Having your say - Reading's Cultural Strategy

Yesterday Reading Borough Council hosted a discussion to encourage feedback from stakeholders (that is us) to enable the development of their future Cultural Strategy

Please visit the link to have your say

This would be a good topic to debate here, so please feel free to leave your comments on this blog too so we can all continue to discuss, debate and potentially find new ways of working.

Image from Reading resident on the walk
Ambulatiuncula, 2006-2007

Ambulatiuncula *a little walk* or *place to walk* , an Artists in the City sound project at the Forbury Gardens Reading.Seven contemporary artists and musicians were invited to make sound works in response to aspects of the Gardens and the Ruins.
artists in the city

Summer Surprise

for those of us who write as well make and generate ideas

Are you free on Saturday the 30th of August? Would you like to spend the day in beautiful surroundings with like-minded people, talking about writing and wandering the grounds and writing and eating good food?

If so you might be interested in giving yourself the gift of a day at The Abbey (near Oxford) at Finding Words: Developing your Writing Practice, facilitated by Fiona Robyn. It will be suitable both for experienced writers and for complete beginners, but a love of words is a course requirement!

Find out more here (go to www.plantingwords.com if the link doesn't work) and do feel free to get in touch (fiona@fionarobyn.com) if you have any questions. Places will be strictly limited to 10 people. Course runs from 10 am til 5pm and costs £65 including lunch and tea and coffee and nice biscuits.

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www.fionarobyn.com
www.asmallstone.com

Poetry in the garden

Poetry in the garden
A Two Rivers Press poetry reading at the Museum of English Rural Life

A summer’s evening in the MERL garden, Wednesday 30th July 6.30-8.00pm

• Listen to readings from
Two Rivers Press poets
• Explore materials from the
Two Rivers Press and
the Publisher’s archives in the
UMASCS Reading Room
• Enjoy a glass of wine and look around the museum and garden

Free entry but booking essential

www.reading.ac.uk/merl

To book a place
Contact MERL
0118 378 8660
merlevents@reading.ac.uk

'gone and done'

'Gone and Done'
25th July - 3rd August
Gallery 10, 10 Gun Street

A turnAROUND show including works by Julia Rogers, Electra Colios, Viv Ackerman, Ana Cairns, Sarah Heppner and Nick GarNett.

Entry is free
Private view Friday 25th July 6-8pm
Open Tues-Sun 11am – 6pm.

Have your say

This is an opportunity to have your say in the future of Reading's culture.

The event runs from 12.30pm on Tuesday 29 July at Reading Town Hall and finishes at 4.45pm.

RSVP to 07885 621020 or helen.lesowiec@reading.gov.uk

After the event, carry on the discussion at Picnic for a quick hang-on if you are not all talked out

A Turn AROUND show

For one night only......

ReOrsa Artists Project No. 2

This September Bracknell town centre will once again be hosting the activities of the ReOrsa artists, an artist-led initiative to support and promote professional practising visual artists living in the Thames Valley. Bracknell Regeneration Partnership will be providing the temporary use of several vacant shop windows for an 'Art Walk' (window installations) through the town centre and one vacant shop space for a large group exhibition (all visual art forms). Further information about ReOrsa and last year's project can be found by visiting http://www.reorsa.org

If you are a Thames Valley artist and want to apply to join ReOrsa and possibly be involved in this project, send an email to reorsa@gmail.com before 20 July for an application and project info. Application deadline for submissions of interest for Project No. 2 is 31 July 2008.

Freelancers' survey

Creative & Cultural Skills, the sector skills council for the creative and cultural industries, would like to know what kinds of skills you think are relevant to make it as a successful freelancer.

To help them do this, Creative People (www.creativepeople.org.uk) is asking you as to whether you could help them by completing a short survey about what skills, activities and knowledge are important for freelancers to work effectively in your sector.

The survey should only take around fifteen minutes to complete and can be found at http://www.ccskills-nos.org.uk/freelance.html By completing these questions you will be helping Creative & Cultural Skills to write a series of professional standards which will in turn help freelancers, employers and clients understand the skills that are needed to work freelance.

Creative & Cultural Skills is the sector skills council for the creative and cultural industries which campaigns on behalf of advertising, crafts, cultural heritage, design, literature, music, performing and visual arts. It acts as a link between industry, government and education. The qualifications team at Creative & Cultural Skills work on curriculum reform through various projects including writing National Occupational Standards (NOS) like these. If you would like more information about the work that they do please contact them directly or visit: http://www.ccskills.org.uk/