ARC has been shortlisted for the Cultural Charity Award in the National Creative Learning Awards for its More Stuff Like This Please! programme working with children and young people in care.
The More Stuff Like This Please! project delivered by ARC, in association with Blue Cabin, Culture Bridge North East, and Stockton Borough Council, provides creative experiences and learning that seeks to transform the lives of some of the most disadvantaged children and young people in our society.
Giving Children and Young People in Care new opportunities and experiences they would not have otherwise enjoyed – More Stuff Like This Please! is a programme that was co-designed with them. At the same time the organisations involved sought to equip and empower social care professionals (including foster carers, residential care staff and social workers, plus artists and arts managers) to work with children and young people and provide them with access to the creative activities that will improve their development, happiness and quality of life.
Examples of the activities that took place as part of More Stuff Like This Please! included taster workshops in theatre, dance, mural painting, film making, cinema, and cooking sessions.
Annabel Turpin, Chief Executive of ARC said:
“We are privileged and honoured to have been chosen to become one of the shortlisted finalists for the Cultural Charity Award from the many entries the Creative Learning Guild received. More Stuff Like This Please! has exceeded our expectations in terms of what we have been able to achieve and it means a lot to everyone involved in the project to have their work recognised in this way.”
Gilly Bryerley, Managing Director of The Creative Learning Guild, who are organising the awards, said:
“On behalf of all here, I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations to all of those shortlisted for the National Creative Learning Awards. There is so much talent and dedication in the world of creative learning, with practitioners taking on enormous responsibility, working long hours with almost no down time, and often for little financial reward. We want these awards to recognise these un-sung heroes and support them in their ongoing fight for creativity. I wish our shortlisted members the best of luck, but would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our members for the wonderful and essential job they do every day.”
The new national Creative Learning Awards celebrate the inspirational innovators, educators and practitioners who live and breathe creative learning. The awards range across 15 categories, including formal education, the arts and creative business.
The awards are organised by The Creative Learning Guild a charity based in Yorkshire that supports the grassroots creative learning movement across the UK through a Guild membership scheme and the new awards.
Judges will use criteria that have been informed by a consultation of arts and education organisations to choose the winners from each of the categories and the winner in each category will be announced at the Creative Learning Summit on Friday 8th March.
The judging panel include an Olivier award winning theatre producer, a representative from the international Lego Foundation, leading disability arts professional; Ruth Gould and acclaimed poet Ian McMillan.