Artwork by Alex Utley for Blueberry Academy Summer Fayre
YORK charity New Visuality is bringing newly designed innovative artworks to the Blueberry Academy Summer Fayre the Melbourne Centre, Escrick Street, York, on June 8.
“This annual event is increasingly popular with its learners, learners’ families, and its staff,” says charity co-founder Greg McGee. “Traditionally it has consolidated the work of Blueberry Academy’s commercial arm, Blueberry Academy Pop Up Shop, now at 108 Walmgate,York. Now organisers are keen to widen the net to attract the wider community.”
Curriculum manager Laura Kent says: “The promise of lovely items available for purchase, plenty of tea and coffee and as much cake as you can eat has served us well in the past and is a good reflection of the positive energy created at our events.
“However, we’d like to see members of the public attend, so if people could please spread the word, that would be great. Our collaboration with New Visuality has meant that we have been able to work on the exhibitions we have here on display, as well as items for sale that have been designed using AI software.”
Alex Utley: Artist and activist
Formed in 2007 by Andy Bucklee and Andrew Cambridge, Blueberry Academy provides specialist support for young people and adults with learning differences, autism, social, emotional and mental health needs and/or other disabilities, with employability and independence as educational priorities.
New Visuality, directed by artist husband-and-wife team Greg and Ails McGee, has collaborated on visual arts projects since the beginning. “We received funding from Arts Council England’s National Lottery project grants to work with York’s wheelchair-using community,” says Greg.
“The project, Better Wheels, has gathered a groundswell after working with wheelchair-using residents in Acomb, Westfield, Rawcliffe and Clifton Without. Our plan is to integrate York’s wheelchair-using community with artists in sessions and exhibitions, interfusing traditional skills with innovation, celebrating access to cultural sites.
“It’s been a great success with art displays at Sanderson House, Take5 and Dalton Terrace’s Art Camp. When it comes to Blueberry Academy’s Summer Fayre, we thought, ‘this is an opportunity to build on the work we’ve been doing and to bring in some humour, AI technology and a game-changing exhibition’.”
Be Your Best Planet, by Alex Utley
New Visuality invited digital artist Alex Utley to participate. “Alex is an activist and artist, whose vision on accessibility provides the perfect portal for what Better Wheels has become,” says Ails. “The paintings I created were inspired by him, and the title, Shot In The Dark, a tribute to the Ozzy Osbourne song, was his idea.
“Basically, it’s a series of paintings shot through with positivity. That’s what we got from Alex, and the curatorial decisions were in the main part taken by him, with help from other Blueberry learners.”
Shot In The Dark will be on view for visitors to the summer fayre, alongside stalls selling prints, candles, jewellery, cards and much more, including coasters designed by Alex using innovative AI software, Canva.
He is pleased with the results. “Accessibility is such a massive issue in York, and though I and thousands like me have frustrations, there has been a lot of good work over the past few years,” he says.
Blueberry Academy learner Joe P curating the summer fayre exhibition
“I thought it would be better to focus on the humorous side of what it is to be a resident like me in a heritage city in 2023. The coasters incorporate my ideas visually, I’m really proud of them and I’m looking forward to the next limited-edition series.”
Greg is confident the project will continue to engage. “We have kiosks around Acomb where members of the public can leave ideas in a light-hearted way on what access means to them. We have plans to exhibit art based on access with the Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre in Blossom Street.
“We’re set to sit down with policy makers from City of York Council on how we can continue to make progress on York’s accessibility. In the meantime, the summer belongs to Blueberry Academy. We hope to see you there.”
Blueberry Academy Summer Fayre, Melbourne Centre, Escrick Street, York, June 8, 1pm to 3pm. Please note: no parking is available.
Ceridwen Smith: Performing The Firework-Maker’s Daughter at York libraries next week
NEXT Door But One are teaming up with Explore York Libraries to bring a magical storyteller performance of Philip Pullman’s The Firework-Maker’s Daughter to four York libraries over half-term.
The award-winning York theatre company originally created their theatrical adaptation as a Zoom performance during lockdown, reaching hundreds of young families desperate for creative projects to engage young ones stuck at home.
The online version was such a hit that Pullman gave permission for a solo storyteller version to be developed for community touring, performed last year by Emma Liversidge .
Backed by City of York Council and Make It York, Next Door But One’s show is to visit Acomb, Tang Hall, New Earswick and York libraries during October half-term, the story now told by Ceridwen Smith .
The poster for Next Door But One’s half-term performances of The Firework-Maker’s Daughter
The show tells the story of Lila’s journey across lakes and over mountains as she faces her biggest fears, learning everything she needs to know to become the person she has always wanted to be.
Next Door But One’s production has been designed to be accessible to all young people and their families, including those with additional sensory needs and learning difficulties. It features Makaton [a language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate], magic and loads of audience participation.
Lyndsay Glover, of Explore York said, “We’re so delighted to be bringing this beautiful and magical version of The Firework-Maker’s Daughter to four of our libraries this half-term. We hope to reach a wide range of young families across York with daytime performances at local Explore sites and tickets at just £2.50.”
Sir Philip Pullman, best known for the His Dark Materials trilogy, has been vocal in his support of Next Door But One’s production. Recognising the cost-of-living crisis, he has waived all royalties for these performances, in lieu of a donation to the Trussell Trust, in support of a network of more than 1,200 foodbanks across Great Britain.
Emma LIversidge performing The Firework-Maker’s Daughter on Next Door But One’s 2021 tour. Picture: James Drury
Emma Revie, the Trussell Trust’s chief officer, says: “We’re really grateful to Philip Pullman and Next Door But One for their support. Soaring food and fuel costs are affecting us all, but for families on the very lowest incomes, this crisis means so much more and more people are likely to need a food bank’s help.
“The support of Philip Pullman and Next Door But One will help food banks within our network continue to provide the lifeline of emergency support for local people, while we work in the long term to end the need for food banks, for good. Thank you so much.”
NDB1 artistic director Matt Harper-Hardcastle says: “This project encapsulates everything that Next Door But One stands for. Brilliant, original theatre made in York, for York audiences, with York artists… but also targeted at an audience that might not otherwise get to access theatre and, thanks to Sir Philip’s generous donation to the Trussell Trust, making a wider social impact. I couldn’t be prouder to be bringing this show to York families this half-term.”
Next Door But One present The Firework-Maker’s Daughter at Acomb Library on October 24 at 10am and 11.30am; Tang Hall Library, October 24, 2pm and 3.30pm; New Earswick Library, October 25, 10am and 11.30am, and York Explore, October 25, 2pm and 3.30pm. Tickets: £2.50, family tickets £8.50, at nextdoorbutone.co.uk.
A collage of artwork from Navigators Art’s Coney St Jam: An Art Intervention exhibition at StreetLife’s project hub in Coney Street, York
TWELVE artists from York collective Navigators Art are opening their mixed-media exhibition at StreetLife’s project hub in Coney Street, York, this evening (17/10/2022).
Drawing inspiration from the city’s rich heritage and vibrant creative communities, the project explores new ways to revitalise and diversify Coney Street, York’s premium shopping street but one blighted with multiple empty premises.
In a creative response to Coney Street’s past, present and future, Navigators Art have made new work for StreetLife, designed to enhance and interpret its research, under the title Coney St Jam: An Art Intervention.
On show from today to November 19 will be painting, drawing, collage, photography, textiles, projections, music, poetry and 3D work. Entry to the exhibition space is accessible by one set of stairs.
Taking part are: Steve Beadle, figurative painting and drawing; Michael Dawson, mixed-media painting; Alfie Fox, creative photography; Alan Gillott, architectural and scenic photography; Oz Hardwick, creative photography, and Richard Kitchen, collage, abstract drawing, prints and poetry.
So too are: Katie Lewis, textiles; Tim Morrison, painting and constructions; Peter Roman, figurative painting; Amy Elena Thompson, prints and tattoos; Dylan Thompson, composer, and Nick Walters, painting, video and sculpture.
A painting by Nick Walters at Navigators Art’s Coney St Jam show
Here, CharlesHutchPress puts questions to Navigators Art co-founder, artist and poet Richard Kitchen.
How did the exhibition come about?
“I heard talk of this project rather belatedly in April this year. After our Moving Pictures show at City Screen and providing art for York Theatre Royal’s Takeover Festival, I was looking for a community project the group could really get to grips with and actively support.
“I rather cheekily offered our services to the StreetLife project leaders and, after a bit of convincing, they agreed to let us devise an exhibition for them.”
What relationship have you established with StreetLife?
“A very good one. They were a bit wary at first, as we hadn’t been part of the initial set-up, but we convinced them we were genuinely interested in the project and wanted to interpret and enhance their research and findings creatively for a wider audience. That’s one of our missions as Navigators Art. This isn’t just another art exhibition!
“They’ve been really helpful with practical arrangements, allocated us a budget and agreed to let us put on an evening of live performance in aid of the homeless to mark the end of the show on November 19. That’s going to be very exciting.”
Torrents (Willow Herald Speak), by Michael Dawson, from Coney St Jam
In turn, what relationship have you established with project participants University of York, City of York Council, Make It York, My City Centre, York Civic Trust, York Music Venues Network and Thin Ice Press?
“The project leaders are all from the university, so we’ve got to know them, and also Bethan [cultural development manager Bethan Gibb-Reid] at Make It York. We’re not directly involved with the other agents as such, but we’re all part of the same enterprise and hopefully we can continue to develop existing relationships and make new ones.
“Collaboration is what we’re all about, now and in the future. Making project-specific and even site-specific work has been a very positive creative challenge, from which we’ve all learnt something, and we’re looking forward to further opportunities.”
How do you foresee the future of Coney Street?
“It’s in an interesting state of flux. I can’t speak for the StreetLife project itself or even fellow artists, but personally I regret that a future seems securable only through the involvement of giant property developers.
“I wish a more grassroots solution could be sought and found. But the Helmsley Group’s plans are on show to all at the StreetLife hub in Coney Street and there are public feedback forms by way of consultation.
“It looks positive enough, with provision for new green spaces and so on; I just hope it’s not all about financial interest at the expense of those who live here, or about economics over culture and wellbeing. Naturally, I’d love to see a cheap, Bohemian cultural quarter there, but I doubt that’s top of the agenda!
“Whatever the plans, serious thought needs to be given to social issues such as the question of accessibility. If the street is to be traffic-free, it also has to be accessible to all. The present system of bollards means that some people are unable to use the street at all. That doesn’t make sense.”
An exhibit by Tim Morrison, purveyor of paintings and constructions
How much should the past of Coney Street feed into its future?
“Its past was very much involved with the river, and future plans include developing the river area as a public space and retying lost connections between the river and the street in general. The thriving, lively street of yore is a model for what it may become again. And no future is sustainable without a foundation in history.
“The past can be celebrated and kept alive. It doesn’t have to be enshrined as a museum piece; certainly not one that people have to pay to enjoy! That’s something artists can offer.
Who should be taking the lead in envisioning the future? Looking at that list of who’s involved already, how do you establish joined-up thinking?
“That’s a question for them rather than us, I think. We’re only putting up some pictures! But all walks of life and all sectors should be having an equal say. I don’t think any of those groups is acting independently of the others. There is consultation, including with the developers.”
Where do the arts and art fit into that future?
“The arts are essential to public, cultural and personal wellbeing, despite efforts to ignore, undermine, underfund and generally devalue them to a shocking and highly unintelligent extent. The arts should be central to every decision-making process in government and to education at every level.
“In the times we’re living through, we need creative solutions on a gigantic scale and we need the sheer energy of the arts to help us survive and adapt. Those things aren’t going to be provided by bureaucracy or petty squabbling between political parties.
Ana Alisia,Big Issue Seller, by Peter Roman
“I’d say give artists the kudos they deserve and let us help to turn things around. Pay us. Give us space to work in: let us use those empty buildings! Art isn’t just about old monuments. There are many living artists in York who could successfully take on social responsibilities because of the nature of what they do. We’re an asset to the city and should be valued and promoted as such.
“Make Coney Street a flagship enclave for creatives and independent small retailers and an affordable, inspiring resource for the public to enjoy. That’s something we provided when we were based at Piccadilly [Piccadilly Pop Up] and we came to realise more and more how much that environment meant to people and benefited them. Offer that on a much wider scale and we’ll see real change for the better in society.”
What else is coming up for Navigators Art? Are you any closer to finding a new home?
“From January to March next year, some of us will be exhibiting at Helmsley Arts Centre, and we’ll be at City Screen again in March and April. We may be involved with Archaeology York’s Roman dig next year too.
“We’re eager to take on future community projects and commissions. We’re all artists in our own right but collectively we’re about much more than making and selling. We want to make a difference to the city and its people.
“We’ve grown from being just Steve Beadle and myself in 2020 to a trio last spring with Tim Morrison, and now we’re 12, including writers and musicians, as well as visual artists. The group is fluid, though, and we won’t all be involved in every venture. Some will come and go, others will join.
“Many of us have jobs and families and we’ve all worked on this show voluntarily, but I think we can continue to match the size of the group to the size of the project. Clearly, we’re not going to find one home for all and that’s fine. It would be wonderful to have a studio identity but we don’t have the funds for it at the moment.
Cavern, by Richard Kitchen, from Navigatgors Art’s show in Coney Street, York
“Others are welcome to join us any time. Steve and I want to develop the other strand of Navigators Art’s mission statement, which we started at Piccadilly Pop Up last year: to mentor young and under-represented emerging artists. Not everyone at Piccadilly shared that vision but I think we’re better prepared to do it now.
“Apart from anything else, we’d like to shake things up a bit culturally for ourselves. The initial longlist for Coney St Jam artists was quite diverse, but for health-related and other reasons we’ve ended up with a bunch of mostly white males. We’re working on that!”
Coney St Jam: An Art Intervention by Navigators Art, at StreetLife Project Hub, 29-31 Coney Street, York, opening tonight, 6pm to 8pm; then 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday, except Wednesdays; 11am to 4pm, Sundays.Free entry.
A live performance event on November 19, from 7pm to 10pm, will mark the end of the show.
What is StreetLife?
FUNDED by the UK Government Community Renewal Fund, StreetLife explores new ways to revitalise and diversify Coney Street, drawing inspiration from York’s history, heritage and creative communities and involving businesses, the public and other stakeholders in shaping the future of the high street.
The project is led by the University of York, in partnership with City of York Council, including Make It York/My City Centre, York Civic Trust, York Music Venues Network and creative practitioners, such as Thin Ice Press.
The poster for Navigators Art’s art intervention at StreetLife
Poised:Kyiv City Ballet are heading to York Theatre Royal for one night
KYIV City Ballet’s first British performance since Ukraine came under attack from Russia at York Theatre Royal on June 14 has sold out.
One hundred per cent of ticket sale proceeds will be donated to UNICEF’s Ukraine Appeal from the two-and-a-half-hour special performance that will be split into two parts under the direction of Ivan Kozlov and Ekaterina Kozlova. A class from the Kyiv City Ballet company will be followed by excerpts from ballets such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.
York Theatre Royal chief executive Tom Bird personally invited Kyiv City Ballet to perform in York after learning of the company being stranded in France, where they were on tour as the war broke out in Ukraine. The dancers have stayed there ever since, given that it is too unsafe for them to return home to Ukraine.
“We are proud that York is able to stand in solidarity with Kyiv,” says York Theatre Royal chief executive Tom Bird, who has invited Kyiv City Ballet to the Yorkshire city
“It’s a huge honour to be hosting Kyiv City Ballet at York Theatre Royal,” says Bird. “This is the company’s first UK appearance since their city came under attack, and we are proud that York is able to stand in solidarity with Kyiv by supporting these extraordinary dancers for this one-off visit.”
City partners in York have come together to make this fundraising performance a reality. Make It York, City of York Council and York BID are all supporting the Theatre Royal with organisation and logistics to bring Kyiv City Ballet to the city.
Eurostar and LNER have stepped in to arrange the company’s return travel from France to York; Visit York members Elmbank Hotel, Malmaison, Middletons, Sandburn Hall, The Grand, The Principal and York Marriott have offered to accommodate the company and crew during their stay, while City Cruises and Bettys will be providing additional hospitality. A Civic welcome awaits at Mansion House.
Class act: Kyiv City Ballet will combine a dance class with excerpts from Swan Lake and The Nutcracker in June 14’s fundraising show
First Bus will support on the visa costs to bring the company to York; remaining costs and company fees for the performance will be covered through corporate sponsorship.
Sarah Loftus, managing director of Make It York, says: “We are so proud of our city pulling together to bring the Kyiv City Ballet to York. This is a special opportunity to celebrate world-class performers, while raising vital funds for the people of Ukraine. The generosity of businesses and residents in York has made this possible.”
Councillor Darryl Smalley, executive member for culture, leisure and communities, says: “In what are incredibly dark times, it has been heartening to see York’s response as the city has come together to show our support and solidarity with our Ukrainian friends here in York and in Ukraine.
“Art has a unique way of uniting people and that’s certainly what we need more now than ever ,” says Councillor Darryl Smalley as he welcomes Kyiv City Ballet to York
“From donations and heart-warming signs of solidarity to housing refugees, it’s clear that we as a city are united and ready to do all we can to stand with Ukraine and its people.
“Art has a unique way of uniting people and that’s certainly what we need more now than ever. I’m grateful to all those involved for their support in setting up this amazing event. It will certainly be an emotional and wonderful evening for a crucial cause.”
Andrew Lowson, executive director of York BID, says: “It is always good to hear of high-quality cultural offerings coming to York, but for our city to attract the Kyiv City Ballet will feel really special.
“We are so proud of our city pulling together to bring the Kyiv City Ballet to York,” says Sarah Loftus, Make It York’s managing director
“Many of us feel helpless on how we can support Ukraine, but I know residents and businesses will want to show support and solidarity, as well as celebrate the visit of a world-renowned group of performers.”
Adam Wardale, chair of Hospitality Association York (HAY) and general manager at Middletons Hotel, said: “The members of HAY are incredibly proud to be able to offer Ukraine’s Kyiv City Ballet performers accommodation throughout their stay in York.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to support Ukraine, showing solidarity while also celebrating the arts.”
Kyiv City Ballet: York to host first UK appearance since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Director Greg McGee, right arm raised, leads the cheers at New Visuality’s Easter Art Camp for York school children
YORK charity New Visuality is to illuminate the wall of its gallery window space at According To McGee with the artwork of the city’s young talent.
After holding creative workshops for 25 participants over Easter and renewing its collaboration with University of York’s SplashBy, New Visuality will mount a showcase of digital projections of art, films, and slogans at the Tower Street art space from early May to early June.
“Not only do we want to get the projections up and running before the summer evenings take over,” says charity director Greg McGee. “But also the artwork has been so good, and the links made between grassroots football clubs, community cafés and the city’s heritage so healthy, that a digital exhibition in our window opposite the newly refurbished Clifford’s Tower makes perfect sense, especially if it’s to be done in a timely manner.”
New Visuality’s Art Camp sessions, funded by City of York Council’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, focused on healthy eating, physical exercise and how to reflect these issues in painting and digital art.
New Visuality Art Camp participants at Bar Convent at Easter
Teenage art ambassadors from York High School, All Saints School, Millthorpe School, and Archbishop Holgate’s School led the sessions. “Generally, the younger people came from the west of York,” says Greg, “So the visual reference points were West Bank Park, Hob Moor, Acomb Front Street and Acomb Green, but there was also a York-wide conversation to be had.
“One thing we found was that there are so many young people who haven’t experienced heritage in their city, so we organised a trip to Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre.
“As ever, the welcome was warm and the experience was a real buzz, especially the reading session we had with internationally published author Karen Langtree.”
Bar Convent staff were delighted to see the young artists sit down and draw, take photos with professional cameras and listen to the excerpts.
“I Hope We Can Play Footy”: Artwork by Erin from the New Visuality Art Camp, soon to feature among the digital projections at According To McGee
Volunteers manager Lauren Masterman says, “It was a joy to welcome these young artists to the Bar Convent. They brought great energy and enthusiasm as they explored the chapel and the collections in our exhibition, and it was lovely to see how much they enjoyed Karen Langtree’s interactive storytelling session. We’re very much looking forward to seeing the artwork they have produced.”
The activities were fuelled each day with fresh food from Choose 2 Cafe, a not-for-profit social enterprise based in Hull Road. “The food was great and led to lots of discussions on how fast-food outlets manipulate catchy slogans and attractive colour schemes to reel you in,” says Greg.
“To help hammer home how important a healthy lifestyle is, we knew we had to get in someone who the young people could relate to, so we gave grassroots football club York RI a call.”
Step forward Under-14s players Matteo and Niall. “Their careful guidance and knowledgeable overview of what to eat and how to make fresh fruit as attractive an option as fast food were humbling,” says Greg.
Food, football and now art ambassadors: Niall, left, and Matteo, from the York RI Football Club’s Under-14s team, dispensing healthy tips and fodder at the New Visuality Art Camp
“As far as we’re concerned, Matteo and Niall can proudly call themselves art ambassadors and can count on similar paid opportunities in the future. I’m looking forward to watching them continue to help develop the creativity of the young people we work with.”
Matteo was delighted to take part in the activities, “It was great to be around creative people and help inspire them with how to draw art linked with sport and to give advice on what to eat and how to exercise.”
Look out for the digital projections in the window of According To McGee from May 5, every night from 5pm to 10pm, for a month. “The artwork itself is excellent, and now we have the technology we can get it out in an elegant, immersive way and allow it to develop with the artwork from future art camps,” says Greg.
“Watching this project evolve from a school holiday art camp into a far-reaching collaboration with York schools, Bar Convent, and York RI Football Club has been a highlight of my career.”
The Howl & The Hum: York Life headliners on April 3
YORK’S new spring festival weekend will showcase the city’s musicians, performers, comedians and more besides on April 2 and 3.
Organised by Make It York, YorkLife will see more than 30 performers and organisations head to Parliament Street for a free open event from 11am to 9pm each day with no need to book tickets in advance.
The Saturday headliners will be Big Donaghy’s long-running York party band Huge; the Sunday bill will climax with The Howl & The Hum in their biggest home-city performance since gracing York Minster on May 25 2021.
Both bands will play the main YorkLife stage as part of a programme curated by York’s Music Venue Network, presenting such York acts as Bull, Kitty VR, Flatcap Carnival and Hyde Family Jam.
An array of interactive sessions will be held by York organisations, taking in theatre workshops, instrumental workshops, face painting, comedy and dance performances, plus fire performers and circus acts.
The main stage on Parliament Street will have an open viewing area with a 500 capacity, while a covered stretch tent will hold a York Gin bar and seating area for 90 people with a one-in, one-out policy.
YorkLife is supported by City of York Council’s ARG (Additional Restrictions Grant) funding, which aims to boost businesses impacted by Covid-19. The April 2 and 3 programme has been curated with York residents in mind and to support the city’s recovery from Covid.
Big Ian Donaghy: Fronting Huge on the YorkLIfe main stage on April 2
Councillor Darryl Smalley, executive member for culture, leisure and communities, says: “Our cultural sector is the lifeblood of our communities. There is so much talent in York, from musicians to comedians and poets to performers, which makes our city so vibrant and unique.
“YorkLife is an excellent way to celebrate our home-grown musicians and performers, particularly after what has been a challenging few years for us all. I would encourage residents to join the festival and enjoy the best of York’s own talent.”
Sarah Loftus, Make It York’s managing director, says:“YorkLife is a celebration of York talent and culture, from our street musicians to our community groups. We want to really celebrate the sense of community in York and we’re encouraging residents to join the party and see some of the hottest talent York has to offer.”
Chris Sherrington, from the York Music VenueNetwork, says:“It’s wonderful to have this opportunity to showcase some of York’s amazingly talented artists who have developed their careers across the city of York’s many great grassroots music venues.
“As part of YorkLife weekend, we’re looking forward to celebrating the return of live music to the city and enjoying the wonderful variety of music for one and all. This event has been a true cooperative effort of York’s event industry and creatives and we look forward to working on future events.”
To find out more about YorkLife, head to visityork.org/yorklife. The full line-up will be announced later this month.
Bull: Home-city gig for York’s first band to sign to a major label since Shed Seven
Confirmed acts and workshops
Musicians:
The Howl & The Hum; Huge; Bull; Kitty VR; Flatcap Carnival; Hyde Family Jam; Floral Pattern; Bargestra and Wounded Bear.
Workshops:
Mud Pie Arts: Cloud Tales interactive storytelling;
Thunk It Theatre: Build Our City theatre workshop;
Gemma Wood: York Skyline art;
Fantastic Faces: Face painting;
York Mix Radio: Quiz;
York Dance Space: Dance performance;
Burning Duck Comedy Club: Comedy night;
Henry Raby, from Say Owt: Spoken poetry;
Matt Barfoot: Drumming workshop;
Christian Topman: Ukulele workshop;
Polly Bennet: Little Vikings PQA York performing arts workshop;
Innovation Entertainment: Circus workshops.
Nicolette Hobson and Gemma Drury of Mud Pie Arts: Hosting Cloud Tales interactive storytelling workshops at YorkLife
Next Door But One: Opening doors to support York’s performing arts freelancers
IT is no secret that the arts haves been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
As many theatres roll out their plans to “Build Back Better”, York community arts collective Next Door But One are focusing their support on the city’s freelancers, delivering another series of free professional development workshops.
Various UK surveys throughout the Covid pandemic have highlighted how seven out of ten parents and carers, nearly two thirds of disabled practitioners and 70 per cent of those who identify as being from a socioeconomically disadvantaged background are thinking they will need to leave their careers in the creative industries.
Next Door But One artistic director Matt Harper-Hardcastle
“These figures are extremely concerning for a number of reasons” says Next Door But One’s artistic director, Matt Harper-Hardcastle. “Not only is our own team created from these different artists, but without the correct continued investment, the arts risks taking huge steps backwards in respect of access, representation and diversity.
“As a small theatre company, dependent on the skilled freelancers within York, it is important we look after our people.”
Last year, Next Door But One ran their first programme of professional development, funded by Arts Council England, for 27 performing arts professionals, offering workshops on fundraising, facilitation, directing and scriptwriting, as well as group mentoring sessions and networking opportunities.
Next Door But One’s Opening Doors: Offering professional mentoring support
“Ninety per cent of participants on this programme had lost most of their freelance work, were struggling to secure new opportunities or had considered a change in career,” says associate director Kate Veysey.
“From our previous cohort, we supported many to secure future employment and to raise funds for their own projects (notably £50,000 in Develop Your Creative Practice funding through Arts Council England).
“But the overriding feedback was on the importance of Next Door But One creating a new network for participants to support one another through the difficult time of the pandemic. A network which is still helping people flourish.”
Next Door But One associate director Kate Veysey
Next Door But One are now mounting a similar programme, Opening Doors, that hopes to do just that, says Matt. “If people need some direction, or support on what they should do next, or what might be possible for them; that’s what we hope to offer,” he reasons.
Opening Doors will begin this month (February 2022), funded by the City of York Council, York Centre for Voluntary Services and Make It York, and Next Door But One are looking for individuals to register their interest if engagement in this programme would be of use to them.
“The process is quick and open to any performing arts professional, from new graduates, emerging or re-emerging artists, or those who just need support to get back on their desired track, based in or around York,” says Matt.
Workshops. Mentoring. Networking. Next Door But One are opening doors for York’s arts community
“Some workshops will be in person, at the company’s new home of The Gillygate pub, in Gillygate, while others will be virtual and will be run by industry leading directors, producers, fundraisers, casting directors and playwrights.”
To register your interest, go to www.nextdoorbutone.co.uk or if you have any questions about the professional development programme, send an email to kate.ndb1@gmail.com.
If you are reading this, are thinking of registering your interest, but are still unsure, here is what one of last year’s participants said: “
Art attack: Shark, mural by Replete, at Piccadilly Pop Up, Piccadilly, York
THE Uthink Piccadilly Pop Up art studios and gallery must vacate their temporary premises in York,by the end of the month after being served notice by the re-developers.
In 2019, the charity Uthink PDP (People Developing People) took over York’s former tax office headquarters at 23, Piccadilly, when it was sold by City of York Council and began renting out space to York artists.
“Since August 2020, we’ve opened to the public every Saturday to showcase our work, give or take a plague or two,” says Richard Kitchen, one of Piccadilly Pop Up’s founders and artists.
“We now comprise 15 artists, including some who have exhibited elsewhere, some who have been selected for York Open Studios, a handful of young artists, from York College, on our mentoring programme, and a nationally renowned graffiti artist and muralist.
“Our work ranges from painting and drawing through abstract art and collage to photography, sculpture and installation. There’s even some poetry.”
To mark the “suddenness of the circumstances” behind the closure, Pop Up Piccadilly’s final events will be held this weekend to “celebrate all we have achieved during our tenancy”. On Saturday, public opening will be as usual, from 12 noon to 6pm; on Sunday, a festive market and extended art exhibition will run from 11am. Admission is free.
A morning-till-evening special exhibition, “commemorating our beloved building” with photographs, art, spoken-word contributions and possibly a sound installation or musical performance, was under discussion for December 21 but will not go ahead.
“We’d be very happy to see you this weekend, especially if you haven’t visited us before,” says Richard. “We were gaining quite a reputation for enterprise and innovation and were much loved and admired by many of our visitors.”
David Taylor as Richard Carrol, left, Emma Turner as Tucker, Stewart Mathers as Dan Lucas and Karen Nadin as Tinger in a rehearsal scene from The Local Authority
LET York writer-director Tom Wilson introduce The Local Authority, his new anarchic farce framed around a chaotic, fractious local council emergency budget meeting.
“It’s very much a black comedy about embezzlement, chaotic, dysfunctional individuals and families and a community trying to come to grips with the burgeoning Covid pandemic,” he says. “The play has a lot of adult themes, such as drug taking and alcoholism, zany sex workers, high-level council corruption, irrational budget and public amenity cuts, disintegrating relationships and canines in nappies.”
City Of York Council’s financial conduct may be making the headlines this week, but we’ll leave that for another day, another play.
That said, Salford lad Wilson has his own experience of working for the local authority, as a drug and alcohol education advisor. “I thought I was being paid to take theatre around schools, but I ended up training the staff, the police, local colleges, universities,” he recalls. “It got very complex, and in the end, I did what writers do. I left.”
He also did what writers do: he kept writing, and now comes The Local Authority, his fifth play in 25 years, not a revenge play as such, but one where the inner Joe Orton is at work, sending up the failings of those charged with power.
Wilson has had to spend time in hospital, facing “death or amputation”, with the need to “get this gunge out”, ending up in the Covid ward to boot. He was in and out three times.
Metaphorically, The Local Authority is another way of “getting the gunge out”, Wilson having written “nonsense poetry and prose to get through the day” and make sense of the pandemic pandemonium and his ailing health.
The result is a messy play about messed-up times, fevered and fever-browed, erratic in performance and devil-may-care in spirit, a “pantomime on acid” by the end of its shorter second act.
Catching it on dress-rehearsal night meant there were bumps in the road, but like potholes, they may well still be there tomorrow and the week after, for that matter, if the play were still running.
A devotee of theatre of the absurd, Tom Wilson does not deal in clean-cut, awfully nice, middle-class drama: he prefers the nitty-gritty, the earthy, the punk, the warts, the boils, the gunge and all. It isn’t pretty and it is often foul-mouthed, in the way that Shameless is, but it is also “tongue in cheek, never serious” in a chance to “laugh at our oppressor and reclaim our smiles and freedom”.
What’s the story? Ruder and wilder than the infamous Handforth Parish Council meeting that went viral when we all needed a laugh in Lockdown 1, at its epicentre is Karen Nadin’s Lesley Carrol.
Hosting the aforementioned council emergency budget meeting on Zoom, as the Jackie Weaver of the piece, she is firm at first but gradually worse for wear, as council officers make ever more draconian, yet worryingly feasible, suggestions for £300,000 cuts that would not be out of place in a George Orwell dystopian futurist novel.
What’s novel? For the first act, the cast members are lined up on tables with tablets or laptops but also appear on Zoom, the defining motif of Covid times, on the screen behind them.
The Zoom feed is live and unpredictable, occasionally freezing and not always showing who is speaking but often focused on Rowan Naylor-Mayers’ wannabe soap actor Neil, or Kate Hargrave’s hippy Christine Nunn with her psychedelic Zoom background, or Joel Cambell’s Paul Engers, who has chosen to be pictured in front of a palm-treed paradise.
The first act is too long, not least because the actors are largely static in their seats, except when Wilson has them step out front to deliver their proposed cuts, to add to the sense of absurdity.
He plays his ace in introducing the oil in the ointment, the slick council job executioner Dan Lucas (Stewart Mathers), to deliver his black-cap verdicts on who stays and who goes, as the climax of the first hour.
Post-interval, The Local Authority becomes a more conventional, quicker-moving farce in Orton style in a swish flat. Corruption, cocaine, sex workers (Nadin’s Tinger and Emma Turner’s Tucker, in a deadpan scene-stealing cameo), the council bigwig (David Taylor’s Richard Carrol) and a policeman (Martin Handsley) are thrown into the maelstrom that envelops the potty-mouthed Lucas and his dippy acolyte Neil.
More spit than polish, more whack-a-mole than guacamole, The Local Authority is a tour de farce that goes off the rails, applies a sledgehammer instead of a scalpel, and is often blunt rather than sharp, but as ugly agit-prop theatre for 2021, it hits home hard.
Wilson also coins one of the best phrases for this age of pandemic deaths and ecological recklessness. “Nature has lost its temper,” bemoans the plastered Lesley. How right she is.
Naloxone Theatre Ensemble presents Tom Wilson’s premiere of The Local Authority, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, August 5 to 7, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 501935 or at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk
Ah, but they’re not bricks, as tree-hugger Hutch discovers close up. These wood blocks form part of Karin Van Der Molen’s sculpture, Shield, at the Himalayan Gardens, Grewelthorpe, near Ripon
BE pepped up by the one and only arts club badinage from Two Big Egos In A Small car podcasters Chalmers & Hutch, as they discuss Grewelthorpe’s jewel, the Himalayan Gardens; Velma Celli’s Drag Brunch; Metronomy’s English Riviera landmark; the “Top 20 Most Inspirational Novels”; York’s strange version of The Masked Singer and Cruella & Disney reboots.
