by Creatives Collective | Jun 27, 2018 | News, Projects
Wow, just WOW!
The Articulate Festival was amazing if we do say so ourselves. The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, and there was so much to see and do.
Close to 400 people came through the gates (and that is not counting volunteers, performers, and market stalls) – which isn’t bad for a first time effort. We know that bookings were made, and that commissions were requested, and that made us VERY happy. Seeing so many happy faces on children also made us happy.
Here’s some other figures
8400+ visitors to the Articulate Website
4000+ Facebook page engagements
1400+ Facebook video views
almost 100 entries in the $100 competition
30 entries in the art competition
100% positive feedback
At posting, there’s been over 1300 views of the documentary-style video that the Council for Intellectual Disability made during the festival.
It looks like popular demand will drive an Articulate Festival in 2019 and we are sure things will be bigger AND better.
Lastly thank you to everyone who helped out, and to the businesses that supported this community event. We <3 you very much.
by Creatives Collective | Feb 10, 2018 | Projects
Thanks to the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) Small Grants for Rural Communities the artists-with-disability of Coonabarabran will have access to 3 Microsoft Surface Pro tablets.
Creatives Collective members will have the opportunity to borrow a tablet to take home and complete an online digital art course like those at CTRLPAINT. The ARI members will be using their to create and manipulate art for the end-of-year exhibition.
We would like to thank FRRR for their generosity, and for recognising the need and importance of digital tools in rural communities.
by Creatives Collective | Jan 30, 2018 | News, Projects
Make 2018 the year you take your art practice to the next level – for FREE. Join the Creatives Collective Artist Run Initiative (ARI) and get a whole bunch of education, support, and promotion. Come and join us, it’s going to be AWESOME!
What is an ARI?
An artist run initiative is when a group of artists come together and formally agree to work towards a common goal. The Creatives Collective ARI is participating in 12 months of professional development, culminating in a exhibition of the ARI member’s work.
Does it cost anything?
You supply your art supplies and equipment – everything else is provided for FREE.
So what do you get if you join the ARI?
In no particular order –
- Free website with ecommerce facilities
- Free training on how to update website
- Free training on how to promote yourself online
- Free workshops run by professional artists with disability
- Free promotion of your work by your fellow ARI artists
- Warm, loving, support from your peers. This is a safe space.
- Free mentorship by professional artist Paris Norton on how to curate and prepare for exhibition
- Free promotion of your work and profile via local media
- Free exhibition of your work at year’s end
- and more!
What are the requirements to join?
The only requirements are that you make visual art, you can get to Coonabarabran for workshops, and that you identify as experiencing disability. FYI – Creatives Collective subscribes to the social model of disability – if you (or your carers) recognise you are disadvantaged because of external attitudes and environment to your physical/mental self, then you are one of us 🙂
Isn’t that discrimination against able people?
No. We aren’t disadvantaging anyone by having our own peer group ARI.
This sounds great! How do I sign up?
Send an email to info@creativescollective.org and tell us about you (hurry: there’s limited places) before February 14th, 2018.
Creatives Collective thanks the Regional Arts Fund for support this initiative
by Creatives Collective | Dec 23, 2017 | News, Projects
Yesterday we received the exciting news that we had been awarded a Country Art Support Program grant from Regional Arts NSW. This was the first “real” grant we had applied for back in May, which wasn’t long after we formed and we weren’t confident about the results – but we did it!
This grant fits into our Going Pro 2018 project as we can now invest in an artist with disability to come and run one more professional development workshop with us in Coonabarabran.
We would like to thank Regional Arts NSW and our local art’s body Orana Arts for supporting our vision for 2018. Big shout out also to Narda Joy of Our Coonabarabran – 2357 Partnerships Inc who offered (and still does) lots of enthusiastic encouragement for us to keep up what we are doing.
by Creatives Collective | Dec 22, 2017 | News, Projects
Six months to the Articulate Festival
Today is the Summer Solstice which means there is exactly six months till the Articulate Festival. Even though there’s been work going on in the background since the Team Up grant to run the event was announced, today is the official launch of the project with the unveiling of the festival’s logo.
New logo is launched
As you can see, our main goals dominate the logo, and that is deliberate. The goals are to be front and foremost for all of the events and participants and audience. The “party” aspect of the festival is embodied in the dynamic lettering of “Articulate”. There’s a close grouping of many coloured letters of all shapes that could be dancing, or talking, or interacting in some way – but they clearly represent inclusion of all types in happy cohesion.
Or if that’s all mumbo-jumbo then let’s all agree it looks cool.
Creatives Collective is working hard
In the background Creatives Collective members, all artists with disability, have divided up events and leaders have been chosen for each event, with other members lending a hand or performing as backup. Our members will start engaging with stakeholders, other groups who can assist, suppliers, and soon the audience, in the new year. These leaders with disability will also be reaching out to people in the community they consider to have expertise in the area they are running, for mentorship and connections. The grant was awarded to build the leadership skills, confidence and visibility of people with disability in the community. We already hope that ideas in the community of the capability of people with disability are being challenged, this is a large project and one that only the Coonabarabran Show would match in scale and complexity in the local area.
No list of local groups or way to contact them
We have added a new risk to our list, that is one of contacting other groups in Coonabarabran. There’s no centralised list of groups in Coonabarabran, and a suggestion to self-create one with other groups by forming a Facebook group was met with a negative response. This was very disappointing as this is another act of disabling that people do not recognise they are perpetuating. A lack of social contacts, or access to them, means that people are unable to live the life they want to. It is a form of isolating which is extremely damaging to mental health as well as aggravating for anyone who is trying to do things with groups in Coonabarabran.
Local groups not using online tools to attract young people
The lack of online communication is also discouraging for the younger generations who use social media for all of their contact and organising, if groups aren’t using these tools too then they will not attract younger members to their committees (and issue that all groups mark as an issue). We will continue to lobby for better communication that is inclusive for Coonabarabran as we push on with the festival organisation.
Articulate Festival website to go live January 1st
In the good news section the Articulate Festival website URL will be www.ArticulateFestival.com and will be launching next year. New information will be added to the site as it is confirmed and links will be shared on the Articulate Festival Facebook page (and shared by the Creatives Collective page as well) and the Articulate Festival Twitter Page. Make sure you follow and share everything!
by Creatives Collective | Dec 19, 2017 | News, Projects
We are so excited to announce we have been awarded a Regional Arts Fund grant that will allow us to go ahead with our Going Pro 2018 project.
Going Pro 2018 is a year’s worth of professional development for our members that will end with an exhibition that will be centered around a disability theme. We will be documenting our progress throughout the year so keep an eye on social media, or here the website. We hope that it encourages other groups to put together a business-like strategy in skill development.
We are on the hunt for NSW artists with disability that run workshops as we want to PAY YOU to come and teach us. Please share with any NSW artist with disability that you think might be interested. We will be putting out an official expression of interest invitation on January 8th 2018, but the early bird and all of that!
We wish to express our gratitude to Regional Arts NSW for supporting our project and we feel honoured to be included with such strong projects around regional NSW.
