Performing Arts Cohort go to Glasgow

Here are some of the Leadership Cohort for Performing Arts Leicester who went up to the European Theatre conference in Glasgow last week, funded by the Cultural Leadership Programme. Excuse my ropey photography and Usual Suspects line up!

They are: Maya Biswas (Big Difference Co); Vijay Mistry (2 Funky); Ellen Bianchini (Spark Festival); Louise Katerega (Foot in Hand); Trina Haldar (Curve & freelance); Samir Bhamra (Phizzical); Debbie Longley (Melton Theatre) and Sue Pike (PAL Leadership Project Manager).

Rachel Smith Designs Hugo the Highcross Cat

Rachael Smith is a uniquely talented illustrator based in Leicester, her drawings are full of warm humour and bursting with character. She specialises in children's book illustration and character design, but her creations lend themselves to all kinds of creative work such as advertising, merchandise design, and editorial illustrations.

Working with the local community is important to Highcross, so when Rachael approached us with her idea for a Highcross illustration we worked with her to deliver Hugo the Highcross cat (illustration)

Rachael designed Hugo the Highcross Cat especially for this project. "I wanted to create someone a bit cheeky and curious who could get involved with everything Highcross has to offer. Hugo, being a cat, especially likes the sushi!"

Rachael's most popular character to date is Flimsy the Kitten, who has her own blog and range of merchandise. She also designs her own t shirts and sells original work in her online shop. To find out more about Rachael and her many weird and wonderful creations visit www.highcrossleicester.com

Rachel is a former graduate bursary winner as well

Catharine Ashdown Former Bursary Winner Showcased at Curve

As part of Momentum, the new writing festival Catharine Ashdown is having her first stage play 'Bygones' showcased at Curve on 29th October (7pm). It is being performed as a script-in-hand show, along with three other half hour pieces by different writers.

Bygones
A Belfast pub, 1995. As the crowd gathers outside to greet President Clinton's historic visit, Carmel, a Catholic and Dan, a Protestant, each try to make sense of their troubled past

For more information on the festival go to http://issuu.com/theatre-writing/docs/momentum_2010

Creative Leicestershire Bursary Winner Shauna Richardson Wins Saatchi Award

Thirty shortlisted artists from the Art of Giving Competition exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery 7th -9th October with a host of famous artists to raise money for charity through the sale of art. Comedian Vic Reeves, Photographer Terry O’Neill and Artist Christian Furr judged the competition, which was split into three categories: Painting and Drawing, Sculpture and Photography.

Winner of the sculpture category and overall winner is self-proclaimed Crochetdermist Shauna Richardson from Stoughton, Leicestershire. Shauna sculpts life-like animals using crochet hook and wool. Using one simple stitch and one colour Shauna employs her own unique crochet freestyle technique to highlight the anatomy of the animal. Each piece takes months to complete, five months in the case of one 6.5ft brown bear.

Tilla Crowne was awarded first prize in the Painting and Drawing category. Tilla, 23, studied Fine Art at Cambridge School of Art and primarily works with living material. Her work entered in the competition consisted of live snails, with their shells painted in the image of rooms in her childhood home. She says “I relish the dynamism and constant change that living elements lend to my work. My installations change over the time they are exhibited, so each viewing is unique.”

Edward Bowman was awarded first prize in the Photography category. Edward, who graduated from the University of Derby with an MA in Photography, and from the University of Westminster with an MA in Design and Media Arts get’s his inspiration from the past, “My work is entirely about the past. A search for what has been lost - around the theme absence.” He has taken photographs in India, China and Egypt. He currently lives in London.

Shauna, Tilla and Edward all received a cash prize and art supplies.

For more information on the Art of Giving go to www.artofgiving.co.uk.

Bursary Winner Sarah Cressall Launches Her Franchise ' The Creation Station' at the National Franchise Exhbition

The perfect franchise for mums is booked to run the first ever Children's Activity Centre at the National Franchise Exhibition at the NEC

To encourage women along to this year’s National Franchise Exhibition at the NEC, leading exhibition organiser Venture Marketing is making the event a family friendly experience. They have booked The Creation Station to run a Children’s Activity Centre on the second day of the exhibition – Saturday, 2nd October.

Parents wanting to find out more about the flexible business opportunities offered by franchising are invited to bring their children along and enjoy a family day out. The Children’s Activity Centre is completely free and can be accessed from The Creation Station stand B170. Parents can enjoy quality and stress free time with their children and experience the joy of creating a mysterious mask, a willow wand or a squishy squashy picture. Places are limited and are on a first come first served basis.

The Creation Station founder and Managing Director Sarah Cressall said: “This is a fantastic way to attract more mums to the National Franchise Exhibition so they can find out more about a wide range of business opportunities. As an Associate Member of the British Franchise Association The Creation Station is committed to supporting women in franchising. We are delighted that Venture Marketing have asked us to run the first ever entertainment event at the exhibition.

“We engage families brilliantly and have extensive experience as entertainment providers at a wide variety of events across the UK. In the last few months we have provided activities at the Devon County Show which attracted more than 100,000 visitors over three days, the Deloittes Family Day and the Toyota Environmental Day.

“We are looking forwarding to welcoming visitors to our stand during both days of the exhibition and to the Children’s Activity Centre on Saturday. We will help make sure that families have an enjoyable and relaxed experience.”


The Creation Station is the UK’s leading arts and crafts-based play experience for children and their parents. Children love The Creation Station because it inspires their imaginations and allows them to have fun with a wide range of art and craft materials. Parents and carers love it because they can enjoy sharing creative experiences with their little ones but without the mess and stress in their own homes. Women, especially mothers, looking for a flexible and rewarding career find. The Creation Station delivers the work life balance they have been searching for.
For further information visit www.thecreationstation.co.uk and www.franchiseinfo.co.uk

All sunny for Arts Fresco

Market Harborough's annual street arts bash went off well this weekend with thousands attending on a sunny (but windy) Sunday. We were there giving out Made in Leicestershire directories and jute bags and supporting Ema Kelly www.duckinabucket.com and Claire Fairall www.clairefairall.co.uk

Atkins Building ready for business in Hinckley

Went to see the Atkins Building today which is a new creative workspace in Hinckley due to open this autumn. We will have some 'Made in Leicestershire' display cases there. All the studio spaces are now booked and the building - a refurbished textile factory - looks great. All power to the Borough Council who have taken on the project. There's also a gallery and cafe space where we will have some 'Made in Leicestershire' display cabinets. Plus all the creative courses for North Warks and Hinckley College will be run from a new building next door.

More on the social enterprise running the studio spaces and gallery at www.creativehinckley.co.uk