Durham Nursery for the Arts

[County Durham] 2009 onwards

Funded by The Transformation Fund, a fund to promote and support informal adult education, we developed a programme of arts activity for the parent's group at Sacriston Children's Centre.

During the first year of this programme, artists Kate Sweeney and Paul Summers delivered creative workshops for parents and children accessing the Sacriston Children's Centre. Beginning by shadowing Sure Start sessions, the artists started to incorporate creative interventions into existing activity, then progressed to delivering weekly sessions in painting and portraiture, digital photography and a monthly film club.

Kate Sweeney worked with the under 19s mums' group, using photography, voice recording, canvasses and paint to create a series of thematically linked pieces of work around what it means to them to be a mother. The work has been brought together in a booklet of postcards.

During 2010/11, Graphic Designer and Printmaker Josie Brookes worked with participants who have experienced domestic violence, producing a set of craft items including jewellery and belts. The group also illustrated their own ABC book, which has been professionally printed and distributed to other Sure Start centres.

The under 25s group worked with media artists Mark McKenna and Dan Makaveli to create a film for use in peer education sessions in schools. Half of the group also undertook their Bronze Arts Award.

Josie continues to work with the Phoenix Group in Sacriston, and animator Adam Clarke will begin to work with a dads' group in Pelton and with a mixed family group in Durham. In Derwentside, we are currently recruiting an artist to work with a group of young parents, most of whom are young fathers.