Tag Archives: community
Adventures of Curiosity and Wonder
Room 13 Hareclive has been awarded a Bristol 2015 European Green Capital commission (Neighbourhood Arts Project).
Inspired by Bristol artist of walking and place Richard Long, and building on previous socially engaged arts practice in the community, Room 13 Hareclive will deliver a collaborative exploration and re-imagining of Dundry Slopes, where the interests, questions, wonder, curiosity, imagination and pioneering spirit of local children will lead the way.
Room 13 Hareclive presents… Adventures of Curiosity and Wonder: the Dundry Slopes
Through dialogue with local people and organisations that know and use the Slopes, and through discovering nature and our own physical and visual responses to the area, Room 13 Hareclive will produce 3 functional yet poetic discovery maps that we will print as one beautiful fold-out map. They will also choose one of the maps to reproduce as a bronze plaque to go on the Slopes themselves. The work will be exhibited and publicised locally and in Bristol via several key exhibitions. Together, the maps and work will open up new ways of seeing and interacting with the Slopes for all ages.
**Room 13 Hareclive will once again be participating in Spike Island Open Studios event from Friday 1st May to Monday 4th May.
Room 13 artists will be opening their studio on site, as well as running pop up sessions for the public on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd May, 11am – 2pm.**
Donations for Nepal
Nepal is a country very close to our hearts. Room 13 HCMC in Kathmandu was the first Room 13 studio to be set up overseas, marking the beginnings of Room 13 International Studio Network.
Several youth expedition teams from the community of Caol have visited the country over the years to support and develop the Room 13 studios in Nepal.
As a result we have many friends and colleagues in Nepal, and close links with charitable organisations and communities who have worked to establish Room 13 projects and bring arts and creativity to the youth of Nepal. In the aftermath of these recent devastating earthquakes, Room 13 International will be collecting donations on behalf of these locally based organisations, which we will send directly to help their efforts to recover and rebuild their communities.
Donations and contributions can be made via Paypal using the link below:
Cheques or money orders can be sent to:
Room 13 International, Unit 1, Glenloy Street, Caol, Fort William, Scotland, PH33 7DR.
Please make cheques payable to Room 13 International, and mark ‘Nepal Fund’ on the back.
Thank you for supporting our global community.
Creative Place Awards Nominee 2015
Room 13 International is delighted to announce that we are leading the team which has seen Fort William shortlisted for the Creative Place Awards 2015, funded by Creative Scotland.
Since their launch in 2012, the Creative Place Awards have been awarded to smaller communities across Scotland, outside of the main cities, to enable them to enhance and promote the creative activities and programmes in their area. The awards recognise the communities’ ambitions in using the arts for the benefit of both local residents and visitors to their area.
‘Being nominated for the Creative Places award offers a wonderful opportunity for communities in Fort William and the surrounding area to celebrate our environment, mountain culture and native woodland through the planting of trees and the installation of innovative sculptures.’
Richard Bracken, Artist in Residence, Room 13 Caol
Working with the Fort William community, we plan to use the Creative Places award to create a series of interwoven art and arboreal projects, at the heart of which is The Liberty Grove / Doire na Saorsa, planting 1,000 native trees throughout the region. Working with different art forms, from sculpture and poetry to film, we will improve the environment for the entire community, and celebrate the world-renowned landscape of Lochaber in new and innovative ways.
As the lead organisation Room 13 International will co-ordinate a substantial programme of community-led activities, fostering an awareness of biodiversity and appreciation of wilderness, working with local and international artists, poets and storytellers.
Thanks to its inspiring surroundings, and initiatives such as the Fort William Mountain Festival, the town has an iconic status for visitors; now we will enhance and transform its identity, through innovative ecologically-sensitive cultural projects. Working amongst a community consisting of a remarkably strong network of local organisations, including woodland, geology and environmental specialists along with creative and cultural organisations, we will create a grove in which they can share their expertise in outdoor education, ecology and heritage. The Liberty Grove / Doire na Saorsa will prove that the region, and the Highlands as a whole, is supportive of visionary cultural projects integrated within wilderness landscapes.
All shortlisted Creative Place applicants have been asked to submit a second stage application, detailing more information about their project. We will find out if the bid from Fort William has been successful when the award winners are announced at a ceremony on 10 June 2015.
Fort William – Creative Place Awards Nominee 2015
Arts & Business Scotland award
We are delighted to announce that we have been successful in attracting funding from Arts & Business Scotland to support our business development over the coming year.
The money received through the New Arts Sponsorship scheme administered by Arts& Business Scotland will match-fund the sponsorship already pledged from Corpach Boatbuilding Company in Fort William.
Donald Hind, Managing Director of the business said “Corpach Boatbuilding Company are pleased to be able to continue with our support for Room 13. We are confident that our collaboration with Arts & Business Scotland will help to sustain and secure the long term aims of this dynamic, creative and exciting community organisation.”
Claire Gibb, Chief Executive of Room 13 International says, “We are thrilled to have received backing from Corpach Boatbuilding Company and Arts & Business Scotland. The support of both organisations is critical to us at this stage of our development and we look forward to working more closely with Corpach Boatbuilding Company over the coming year.”
This good news follows our recent move to establish a new office and gallery/workshop space in Caol, Fort William. It is hoped that gallery will host a series of workshops and events throughout the coming years, starting with a celebratory event on 30 April 2015.
Chief Executive of Arts & Business Scotland, David Watt added: “Room 13 International is a fantastic initiative and certainly ticks all the boxes in meeting the criteria of projects supported through the New Arts Sponsorship grant scheme. This is an exciting time for them as they celebrate their 21st birthday and the opening of a new workshop in Fort William which will no doubt prove to be a wonderful creative and cultural hub for the community. We wish Room 13 every success with the new venture.”
The event, marking the 21st birthday Room 13, will celebrate the achievements of the organisation to date and will also look forward to the next 21 years. Claire Gibb added, “We are delighted to have a new independent base for Room 13 in Caol, close to the school and community studios. This place is recognised worldwide as home of Room 13, and this new space offers huge potential to develop a vibrant creative hub that brings art, artists and the greater Room 13 International community back to the heart of Caol”.
Room 13 International is keen to develop links with other local businesses and encourage those who interested to get in touch!
In Memoriam: Maddie Thompson
Maddie Thompson 29.06.2004 – 23.10.2014
Managing Director of Room 13 Aragon
We would like to extend heartfelt sympathies to the pupils and staff of Aragon Primary School, and most especially to the family and friends of Maddie Thomson, who tragically died very suddenly on Thursday 23rd Oct following a brief but very serious illness.
Maddie had been fully involved with Room 13 since Year 3, having started coming to the studio as soon as she was able. At work and in meetings she was quiet and conscientious, not always saying a lot but what she did say was always extremely wise. Around her friends, Maddie was funny and boisterous, a lively and popular presence in Room 13.
As well as being Managing Director of Room 13 since Sept 2013, Maddie was a prolific artist. She had been busy making work for an exhibition in a local gallery at which Room 13 Aragon was to show work along with other Room 13 studios in the region. The exhibition is scheduled for early December, and will go ahead in Maddie’s honour.
Maddie also contributed to a recent project in the studio, designing a Moneybox which has been touring the world raising funds for Room 13 International.
The children of Aragon Primary have been expressing their grief with tributes and messages to Maddie, who was popular and involved in many aspects of school life.
We are profoundly sorry for the devastating loss suffered by Maddie’s family and friends at Aragon Primary School. This sad news will be felt deeply by the Room 13 community around the world and we know many artists of all ages and will want to extend their condolences and respect at the loss of one of our young emerging talents at such a tragically young age.
Any messages of condolence can be passed on to Maddie’s family via Louise Frewin, Artist in Residence at Room 13 Aragon, or by e-mail via Room 13 International.
Room 13 Open Studio – Wednesdays from 1st October
Room 13’s popular OPEN STUDIO (Community Studio, Caol Youth Centre) is open again – Wednesday 1 October, 2pm-6pm
The OPEN STUDIO is open to all ages, all levels of experience & it’s free!
We provide a relaxed studio environment for self-directed creative activity – come and use the materials and equipment, do your own thing, work on a shared project, or ask the lead-artist to show you how to make prints, work with clay, make papier mache, stretch a canvas…
Paper, paints, inks, pastels, oil bars, pencils, card & more are available (& free), sketchbooks, clay, canvas, etching plates, lino can be provided at cost. Tea, coffee & water will be available (donations to cover costs welcome).
It’s on 2pm-6pm Wednesdays during term time (and during school holidays by arrangement with lead artist) – pop in, stay for a while, stay longer – we look forward to seeing you!
Room 13 Community Studio, Caol Youth Centre, Glenkingie Street, Caol, Fort William (Scotland)
Highland Youth Arts Forum – 2 Lochaber Representatives needed by 10th July
Are you based in Lochaber (Scotland)? Are you aged 14 – 19? Interested in the arts? Interested in finding out what creative projects young people in your area would like to get involved in? Want to tell the Highland Youth Arts Forum about it?
Room 13 International is looking for 2 young Lochaber people to represent the area at the new Highland Youth Arts Forum which is being set up to lead the development of Highland Youth Arts Hub.
Room 13 International is one of 12 organisations working together to establish a Highland Youth Arts Hub. This is part of a new initiative supported by Creative Scotland which will result in 10 regional youth arts hubs across Scotland. Representatives from each of the member organisations will meet quarterly to plan and deliver a programme of multi-art form projects and explore new ways of working that will result in stronger partnerships between arts organisations working with young people in the Highlands. Integral to the programme will be a new youth arts forum comprising young people with interests across a range of art forms and from a wide geographical area. These young people will develop leadership skills, be creative in their communities, consult with their peers, and advocate for the arts.
As this is a new development, details of how the youth arts forum will function and what being a member will entail are likely to be worked out in consultation with the young people themselves in the first meeting. This is excellent CV stuff and there are good skills to be developed from participating – if you would like to be considered please fill in the form HYAF.APPLICATION-FORM1.JUN14 and send it back to us asap – deadline is 10th July.
info@room13international.org
Room 13 International
The Hub
30 Fassifern Road
Fort William
Scotland PH33 6QX
Summer Programme 2014
Room 13 Summer Programme will take place throughout July at Room 13 Community Studio in Caol Youth Centre.
Our workshops have been designed to keep you busy all summer – from hour long sessions for new Primary Ones to a week of Portfolio-Building, a 2-day Printmaking Workshop plus our Open Studio sessions on Wednesdays, all based at Room 13 Community Studio in Caol Youth Centre.
We encourage people of all ages and abilities to come along and experience the studio environment, learn new skills, and just have a good time making things – come and learn new creative techniques, try out different printmaking processes, put on a play in a day making everything as you go, take a wander to look for materials and make something from what you see and find:
Ages 4 -5
· New Primary Ones Taster Workshop (hour long sessions)
Ages 5 – 7
· Very Young Artists – exploring materials & techniques
Ages 8 – adult
· Summer Studio – photography, drawing, constructing, painting, looking, printing…
Ages 10+
· Working with Stuff – collecting, carving, cutting, gluing, sculpting, drilling, pouring…
Ages 12+
· Skillbuilder Workshops – Tutoring in Papermaking, Felting, Plaster & Carving, Printmaking
· Printmaking Workshop – 2 days of linocut, etching, collograph & monoprinting…
Ages 16+
· Portfolio-building Workshop – a week (Mon – Fri) focusing on developing a strong body of work & trying new things
All Ages
· Felt Feet – family workshop learning felting and making felt…feet
· Play in a Day (in collaboration with Dramafish Studios) – family workshop, make the props, costumes, sets and write the play – in a day!
· Open Studio – free, open to all, come along and use the facilities
Please download the full programme for further details, prices and a booking form.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Easter Workshops 8th – 12th April 2014
Room 13 Community Studio in Caol Youth Centre will be running the popular Very Young Artists workshop and Studio Explorer Sessions along with family friendly workshops for all ages allowing plenty of opportunity to get creative this Easter holiday!
Creative Workshops & Studio Sessions for all ages will run from 8th – 12th April 2014 @ Room13 Community Studio Caol Youth Centre, Fort William, Scotland PH33 7DP
Download the full list of workshops here or contact info@room13international.org for details
Room 13 Community Studio hosting Odd Numbers Project 7th/8th Feb
This weekend, Room 13 Community Studio will host a temporary exhibition and workshop which will recreate the experience of the Odd Numbers project. Members of the community are invited to participate in the building and creation of a structure, which will be mainly made from reclaimed/salvaged materials. The building of this pavilion will be led and supervised by Lee Ivett, a qualified architect who teaches at in the Mackintosh School of Architecture, Glasgow School of Art, and who is also the project leader for the Love Milton project, which is a partner in Remaking Society.
Participants will be invited to ‘adopt’ a ceramic creature for a short time and then return it, having made a creative response.
In this way the community of Caol will go through the three stages of Odd Numbers that the community of Milton has participated in – choose a creature, own/possess/document it, then make a creative response; all of these will be exhibited in the pavilion on the final day.
Construction begins on Friday 7th Feb and the event will conclude with a public seminar led by the University of the West of Scotland’s Artist Teacher programme on Saturday 8th Feb.
This seminar will consider the pedagogical implications of the Odd Numbers project. Creative or merely curious individuals of all ages are welcome to come along at any point to construct, create, watch or listen.