The arts in Yorkshire

CIDA's Chief Executive Anamaria Wills answers your questions.
 

Question 1:

Who are the main art form officers at Arts Council, Yorkshire?

Steven Dixon, Huddersfield.

Answer 1:

The Arts Council art forms are divided into Performing Arts and Visual Arts and Literature.

Within Performing Arts, the following Officers are very useful contacts:

Theatre Officer – Mark Hollander – 01924 486214

Dance Officer – Jane Marescaux – 01924 486217

Music Officer – Andrew Herbert – 01924 486210

Performing Arts – Alison Andrews – 01924 486213

Within Visual Arts and Literature, the following contacts are very useful:

Visual Arts Officer – Jennifer Hallam – 01924 486230

Visual Arts Officer – Sara Trentham – 01924 486223

Visual Arts Officer (Media) – Emma Cheshire – 01924 486222

Literature Officer – Jane Stubbs – 01924 486224

If you're unsure which Officer you should be contacting, contact Arts Council Yorkshire on 01924 455555.

Question 2:

Can you explain a bit about Grants for the Arts?

Sally Jones, Barnsley

Answer 2:

Grants for the Arts is the Art Council's main funding programme.  They insist that any funding given will help to achieve their five ambitions for the arts: supporting the artist, enabling organisations to thrive, not just survive, championing cultural diversity, offering opportunities for young people, and encouraging growth.  As of Friday August 26th, the procedure for applying for Grants for the Arts funding has changed.  It is a continuous programme and you can apply any time after October 3rd 2005.  There are no deadlines but, in aiming to make improvements, Arts Council will alter some of their documentation so ensure you have the most up-to-date version before you start the application process.  Or applications of £5000 or less, it will take up to 6 weeks to process an application.  Or applications over £5000, it can take up to 12 weeks to process an application.  You can download all the documents you need from the Arts Council website (www.artscouncil.org.uk).  In making an application, make sure that you follow the application's guidance notes carefully and format your application to mirror those points.  The Arts Council are inundated with applications for grants so ensure you keep ahead by submitting a good application.  It is worth contacting the assistant officers at the Arts Council to find out if they are running any workshops on Grants for the Arts applications.  For Performing Arts, contact Chloe Smith (01924 486215) or Kath Savage (01924 486212).  For Visual Arts and Literature, contact Kelly Amoss (01924 486220) or Tony Dixon (01924 486221).

Question 3:

I want to do a community arts project in Leeds.  Who should I talk to?

Anna Taylor, Headingley

Answer 3:

A good contact to have at Leeds City Council is Andrew McGill who is Head of Arts.  Similarly, Jon Price leads on Arts in Regeneration and is a useful contact for information on Leeds Festivals.  Diana White is the best contact for finding out about grassroots projects throughout Leeds, especially in communities outside of the city centre.

The Leeds Arts Partnership is an arts network that is beginning to influence developments in the city.  Similarly, other arts contacts include Leeds Visual Arts Forum (LVAF) and East Street Arts.  Karen Watson is the person to talk to at East Street Arts.

For more theatre-oriented projects, it may be worth contacting Ian Brown, Artistic Director at the West Yorkshire Playhouse or Sam Perkins who is Head of Arts Development there.

Other Leeds-based companies include Phoenix Dance Theatre (Contact: David Edmunds: Producer), Northern Ballet Theatre (Contact: Mark Skipper: CEO) and Yorkshire Dance Centre (Contact: Bush Hartshorn).

Leeds is a prime opportunity for artists to get involved in community work so make the most of your contacts and get your ideas in to them early.

Question 4:

Who should I contact about working as an artist in North Yorkshire?

Sue Morley, Ripon

Answer 4:

At North Yorkshire County Council, an excellent contact to make is Gillian Wall who is the County Arts Development Officer.

Rural Arts is an organisation that provides a creative outreach programme to communities across North Yorkshire.  Your contact there is Margaret Murphy. 

AIR (Arts in Richmondshire) is the new arts development agency for Richmondshire and may be worth contacting if this is the right location for you.  You can contact Robin Battersby and Christel Kibbat and AIR.

Art Connections, based in Skipton, may be worth contacting (Christine Keough).  It is a new project, managed by Chrysalis Arts, to develop and support creative businesses across North Yorkshire.  The project currently offers a range of information, advice, training and marketing support services for visual artists and makers who live and/or work in North Yorkshire.

For theatre-based help and information, it may be worth contacting the Theatre Royal in York.  Dan Bates is the CEO and Damian Cruden is the Artistic Director.

Question 5:

What is CRB clearance?

David Brown, Keighley

Answer 5:

CRB clearance stands for Criminal Records Bureau Clearance.  A CRB disclosure is a document containing information held by the police, Department of Health and Department of Education and Skills.  It can be used by employers and voluntary organisations to make safer recruitment decisions.  Decisions are provided by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), an executive agency of the Home Office.

This is a legal requirement when working with children and/or vulnerable adults.  The level of clearance you require is linked to the role you will be taking. 

You will need to telephone the Contact Centre on the Disclosure application line on 0870 90 90 844.  Alternatively, you could download the application pack from the CRB website: www.crb.gov.uk or http://www.disclosure.gov.uk/.

You should receive your Enhanced Disclosure within three weeks of the completed application form being posted to the CRB, although this can take up to four weeks.  Applications for Standard Disclosure would ideally take one week, however could take up to two.  Clearly any inaccurate or missing data would delay the process.  During busy periods the telephone helpline gives details on the length of delay.

Each Disclosure will show the date on which it was printed, therefore, the older the Disclosure, the less reliable it is.  Although there is no official expiry date, the police and CRB advise that Disclosures be renewed on a yearly basis. 

If you would like more information about Disclosure or the CRB please contact:

 Disclosure Application Line  0870 90 90 844
 CRB Information Line   0870 90 90 811

(Telephone calls are charged at national rate.  Calls will be recorded for security and may be monitored for training purposes)

The CRB is committed to compliance with the Data Protection Act.  This means that any personal information that you submit will be protected.  For full details, please telephone the CRB Information Line on 0870 90 90 811.

Question 6:

I am an artist and I would like to work in a health environment.  How do I go about this? I live just outside of Leeds.

Gill Walker, Adel

Answer 6:

Hospital Trusts and Primary Health Care Trusts are assessed by the government against certain key indicators, one of which is 'How to communicate with people in the community'.  As a result of fulfilling this criterion, artists become involved in the health environment.

Many Hospital Trusts and Primary Health Care Trusts are likely to be interested in the potential of working with artists in most medical departments.  I would suggest contacting your local trust and discussing with them the possibility of working with them in an arts capacity.

For example, in Leeds General Infirmary, there is an arts organisation based in the hospital called TONIC.  Tonic is an arts in health programme which uses the arts for the benefit of patients and staff in the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Formerly known as the Arts & Environments Programme for the United Leeds Teaching Hospitals, the programme was first established in 1992. Since that time over £1.5m has been raised to improve hospital environments and patients' experience of hospitalisation.

Contact: Gail Bolland: Arts Co-ordinator
Tel: 0113 392 6568
Email: Gail.bolland@leedsth.nhs.uk

Question 7:

Who do I talk to about working in the film industry in Yorkshire?

Joe Phillips, Sheffield

Answer 7:

Previously, Yorkshire was served by the Yorkshire Media Training Council (YMTC).  This was replaced by Screen Yorkshire (contact: Jo Spreckley) which is the organisation for supporting film, TV and the audio-visual industry in Yorkshire.  Screen Yorkshire does tend to work with those who are already established but it does have a scheme to support new and emerging talent (contact: Tony Dixon).

Question 8:

Can you explain to me about the LSCs and how the creative industries fit in?

Margaret Turner, Harrogate

Answer 8:

Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency for Yorkshire, took over responsibility for the Yorkshire Learning and Skills Councils (part of a national body charged with raising the skill level of the UK).  Yorkshire Forward set up brokers for the sector as a result of research finding that Higher and Further Education does not guarantee employability.  Employers are looking for certain key skills.

Each of the LSCs has brokers for the Creative and Digital Cluster.  Brokers are independent organisations who go into companies to identify the skills needed to aid the company's professional development.  They then take this information back to the LSCs and the training providers.  In North Yorkshire, CIDA acts as this Broker and the rest of Yorkshire is covered by the New Technology Institutes.  Sometimes the Brokers can access funding to help with professional development and training, although the emphasis is on digital skills.

Contacts:

South Yorkshire: Digital South Yorkshire – run by David Kay and Liz Wallis
East Riding and Humber – Bill Walker
West Yorkshire – West Yorkshire New Technology Institute – Linda Broughton
North Yorkshire – CIDA – Jo Wilkinson