Nigel Allyson Ryan Meets:

  

• ·       Carlos Acosta   Director of the Royal Ballet
• ·       John Agard      Queens Gold Award for  Poetry
• ·       Kerin O’Connor CEO of The Week Magazine
• ·       Felix Dennis     Millionaire Publisher, Poet & Vineyard owner
• ·       James Horton   President of the Royal Society of British Artists

Southern Rail forms an exciting partnership with Sussex Downs College in Lewes

Art on the Line is part of Southern Rail’s plan to introduce contemporary art to its stations to promote local emerging artists and enhance the commuter experience.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b03sgc1f/?t=19m39s

The project has already begun with the transformation of four recently refurbished waiting rooms into mini art galleries at Lewes station, a busy commuter station between Brighton and London with a footfall of 10,000 commuters a day.

The mini galleries have come to life thanks to carefully selected work by Sussex Downs College students who are planning careers in the creative industries – currently one of the fastest-growing sectors in the UK.

The 25 individual pieces span genres including painting, illustration, photography and English language, with some of it already having achieved recognition through prestigious awards. The pieces represent the progression of Sussex Downs College students, who hail from more than 15 different schools across East and West Sussex.

James Horton, President of the Royal Society of British Artists, will officially launch Art on the Line at Lewes station on Tuesday 21 January.

Running from 10:00 – 11:00am, the event will also be attended by local dignitaries including The Mayor of Lewes Cllr Ruth O’ Keeffe, Head of Sussex Downs Lewes College Sherry Russell, and Lewes resident and renowned performance poet John Agard, who recently received the Queen’s Gold Medal for poetry.

Sussex Downs College students from the East Sussex Academy of Music will perform at the launch, including John Sturt, who performed for the Queen during her recent visit to Lewes. John is one of eight students this year from Sussex Downs College who have been successful in securing places at some of the top music conservatoires in the UK.

Katie Richards, Lewes Station Manager, said: “This is a very exciting project that demonstrates Southern Rail’s commitment to the local community as well as to making the commuter experience a much more enjoyable one for all its customers. It’s only been a few weeks into the installation of the artwork and we have had already had lots of very positive feedback and favourable comments from customers who think it’s a great idea.”

Sherry Russell, Head of Sussex Downs Lewes College, said: “We are grateful to Southern for having the vision that has enabled us to make this concept a reality. But most of all we are glad to have the opportunity to demonstrate the wealth of talent that we have in our community and that we are able to nurture at Sussex Downs Lewes College. It’s such a pleasure to see the quality of work produced by students that have joined us from a wide range of schools across Sussex.”

Chris Burchell, Managing Director of Southern Rail, said: “Art on the Line is an exciting new initiative that will enhance our waiting rooms with original and creative art for our passengers to enjoy. We are proud of our strong track record for community support so we are delighted to be able to provide another platform to showcase emerging talent on the Southern network.”

The Reciprocal Arts Partnership (RAP) Project

Coming soon: The Reciprocal Arts Partnership Project (The RAP Project) is based on developing a cultural, artistic, social and economic relationship between Brighton in East Sussex and St. Lucia in the Eastern Caribbean.

Grove Garden

The Directors of Creative Reach were delighted to become trustees of Grove Garden in Haywards Heath during the latter part of 2013. More to follow.

New Writing South Publishing Industry Day

New Writing South recently hosted its extremely popular annual publishing industry day at the Jubilee Library in Brighton.

The event was kicked off by a panel debate discussing 'The End of Traditional Print'. 

Creative Reach co-director Clare Christian was on the panel along with Michael Bhaskar from Profile Books, 

Diana Horner from eBook Partnership and the debate was chaired by playwright, therapist and author Andrew G Marshall.

The starting point of the discussion was that the publishing industry has been shaken up by the advances in digital publishing in recent years. The explosion of ebooks, apps, social media and self‐publishing has given writers new ways to find a market and reach wider audiences for their work, however digital developments have also made it harder for writers to stand out from the crowd. This panel discussion explores the alternatives to traditional print publishing and asks questions such as: What are the ways in which digital technology can help find read readers and develop your career? How do you choose the best media for your work? And what are the creative opportunities for writers?

It was a fascinating and well-supported debate that concluded that while print publishing might be changing it is a process of evolution rather than extinction.

L-R Clare Christian, Diana Horner, Andrew Marshall, Michael Bhaskar

Arts Funding seminar is a hit at Central Sussex College Sixth Form

The first of a series of Creative Seminars to take place at the new Central Sussex College Sixth Form in Haywards Heath was a resounding success. The seminars form part of a bid to develop Haywards Heath and Mid Sussex as a Creative Hub for the region and raise the town and college’s profile and with creative practitioners and young emerging artists coming from the local area and as far afield as Milton Keynes and Birmingham, the event was one positive step closer in that process.

The seminar covered Funding for the Arts, an area well-known to be highly competitive. It involved a panel of professional artists talking about funding and sharing their knowledge and experience. The panel was comprised of Paul Bonham, Arts Council England (South East), Belinda Holden, co-director of the Creative Reach Consultancy and public art specialist and Robin Belfield, freelance theatre director, producer, writer and past creative director of the Lindfield Arts Festival.

Creative Reach Director Nigel Ryan introduces the panel

Nigel Ryan who is on the Local Community Board for Central Sussex College Sixth Form and the principal at Creative Reach, said, “Our strategy is to try and change the general perception of Haywards Heath by focusing on the positive things that are happening locally, like the college’s fantastic new £30m facility, the planning approval for a new multimillion pound Waitrose development and the recent Haywards Heath station redesign and refurbishment. So bringing high profile national organisations like Arts Council England to the town to discuss funding arts and culture is all part of the strategic process.”

Paul Bonham, Arts Council England said, “We were very happy with the seminar. Mid Sussex is not served as well as Brighton or London and we are actively looking to facilitate more events of a similar nature in partnership with Creative Reach”

Creative Reach Director Belinda Holden kicks off the panel debate

Artists and creative practitioners wanting to know more about Funding for the Arts can visit www.creative-reach.co.uk or www.artscouncil.org.uk

Gallery 16 - Open for Business!