Margate Rocks 08

YOU ARE INVITED TO THE LAUNCH OF MARGATE ROCKS 08 FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY VISUAL ART

Friday 2 May 6pm

The Pie Factory, 5 – 9 Broad Street, Margate, Kent CT9 1EW

Featuring: Exhibition previews Animate Projects presents Salvage Miss Rosie Cooper presents Performance of A Mysterium Tropical Robots presents The Jigsaw Project

Animate Projects presents Salvage

7 – 8pm

Margate Media Centre, 11-13 King Street, Margate, Kent CT9 1DA
Animate Projects present a programme of artists’ films that explore – directly and indirectly – our relationship with, and intervention in, the natural world. Including multi-award winning animations, and two longer films by artists at the forefront of experimental documentary. Featuring work by Inger Lise Hansen, Sandra Lahire, John Parry, Semiconductor, Chris Shepherd & David Shrigley, Cordelia Swann, and Run Wrake.

Miss Rosie Cooper presents Performance of A Mysterium

8.30pm and 9.30pm (two sittings)

Walpole Bay Hotel & Living Museum, Fifth Avenue, Cliftonville, Kent CT9 2JJ

Free, first come first served

A half hour spectacular of lights, music and props within the ballroom of the quirky Walpole Bay Hotel & Living Museum.

Tropical Robots presents The Jigsaw Project

10.30pm

West Coast, King Street, Margate
Free, no booking required

Tropical Robots presents The Jigsaw Project and an evening of eclectic pop, sonic experiments and downright fun times!

Festival Dates

Saturday 3 May – Sunday 11 May

Opening Times 10am – 6pm weekends and Bank Holiday Monday 12 – 6pm weekdays

All events are FREE, unless specified

For more information about Margate Rocks 08 telephone (+44) 07530 207 439 or visit www.margaterocks.com

Artists and other creative professionals required to contribute to a Public Realm Strategy for Margate, Kent

Margate Renewal Partnership is looking for creative people with a good working knowledge of Margate and its communities to contribute to the development of Margate's public realm strategy.

Integral to the strategy process is establishing a Creative Advisory Group that will work alongside the appointed consultant. Margate is developing its creative narrative, most notably with an expanding Creative Quarter in the Old Town and the Turner Contemporary Art Gallery. A key strand of this work is placing innovation and creativity into the heart of the public realm (streets, roads and public spaces).

Your role will be to work alongside other members of the Creative Advisory Group during workshops and bring knowledge of Margate and a creative perspective to the public realm planning and consultation process.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: May 6th 08 - MIDDAY

Interviews in Margate during the week beginning May 12th 08 TBA

Provisional dates and times for workshops:

1st workshop:
May 23rd 08
10am – 4pm

2nd workshop:
May 30th 08
10am – 4pm

3rd workshop:
June 6th 08
10am – 4pm

Application packs are available from Rory McNally
Tel: 01622 666076
Email: rory.mcnally@jacobs.com

LEARNING & SKILLS WORKSHOP: Building Blocks

Resistance in creative learning is not from the institutions but from lack of awareness by locals.

• There is a social divide between the Thanet towns.



• Knowledge transfer means different things to different people but ultimately it is about sharing and exchanging beyond the divide.


• No one wants to feel like culture is being done un to them.
  
• We need to look at culture and decide how we are going to deliver it as a concept.


• If culture is going to be the focus there needs to be an agreement of what it is or ought to be and the role of institutions to help make it happen.


• If Margate feels abandoned then there is little hope for change- young people are a crucial means of turning this perception around.


• Culture needs to be a tool of raising aspirations.


• Margate as a place has low expectations.

Demographics:

• High unemployment


• Out of reach community groups


• High levels of deprivation
  



• There are a lot of negative connotations associated with Margate which is disseminated through the media, through its residents and so perpetuates.



• Negativity is only good to get funding but is ultimately bad for the town as it doesn't attract visitors.

A gateway to communities and families

We need to encourage local people to engage in the cultural aspects of Margate- to enjoy it and feel a sense of place.

• Many of Margate’s residents are unlikely to go to university so there needs to be a way of using informal education if learning and skills is to play a role in the cultural vision.


• The role of formal and informal learning can bring both parents and family’s into cultural/creative activities


• .If their children are doing it then they will want to take part.


• We must ensure that parents are encouraged to so participate in their child’s cultural activities and not make them exclusively for the children.


• There should be an outdoor performance space in Margate.


• One-off spectacles are always successful here but there should also be a consistent programme of activity and institutions can play a positive role here.


• Activities in colleges, institution and/or organisations should compliment each other.


• There needs to be a portal where our projects/ information can be shared.


• If we are going to use culture as a means of building Margate and the aspirations of it’s residence then we need to establish a niche.

The role of formal and informal learning

• Institutions need to develop closer working relationships with professionals from the cultural and creative industries.

Thanet College has increasing links with businesses but this could go further.

• Consortiums can help develop relationships between the two sectors.
• Starting up new courses are expensive and time consuming.
• As institutions are becoming more demand lead is becomes harder to introduce new courses when there is little understanding of the demand for them.
• Informal learning in partnership with the formal sector can offer an insight into the demand for such courses and make a direct contribution to the cultural vision.

How can the formal and informal learning sectors be dovetailed to interface more effectively?

• Wider age groups and demographics need to be considered:
• Offer life-long learning for older generations.
• Provide learning opportunities for disengaged children and young people.
• Offer skills development to those unemployed or on benefit.
• Institutions can share activities where parents and children, communities can be creative together.
• A parent or adult can learn from a child’s creativity.There needs to be better communication between institutions so not to replicate projects and perpetuate the nature of social divide in Thanet.
• There needs to be a more developed relationship with the local press so they can start sharing positive aspects of Margate and encourage visitor even from neighbouring towns.

Visibility for Regeneration

The use of ‘formal’ learning spaces can be unappealing to many so we need to consider using other more popular venues e.g. the arcades.

• This would increase the possibility of transferring ‘knowledge capital’ into problem areas.


• These problem areas need to be identified and targeted as spaces for positive use.


• We need a vision that also educates people on how to use it.


• They have to believe in it and be committed to it for the vision to work.