A Bit of Friendly Advice
A People United event for those who would like to learn more about mentoring and advice-giving within the arts sector - on Tuesday 13th March from 10am - 1pm.
The session is primarily aimed at Kent-based individuals who already informally offer advice and guidance to other arts colleagues but would like to know more. This interactive session will take place at the Canterbury Innovation Centre. It will be led by Sara Robinson, who currently coaches and mentors arts leaders on the Clore Leadership Programme, and will feature a range of presenters including Joanna Jones, Director of Museums and Galleries at Canterbury City Council and Mary Ann le Lean from Year One Consulting.
Booking Information: The event is free but places are limited – to book your place please go to http://abitoffriendlyadvice.eventbrite.co.uk or contact us on info@peopleunited.org.uk for more information
Monday wasn't blue at the Canterbury Innovation Centre
People United introduced the Blue Monday Brigade to the centre on Monday 16th January. This happy crew offered businesses a menu of kindness. They could choose cake, a performance, an office survival kit or a surprise, in addition these were all delivered with a smile. Eleven businesses joined in the fun which resulted in a very happy work place and smiles all round. To see more Blue Monday activities go to www.bluemonday.org
Emergence: Creative Practice for a Sustainable Future
A partnership project between Volcano and Cynnal Cymru - Sustain Wales supported by Arts Council Wales and British Council.
In 2010/11 the arts sector in Wales came together at three major conferences in Cardiff, Swansea and Caernarfon to share ideas, ask questions and get practical tools for a more sustainable practice.
Emergence focuses on two main themes : developing a low-carbon infrastructure, including management and development of venues and developing the role of the arts as a crucible of ideas and visions for a low Carbon Sustainable Wales. The report compiled by Fern Smith (Volcano) and Rhodri Thomas (Cynnal Cymru) documents the visionary and practical talks given at the conferences from Satish Kumar (Resurgence Magazine), Paul Allen (Centre for Alternative Technology), Alison Tickell (Julie's Bicycle), John McGrath (National Theatre Wales), Tom Andrews (People United) and many more.
People United - in the Top 10
People United has been voted one of the Top 10 Community Volunteering Placements in Canterbury by University of Kent Students.
Kent Union Volunteering Committee visited a number of volunteering placements. This information along with the results of a questionnaire completed by students has been used to create the current top 10 community schemes in Canterbury.
Students who volunteered for People United were involved in the research and development of a number of our projects such Welcome and Hut 136.
A summary of the findings can be found here.
The Giant Picnic - A Great Community Event
Following on from a successful picnic in 2010 as part of People United's We All Do Good Things project, the 2011 event was organised by Herne Bay in Bloom, under the guidance of People United.
On the day over 1,000 people attended the Giant Picnic. Visitors had the opportunity to take part in 30 different free activities for all ages, including street theatre, dancing to a live band, and music workshops. The picnic brought together 27 different community groups and organisations working in the Canterbury district however most were from Herne Bay. 30+ volunteers supported the event. For more on the Giant Picnic 2011 go to the project page.
Giant Picnic this Sunday 28th August 2011
11am - 2pm
Now being run by Herne Bay in Bloom, the Giant Picnic will be even bigger than last year with over 30 stalls to delight and entertain you. Have your old vinyl records played, try a trick cycle, watch Dizzy O'Dare in her tiny travelling tightwire show, play giant games, have a cuppa and a chat, say hello to Pip the Clown and find out about lots of activities you can be part of in Herne Bay. There will be live music from Sambapelomar, Invicta Concert Band and the Ian Petrie Band. So, bring a picnic and have 3 hours of fun!
Go to Herne Bay in Bloom for more information.
People United - Award Winners!
At the first ever Culture Awards held at Augustine House in Canterbury on 16th June 2011, People United were awarded the Community Award for our year-long project in Herne Bay: We All Do Good Things. We were delighted to be nominated but then to actually win the category was a real testament to the work of our small team. Over 6,000 residents actively participated in the project telling their stories of kindness and generosity at over 90 free creative workshops and events.
We'd like to extend our thanks to Canterbury City Council and Canterbury for Culture for their support, and congratulate them on a very successful first awards evening.
Herne Bay Beach Hut
Hut 136 at the West Beach Herne Bay is about to become a quiet and welcoming place for people to read, think and reflect on ways to help their community. We envisage that the hut will be made available to individuals, community and social groups as a space to develop their work.
We would like to offer a variety of options from monthly residencies to one-off visits.
In the next few weeks we will apply another coat of paint to the exterior, and decorate the interior (hang pictures/soft furnishings) to create a warm and welcoming space. We look forward to hearing from you if you are interested in using the Beach Hut. Click here to contact us or take a look at the project page.
National Portfolio Funding
People United has been awarded National Portfolio funding for the first time. We are grateful to Arts Council England for their support; it's heartening and exciting that our work across communities has been recognised.
Emergence: Wales
Tom Andrews spoke at the Arts and Sustainability conference Emergence in Swansea, Wales. This was a fascinating and challenging day looking at the role of arts, climate change and interconnectedness. Other speakers included Satish Kumar, Lucy Neal, Judith Knight and Axel Tangerding. To read more about this event please see this page.
Giant Picnic 2011
Following on from its success in 2010, we are pleased to say that the Giant Picnic will be running for a second year on Sunday 28th August 2011. This time organised by local Herne Bay groups including Herne Bay in Bloom. The picnic will run in a similar way as last year (but hopefully be bigger and better!). If you're interested in getting involved or would like more information, please get in touch or visit the Herne Bay in Bloom web site.
New Job Opportunity with People United
We are looking to recruit a Project Development Manager to join our small team and help us take our work out into the world. The Project Development Manager will help to extend the legacy of our projects, to develop our income generating services, to grow our national network and to communicate our work. The position is 3 days a week and the deadline for applications is Monday 21st March 5pm.
If you are interested, please click here for the full job description and application instructions or send us a message by clicking here and we'll send you details.
Today is Blue Monday!
Today (24th January) is Blue Monday! So why not do something good that will make someone else's day? Blue Monday is now being run by staff and students of Canterbury College. A whole range of exciting activities are taking place. To find out more go to the Blue Monday website www.bluemonday.org.
Help Needed
Following our work across Herne Bay, we are continuing to support a number of locally-led community / arts initiatives. These range from a choir with adults with dementia, a social action youth group doing positive things about the town and a community cinema initiative. If you'd like to get involved and help out these groups, please get in touch with us.
New Website Coming Soon
We hope to have our new website up and running by the middle of February - thanks for your patience!
Office Space
We are now settled in our new offices at the Canterbury Innovation Centre on the campus of the University of Kent. These are excellent modern facilities and will allow us to build on our existing links with the University. For our address and phone number click here.