The Folkestone Living Advent Calendar. This 24 day festival of music, drama, dance, opera, storytelling, puppetry, poetry and more is a ﬁrst in Kent. It involved all sections of the community and created a heartwarming festive spirit in the town. www.jimjamarts.wix.com/jimjamarts

Many of DAD’s projects reflect on the interface between contemporary arts and heritage and the company works with a range of business partners, stakeholders and others in the voluntary sector. In the ten years of its existence, DAD has stayed true to a strategic vision of the role the arts play in placemaking, strengthening communities, improving wellbeing and widening perspectives through creative thinking and actions.” www.dadonline.eu

Creative Champion of the Year

Laura Callaghan Grooms

Wendy Daws

Leah Thorn

Wendy Daws has an inexhaustible interest in people, places and their stories. With 15 years experience designing and delivering creative arts interventions, tailoring activities to suit the needs of those involved, Wendy creates tactile interpretations, enabling blind and partially sighted people to experience art. Wendy strives in her mixed-media practice to empower others to express their creativity. She established a Medway art group for blind and partially sighted people and last year set one up in Gravesend. Her 2004 BA Hons

Leah Thorn is a Folkestone-based spoken word poet. Her recent poetry/ﬁlms, ‘watch’, explore the impact of Alzheimer’s on a father/daughter relationship - are currently being screened at international ﬁlm festivals. Leah has produced ‘release’, an anthology of poems and testimony by and for women in prison, exploring how expressive writing can help to address the distress that underlies self-harm. In 2012 she undertook a Winston Churchill Travel Fellowship, visiting women’s correctional facilities across the USA. In 2013 she received a Royal Society for Public Health Special Commendation Award for her contribution to Creative Arts and the Criminal Justice System. Out of a recent Leverhulme Trust residency on the theme of ageing at the University of Kent and at Canterbury Christ Church University, Leah has created a project entitled ‘Older Women Rock!’ which puts women in their 60’s centre stage and brings together her passion for women’s liberation, poetry and vintage clothing! www.leahthorn.com

Director of Hand on Heart Arts, is a project manager, composer/musician and artist. In her time as Director of HOHA, Laura has had the privilege working alongside some inspiring arts and education organisations including Deal Festival, Philharmonia Orchestra, LPO, Kent Music, SoundCity Brighton & Hove, Surrey Arts, Pedestrian, Musiko Musika, East Midlands Music Education Hubs, and many more besides. www.handonheartarts.com dissertation examined ‘Museum Approaches to Visually Impaired Visitors’. Wendy volunteers with the Kent Association for the Blind. www.wendydaws.co.uk

Stella Chapman & Victoria Johnstone

Special Mentions

for individuals who produce outstanding work and/or have a particular impact on their communities:

Salt is a brand design consultancy founded by Stella Chapman and Victoria Johnstone after 18 years in the London creative industry. We work with clients to tell their story through meaningful and memorable branding.Â Creating a visitor experience for the 2015 Folkestone Book Festival was an exciting opportunity. We transformed the Quarterhouse theatre into a celebration of writing with a four metre bespoke papercut installation as the centrepiece, representing the creative process of writing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the snowstorm of ideas that fall and settle on the page. We were proud to work with the Creative Foundation to promote creativity in the local community. www.saltdesign.uk

Jo Dyer

Joan Mac Karell

Christopher Sacre

Jo Dyer is the founder and Artistic Director of Animate Arts Company - a participatory arts company based in Kent, who have been delivering inspiring and memorable workshops, projects and interactive installations since 2002. As a lead artist on their artistic programme she engages local communities and schools in high-quality, creative projects and experiences, believing passionately that creativity can positively animate everyday lives, bring people together and empower them to get more involved in their community. In recent years Jo has become obsessed with paper and cardboard, exploring how this simple material can create the most magical artworks for audiences. www.animateartscompany.com

I’ve been a visual artist and arts workshop facilitator for the past 16 years. I’m currently based at Nucleus Arts Centre in Chatham. I specialise in providing workshops/ arts activities that are fully accessible to deaf people and their families, and in supporting other facilitators to improve the accessibility of their provision at galleries, museums and other creative events. Thanks to ‘Ideas Test’ and Medway Council I provided a series of ‘COME and CREATE’ art workshops. They used a ‘total communication’ approach with delivery in British Sign Language and spoken English. I’m passionate about improving deaf people’s access to the arts. My vision is for the Arts sector in Kent to become the established leader in providing new and innovative ways of ensuring inclusivity and accessibility for all its residents. www.christophersacre.com

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FSB 343 Regional Advert - A.Parmar.indd 1

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Kent Creative Awards 2016