Woodend Artists AGM Report 2009

WOODEND ARTISTS

AGM REPORT 2008 TO 2009

compiled by Richard Dawson, Chairman

WOODEND ARTISTS UNDERTAKINGS 2008 - 2009 EVENTS INCLUDED: RAGS TO RICHES GIFTED ARTS MARCH ‘09 TWINNING COMMITTEE FRENCH EXCHANGE COTTON ON

WOODEND ARTISTS UNDERTAKINGS 2008 - 2009 EXHIBITIONS IN INCLUDED: MIRACULOUS EMPORIUM OF AMAZING ALTERED BOOK, CENTRAL ART GALLERY, ASHTON* WOODEND SHOWCASE at THE ANGEL GALLERY, SALFORD* EXCHANGE EXHIBITION AT GEORGE LAWTON HALL. MOSSLEY. COTTON ON permanent exhibition *included in “not part of” as part of Manchester INternational Festival.

WOODEND ARTISTS UNDERTAKINGS 2008 - 2009 COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS INCLUDED: RAGS TO RICHES NEW CHARTER 01 NEW CHARTER 02 MOORSIDE COTTON ON

UNDERTAKINGS 2008 – 2009 FURTHER DETAILS EVENTS: Rags to Riches was an ACE funded event based around recycling and creating art from rubbish. Six Woodend Artists undertook community workshops with a variety of local community groups.

The event culminated in an open weekend featuring artwork and installations by various group members. The Miraculous Emporium of Amazing Altered Books was cheater and curated by Sue Platt as part of the event.

Gifted* was an open weekend based around a group show in the mill.

Supported by Warmco Properties and funded by group members the show had over 700 visitors and was a great success.

Arts March ’09 continued our annual open studio event with the addition of artist workshops and demonstrations.

Twinning Committee Exchange artists from the group accompanied members of the twinning committee on a visit to Montingy, France on a cultural exchange. Three pieces of work by Woodend Artists were taken as gifts.

On the return visit Woodend Artists held a one-day group show for the French visitors to enjoy.

Cotton On was an ACE funded event based around the cultural heritage of Mossley. Six Woodend Artists undertook community workshops with various local community groups.

Warmco Properties sponsored a permanent exhibition of works based around the Cotton On event and created by community participants.

The event culminated in a two-day open studio event and launch of the permanent exhibition in Woodend Mill. *See separate full report included.

EXHIBITIONS: The Miraculous Emporium of Amazing Altered Books was created through an open brief as part of Rags To Riches. The exhibition was curated by Sue Platt and toured to Ashton Central Art Gallery in 2009. It was incredibly well received and featured as part of ‘not part of’, the Manchester International Festival Fringe. Twenty Woodend Artists took part.

Showcase at The Angel Gallery featured the work of twelve Woodend Artists in a group show. The group was invited to curate the exhibition to launch the Angel Gallery. The show also featured as part of ‘not part of’, the Manchester International Festival Fringe. Twenty Woodend Artists took part.

Exchange Exhibition was a one-day group show held at the George Lawton Hall, Mossley in honour of visiting members of our twin towns twinning committee. The show was also open to members of the public.

Cotton On exhibition is sponsored by Warmco Properties and based around the theme of the cultural heritage of Mossley. The show features work by mill tenants, Woodend Artist and community participants from the Cotton On workshops.

COMMUNITY WORK: Through funding and direct employment of the group Woodend Artist undertook art workshops and sessions with a wide variety of groups.

Groups worked with included: New Charter Silver Springs, Moorside School, Youth Base Mossley, Jonathan Grange Care Home, New Charter HQ, Mossley Library, Micklehurst Childrens Centre, Roughtown Road Community Centre, New Charter Neighbourhood Centres; Mansfield & Crowthorn Road, St. Chads School.

WORKSHOPS AND SESSIONS: Workshops and art session run included: ‘The Big Draw’, paper pulp workshop, jewellery workshops, origami workshops and ‘drop ins’, batik workshops, artist ‘hot seat’ question and answer sessions, an oral history project, printmaking demos, ‘bird shed’ making, worry doll workshops, and many others.

ARTIST EMPLOYMENT: Artists employed: Sue A, Pat B, Richard D, Jacqui S, Rebecca T, Sarah B, Sam M, Simon C, Mel R, Chris C, Victoria A, Sue P, and others.

Woodend Artists provided over £8000 of paid work to group members in 2008 – 2009.

GIFTED Woodend Artists Winter Bazaar.

Feedback and report.

Who was involved: Group members: Participation at the event was free to group members and 18 group members took part.

Sue Ashton, Victoria Ashworth, Chris Cyprus, Richard Dawson, Pat Baker, Sue Platt, Simon Carrigan, Jacqui Symons, Sam Mills, Jude Gidney, Pat Simms, Sarah Blaszczok, Heather Franco, Adam Musa, Rebecca Taylor, Caroline McManus, Mel Roberts.

Outside artists: The group decided to invite local artists to participate. This offered the opportunity for a public show of work that is usually difficult to achieve when working alone. 5 artists took the opportunity: Mike Green, Martin Fitzpatrick, Anna Todd, Nick Herbert, Sound Sculpture (Jon Mambo).

Outside Businesses: Businesses that used to be based in the Mill and that still support the group and individual members were invited to exhibit and promote their business through the event.

LAZERIAN (Liam Hopkins) Bands and Entertainments: In order to involve “non-art” creatives within the mill and from the local area bands and entertainers were invited to perform.

THE GREEN HALF, MODERN SOUND LIBRARY, STUART VALENTINE (POET), CHRIS CYPRUS, RICHARD DARLINGTON (MOSSLEY HERITAGE TALK), LITTLE QUEENIE & FRIENDS, OSCAR WILDE CHILD, STEPHAN (SINGER/SONG WRITER), CHRISTIAN DYSON (SINGER/ SONG WRITER), a number of impromptu participants also took part from other businesses within the mill.

Businesses: In order to involve “non-artist” creative businesses and foster the idea of the mill as a community a number of businesses were invited to exhibit and sell at the event.

LIMB (Contemporary Gothic Clubwear), NOTORIOUS (environmental T-shirts), JENNY’S MILITARY WARDROBE, CERAMIC SUBAMARINES (Nicola Cheers), LATOR THE PIXIE (Dru Walker) Visitor numbers: Despite being run the same weekend as 12 different Xmas fetes and the grand reopening of Ashton Market attendance of the event exceeded all expectations and the stream of visitors went from steady to busy and was fairly consistent through the day.

Private view: 248 Saturday 29th : 207 Sunday 30th: 287 TOTAL visitors over the weekend: 742

GIFTED Woodend Artists Winter Bazaar.

Feedback and report.

Publicity: E-flyers sent by: Kidz in 2 sport, Tameside council, Youth base, Lazerian.

Flyers were available from: Earth Café, nexus, Fred Aldus, Galeries, shops and cafes across Tameside and into central Manchester.

Internet promo included: My Manchester, Tameside.gov, Teletext, Brit Events, Visit Manchester, Newspaper articles included: The Advertiser, The Mossley Browser (cover article), Saddleworth Monthly, Foremost, The Chronicle Commissions: Both businesses and artists gained a number of commissions over the weekend.

Exhibition opportunities: Artists were offered exhibition opportunities including Holme Valley warehouse and The Corner House Manchester.

Direct sales and work sold: All businesses involved and 11 of the artists sold work directly over the weekend.

Total of work sold and commissions: £4690 Other studios: Other studios within the mill were open over the weekend and work sold outside of the exhibition space.

Charity Fund Raising: The bauble raffle raised over £80 for Willow Wood hospice Workshops: Caroline Royal and Sam Mills ran free drop in arts workshops for kids throughout the weekend.

Costs: By charging outside exhibitors and stallholders a nominal £20 and selling mince pies and refreshments the event was runs within the funds available from memberships.

In kind sponsorship from Chris Cyprus, Richard Dawson and Warmco Properties covered 90% material set up costs.

Group members donated over 800 man-hours of time to set up and man the event.

Overall: Feedback, both written and verbal has been resoundingly positive. A number of businesses and artists within the mill have enquired how they can get involved next time and a number of expressed regret that they didn’t take the opportunity this time.

Chairs Report I have thoroughly enjoyed the last 18 months as chair of Woodend Artists.

I have found the role straightforward and rewarding with members who have attended meetings keen, interested and open. Meetings have generally been fun with ideas and suggestions flowing easily and all group discussions have been polite and constructive.

Planning meetings and setting agenda’s etc has been easy thanks to Pat Bakers support as secretary, although setting a date and time for meetings has remained fraught with complications.

Through my role as chair I have also been the initial point of contact for press, mill management, new artists and other interested persons. Though perhaps not strictly with the role of chair this has given me great opportunity to meet many people outside the group and share with them the groups ethos and achievements and has been an extremely pleasurable part of the role.

I have found being chair of Woodend Artists has helped me to develop new skills and understanding of group dynamics and working with disparate people and I have benefitted greatly from undertaking the role.

Personal Report Although the amount the group has achieved in the last year has been astonishing and something for which we should all be proud, I personally feel that certain elements of the group are not working as well as they could.

Through speaking to other group members I know that my concerns are shared by others and therefore would like to address these issues here.

My concerns centre around the amount of responsibility that it has been necessary for some group members to take on to ensure our events and activities happen and are successful. I feel there has at times been an unfair distribution of workload over the last year. This is partly due to certain members being very strong personalities and perhaps not enabling other members to take responsibilities.

For the next year I would like to see group membership become about less about paying £30 and becoming a member and more about encouraging everyone to undertake an active and pro‐active participation within the group.

To encourage and enable this I would propose the creation of non‐committee ‘secondary roles’ for group members. This would help facilitate managing events and undertakings as well as allowing group members to develop new skills and relationships within the supportive structure of the group.

Richard Dawson

Woodend Artists: Secretary's Report for A.G.M. May 2009 Draught Version first sent out in May Revised, Nov. 2009 Since our last A.G.M. we have had 24 meeting of Woodend Artists - approx 1.3 a month on average. The average attendance has been 11 with apologies ranging from 1 - 7.

The meetings can broadly be divided into general ones, and those related to specific events, when they tend to come in clusters - dictated by the need to organise and communicate.

During the year since our last A.G.M. on 2nd May 2008 we have hosted 3 events at the mill - Rags to Riches on 30th and 31st August, Gifted on 29th and 30th of November Framed - on 28th and 29th March - all have been well attended, particularly Gifted, and successful. This summer the community workshops we were involved with as part of 'Cotton - On' resulted in an exhibition on the 2nd floor of Mill 2 and was a major part of our open studios weekend on 8th and 9th August '09.

3 members have taken part in a cultural exchange with Hem and Wiehl Mossley's twin town - looking at exhibitions and artists' studios. 3 examples of artists was paid for by the twinning committee and taken to Hem where it was publicly presented to the mayors of our 3 twin towns.

Sue Platt's 'Altered Books' was shown at Ashton Library Gallery. 15 woodend artists have their work showcased in a group exhibition at The Angel in Salford.

We were represented at a fun day organised by Friends of Mossley Park.

10 artists took part in a 1 day exhibition at the George Lawton Hall paid for by the Twinning Committee.

Improvements to the mill this year have included the opening of the link between the two parts of the mill which has made life easier for all, the metallic covering to the uneven steps in Mill 2, and the building of a strong wooden fence on the approach to the mill which has smartened up the exterior.

The membership of Woodend Artists is increasing steadily with artists working together on projects, sharing expertise and experiences.

School and Community links This year woodend artists have worked at St. Chad's Primary School, Saddleworth, Moorside School, Droylesden and hosted New Charter Academy twice. They have organised and presented workshops at Mossley Library, The Children's Centre, Micklehurst and St. John's Community Centre, Roughtown, and Jonathan Grange Care Centre. We raised over ÂŁ80 for Willow Wood Hospice at

Gifted.

Communication Richard has opened a Flickr account for woodend artists.

Richard and Chris are collecting email addresses with assurances that these will be used to promote woodend artist's events only - so that this can be done effectively and easily.

We continue to advertise our events through the media and with flyers and posters.

Thanks to all who played a pro-active part in our organisation this year - in whatever way they could - we are stronger together, and we have more fun!

Our progress continues to be astounding!

And now a personal bit......

Having been secretary for 2+ years I am stepping down after this year's A.G.M. Please think who you would like to nominate as secretary and check with them that they are willing to take on the role for a year. The same goes for the other committee roles. My personal belief is that the more people who take on roles of responsibility - the better and stronger our organisation will be. Taking minutes at meetings is not difficult - and if you put a rider at the bottom of the page like 'Please let me know if I have got this right.' - you're covered! You then need to keep copies of all minutes incase they're needed for future reference.

I would like meetings to be hosted in different studio spaces - just a personal view - it would be more sociable and interesting - well I think so anyway.

It may be that the group will decide on doubling up roles so that the work is less for individuals. It's something we've talked about. Because we are moving ahead so quickly - with one event following another in rapid succession - we have little or no time to sort out the way we are operating and there is some room for improvement in this, as you would expect at this stage. However, it's by working together, having open debate and voting on issues that a meaningful constitution is formed and agreed. It's a process. I'm very proud to have been a committee member and will continue to be a pro-active member of the group.

Thanks to Sam Mills - our Information Officer who is also stepping down - hopefully not for too long. Also thanks to Richard, Jacqui, Chris C. and Victoria for being part of the committee.

Pat Baker - May 2009 Revised, Nov. 2009

WOODEND ARTISTS

ACCOUNTS 2008 - 2009

by Victoria Ashworth, Treasurer & Richard Dawson, Chairman.

WOODEND ARTISTS ACCOUNTS SINCE 29 MAY 2008 memberships

funding

workshops

£540.00

£9,990.00

£2,648.00

artists payments £8,137.00

promo costs

other costs

£1,116.77

£477.60

room hire costs £200.00

other income £225.90

£10,000.00 £9,000.00 £8,000.00 £7,000.00 £6,000.00 £5,000.00 £4,000.00

notes:

£3,000.00

funding includes workshops run as funded by ACE.

£2,000.00 £1,000.00 £0.00

workshops are paid workshops run by Woodend Artists for direct payment rather than through funding.

WOODEND ARTISTS COSTS SINCE 29 MAY 2008 artists payments

promo costs

other costs

room hire costs

£8,137.00

£1,116.77

£477.60

£200.00

ar$sts payments promo costs other costs room hire costs

WOODEND ARTISTS INCOME SINCE 29 MAY 2008 memberships

funding

workshops

other income

£540.00

£9,990.00

£2,648.00

£225.90

memberships funding workshops other income

date

amount

29-May-08 03-Jul-08 05-Aug-08 06-Aug-08 06-Aug-08 05-Sep-08 03-Oct-08 08-Oct-08 21-Oct-08 24-Oct-08 05-Nov-08 05-Dec-08 17-Dec-08 17-Dec-08 19-Dec-08 19-Dec-08 05-Jan-09 21-Jan-09 26-Jan-09 26-Jan-09 03-Feb-09 05-Feb-09 13-Feb-09 13-Feb-09 13-Feb-09 16-Feb-09 27-Feb-09 05-Mar-09 09-Mar-09 18-Mar-09 19-Mar-09 20-Mar-09 31-Mar-09 03-Apr-09 09-Apr-09 27-Apr-09 05-May-09 19-May-09 03-Jun-09 05-Jun-09 05-Jun-09 23-Jun-09 03-Jul-09 16-Jul-09 28-Jul-09 31-Jul-09 05-Aug-09 11-Aug-09 17-Aug-09 31-Aug-09 04-Sep-09 11-Sep-09 23-Sep-09 24-Sep-09 05-Oct-09 05-Oct-09 22-Oct-09 22-Oct-09 22-Oct-09 22-Oct-09

£140.00 £4,496.00 £3.66 £303.21 £531.10 £2.95 £2.63 £360.00 £70.00 £499.00 £2.22 £1.17 £250.00 £180.00 £1,048.95 £44.65 £0.32 £425.00 £218.00 £858.00 £30.00 £0.29 £570.00 £129.81 £265.00 £130.00 £360.00 £0.21 £80.00 £100.00 £90.00 £90.00 £90.00 £0.20 £150.00 £0.18 £1,430.00 £375.00 £410.00 £0.28 £90.00 £0.23 £4,496.00 £75.00 £100.00 £300.00 £0.50 £30.00 £410.00 £100.00 £78.00 £0.55 £30.00 £640.00 £499.00 £410.00 £0.51 £243.00 £135.00 £1,483.00

22-Oct-09

£477.60

TOTALS

credit from memberships

credit ACE

Credit from workshops

debit artists payments

debit promo

debit other

debit hire

credit other £140.00

£4,496.00 £3.66 £303.21 £531.10 £2.95 £2.63 £360.00 £70.00 £499.00 £2.22 £1.17 £250.00 £180.00 £1,048.00 £44.65 £0.32 £425.00 £218.00 £858.00 £30.00 £0.29 £570.00 £129.81 £265.00 £130.00 £360.00 £0.21 £80.00 £100.00 £90.00 £90.00 £90.00 £0.20 £150.00 £0.18 £1,430.00 £375.00 £410.00 £0.28 £90.00 £0.23 £4,496.00 £75.00 £100.00 £300.00 £0.50 £30.00 £410.00 £100.00 £78.00 £0.55 £30.00 £640.00 £499.00 £410.00 £0.51 £243.00 £135.00 £1,483.00 £477.60 credit from memberships

credit ACE

Credit from workshops

debit artists payments

debit promo

debit other

debit hire

credit other

£540.00

£9,990.00

£2,648.00

£8,137.00

£1,116.77

£477.60

£200.00

£225.90

PETTY CASH date

item

15/09/2008 16/09/2008 17/09/2008 18/09/2008 03/10/2008 08/10/2008 21/10/2008 28/11/2008 03/02/2009 24/04/2009 29/11/2009 30/11/2009 30/11/2009 30/11/2009 30/11/2009 30/11/2009 30/11/2009 30/11/2009 30/11/2009 30/11/2009

dawson bolton carrigan daddy blasckok membership gardeners world Gifted catering membership membership Gifted catering Gifted catering fitzpatrick GIFTED cheers GIFTED herbert GIFTED todd GIFTED ashton GIFTED penny GIFTED limb GIFTED pie sales at GIFTED gardeners world franco musa taylor hay roberts caherty buckle maxine

TOTALS

BALANCE

petty cash in membership £30.00 £30.00 £30.00 £30.00 £30.00

petty cash in other

petty cash spent

petty cash paid into bank

£360.00 £70.00 £132.05 £30.00 £150.00 £70.69 £43.92 £20.00 £20.00 £20.00 £20.00 £20.00 £20.00 £20.00 £171.20 £70.00 £30.00 £30.00 £30.00 £30.00 £30.00 £30.00 £30.00 £30.00 £390.00

£381.20

£316.66

£540.00

cash in

£771.20

cash out

£856.66

£85.46

WOODEND ARTISTS

GRAPHICS AND PROMO

by Jacqui Symons, Artistic Director

A creative exploration of the industrial heritage of Mossley

Woodend Artists are running a series of creative workshops using the cotton industry of Mossley as inspiration. This will be followed by an open studio weekend and exhibition of the work created

Exhibition & Open Studios 8th & 9th August 11am - 5pm Woodend Mill, Manchester Road, Mossley OL5 9AY Exhibiting artists include: Sue Ashton, Victoria Ashworth, Pat Baker, Sarah Blaszczok, Matt Buckle, Sean Caherty, Simon Carrigan, Chris Cyprus, Richard Dawson, Jude Gidney, Samantha Mills, Adam Musa, Sue Platt, Mel Roberts, Pat Simms, Laura Smith, Jacqui Symons, Rebecca Taylor

www.woodendartists.co.uk

WOODEND ARTISTS

SHOWCASE

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Patricia Baker Sarah Blaszczok Matt Buckle Sean Caherty Simon Carrigan Chris Daddy Richard Dawson Samantha Mills Adam Musa Sue Platt Mel Roberts Pat Simms Laura Smith Jacqui Symons Rebecca Taylor

www.woodendartists.co.uk contact: woodendartists@googlemail.com