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A note from Sharon Gill, CEO.
We are delighted to introduce content from some of our partners for this edition. I am sure this element will expand over time. That includes RMBC and the new appointment of Leanne Buchan, as Head of Creative Programming and Engagement for Culture, Sport and Tourism who will be joining Rotherham full time very soon. Welcome to Rotherham Leanne.
Some other good news is the Rotherham consortia application, "Flux Capacitor" sent to the Creative People and Places fund, passed through round 1 and we are expecting to hear the results early August. If successful it will be the first significant financial boost to the arts and cultural economy aimed at communities Rotherham has seen.
The professional artist development programme EGG is under way, we are still keeping spaces open for Barnsley based artists to participate. There will be 10 self directed sessions across the year, with inbuilt evaluation and an online communication tool for all resources, ideas, and questions to be shared. We have high expectations from this exciting programme.
Another exciting project that has reached the next phase is the public art commission for Thurcroft, which was established in response to their major house building programme. Kudos Creates have been working with the younger residents of the village to develop a design and the result is a fantastic 18ft reclining troll called Thor. He is the village guardian, and looks after the wildlife, and will be designed to act as an interactive play space for the under 8's. We are working on the fabrication now and raising more funds. There are big plans!
Perhaps the biggest change for ROAR is the demise of Open Minds Theatre Company, which has sadly been unable to continue as our tenant here at Westgate Chambers. We have been supporting the remainder of the Board of Directors to navigate through this difficult situation, and have accepted both Life Act and Rotherham African Drums as new ROAR projects, so watch this space!
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ROAR launched its first Kickstarter campaign to fund member Rob Peveril's Tarot Card project
Back in May we launched our very first Kickstarter, to raise enough money to fulfil the creative ambition of our member Rob Peveril.
Rob designed and created his very own set of Tarot Cards and composed his own accompanying mythos, with the hope of eventually having these cards made into decks for people to use and enjoy. Rob unfortunately passed away in May 2018, so in honour of him and his art we wanted to fulfil this vision.
We were very pleased with how the campaign panned out, and successfully raised more than our initial target to get the tarot decks created. The campaign was backed internationally, with artwork being sent to the U.S.A and different countries across Europe.
On the Summer Solstice we also held an event for Rob at Yorkshire's Steel Henge in Rotherham's Centenary Riverside nature reserve. It was a picturesque evening and really valued by those who came along.
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ARTIST TALKS
We have been hosting Artist Talks since 2013, bringing a wide range of local and international artists to Rotherham to discuss their creative practice, or a relevant subject or inspiration. These monthly Artist Talks are free to attend and open to all.
In an attempt to encourage more people to come along, we held our first talk this term in the library space at Riverside House here in Rotherham, and changed the latter two talks to later in the evening, between 7-8pm here at ROAR.
This term we welcomed Adrian Barron, Jennifer Booth and James Fox who discussed their varying careers in the arts and their future aspirations. Please keep your eye out on our social media channels for upcoming artist talks!
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ARTIST RESIDENCIES & EXHIBITIONS
Our 7th Gathering took place at The Civic in Barnsley in May, giving Rotherham artists the opportunity to to meet those in the Barnsley area. This mini-residency started with a free Life Drawing session, and the rest of the day was given over to the artists attending, to take inspiration from their surroundings and create either collaboratively, or on their own.
The Gathering's are open to all artists and take place in different locations around the South Yorkshire area. We are always keen to hear about any spaces our members and other artists would like to create in, so please let us know if you have access to one which might be of interest!
Excitingly, we launched our first ever Augmented Reality exhibition this year which meant that 13 of our members' work could be viewed by anyone, anywhere in the world, simply by downloading an app and set of cards. This exhibition is still live. Simply search for ROAR Members Exhibition 2019 in the Google Play app store and get a set of cards from our website here to see for yourself.
The Coterie Gallery in Rotherham town centre held two exhibitions in June, both which showcased the work of ROAR members. From the 17th to the 22nd, Rotherham’s BA Fine and Applied Art Degree students had their work on show, an impressive and eclectic mix. The following exhibition was a display by Chris Slater aptly titled Observations, which showcased an expanse of Chris' work painted from direct observation.
You can read more about both exhibitions here.
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Chris Slater - "Downpour Westgate"
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RAD & LIFE ACT
RAD (Rotherham African Drums)- have had a busy summer performing at many events across South Yorkshire including Conisbrough Music Festival, Rotherham Pride and British Cycling's "Let's Ride" event in Sheffield.
They have also continued their weekly sessions at ROAR on Tuesdays, and in Thurcroft on Thursdays!
If you would like to come along to a session and try out drumming for yourself you can do. Beginners are welcome at ROAR on Tuesdays 6-7pm, or at St Simon and Jude's Church in Thurcroft on Thursdays 5.30-6.30pm (costs: £6 adults, £4.50 concs, £3 children).
If you would like to book the group for an event or simply find out more about the positive impact drumming can have, please email infoRAD19@gmail.com.
Life Act- after securing a grant from the Big Lottery Community fund, Life Act have gone from strength to strength rolling out one of their latest performances Silent Scream, and recruiting two new drama practitioners who will be joining the team later this month! The group are still meeting weekly at ROAR on Tuesdays 10am-1pm. Steve and Liam Rogers also appeared on BBC Radio Sheffield in June, talking about the group to all listeners!
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What is next for ROAR?
August 31st– Autonomy workshop with Matt Butt, 10am-3pm. Design and construct your own automaton in a day! Book online/more info here.
September 21st – Laser Engraving workshop with Adrian Barron, 10am-4pm. Your opportunity to create a unique printing block via the laser cutter and work on your relief printing techniques. Book online/more info here.
November 16th – Ceramics workshop with Matt Butt, tbd.
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Photo Credit: artist Brian Tweddle
YORKSHIRE & HUMBER VISUAL ARTS NETWORK
Micro-Grant Artists:
YVAN are pleased to announce the artists who are being awarded a YVAN Micro-Grant to spend on costs to help develop their practice and is generally hard to find funding for - materials, training, equipment, printing costs etc:
Jessica Heywood, Liam Hirst, Sam Metz, Les Monaghan, Lauren Saunders, Lucy Barker, Joanne Coates, Liz Hall , David Fennell-Roberts, Rachael Kidd, Alice Vanessa, Roy Claire Potter,Katya Robin, Alicia Wallace
RESILIENCE IS FUTILE - Publication:
Corridor8 and YVAN will be launching our first collaborative publication.
In a series of contributions, Kerry Harker, Thomas Hopkin, Sarah Smizz and writer-in-residence Alice Bradshaw interrogate the commonplace use of the term 'resilience' and what it really means for practising artists in the region. Copies will be available at The Art House.
Read the digital version here >>
Join the YVAN mailing list to get visual arts opportunities: www.yvan.org.uk
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Image: Mr Tea & The Minions set to perform at Rotherham Show
RMBC CULTURE, SPORT & TOURISM TEAM
Rotherham Show – 7th & 8th September:
Join Rotherham Council and our partners for a weekend in the beautiful surroundings of Clifton Park showcasing the many and diverse cultures of Rotherham, on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th September. Celebrating 40 years of community culture this year’s Rotherham Show will bring a programme of street theatre, performance, and arts installations from local artists alongside national and international musicians, artists and performers. Firm favourites including the Horticultural Show, Diversity Festival and Vintage Vehicle Rally will return alongside a few special surprises marking 40 years of Rotherham Show!
Rotherham Heritage Services wins Esmee Fairbairn Funding:
An award of £93,370 has bene given to Rotherham Heritage Services to develop an exciting new project exploring its World Cultures Collection. The project, a partnership with Rotherham Ethnic Minority Alliance (REMA), has received a grant from the Esmee Fairbairn Collection Fund which will help the team based at Clifton Park Museum to engage with local community groups and individuals to discover this fascinating collection and create a series of co-produced exhibitions in the museum and community venues and will work to support local BME communities to explore the World Culture’s Collection and share their own stories with the wider community.
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Rotherham's Diversity Festival - 7th & 8th of September @ Clifton Park
2019 looks set to be a fantastic year for Rotherham's Diversity Festival which for over 20 years has nestled at the centre of the Rotherham Show, which this year is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
The festival element is designed, developed and delivered by communities with protected characteristics, represented and supported by the management group, with REMA and ROAR providing infrastructure support.
After several years of austerity we have been successful in securing a great many supporters, sponsors and grants to make sure we can bring something different to the event, while keeping to its core purpose: giving voice and ownership to Rotherham's communities in the very widest sense.
In addition to our core performers the backbone of our stage schedule, Life Act, RAD, RSTA, Rachael Webster, Ace in Hand and Jo Mailer, for the first time we will be working with the Science Festival Network, bringing Live Coding to you by a group of young people from Rotherham, with help from Sheffield's Algomech Festival.
Thanks to Arts Council funding we welcome London based Balladeste who will be running workshops and performing with us on Sunday. And not forgetting home grown Rian Treanor, who is going to offering several DJ workshops leading to the participants performing at the event. Find us on Facebook to keep up to date with our programming.
Another first we are excited to have Bingo Lingo and other amazing artistic live performances through Without Walls, thanks to the WE Great Place project!
Thanks to: Arts Council, Science Festival Network, WE Great Place, RMBC CST, S.Y Police, Safer Rotherham Partnership, Elected Members, RUCST, Total IT, Methodist Church, Trade Unions, GMB, Unison, City Taxis, RMBC neighbourhoods, REMA, and all out volunteers who make it happen!
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Every month Amy interviews a member of ROAR to find out more about their artistic practice. This is written up and published in Chase magazine, a pull out of the Rotherham advertiser. You can read the past member interviews on ROAR's website here.
Chase magazines are dotted around the town but you can also read it online here.
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