Youth and Community Arts for the High Peak
The New Mills group created 59 mosaics to make a trail for Furness Vale Community Field , with artist Debra Tracey. We have also produced a leaflet so you can tick them off as you find them. See leaflet here, PROJECT EARTH MOSAIC TRAIL pages 1 – 3 and PROJECT EARTH MOSAIC TRAIL page 4!
Participants at New Mills Project eARTh are currently working with artist Caroline Chouler Tissier on 2 large welcome signs that will be placed in the Community Field at Furness Vale in the High Peak. Taking inspiration from the surrounding environment, and how local residents can use the park, the designs will be a rich mixture of those drawn into the clay; built on as relief pieces; and created by drawings and photos used as de-cal transfers. The finished signs will be mounted on aluminium. We can’t wait to see the finished results!
We
are delighted to be starting a new project with the residents of Charis House, Buxton, a safe place where homeless women, including those escaping from domestic violence, and women recovering from drug and alcohol dependency can find rest and recovery.
High Peak Community Arts has worked with Good News Family Care (who run Charis 
House) since 2014 via the Creative Wellbeing project. This programme works with its residents and other women in the community in a wide range of creative arts. Workshops are held at Good News Family Care’s Family Centre or Oldfield Farm.
Funded by The Ashley Foundation, The South West Peak Landscape Partnership, and the John Booth Charitable Trust, the project seeks to provide a fun, creative way of learning new skills, socialising and doing something different. The main ingredient in this project comes straight from local fields, courtesy of our four-legged fleeced friends at Oldfield Farm! Local Lleyn sheep take centre stage, with women learning all the processes about how to transform a sheep’s fleece into carded wool – washing, sorting, dying, and carding – and then using the carded wool for wet felting, needle felting and weaving, as well as spinning the carded wool into yarn.
Working with local artist Carol Wilson, project participants will create final pieces from the fleece – these may be woven, knitted, crocheted or felted. The idea is that the yarn can also be sold in local shops as a way of generating much needed extra funds for Charis House.
“The first project we ever did at Charis House was felting, which the women really enjoyed so, when the farm acquired 6 Lleyn sheep, it seemed ideal to revisit and expand the idea, this time involving the whole process from the shearing to the finished items. We see this is a long term venture so that staff can use their sheep to generate useful activity and income” (Alison Bowry, Project Co-ordinator, High Peak Community Arts)
“It’s fun doing it all together, working as a team. You get that feeling that people have been doing this kind of activity over centuries. And you really appreciate all the work it takes to transform wool into, say, a jumper…” (Jan, Volunteer, Charis House)
In 2018, the project will be using commercial dyes. Next year, participants will be using natural dyes, including those that will be created from plants (such as woad) that grow on Oldfield Farm.
Between 2018-19, the project aims to work with a minimum of 30 women in over 40 workshops.
For more information, please contact Alison on 01663 744516 or at alison@highpeakarts.org.
Come and be inspired by Project eARTh participants latest work!
For the past 6 months, project participants have been working with the renowned poet (and ex-Cheshire Poet Laureate) John Lindley to craft poetry on a variety of themes. Work included in the book ranges from being very funny to profound and soul-searching. Participants have penned inspiring poetry on a wide range of subjects which include bat boxes, pets, childhood memories and conkers. There’s even one written about mothers-in-law!
Under the expert guidance of John Lindley, the participants (some of whom have never written poetry before) have experimented with a range of writing techniques, including haiku.
Helen Mort, ex-Derbyshire Poet Laureate, a rising star of British poetry and one of HPCA’s esteemed Ambassadors, has written a foreword to accompany the book.
There will be an official book launch on Thursday March 22nd 2018, 11am-12.30pm, at Spring Bank Arts Centre, New Mills. All welcome! Guests will be able to hear poems read from the book, enjoy refreshments and have the opportunity to buy copies of ‘Carved from the Earth’ for only £3. All proceeds from book sales will go directly back to High Peak Community Arts.
We are excited to announce that we have received the backing of the National Foundation for Youth Music with a 3 year grant which will bring musical activity to schools and community spaces across the High Peak.
Youth Arts Programme Manager, Sophie Mackreth says “We are so happy to have won this grant, which will fund music at the heart of our whole youth programme, from early years to open workshops for age 8+ and new partnerships with some of our local High Schools.” Young people should look out for local music workshops from Easter and a chance to take part in an annual Summer School which will produce a performing arts show for the general public. Young participants can also submit their work for a national Arts Award and join the steering group that plans future projects.
Our next job is to sit down with the steering group and choose material for the coming year – and to raise funds for any non-musical artforms we want to use! There’s never a rest from grant writing!
High Peak Community Arts AGM 2017
On Tuesday November 28th 2017, we held our AGM at the Providence URC Church in New Mills. The turnout was fantastic, and the evening enhanced by a wonderful performance by the Amarone Ensemble. Made up of a trio of talented musicians, all who currently play for the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ensemble treated our audience to spine tingling renditions of a number of musical pieces by composers including Handel, Elgar and Bach.
We circulated our latest annual report at the meeting. The report contains information about everything that the team has been up to from April 2016- March 2017. So much has happened – including canal boat art, lavendar and wool weaving and ceramic birdbath creations with Project eARTh; the Write to Roam and Young Writers Camp; the For The Love of Books early years learning programme; and the first year of our new partnership with Glossopdale Community College, Buxton Community School and Chapel-en- le-Frith Pupil Referral Unit via the Music Arts Pod project. It’s been a busy year, with the continuation of past projects and the start of many new ones. Huge thanks to our funders and supporters, without whom we would not be able to use the arts as a tool for positive change in local peoples lives.
Do have a read of our latest report, if you have time, and please let us know your thoughts!
On 22nd November Sophie hit London with Film Cuts Club leaders, Mark & Benn Turton. We had a grand day out as finalists for the Arts & Culture Award. Which was a fantastic achievement, in a shortlist of only 4 organisations from across the country, including Great Ormond Street Hospital, Rhythmix who cover South West England and Curious Minds, who are the Arts Council ‘Bridge Organisation’ for North West England.
We didn’t win, but we met some lovely people working hard for young people all around the country. It was just brilliant to be 
part of the Children and Young People Now year of 2017, and it’s so valuable for small charities like us to be considered on a level playing field with the big regional and national organisations. We enjoyed meeting some of the other nominees in our category and swapping notes.
Curious Minds won the Arts and Culture Award for all their work across the North West, and we had a great chat with Rhythmix from the South East who won the Mental Health and Wellbeing Award!
Children and Young People Now is the leading national magazine for professionals working in the sector and they launched the awards in 2006.
The Children & Young People Now Awards have become the gold standard for everyone working with children, young people and families. They provide a great source of pride and recognition for all those who strive day in, day out, to improve the lives of others. They offer an opportunity to raise the profile of projects and initiatives to funders and the general public.
And they present a tremendous showcase of learning and best practice from across the country that can be an inspiration to all. The awards recognise initiatives from the public, private and voluntary sector that work with children and young people from birth to adolescence as well as their families.
A sneak peak at some of the musical programme for our Musical evening
Performed especially for HPCA by The Amarone Ensemble.
For High Peak Arts AGM on Nov 28th!
Victoria Daniel – Flute
Karen Mainwaring – Violin
Rebecca Aldersea – Cello
Bach – Polonaise, Minuet & Badinerie from Orchestral Suite No.3 in D Major
Elgar – Chanson de Matin
Handel – Hornpipe from The Water Music
Delibes – Flower Duet from Lakme
The Amarone Ensemble was formed by members of the BBC Philharmonic in 2011. They perform regularly on BBC Radio 3 and BBC television, as well as touring internationally and appearing at festivals all over the UK, including the BBC Proms.
Combining busy careers as professional musicians and parents, the Trio are passionate about performing music in a variety of community settings and engaging and inspiring children through bespoke project work delivered directly into schools.
We offer a wide range of workshops for community groups here at High Peak Community Arts. Have a browse through our navigation bar for more details. Here are just a few examples of our creative explorations!
