Back to blogging

I am so sorry I have not been blogging recently! I am back onto blogging now, so will keep you all updated with activities we are up to. There are lots of exciting things happening at the moment, we are developing our heritage trails and have just started our first project Sew Fashion at Gallery of Costume, not to mention the successful book launch for Stories of the Great Turning.

I will update you with all of the happenings you have missed, starting with Stories of the Great Turning.

Here is a book of stories written by people who decided to act, in their own lives, in response to the challenges of our time, and found their own way to make a difference. They are not stories about celebrities or gurus of the environmental movement but honest accounts from people who share a concern for the world we live in and who, in the words of one of the contributors, “just got on with it".

The event was organised by Creative Rushome members and contributors to the book; Helena Kettleborough and Nora Kettleborough. They shared their beautiful story: Discovering that We Live in an Ancient and Beautiful Universe

"It's hard, living in the inner city, to get a sense of growing up in something bigger than ourselves. The stars in the sky are faint..."

The event was attended by Sir Gerald Kaufman and local residents as well as Sarah Bird from Vala Publishing.

Check out the pics...

Helena Kettleborough

 Nora Kettleborough

 Jane Riddiford

Sarah Bird, Jane Riddiford and Helena Kettleborough

Would you like to be part of a Creative Rusholme writers group?

Creative Hands Foundation

Creative Hands Foundation (CHF) was set up in Rusholme by fine artists, Joseph Ayavoro, Sculptor/ Public Artist and Michelle Ayavoro, Community Textile Artist in March 2008.  They identified a lack of facilities and activities available for local people, especially in the arts.  They saw the potential of using art as a tool to engage with hard to reach groups and enabling interaction with isolated communities in Rusholme and neighbouring wards.  Between them they have a wealth of over 20 years’ experience devising and delivering art workshops with different community groups. They are based at Trinity House Community Resource Centre.

Check out their website to find out more.

They are very supportive of helping to develop Rusholme as a creative space. They feel it is imperative to capture the diversity of cultures and movement in the local area in order to reflect the identity of Rusholme. One of the ideas they have for the future is to create an art installation when you come into Rushome which is an arch representing an entrance to the area. The arch would be designed to reflect the cultural diversity of Rusholme.

Xaverian College Art Department

I met with Shaun Steele, the Head of the Art Department at Xaverian College to discuss the potential of Rusholme as a creative space. He was excited about the prospect of developing this further and was especially keen for students to get involved in the development of an annual Rusholme festival.

One of the things that emerged from the meeting was addressing the possibility of highlighting the diverse cultures in Rusholme and reworking them through a process of deconstruction and reconstruction to create something new, which would reflect the distinct identity of Rusholme.

Mark Haig; Applied Visual Artist & Rusholme Resident

Mark Haig has been a Rusholme resident for over 25 years. Mark is a filmmaker, animator and artist who has worked for organizations such as the BBC, Apple, Cornerhouse, The Whitworth Art Gallery and other art organisations in Manchester. He specialises in community driven projects, especially working with marginalized members of society such as the homeless, unemployed and drug users. One of his recent projects include Mr One Million which helps young men with issues around employment through creative storytelling and filmmaking.

I met with Mark to discuss the potential of Rusholme as a creative space. He had some amazing ideas around creating art installations in the community, including painting the road gold so the 'streets are paved with gold.' Mark also suggested perhaps projecting artworks in the windows of local businesses on the Curry Mile.

See below an image of an art installation, projecting an image onto a window which Mark has done:

 

Watch Mr One Million below: 

The Whitworth Art Gallery

I met with Ed Watts from the Whitworth Art Gallery and discussed the potential for collaborating to develop a Creative Rusholme. The Whitworth Art Gallery will close in September as part of their Capital Development project. When the gallery is closed, they will be looking at engaging with local communities and bringing the gallery out into Rusholme. Ed suggested this may be a good starting point when thinking about developing activities suitable for Creative Rusholme. Once the Capital Development project has finished, their will be many opportunities to engage with activities at the Whitworth Art Gallery and to work in partnership to develop activities specifically for Creative Rusholme.

Contact Theatre

I met with Suzie Henderson and Kate Gambrell from the Contact Theatre who offered full support for the development of a Creative Rusholme.

They suggested that the development of a Rusholme Festival would be fantastic to launch in 2014 to coincide with their Bi-Annual Contacting the World event in mid-July. They also suggested linking future exhibitions into the 'What's on Guide' for Arts events in Rusholme.

It was also suggested to start the festival next summer as a weekend of cultural and creative activities. 

Kate said 'You won't have any problem getting local people involved!' 

Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar and Councillor Ahmed Ali

I met with Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar and Councillor Ahmed Ali on Saturday 16th February.

The meeting was fascinating and we discussed the huge potential of Rusholme as a creative space. Some very interesting ideas emerged which I will explore during my research including:

- The potential for an annual celebration of a Rusholme Festival

- The necessity to reflect the diversity of the local area 

- The possibilities of working alongside local businesses

- Encouraging and increasing representation of local people in creative activities

- Taking a collaborative approach to developing Creative Rusholme in order to make it sustainable

- Creative Rusholme as a tool to encourage community pride, raising the standard of the local area and the overall look.

I will now work on developing these ideas further and see what emerges, so watch this space!