As part of Artists’ Agency Newcastle we offered free real life learning training for artists and future artists who wanted to learn how to develop participatory and community-based arts projects.
The 12 artists who took part in the training programme each received a £500 bursary and had the chance to pitch for a paid commission of up to £5000 to make a public artwork with the community in the Creative Central:NCL area.
Running between July and September, the training helped artists gain key skills in creative production, enterprise development, working in regeneration areas and public art. The artists produced plans across the workshops for a participatory arts project to create a public artwork and pitched their ideas to get them funded.
We’re pleased to share the first of the Artists’ Agency commissions for Creative Central: NCL has been awarded to Rachael Brien to realise her project, Newborn Parents.
Rachael Brien is a visual artist who makes work across textiles, photography and painting. She has co-founded two businesses, A Woven Plane and Buy The Kilo, after she stopped working as a Barrister nearly a decade ago. Rachael’s commission is a project called Newborn Parents. Newborn Parents is a project that will create space for birthing parents to express their feelings around the physical, emotional and societal changes that come with having a baby. Together with writer and tutor Amanda Quinn, the sessions will focus on creative activities to share the parents’ experiences. After the sessions, Rachael will make a quilt embellished with their words.
If you’d like to find out more or get involved please contact Rachael directly: newbornparentsnortheast@gmail.com.
