Mantle Community Arts - Our Projects, Workshops & Activities

<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" topmargin="0" leftmargin="5" marginwidth="5" marginheight="0"> <p>Projects</p> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td class="text" valign="top">Throughout any given year Mantle Community Arts undertakes many different projects in many different places - community centres, youth clubs, village halls, schools, colleges, day centres, streets and fields. We work with people of all ages and our projects embrace many different arts activities - visual arts, music, drama, writing, dance, processional work, performance and more.<p>Projects encompass everything from one-off workshops to week-long residencies to schemes lasting a year or longer.</p> <p>In addition to this, we are also in the process of reviewing Mantle as an organisation and making plans for expanding and developing our work in the future. We aim to increase our team of staff, associate artists and resources, so that we can better work with community groups to run exciting arts projects.</p> <p>Current and Recent projects include:<br> <br> </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td> <p></p> <p></p> <p>Coalville Winter Lantern procession 2004/5</p> <p></p> <p>From November 2004 until January 2005 Mantle ran a series oflantern making workshops with schools and community groups. We also took over a local shop and ran drop in workshops on Saturdays in the city centre.</p> <p>The project culminated in a lantern procession through the streets of Coalville on <st1:date Year="2005" Day="22" Month="1"> January 22<sup>nd</sup> 2005 </st1:date> . The procession ended at <st1:place> <st1:PlaceName> Snibston </st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName> Discovery </st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType> Park </st1:PlaceType> </st1:place> where there was a performance by students of King Edward VII school, involving, music, drama, dance and puppetry. There was also a fire sculpture and a firework display.</p> <p></p> <p>Lead Lantern Artists were Fiona and Liz Robertson supported by Claire Bull. Mantle provided three trainee participatory artist placements on the project which were undertaken by Helen Joyce, Steve Smith and Bronwen Barradell.</p> <p>The performance was created by <st1:PersonName> Juliet Forster </st1:PersonName> (Drama), Jenny Edwards (Dance) and <st1:PersonName> Mitch Oldham </st1:PersonName> (Music). Stage designers Elsa Bua and <st1:PersonName> Xanthe Moore </st1:PersonName> created costumes, props and a huge puppet griffin. Fireworks and fire sculpture were provided by paBoom.</p> <p></p> <p>Watch video clips of the procession and the final performance here.</p> <p class="titletext"></p> <p class="titletext"><img src="images/ashbymural.jpg" alt=" Ashby Mural " align="left" vspace="3" WIDTH="270" HEIGHT="168"></p> <p class="titletext">Ashby Mural, April 2003</p> <p class="text">Children, young people and adults on the Sanctuary Estate in Ashby de la Zouch worked with artists Julia and Katy Doncaster in April 2003 to create a mural on the wall facing into the play area on the estate. The brightly coloured and decorative mural features patterns, people, hand prints, a DJ and is a wonderful testament to the energy and ideas of those who created it.<br> <br> <br> </p> <p class="titletext">Castle Donington Community College project, January - April 2003</p> <p class="text">We are pleased to be developing links with various groups in Castle Donington through a residency at the Community College with artist Clare Bull, as part of her MA with Derby University. Clare has been working on various projects with Mantle for several months and her work with groups at Castle Donington Community College is exploring local identity and using recycled materials to create artwork.<br> <br> <br> </p> <p class="titletext"><img src="images/greenhill_mural.jpg" alt=" Greenhill Mural " align="right" vspace="5" WIDTH="270" HEIGHT="195">Estate of the Art - project work in Agar Nook and Greenhill 2002</p> <p class="text">We have been working with several groups on these estates as part of a joint project with Loughborough-based Charnwood Arts, funded through the Arts Councils' New Audiences programme. The Project is now nearing completion with the creation of a publication and web site. You can find out more at <a href="http://www.estateoftheart.com" target="_blank">www.estateoftheart.com</a></p> <p class="text">Blocks of workshops have taken place here in the summer and autumn of 2002, in which young people worked with artists to explore their ideas. This included the creation of a mural close to the Cropston Drive shops in Greenhill - the result is a really stunning, prominent, large mural, depicting the area's mining industry. Further mural work was made alongside this. Groups also worked with artists to make large lanterns and music for the third Coalville Community Lantern Procession in December.</p> <p class="text">The work was in partnership with North West Leicestershire District Council and additional project funding was secured by the participating groups - Greenhill Youth Centre, Greenhill Tenants Association, Agar Nook Community Centre, King Edward Vll Community College and also through The Catalyst Fund (Leicestershire County Council). Artists who have worked with young people on the project are Julia Doncaster, Matt Chell, Katy Doncaster, Frazer Johnston, Harvey Sharmann Dunn, Emma Williams, Mark Evans and Michael Davis.<br> <br> <br> </p> <p class="titletext">Half a Century, summer 2002</p> <p class="text">This project was a partnership between VIVA (formally East of England Orchestra), North West Leicestershire District Council, Leicestershire County Council, Eastern Orchestral Board and Mantle. It was launched at Picnic in the Park and continued with a week of workshops in August, culminating in a performance at the Century Theatre in September 2002.</p> <p class="text">Around 55 young people worked with the project team in August, using the Century Theatre as a starting point for generating ideas. The Theatre (now housed at Snibston Discovery Park) was a self-contained mobile venue, touring the UK for many years. Using the idea of vehicles, travel, distant and new lands, participants worked with community artist Frazer Johnston, musicians from ViVA and composer Stephen Roberts.<br> <br> <br> </p> <p class="titletext"><img src="images/donisthorpe.jpg" alt=" Donisthorpe Mosaic " align="left" vspace="3" WIDTH="248" HEIGHT="234">Mosaic with young people in Donisthorpe, 2002</p> <p class="text">This was a partnership project with Leicestershire County Council's Youth Mobile Project which was completed in July. Young people from Donisthorpe worked with artist Peter Massey to produce two beautiful circular mosaics representing Donisthorpe Past and Present and Donisthorpe Future. They are now on display in the new Donisthorpe Community Centre.<br> <br> <br> </p> <p class="titletext">Diseworth Primary School, June 2002</p> <p class="text">Artist Alison Denholm spent a week in June, working in the school with all the pupils and staff to create an illustrated eight foot square map of the centre of Diseworth. The work encompassed print-making, paper-making, silk-painting and wax resist and illustrates buildings and features within the village.<br> <br> <br> </p> <p class="titletext"><img src="images/lantern.jpg" alt=" Lantern Procession " align="right" vspace="5" WIDTH="270" HEIGHT="195">Summer and winter processions</p> <p class="text">We have been working with groups to make processional artwork for several years now. This includes the annual summer Picnic in the Park events which have taken place in Whitwick and Coalville and lantern processions in Coalville and Grace Dieu.</p> <p class="text">The Picnic processions have seen us working with groups of people of all ages and with people living along the procession route to make costumes, huge puppets, banners and much more. This project is a partnership with North West Leicestershire District Council and in 2003 the event took place in Coalville Park on June 29th. Mantle also runs drop in arts activities at these events where children and adults can have a go at getting creative together.</p> <p class="text">The lantern processional work has included three Christmas in Coalville events and an event at Grace Dieu in 2002. The third Coalville Christmas Lantern Procession took place on the evening of Friday December 6th 2002, in partnership with North West Leicestershire District Council and Coalville Christmas Initiatives Group. Community artists Katy Doncaster and Frazer Johnston worked with around 600 people to create a host of lanterns in many colours and sizes. This included work with pupils at King Edward Vll Community College who created large dragons and creatures for the event. In addition another group of pupils from the same college worked with musicians Emma Williams, Mark Evans and Michael Davis to create music to lead the procession.</p> <p class="text">Participating groups were: King Edward Vll Community College, Imagine (Ibstock Community College), The Bridge Club, Coalville Brownies and Guides, people attending open sessions, Whitwick Cubs and Scouts, Coalville Cubs, Worthington Youth Club, and the following primary schools: Belvoirdale, Hugglescote, Hemington, Swannington, Broom Leys and Whitwick St John the Baptist.<br> <br> <br> </p> <p class="titletext">What Makes You Happy</p> <p class="text">This was a partnership project between Leicestershire Libraries and Information Service, North West Leicestershire District Council (both Arts and Health Development) and Mantle Community Arts. This project was linked with the North West Leicestershire World Mental Health Day Planning Group as part of activities centring around World Mental Health Day and focusing on positive mental well being.</p> <p class="text"><img src="images/starlight.jpg" alt=" What Makes You Happy " align="left" vspace="5" WIDTH="270" HEIGHT="195">The project had three sections and was launched in July 2001 with the first of these - a postcard campaign in which people recorded their thoughts about "what makes you happy" on project cards. People of all ages filled them in with words, drawings, paintings and photographs and the completed cards - over 500 - were compiled into an exhibition. It really captured people's imagination and as the completed cards were returned we found the responses touching, funny, tender, quirky, moving and fascinating.</p> <p class="text">The second part of the project was a series of storytelling sessions - again looking at happiness, wishes and contentment, run by Katrice Horsley and Liza Watts. Sessions took place at several events around the area.</p> <p class="text">The final section of this project was a series of creative writing and visual arts workshops led by Mark Goodwin and Katy Doncaster - and these workshops took place with three specifically targeted groups. Participating groups (two of adults and one of young people) are each using local mental health support services.</p> <p class="text">All work created and gathered during the project has been produced (with participants' consent) in a book of Happy Thoughts - contact <a href="mailto:info@mantlearts.org.uk">info@mantlearts.org.uk</a> for further details or to order a copy.</td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td><p align="center"><br> <MAP NAME="FrontPageMap"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="10, 10, 440, 210" HREF="mailto:info@mantlearts.org.uk"></MAP><a href="_vti_bin/shtml.exe/projects.htm/map"><img ismap usemap="#FrontPageMap" border="0" height="220" alt=" How to become involved ... " src="graphics/involved.gif" width="450"></a></td> </tr> </table> <p><a href="index.html">Home</a></p> <p><a href="merchandise.htm">Merchandise</a></p> </body>