Helix Arts

Below are some examples of the kind of development work undertaken in the past.

Arts & Social Inclusion: A study of the potential for including arts provision within the youth justice system and social services in the North East region, targeted at Young Offenders and young people considered to be at the highest risk of offending, including looked after children. The study is available in pdf format below.

Continuous Professional Development: We are currently working with a range of partners on the delivery of a holistic professional development programme for artists, host organisations and beneficiaries working on participatory arts projects for socially excluded groups.

The J.A. Clark Trust funded Helix Arts to undertake a small research project to identify artists who are working as agents for social change, in the UK and internationally, with a view to facilitating the development of new projects by one or more selected artists or artists' groups.

The Trust subsequently agreed to shortlist three artists' groups:

Ala Plastica (Buenos Aires) alaplastica
Sarai (Delhi) sarai
PLATFORM (London) platform

The groups were invited to put forward proposals for new work that meets the criteria for the research and to present their proposal to the Clark Trustees, with a view to funding for one, or co-funding for two or possibly all three projects. The work of all three groups was subsequently supported.

A Discussion Day was held at BALTIC, the Centre for Contemporary Arts, in April 2004, enabling interested people to hear presentations by representatives from each of the three groups and to discuss art in the context of socially engaged practice.

Collaboration with the Arts and Offenders Unit (Canterbury).

Collaboration for a Disability Arts in Sunderland research project with Tyneside Disability Arts (Tyne + Wear).

Looked After Sector Training for Artists: A pilot training programme for arts practitioners who work within, or wish to work within, the looked after children and young people sector. Funded by Arts Council England North East, the training comprised ten days of tutorials to deliver core training and practical workshop sessions, and took place from February to April 2006. If you are interested in undertaking future training programmes please contact Helix Arts.

Conference presentations: The Language of Water (Bath); Creative Renewal (Hastings); Divers©ities International Conference (Plymouth); Finding a Context, University of West England (Bristol); Arts and Offenders (Otterburn).

Seminar presentations: [a-n] Artists Information Company Fast Forward series (Newcastle); Community Arts Forum (Belfast); Year of the Artist (Newcastle).

Lectures: Stepping Up arts development programme (Rotherham); Devised and delivered the Community, Art and Society module to third year BA students on the Community and Youth Work course at University of Durham (Durham); Developed and delivered The Context of Cultural SME's module for the Historical and Critical Studies Department at University of Northumbria (Newcastle).

Training programmes: Surviving in the Arts for Tyneside Development Company (South Tyneside); for employees of Northumbria Probation Service (UK).