Bucks Culture is extremely sad to announce the death of Julius Weinberg, one of our two Co-Chairs. Julius passed away unexpectedly last week.
Taking on the role of Co-Chair in 2019 alongside Bill Morris, Julius was instrumental in founding Bucks Culture and has been an incredible support to the charity, its staff and the wider cultural sector that we serve.
Julius was extremely proud of the creativity, arts, heritage and culture across Buckinghamshire, where he lived. He brought an incredible amount of energy to everything he did, alongside his professional experience stemming from his career in healthcare, education and public service.
Lallie Davis, Bucks Culture Director said:
“Julius will be deeply missed by all of us across the organisation and throughout our wider network. His energy, passion, humour and lively capacity for debate brought so much to our work and to those around him, and those qualities will stay with us for a long time. He was an immensely creative person, and we always enjoyed hearing about his many ideas, innovations and achievements across design, ceramics and making.
On a personal level, I learnt a great deal from Julius over the years. He made me feel both valued and supported, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked alongside him in helping to shape Bucks Culture.
Our thoughts are with his family, friends and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.”
Bill Morris, former Bucks Culture Co-Chair said:
“Julius leaves behind him massive achievements and a profound gap in our lives. He was a life-force – a fount of ideas, wisdom, energy and compassion – a remarkable polymath, it was a privilege to have worked with him, learned from him and relished his company as a friend.
Co-chairing is an unusual art – but sharing this role at the conception and birth of Bucks Culture was creative and productive joy.”
Rob Lehmann, Bucks Culture Co-Chair said:
“Julius cared deeply about culture within our county and, more importantly, ensuring people had the opportunity to access it. He was fundamental to the birth of Bucks Culture and led the charity passionately. He was an inspirational beacon within Buckinghamshire for so many of us. His light-hearted, caring and collaborative nature was a joy to be around. His positivity and energy were infectious. I am, and will forever be, grateful to have spent time learning from and alongside him.”
Julius’ family have published a memory page where stories, messages and condolences can be posted, please access the page here: https://dadopa.muchloved.com/
Championing the work of women from the cultural sector and identifying how our work can support women from all walks of life as we work towards a more equitable society for all.
On the 6th of March Bucks Culture hosted the inaugural Women of Culture Event in celebration of International Women’s Day. The event, hosted at the Elgiva Theatre in Chesham, saw women and allies from across the sector come together to explore issues faced by women and champion the work of women in the cultural sector.
Audiences were treated to an interactive workshop led by Rosie Axon, Founder and Director at Chiltern Music Therapy and Betty Makharinsky Founder and CEO at Vache Baroque. This musical session explored the role of female voice in music, from the exclusion of female artists in the Baroque era to how the song, Bread and Roses, became the slogan of a political movement calling for safety, shelter and better living standards for all. Delegates were in full voice and the Forum at the Elgiva was filled with not only sunshine but the beautiful sound of an entirely female choir.
‘Love our new girl band’ gleefully expressed post workshop by an attendee, testament to the joy of participation. This could be the start of something new for Bucks.
We were delighted to hear from Vicky Hope-Walker, CEO at National Paralympic Heritage Trust (NPHT) and valued Board Member at Bucks Culture. Vicky spoke of her creative journey to CEO at NPHT. From training in creative arts to implementing socially inspired programmes as a freelancer leading to the eventual establishment of NPHT. Vicky’s presentation took us on a journey through time celebrating the great work and discoveries of female leaders from across Bucks and beyond.
From one inspirational leader to another, our very own, Lallie Davis, Director at Bucks Culture, shared howWomen of Cultureprovided opportunity to celebrate and champion women around the world alongside the cultural sector in Bucks, with a lens to the past, a moment in the present, and an eye to the future. The event provided time for networking and opportunity to come together to discuss the wider issues faced by women and the communities we work with.
Bucks Culture’s first International Women’s Day event is something Lallie has been intending to convene for a long time. International Women’s Day has been taking place annually on the 8th March since 1911. The day is dedicated to the advancement of women worldwide and belongs to all who care about women’s equality.
Sadly, in a rapidly changing World, women are often most affected by some of our most pressing issues: migration, poverty and climate change.
In the cultural sector we are in the amazing position to be working in an impactful way to implement change for the communities we work with. Our work in community settings serves to uncover inequalities, raise the profile of challenges, and bring people together armed with art and creativity as a tool for engagement and a catalyst for change.
Stories, music, visual arts, poetry, crafts and events, all play a role in reaching people and bringing them together. In difficult times, this role is of more importance than ever.
Notes on Accelerating Action from Lallie Davis, Director at Buckinghamshire Culture
This year’s International Women’s Day theme, accelerate action, is about how we can collectively Accelerate Action for women everywhere by addressing systemic barriers and biases women face in both personal and professional spheres.
Despite everything,
the World Economic Forum says full gender parity is still five generations away[i].
87% of men in paid work are full-time workers, whereas only 59% of women are in paid full-time work[ii].
Women are now 47% of those in employment but are still the majority of those in part-time employment[iii].
Employment rates of Bangladeshi and Pakistani women still lag behind that of other groups[iv].
The Gender pay gap has increased to 8.9% since 2018, while overall pay gap has decreased to 17.3%[v].
Women account for 69% of low earners, a proportion that has barely changed since 2018(70%) and that has remained constant since 2011[vi] (69%)
Women continue to encounter numerous challenges, including:
Health Inequities: Studies show that women’s pain is often dismissed, leading to delayed diagnoses and inadequate treatment. The Sun
Mental Health Struggles: Research indicates that young women experience higher levels of mental distress compared to their male counterparts, influenced by societal pressures and gender-based discrimination. The Australian
What steps can you take today to challenge gender biases?
How can you support the women in your community more effectively?
In what ways can your workplace promote a culture of inclusivity and equality?[vii]
Tree of Insight and Intentions
Attendees shared thoughts and plans, writing a tag for our Tree of Insight and Intention sharing how to accommodate female audiences and pledges for the future to accelerate action!
As shared below
I pledge to actively praise and elevate my team of women, recognising their strengths, input and skill sets. I could not do my job without them.
I pledge to make space for more women to devise and lead on projects! + being aware of added barriers to intersectionality.
I do and will celebrate the women who came before us, paved the way for us to help and inspire the women who will follow us.
My intention is to promote fiction and non fiction written by women (esp from Bucks)when possible. Look at heritage of Bucks born writers e.g. Enid Blyton
I pledge to create more spaces for women to come together to be creative.
Seek out ways to make links with the local British Asian Community of Women.
Write and create more female characters to explore and present female perspectives. Continuing to connect with and champion female causes.
I pledge to promote and embrace female artists.
Continuing my recent exhibition work concerning, Childhood Lost, by sponsoring a young female street child in Kolkata.
I pledge to learn more about women’s businesses locally that I can promote.
Providing community, supportive inclusive and fun activities.
We are delighted to connect with and hear from women working across Buckinghamshire, working in collaboration to reach communities, support each other’s endeavours and ensure that women’s issues are included in our work and programmes.
Please do get in touch with ideas for future programmes, recommend speakers and to keep us up to date with your work.
Bucks Culture is excited to present the first ever Bucks Spark Awards created to showcase and celebrate arts, heritage and cultural achievements delivered by fantastic, hard-working organisations and voluntary groups within the county. Submissions for work taking place in the last year were invited across three categories and we are now able to share the inspiring shortlist.
The categories and shortlist for this first year of Bucks Spark Awards are:
Best cultural event:
UK Astronomy’s Planetarium at Stowe
Unbound Theatre’s Buckinghamshire Shakespeare Festival
Visual Images Group’s Bucks Art Weeks
Best cultural exhibition:
Amersham Museum’s Marie-Louise in Amersham exhibition
Fractured Land Collective’s Fractured Land exhibition
Marlow Museum’s Writers of Marlow exhibition
National Paralympic Heritage Trust’s The Story of the Games display
South Asian Artists’ Community’s Kaleidoscope exhibition
Best cultural collaboration:
Buckinghamshire Council’s Local Heritage List
Bucks Youth Dance Company and Wycombe Youth Action’s Express Yourself project
Chiltern Music Therapy and English Sinfonia’s Safe in Sound project
Decreate and Hughenden’s Easter Family Art Trail
National Paralympic Heritage Trust’s Global Virtual Museum
Milton’s Cottage and Vache Baroque’s Visionaries: a multi-sensory experience
Wycombe Museum and Chalk, Cherries and Chair’s Chiltern Chairs Festival.
All of the submissions we received were of an extremely high quality and judging has been very hard. Our judging panel consists of:
Professor Sri-Kartini Leet, Head of School of Art and Performing Arts at Buckinghamshire New University
Daniel Williams, County and Diocesan Archivist at Buckinghamshire Archives
Pablo Colella, Director and Lead Consultant at Disconnected Bodies
Julius Weinberg, Co-Chair at Buckinghamshire Culture.
Pablo Colella said: “I was blown away by the calibre of the submissions for Bucks Spark Awards this year, I am so impressed by the range of events and activities that are taking place in the county. I feel really lucky to have been selected as the community panel member for the Awards judging.”
The winners and runners-up will be announced at Bucks Culture’s Conference on 7th November, with awards presented by award winning author Claire Fuller and Lord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, Countess Howe.
We are so excited to share these cultural moments and achievements with partners, colleagues and friends in the sector. We aim to build a supportive creative community to celebrate these successes and the value that the cultural sector brings to our county and its residents.
Buckinghamshire residents are invited to explore the power of stories and join walks, fireside performances, story-telling and village portraits this Summer/Autumn. There will be a range of community-focussed activities across the county as Buckinghamshire Culture pilots STORIES, a programme that aims to shine a light on the rich history and life of the county, thanks to public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
In this first year of STORIES activity, we and our partners, will work with artists, communities and other organisations to develop our ideas. Taking inspiration from our beautiful natural landscapes, our pilot season will include performances of Fireside by Nikki & JD in several Buckinghamshire locations. Inspired by the Paralympic story we will recruit d/Deaf and disabled artists to form an artist collective working with Ellen Renton, spoken-word artist and poet, to create new work. And inspired by the nature of our county as a place of small towns and villages, we will celebrate the nature of community through village portraits created by Theo Clinkard Dance, captured in photographs by Camilla Greenwell and new writing from a range of writers.
Stories Creative Associate, Eckhard Thiemann, says: “STORIES is an invitation for residents and visitors to discover and participate in new cultural experiences in places that make the county unique. We take panoramic shots of modern village life, animate natural beauty spots through performance, and delve into the important history of paralympic heritage. The outcome will be new stories to remember, to share and to inspire us.”
Clive Harriss, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure & Culture said: “Buckinghamshire Council is pleased to support this new initiative being run by Buckinghamshire Culture. Projects like this do so much to bring the arts to life in our local communities, allowing people to watch and participate in new cultural experiences which entertain and inspire all ages. The funding we are providing helps to ensure that everyone is able to access and enjoy something exciting in their local area.”
During this pilot Season we will work with a number of communities in local villages. We will partner with a range of organisations, including BuDs, National Disability Arts Collection and Archive, National Paralympic Heritage Trust among others. We will be sharing opportunities for commissions and volunteering as the year progresses, please keep an eye out on social media if you are interested in collaborating with us.
Following this period of exploration, we will continue to work with artists and communities to weave together stories of people, places, histories and future dreams to celebrate unique places and moments across the county. We aim to share further STORIES work with residents across 2025 and 2026.
STORIES Season 1 is made possible thanks to public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and support from Buckinghamshire Council, National Paralympic Heritage Trust, Rothschild Foundation and a number of other partners.
We invite performers (theatre, dance, circus), musicians, composers, spoken word artists, writers, poets, visual and digital artists to apply.
We are looking for up to four artists from a variety of disciplines, to be part of an artist collective with writer, poet and spoken word artist Ellen Renton, to create new works based on the exploration of Paralympic and Disability Arts archives in Buckinghamshire. The project is called Archive STORIES. We are particularly keen to hear from artists based in Buckinghamshire or neighbouring counties or artists with a strong connection to Buckinghamshire. This is a paid opportunity.
Archive STORIES coincides with this summer’s Paralympic Games in Paris and forms part of Buckinghamshire Culture’s new season of STORIES, a pilot season of events and activities taking place across Buckinghamshire between May and November 2024.
Please see our Call Out form for more information and to apply. This link contains all the details that you need to know in advance of an application, and a form to gather your application responses. Please click here to apply https://forms.gle/uWNSfh5zypCcYiJr8
You can also download the Call Out document, as either a Word or PDF below. These documents contain the same information as the Google Form.
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