Lesley Thomson Completes Full Circle Arts “Draw In”

Venture Arts Is Extending!

Issue 4

Autumn 2009

Issue 4 Ve n tu r e A r ts

On the 23rd July at the Zion Arts Centre, Full Circle Arts hosted a week of various arts events called Remix including: dance, perform-ance, music, and art. Lesley Thomson, Venture Arts’ talented artist and illustrator, recorded some of the performance workshops through his drawings. Some examples of the work are reproduced above and really capture the event and people involved beautifully. Congratula-tions Lesley!

With the help of a grant from Manchester City

Council and Manchester Airport, we are expanding

our premises. We have taken over an extra unit that

has been modified to accommodate a new meeting room and an extra toilet. A brand new darkroom has

been built along with a new tool bench and lots of

art storage. We hope to include a kiln too! A team of

people from the Co-op are very kindly giving us their

time to come in on the 14th October to give it a day-

long makeover - very exciting!

“The drawings are fab, Les-

ley got through a lot of work

in a short period of time. It

was a great success” Full

Circle Arts

website: www.venturearts.org

Issue 4

43 Old Birley Street,

Hulme,

Manchester M15 5RF

Phone: 0161 232 1223

E-mail:

info@venturearts.org

Workshop leader

Dancer

Workshop in action Lesley in jubilant mood

43 Old Birley Street,

Hulme,

Manchester M15 5RF

Issue 4

Exhibition at Town Hall Manchester

About Venture Arts

Many hours were spent by our participants, creating these three eye catching, promotional banners for the ‘Relay for Life’ Event at Wythenshawe Park 26/7 July 2009. This inspirational community-led event cele-brates those who survive cancer and pays tribute to those who are touched by it. We were asked by the organisers to design these cancer awareness banners. On the day they raised £5000 for cancer charities and we were delighted to have played had a part in raising such a large amount, for such a worthy cause. They were so pleased with the banners that they hope to use them again for future events.

Relay for Life Banners helped to raise £5000

Venture Arts is a specialist in the provision of arts and crafts workshops for people with learning disabilities. Our mission is to provide a high quality arts experience in a friendly, stimulating and inclusive environment; focusing on bringing out the best in every individual, nurturing talent and enhancing overall wellbeing and quality of life. The Team Amanda Sutton, Manager, John Adshead, Development Manager, Stephen Greenwood, Finance

Officer, and our Creative Arts Workers; Katherine Long, Kate Freeborough, Alena Asenbryl, and

Martin Livesey, James Pollitt. and Laura Nathan

Venture Arts always seeks new members. If you support the work that we do and would like an invite to the AGM and regular newsletters and special invites to private views of exhibitions and feel that you would like to play a part in the organisation, please get in touch. For more information or for an application form please either ring 0161 232 1223 or you can download a form from our website

Would you like to become a

member?

Phone: 0161 232 1223

E-mail:

info@venturearts.org

website: www.venturearts.org

Venture Arts is participating in an exhibition at the town hall as part of the Decibel festival. The week of per-forming arts events, celebrating diversity is taking place between the 15th-18th September 2009. This is an excellent platform for various pieces of artwork to be seen by lots of like minded organisations. Programmed within the schedule of the Market Place on the 18th September, it provides a great opportunity for Venture Arts to meet face to face with delegates and show case what we do.

Robert Dixon in front of one of the three banners for the Relay for Life Event

Spotlight this issue: Barry Finnan

Hulme Sweet Hulme -The Exhibition

Barry Finnan

Barry has a relationship with Venture Arts that goes back many years. He used to attend Venture Arts

workshops in more humble circumstances, when we were housed at Hulme College of Adult Education.

Back then, Barry produced a number of very attractive greetings cards that attracted a lot of attention .

As can be seen from the above, Barry has a very attractive drawing style. He is currently working on a

fascinating story that will be animated with James Pollitt, and has just finished a Pinhole photography

project with Martin Livesey.

Barry is very involved in all things artistic; He is also a member of Celebrity Pig Theatre Company based

in Wythenshawe for whom, he played the part of Mr. Montague in CPTC’s version of Romeo and Juliet. Barry's love of drama dates back to his early childhood. He joined the company in 2000 with a burning ambition to become a film and TV star. His theatre appearances also include; ‘Tea Shop Blues.' (Withington Hospital, Manchester), ‘If you want to sing out sing out,' (Burnley Football Club), ‘Reach for the Stars,' (Hough end Training Centre & Oakwood Resource Centre, Man-chester), ‘Hidden Voices,' (Zion Arts Centre, Green Room, Manchester, The Met, Bury). During 2005 Barry starred in the company's issue based production, ‘Where is Pandora,' at two national conferences ‘Learning Disability Today,' (GMEX International Convention Centre, Manchester), and ‘Work and Employment, ‘ (Phoenix, Salford) He has also been involved in local radio with, ‘The Making of Hidden Voices,' and ‘Transition' , ‘The Big Day,' (Wythenshawe FM). Barry has already made his debut on the screen with ’A Pharaoh Mystery which was shown at the Corner-house Cinema in Manchester and he will be furthering his TV prospects when he travels to the Midlands in June to take part in a ‘learning how to produce and star in your own TV programme’ course. A truly talented individual!!

Barry also has a great love of music from the 60s and 70s.

The event took place at the Zion Centre Stretford Road, Hulme, from the 13th –19th July 2009 and we were delighted to be there as part of

the vibrant Hulme community. This is just a small selection of photographs of some of our participants in front of their work.

Kathy Wilmot in front of her work Tommy Walsh in front of his work Top wide angle view from the rear of the exhibition

Bottom wide angle view from the front of the exhibition

Jelly Bean Thief Greeting Card Two of Barry’s 3D Sculptures 1948 Poster Greeting Card

Each issue we have decided to feature someone who we feel is making a great contribution to our cultural community.

Tin Man & Monkeys Helps to Raise £1770 for Charity

Manchester People First & Venture Arts Pin Hole Exhibition and Book

Venture Ar ts

Its good to get feedback on how our work

has been used to raise funds for other wor-

thy causes.

Recently we were involved in the ‘Art in the

Garden’ festival as part of Lymm Festival,

which raised an impressive sum for many

different causes including an orphanage in

Zimbabwe, Amnesty International, a hospital

in Ethiopia and to a struggling artist in Ghana

to set up a studio.

1447 people attended the festival.

Congratulations to all involved for making

the festival such a success!

Over the past 12 weeks Martin Livesey our pho-

tography tutor has been working with a group of

photographers from Manchester People First to

produce a collection of unusual pinhole photos

produced by using an off the peg camera called

the Holga Panoramic pinhole camera. See above

an example of one of the pictures. The pictures

are about to go into an exhibition at a North City

Library Harpurhey, Manchester from 12th October.

The finished results will also be available in book

format for those that would like to take a closer

look.

Left to right and top to bottom are some of the contributing artists:-

Louisa Burton, Steven Valentine, Carol Modd, Andy Cavanagh, David

Unwin, Paul Brannick, and Barry Finan

Ann Frank Exhibition at Manchester Cathedral 4th– 28th September

I ssue 4

On 10th September we were all invited to the launch of this beautiful and moving exhibition. Cindy Buxton

joined Manchester’s dignitaries including the Lord Mayor and Dean Rogers Govender, in lighting one of the six

candles of remembrance - it was a great honour.

The exhibition includes work done by Venture Arts under the leadership of our creative worker; Laura Nathan.

Participants created wonderfully intricate, mixed media, bound diaries describing their lives. The exhibition is a

vivid multimedia exhibition which draws visitors into the world of Anne Frank. Through audio-visual presenta-

tions, you can discover the concerns Anne expressed in her celebrated diary, and their relevance to peoples lives

in 21st-century Britain. Anne Frank [+ you} presents contemporary issues, including racism in football, the right

to wear religious symbols, bullying and the plight of child soldiers. It includes interviews with British teenagers,

helping us reflect on social issues affecting us all and young people’s hopes, dreams and fears.

Venture Arts participants were Cindy Buxton, Heather Nadim, Clifford Hart, Kathy Wilmot, Lorraine Whitehead,

Andrew McCurry and Susan Toye.

It’s well worth a visit so do go along if you have the chance!

Cindy Buxton & Laura Nathan on the opening of the

exhibition light a candle for those that have died in the

Holocaust .

Cindy Buxton’s Diary Collection of the diaries that have been

produced

Imperial War Museum Visit 10th July- Report by Georgina Devine

I ssue 4

Horace Lindezey photographer artist

Venture Arts

Photo Trip To Hilton Tower 17th August—Report by Horace Lindezey

We looked around. We found that some lost their parents in the war. Some of us went to the top of the building where you could see lots of Manchester. A lot of us got to wear sol-diers hats and hel-mets. Martin Livesey took the pictures.

We all walked to the Hilton

Tower on Deansgate, the

highest building in Manches-

ter, 47 floors. There was

Ernie Partt, Martin Livesey,

Katherine Long and Terry

Williams. There was a

guide, she was called Jenni-

fer she took us on the lift to

the 23rd floor. When we got

there I was a bit scared, I

had to calm myself down, it

was so high. We could see

many things; I could see

Old Trafford’s football

ground, the Science Mu-

seum, the railway bridge at

Deansgate and the Rovers

Return. When we got there

we took some pin hole pic-

tures.

Darren Gallagher Ernie Partt Wayne Tarry

Barry Regan and tutor Alena Asenbryl on Imperial War Museum Tour

Georgina Devine in command

Terry Williams in a nautical mood