Tag: Buckinghamshire Culture

Culture

Open Weekend Returns!

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For four days in 2022, Open Weekend will return!  Open Weekend, Buckinghamshire’s celebration of creativity and culture, will take place 28th-31st July.

The first ever Open Weekend event for Buckinghamshire took place in July 2021.  Over four days Buckinghamshire residents took part in over 70 creative and cultural activities across the county.  Open Weekend was co-ordinated by Buckinghamshire Culture in partnership with Buckinghamshire Council.

In 2021, activities were themed to stories and storytelling and included literary and heritage walks, performances, open days, trails, concerts, film screenings, exhibitions and story-telling events.  There were opportunities to undertake creative activities at home and online.  Over 3,500 people took part in activities.

In light of the enjoyment and support that the Open Weekend event received in 2021, we are extremely pleased to announce that in 2022 Buckinghamshire Culture and Buckinghamshire Council will be teaming up to run Open Weekend again.  The dates for 2022 include Buckinghamshire Day on 29th July.

The theme for 2022 Open Weekend events will be ‘trees and green’ building on the celebrations for the Queen’s Jubilee in June.  We’ve shared a few starting points for ideas below – you might be inspired by:

  • A local tree, wood, park or garden – telling stories, delivering creative workshops, outdoor performance, or transforming spaces
  • Stories about trees – encouraging people to think about our landscape heritage, exploring folk tales, sharing stories and memories linked to trees
  • The environment and green agenda – encouraging people to think about re-use, recycling and sustainability
  • The colour green itself – monochrome painting workshops, nature inspired creativity, green objects from collections to base activities around.

We encourage organisations and groups across the county to start thinking about creative and cultural events and activities they could run in Buckinghamshire over the Open Weekend.  Submissions will open in April. 

Bill Morris, Buckinghamshire Culture Co-Chair said: “It is brilliant to be bringing Open Weekend back for 2022 – the first event in 2021 was a bit of an experiment, but we feel it was a real success and we have heard how much enjoyment people got from it.  It is also great to hear how many event contributors enjoyed taking part and being involved in something bigger than themselves.”

We will be publishing the Open Weekend timeline on our website soon and we are excited to see how many people will take part this year!

This programme is supported through funding from Buckinghamshire Council and Rothschild Foundation. 

Look out for Open Weekend updates on our website: www.buckinghamshireculture.org / Twitter: @BucksCulture / Instagram: @Bucks_Culture.  We’ll be using the #BucksOpenWeekend for Open Weekend content.

Culture

Opportunity: Project Co-ordinator

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We are hiring text with image of umbrellas

Buckinghamshire Culture is excited to be able to share this opportunity to join our small team.

We are looking for a Project Co-ordinator who can help us steer and grow our organisation, help develop new projects that benefit Buckinghamshire residents and be part of implementing the Buckinghamshire Cultural Strategy. Working with a wide range of partners and stakeholders across the county to build new initiatives and develop the creative and cultural offer, this role is perfect for a creative and strategic self-starter with lots of ideas. This role provides a great opportunity to join a new charity and help to shape it.

The Buckinghamshire Culture Project Co-ordinator will support projects and initiatives relating to Buckinghamshire Culture’s business including delivery of the Cultural Strategy.  The Project Co-ordinator will assist with organisational, financial, programme and commissioning (of work and services) activities.  Taking a proactive approach, they will develop and deliver specific projects and programmes, in particular projects to empower under-served groups and communities through creativity and culture.  A collaborative working relationship will need to be developed and maintained with all stakeholders and partners.  

This is a part time, fixed term, employed role until December 2024.

The role will be based at Buckinghamshire New University’s High Wycombe campus, with home-working as appropriate.

The full Job Description is available here:

Buckinghamshire Culture Project Co-ordinator Job DescriptionDownload

To apply, please submit:

  • A letter of application outlining how your skills and experience and approach align to the Job Description, Values and Person Specification – this can be written (no more than 2 A4 pages), filmed or audio recorded. If filmed or audio recorded and files are large, please submit using WeTransfer, Dropbox or similar.
  • Your CV
  • Details of 2 referees.

Applications should be sent to: Lallie@buckinghamshireculture.org

Deadline for applications: 21st February 2022, 5pm

Interviews: 2nd/3rd March 2022.

Culture

Would you like to be a Trustee?

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Having registered as a charity a few months ago, Buckinghamshire Culture is now ready to build a Board of Trustees to guide and steer the organisation.

We are seeking people from varied backgrounds, and who come with diverse experiences, able to demonstrate knowledge or experience in one or more of the following areas:

  • Running creative/cultural organisation(s) or projects
  • Practicing as an artist or creative
  • Fundraising
  • Buckinghamshire social context
  • Views and perspectives of children and young people
  • Legal / Human Resources
  • Accountancy.

To find out more, and for details of how to apply please take a look at our Trustee Pack:

Buckinghamshire Culture Trustee Pack Dec 2021 FinalDownload

Deadline for expressions of interest: 17th January 2022, 5pm.

We are very happy to receive expressions if interest as written statements, voice recordings or videos (for the latter two formats please send via Dropbox or Wetransfer) alongside a current and relevant CV.

Culture

Stories of happiness at the heart of Bucks

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Child at Story Stall

Residents are invited to share their tales of happiness, as the pop-up Story Stall project looks back and reflects on their successful summer of collecting stories from around Buckinghamshire.

Over the summer, the Story Stall toured the county – visiting events, markets, town centres and parks. The stall, designed by lead artist Tom Cross, encouraged people to share their stories of happiness through conversations and postcards.

Now, the Story Project artists want to invite people back to share their collective stories and experience the artists’ creative responses. The project is holding four events around the county – creating a ‘Stories of Happiness’ pop-up experience. The experience brings together a variety of displays to engage with, fun activities to do, performances to watch and mini workshops to attend too.

Bucks residents can hear live spoken word, have a go at making bunting, collect Story badges, or explore the stories of other residents.

Stories of Happiness pop-up dates

  • Friday 5 November – High Wycombe Museum unit in Eden Shopping Centre, 2-5pm
  • Saturday 6 November – Buckingham Library, 10am-1pm
  • Thursday 25 November – Elgiva Theatre in Chesham, 3-7pm
  • Friday 26 November – Petri Dish in Aylesbury, 2-5pm

No need to book, just turn up.

Summer of Stories artist sharing event

The Stories of Happiness experience will reflect on the words of happiness shared earlier this year – which included spending time with friends and family, embracing local nature and wildlife, and feeling a sense of community and belonging.

Clive Harriss, Cabinet Member Culture and Leisure, said:

“I am delighted to see how our community came together to share their stories of happiness during these difficult and challenging times. I am sure the new pop-up event will encourage people to spread the word of their happiness even further and will also inspire people to keep visiting our wonderful villages, towns and high streets.”

Tom Cross, the Story Stall lead artist, added:

“It has been amazing talking to so many people across Buckinghamshire. Of course, not everyone is happy all the time, but in our conversations, we have managed to tease out lots of brilliant things about Bucks that do make people happy – it’s great to see people’s faces light up when they remember something or somewhere that makes them really happy.”

The Story Stall programme has been created by Buckinghamshire Culture and Buckinghamshire Council, and is supported by public funding by Arts Council England, and funding from Buckinghamshire Council, Heart of Bucks and Rothschild Foundation. Part-funding for the Stories of Happiness events has been provided by Buckinghamshire Council through the European Regional Development Fund – namely the Welcome Back Fund (WBF). The WBF fund is helping events and animations across the county to encourage people back to our towns and high streets.

For more information and to see the programme for each event, please visit: www.buckinghamshireculture.org/Summer-of-Stories or see #SummerofStories on Instagram and Twitter.

Culture

Summer of Stories

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Illustration of a lion and rabbit

Buckinghamshire’s ‘Summer of Stories’ is well and truly underway – but there’s still time for you to get involved!

This summer, Buckinghamshire Culture and Buckinghamshire Council have been working together to create a Summer of Stories, focusing on a theme of ‘stories of happiness’. The ‘Story Stall’ is part of this multi-stranded project aiming to engage people across Buckinghamshire with stories and creativity.  Inspired by our strong literary heritage this project will result in animation of town centres, activity supporting wellbeing, enhancing quality of life and maintaining connection as part of wider Covid recovery.  Residents of Buckinghamshire have been invited to share and celebrate their personal stories, and those of the county itself, through conversations with artists, or via ‘Story Postcards’ at artist-led pop-up stalls across the county in markets and local high streets and at various cultural and library locations.

These stalls have been present at various events throughout the summer, starting with Whizzfizzfest on the 26th June and moving around the county since then, engaging with lots of different people from the local community – and the stories told have been just as diverse as the people telling them!

One resident recounted a tale of a man who had turned an old mattress into a paddle board and was happily rowing himself down the canal, whilst another resident reflected on the fact that the pandemic had meant he was able to get out every morning to take his dog for a walk, enjoying the local parks around the county, and being able to make it home for dinner with his 12 year old son every evening – something he had never been able to do before then.

Other recurring themes within people’s stories of happiness and tales of Buckinghamshire included a love for the red kites that circle our skies, for woodlands and parks and the canal in Aylesbury.

When summer fades, these local stories will not be forgotten; the artists who collected them will create a pop-up storytelling structure that will visit town centres around Buckinghamshire in the early Autumn – sharing a collective story of the county.

It’s not too late to get involved with the Summer of Stories! If you would like to get involved and share a story of happiness, or a story of Buckinghamshire, you can find the final few pop-up stalls in the following locations:

  • Winslow Market on 25th August, 8:30am-2pm
  • Live in the Park, Aqua Vale Park, Aylesbury on 28th August, 9am-5:30pm
  • Black Park, Wexham on 29th August, 10am-4pm
  • Beaconsfield Country Fair, Beaconsfield on 30th August, 9:30am-5pm
Story Stall setup at Hgh Wtcombe Market

Or pick up a postcard from one of our participating libraries or cultural organisations.  There is the option to submit a story on our website, or find out more on social media using #SummerofStories.

Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, Clive Harriss, said:

“The Summer of Stories has been a great way of engaging with the wider community and encouraging people to come together and share good news during what has been a difficult 18 months. I’m sure the artists have heard plenty of heart-warming stories about Buckinghamshire and it’s residents, and I look forward to seeing the final structure created by the artists in the Autumn!”

For more information about the Summer of Stories, visit: www.buckinghamshireculture.org/Summer-of-Stories

This programme is supported using public funding by Arts Council England, and funding from Buckinghamshire Council, Heart of Bucks and Rothschild Foundation. 

Culture

Summer of Stories Filmmaker

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Buckinghamshire Culture is seeking expressions of interest from filmmakers able to record, edit and produce a short film to showcase activity delivered as part of our Summer of Stories programme in 2021.  Consisting of two major strands, this programme will see activity taking place across Buckinghamshire this summer – through a touring Story Stall and resulting collective showcase, and the Open Weekend over 22-25 July.  The Story Stall will be toured by artists who will engage the public in conversations about their stories of happiness in Bucks.  The film created will share both the delivery of the programme, as well as the experiences and impact from the point of view of the participants and artists.

Summer of Stories Filmmaker BriefDownload

Deadline for expressions of interest: 5pm, 10 June 2021

Culture

Thinking Digital – online skill sharing event

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Buckinghamshire Culture, Garsington Opera and Resource Productions are pleased to present an online event for the creative and cultural sector sharing digital adaptations and innovative virtual delivery skills and tips.

Thinking Digital is free and will take place on 11th February from 1pm – full details and booking here: www.thinkingdigitalbucks.eventbrite.co.uk 

During the Covid-19 pandemic we have seen creative and cultural organisations innovate, re-frame and develop online content thanks to rapid learning and adaptation.  To support those coming back to work, or looking for new ideas for engagement, Buckinghamshire Culture, in partnership with Garsington Opera and Resource Productions, have worked together to develop this online workshop. 

This event will focus on digital engagement and will share learning and top tips, as well as first-hand experiences of those delivering online. We aim to take away some of the fear of delivering online for the first time and share tips for those that have some experience already. There will be a creative, participatory element to the session when the group is invited to devise a new Chorus with Garsington Opera’s Richard Taylor and Karen Gillingham, so you can experience online creative engagement first hand and be inspired to try your own version. We will finish with a Q&A and brief panel discussion of what further advice, input, sharing or support attendees would like to see next.

We have curated a programme of speakers from Buckinghamshire and beyond covering a range of topics:

  • Adapting and pivoting activities for online engagement
  • Sharing tips for use of digital tools such as Zoom, Whatsapp, Youtube, Google classroom etc
  • Engaging vulnerable people online
  • Supporting those with multiple needs or limited experience to engage online
  • Skills and performance tips for online delivery
  • Working inclusively online
  • Opening doors to collections and resources using virtual access
  • Increasing certain audiences who might prefer online engagement
  • Working with artists and practitioners in a digital space
  • Tips for successful online engagement.

This event has been funded by Rothschild Foundation.

Culture

New Programme Supporting Our Creative and Cultural Leaders Launches

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Buckinghamshire Culture has commissioned Cultural Associates Oxford to develop and deliver a bespoke leadership programme for the county called Bucks Cultural Leaders.  This new online leadership programme and network for leaders and innovators across the creative and cultural sector in Bucks has been designed to respond positively and proactively to the impact of Covid-19, and to support the cultural eco-system of Buckinghamshire at a time of great challenge for the cultural sector.

A multi-faceted programme of leadership sessions, peer mentoring, action research and professional development has been developed by Cultural Associates Oxford, who will bring their own experience and skills to the programme, as well as enlisting the support of external speakers.  The programme will begin in February and take place throughout the year until Autumn 2021. 

The application process was launched in November 2020 and the panel met just before Christmas to review an impressive collection of applications.  22 innovators and leaders from the Bucks creative and cultural sectors have been offered a place on Bucks Cultural Leaders.  The response from our successful applicants has been fantastic and shows that this programme is extremely timely:

That’s brilliant news! Something really positive to look forward to, just at a time when we need to be working collaboratively. I shall get started on my reading and send the bio and pic to you.

Thanks for sending me this good news. After yesterday’s announcement and losing another project to the continued lockdown it was most welcome!

Many thanks and I am delighted to have been accepted on the course! Now for the homework…… Well done in getting this off the ground – its brilliant and much needed.

I’ve had to re-read this a couple of times to check it’s real! I am delighted to have been offered a place and I know I will get so much out of this opportunity.  This news has put a spring in my step on a day that was significantly lacking in positivity for obvious reasons.

With warmest wishes and thanks to you and the team that have put this together

Participants on this leadership course represent the breadth of the Bucks creative and cultural sector, including: Amersham Museum, Buckinghamshire Archives, Buckinghamshire Culture, Bucks County Museum, Bucks New University, Buska Video, Chiltern Arts, Chiltern Open Air Museum, Fish Eye Film Fest, Garsington Opera, Milton’s Cottage, National Paralympic Heritage Centre, Obsidian Art, Queens Park Arts Centre, Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, Signdance Collective, The Buckinghamshire Craft Guild, The Elgiva, The Theatre Shed, Waddesdon, Wycombe Museum, Wycombe Swan.

A complementary programme of business and cultural development workshops will also be offered to participants, their colleagues and the wider creative and cultural sector to support re-building after the pandemic.  These will begin in April 2021 and be announced soon.

Bucks Cultural Leaders has been funded by the Rothschild Foundation, Arts Council England and Buckinghamshire Council.

Culture

New Leadership Programme to help Bucks cultural professionals build back better

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Leaders and innovators from Buckinghamshire’s cultural sector are encouraged to apply for a special leadership network, called Bucks Cultural Leaders, launching in Spring 2021.  Buckinghamshire Culture have partnered with Cultural Associates Oxford to offer a free, year-long programme of leadership development and workshops supporting cultural organisations to innovate and respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. Rothschild Foundation are funding this programme, with seed funding from Arts Council England and Buckinghamshire Council. 

Around 20 creative and cultural professionals will be selected through an application process, to take part in a series of sessions led by Lucy Shaw, Miki Lentin, Pegram Harrison and Maurice Davies. Cultural Associates Oxford will draw on their impressive networks across the creative, cultural, business and higher education sectors to deliver this leadership programme with Buckinghamshire Culture. 

Arts and culture have been more important than ever to people across the UK during lockdown – providing connection, enjoyment and distraction at a difficult time.  But the Covid-19 pandemic has forced many of our cultural organisations to close, cancel events and activities, put off schools’ visits, and reduce engagement and outreach activities, as organisations struggle to survive.  Bucks Cultural Leaders will provide support to help the county’s cultural professionals re-frame their offer and re-engage with the community in the aftermath of the pandemic.  This much-needed and timely support aims to ensure that our treasured cultural organisations are with us, and can thrive, into the future. 

‘‘We are really looking forward to working on this fantastic new programme to help cultural organisations and leaders in Buckinghamshire re-engage with their audiences.  We are all living through a time of monumental change, and for the cultural and creative sectors in Buckinghamshire, this programme offers an incredibly positive opportunity to re-frame, re-think and build new networks for a new future.”

Lucy Shaw, Cultural Associates Oxford Director

This project directly supports the Buckinghamshire Cultural Strategy and will also spearhead an advocacy programme designed to evidence the value of creative and cultural programmes to all parts of people’s lives – including: their physical and mental health, education and skills development, the vibrancy and prosperity of high streets and connection and community.  It will also deliver Arts in the Community Training for freelancers, community leaders and artists in 2021.

“At this very strange time, we are really pleased to be able to work with great partners to support our cultural organisations.  And that we have been able to put together such a prestigious and high-quality project to support our cultural organisations to get fighting fit for the recovery from Covid, and to show how culture can be part of that recovery.”

Bill Morris, Buckinghamshire Culture Co-Chair

Cultural and creative professionals working in Buckinghamshire can find out more, and how to apply for Bucks Cultural Leaders here.