April 2012 sees Southport Contemporary Arts, independent artists network, opening their exciting new creative centre, ArtHouse, in Southport town centre on 65 Eastbank Street.

ArtHouse will be a combination of:

Gallery space showcasing work from local artists, with exhibitions changing on a regular basis

Creative workshops and classes in a wide variety of arts and crafts skills, with weekday, weekend and evening opportunities

Studio spaces for practicing artists and designer makers, to work and to showcase their artwork

Regular creative events

ArtHouse will be open Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-4pm (with some evening opening times)

If you are interested in any aspect of the ArtHouse offer there are more details on the SCA website: www.southportcontemporaryarts.com

Up to fifty people of all ages and drawn from a number of community dance groups will be participating in the BIG DANCE IN SEFTON during the summer in a partnership between Sefton Arts and Merseyside Dance Initiative.

The Big Dance 2012 is a national scheme which aims to encourage participation in dance workshops, classes and performances while improving fitness and general mental well being. Individual groups throughout the country will be rehearsing their part of a single dance routine under the guidance of a professional guest choreographer and will then join together for a major performance during the summer which celebrates their achievements and showcases the final dance piece.

Sefton participants will join other groups in the North West for their performance in July to be held in Liverpool and Manchester. The highlight of the Big Dance programme will be its role in supporting the London Olympic Games as part of the Cultural Olympiad.

In addition to the main Big Dance event, several Sefton schools have also signed the 'Big Dance Pledge' and made a commitment to increase fitness levels through extra regular dance activity.

If you would like further information, or would like to register your school onto the Big Dance project please visit the website www.bigdance2012.com

A selection of the Botanic Gardens Museum exhibitions are on display at the following Libraries:

• Tourism in Southport, Southport Library
• Domestic Objects, Formby Library
• Watercolour Paintings, Churchtown Library

The small exhibitions have been organised by Sefton Arts and Sefton Libraries Service to enable residents to access the museum collections after its closure in April 2011.

The watercolours are all original 1900 paintings of areas of Churchtown including Churchgate, Meols Hall and Botanic Road.

 Nicola Jones, Museums and Galleries Officer said:

"Sefton are very lucky to have such a diverse selection of museum collections and Sefton Arts recognises the need to encourage access to such important local historical objects.  With all the paintings featuring local Churchtown scenes, Churchtown Libray was the obvious choice." 

Other small exhibits from the Botanic Gardens Museum are currently available to view in different library locations across the borough, from a display on Tourism in Southport, Domestic Objects in Formby and future displays planned for Birkdale, Bootle, Orrell Library, Litherland and Great Crosby Library.

For more information on the Botanic collections on display at your local library please visit Sefton Arts website or call / drop into your local library.

 Entries for the 2012 Southport Writers’ Circle International Poetry Competition are now being taken. This year the award-winning poet Alison Chisholm is judging the competition.

Alison has had over eight collections (600 poems) published in magazines, anthologies or broadcast by BBC Radio Network Northwest /Channel 4 TV.
 
She teaches creative writing and writing poetry in Adult Education, gives talks and readings, adjudicates competitions and is poetry correspondent for 'Writing Magazine' and 'Writers' News.'

Prizes for this year’s competition are:

First Prize: £200, Second Prize: £100, Third Prize: £50 (In addition: £25 Humour Prize: £25 Local Prize.

The closing date for this year’s competition in 30 April 2012 the rules are as below:

1. Each entry must be anonymous and local entrants (Liverpool and Preston  Postcodes) should mark poems with an ‘L’. Please enclose a separate sheet of A4 paper with your full contact details and list of titles submitted.
2. Entries must be typed on A4 paper, in English, and must be the original, unpublished work of the entrant.
3. Each entry should be accompanied by the appropriate fee of £3 per poem or four poems for £10. Cheques/Postal orders should be in sterling and payable to SOUTHPORT WRITERS’ CIRCLE.
4.  A maximum of 40 lines per poem is allowed.
5.  Please keep a copy of your poem(s) as manuscripts cannot be returned.
6.  The adjudicator’s decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into. Entrants who enclose an S.A.E will receive a copy of the adjudicator’s report.
 
No application form is required. Envelopes should be marked ‘POETRY COMPETITION’ and sent to:- Southport Writers’ Circle, 18 Ditchfield, Formby, Merseyside, L37 4EQ please DO NOT send entries by recorded delivery.
 
For further information about the competition or to enter online please visit www.swconline.co.uk
 
 

The Southport Palette Club annual exhibition will return to the town in 2012. This follows two years of the exhibition being successfully displayed in the ballroom at Bootle Town Hall, a move made necessary due to the redevelopment of the Atkinson Art Gallery as part of the Cultural Centre on Lord Street.

With the Cultural Centre not scheduled to open until 2013, the council members of the Palette Club decided it was important to open the next exhibition in Southport. The 87th exhibition will now take place in July and August 2012, at Greenbank High School, Hillside. The venue offers an excellent exhibition space, combined with good public transport links and car parking.

This popular exhibition which started in 1921, has built up a reputation for excellence over the years, becoming the Atkinson Art Galleryʼs major draw in terms of visitor numbers. We are confident that the 87th exhibition will continue to reflect this, and we look forward to welcoming both regular and new exhibitors to Greenbank.

Information will be regularly updated on the website www.southportpaletteclub.org.uk

THEATRE IN THE ROUGH FESTIVAL : LIVERPOOL AND THE TITANIC

3-7 July 2012, Old Christ Church, Waterloo

ALL EVENTS ARE FREE ENTRY

2012 marks the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic - a liner with enduring links to Sefton. From the home of Bruce Ismay, the director of the White Star Line, to the stamping ground of one of its tragic musicians, the memory of the Titanic is part of the memory of the borough itself. Liverpool and the Titanic brings together five days of live theatre, live music, talks and a brand new historical exhibition, all created and curated locally. Ten new short plays will be performed live, alongside ten new audio plays. An exhibition, featuring original artefacts including the dress uniform of the Captain of the Carpathia and contemporary newspapers, will be open to the public. Dr John Welshman, author of Titanic: The Last Night of a Small Town will be giving a talk based around his new book. The week is rounded off by a special performance from acclaimed local folk band, The Mersey Rigger, performing songs from their Titanic-themed musical Queen of the Ocean.

• Tuesday 3 July, 10am-4.30pm: Exhibition
• Wednesday 4 July, 10am-4.30pm: Exhibition
• Wednesday 4 July, 5pm: Talk by Dr John Welshman, author of Titanic: The Last Night of a Small Town
• Thursday 5 July, 10am-2pm: Exhibition
• Thursday 5 July, 7.30pm: Live Theatre
• Friday 6 July, 10am-2pm: Exhibition
• Friday 6 July, 7.30pm: Live Theatre
• Saturday 7 July, 10am-4.30pm: Exhibition, including live music by folk band The Mersey Rigger

For more information on the event contact Chris Fittock (Artistic Director) at info@theatreintherough.com or visit www.theatreintherough.com

The Theatre in the Rough Festival 2012: Liverpool and the Titanic is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England Grants for the Arts.

Creative Alternatives, Sefton’s arts and mental health programme, has been awarded for its pioneering work at this year’s North West Public Health Awards.

A panel of the regions leading public health specialists and practitioners judged the awards held at The Echo Arena in Liverpool. With Creative Alternatives winning one of only eight awards from over 140 entries from across the North West.

The award acknowledged the impact that the Creative Alternatives programmes have had on improving the mental health of adults experiencing mild to moderate depression, stress or anxiety throughout Sefton and on its innovative use and range of stimulating and confidence building arts activities as an alternative to traditional medical treatments.

Philip Wroe, Community Partnerships Manager for Sefton Arts said:

  “This recognition highlights the important role the arts now play in promoting health and wellbeing to individuals and communities and acknowledges the quality of the activities and expertise on offer to the public through membership of the Creative Alternatives programme.

The Creative Alternatives team work very hard to offer the very best creative arts workshops and activities to its clients. This award, will help us to gain future support and funding in developing the programme further, to enable us to help more people across Sefton.”

Creative Alternatives is a partnership between Sefton MBC’s Arts service and NHS Sefton. Clients of the programme have access up to six months of free creative arts workshops in addition to specialist projects, group outings, newsletters, health advice and support in joining one of the many mainstream arts opportunities organised by Sefton’s Arts service.

Creative Alternatives clients report increased confidence, social involvement, communication skills, independence and improved physical and mental health.

If you are interested in joining the programme or seeking further information about Creative Alternatives, please visit the website www.creativealternatives.org.uk or email Philip.Wroe@sefton.gov.uk

POTTERY CLASSES

Sefton Arts & Cultural Services have added another workshop to their increasing Community Arts & Wellbeing programme.

Pottery classes for Sefton residents take place at St Mary's Complex, Waverley Street, Bootle on Wednesday mornings 10.30am to 12.30pm. Anybody interested in attending the pottery workshop please contact John Ayling on 0777 959 2337 or email John Ayling regarding availability of spaces.

The classes, led by expert potter John Ayling, will teach adults of all ages and skill levels a range of techniques including pinch-pot making, coil-pot making, tile making, slab building and modelling. There is a friendly atmosphere in the classes and beginners are welcome.

The price is £10 per session (plus a small cost for materials when finished work is taken home). Enrolment takes place every 5 weeks with fees payable in advance.

A reduced price of £8.50 per session is in place until June

COMMUNITY ARTS & WELLBEING PROGRAMME

International research shows that involvement in creative arts and leisure activity brings positive benefits to mental well-being and health. The government’s ‘5 ways to well-being’ initiative promotes this approach and is supported by Sefton MBC’s Arts service’s programme of community based creative arts workshops.

Philip Wroe, Senior Arts Officer said: “Workshops have always been popular with Sefton residents as they have so many health and general well-being advantages. We at Sefton Arts & Cultural Services understand what a difference these activities make to people’s lives and because of this are keen to develop a further programme and continue to engage with more people (of all ages) so that they too can improve their quality of life.”

All of Sefton’s programme of creative courses and classes can be classified under at least one of the 5 Ways to Wellbeing.

1. Connect Connect with the people around you, with family, friends and neighbours.

2. Be Active Discover an activity you enjoy and one which suits your level of mobility and fitness.

3. Take Notice Be curious and aware of the world around you and what you are feeling.

4. Keep Learning Try something new, set yourself a challenge you will enjoy achieving.

5. Give Volunteer your time, join a group and link yourselfto the wider community.

For more information on the Community Arts & Wellbeing workshop programme, please visit www.seftonarts.co.uk or contact Philip Wroe on 0151 934 2114 / Philip.wroe@sefton.gov.uk