Action for Arts
History
In 2002 Action for Arts Trust Ltd became a registered charity. Since then we've raised funding to support numerous participatory arts projects in Wales and England, including theatre touring, live music events, feature film production, training and mentoring programmes, creative industry employment schemes, and work experience opportunities for several thousand people.
Engagement
We deliver projects for:
The Arts & Young People
One of our priority areas is working with young people, particularly those who are seeking a career in the creative industries. We provide support to enable emerging talent to develop and find their individual career path. Engaging in the arts unlocks an individual's talents; fosters aspiration and achievement; and empowers young people to acknowledge and celebrate their cultural heritage.
Employment
We provide career networking opportunities, along with careers advice, to enable the person to progress their ambitions. Our engagement programmes help develop transferable skills for employability including communication, problem solving, team work, entrepreneurship and logistics.
Supporting Arts Business.
The creative industries play a hugely important role in our societal and cultural development. The creative economy is worth over £85 billion per year to the UK. Our objective is to support arts excellence and help grow the creative economy.
Our Passion
We love connecting people with great art. We work collaboratively with artists, directors and producers to provide exciting new projects that help to raise the profile of the arts at regional, national and international level.
Our projects involve these arts mediums:
We love working with both established and emerging talent. We develop creative projects to increase employment opportunities, whilst promoting quality arts experiences to a broad spectrum of audiences.
Contact Us: info@actionforarts.org.uk
FB: facebook.com/actionforartsHQ/
Our Achievements
Supported UK Feature Film Production
Created 285 new jobs in media, design and performing arts
Provided personal mentoring for people with mental health challenges
Helped 40 creative business start ups and 2 non profits
Delivered workshops to over 30,000 people in England and Wales
Raised funding for over 40 arts and music events
In conjunction with DWP, delivered pre-employment training to 300 people and helped them find work
Recruited and trained 500 volunteers
Community Wellbeing Strategy
We deliver health and wellbeing programmes as part of our community development strategy. Our overall aim is to reduce health inequalities and improve community health and wellbeing. Our programmes encourage and support people to design and deliver creative outcomes which tell their stories and voice experiences of living in their particular communities.
Our vision for this strategy is:
to harness people’s unique strengths to create change in their community
to hear unheard voices and encourage people to tell their stories in creative ways utilising the arts, dance, music, poetry, performance and other forms
to help people broaden their understanding of the concept of creativity
Many people view being creative as something that they either are or aren’t. We want to encourage people to understand that there are many different ways to be creative, that creativity can be accessed by everyone and applied as a powerful tool for personal and social change.
We apply learning from established innovative wellbeing approaches including Positive Psychology, social and arts prescribing and asset based community development.
Our trained professionals use Positive Psychology to help people understand what makes them happy. We employ resources such as ‘the five ways to wellbeing’ where we encourage small simple actions to boost wellbeing and social interaction. We build resilience and unlock potential to work on common goals towards community change. We promote involvement in volunteering and in developing new skills which can improve employability.
A report by the World Health Organisation in 2019 considering 3000 studies showed the major role that arts projects have in preventing ill health, promoting wellbeing and the management and treatment of illness. Arts on prescription has attracted attention as a way to complement health and social care interventions.
Isolation and marginalisation is worsening the mental and physical health of thousands who previously were economically inactive. There are also many thousands more who have become economically inactive and isolated as a direct result of the COVID pandemic.
By working particularly with people who may feel excluded and marginalised we seek to build skills and confidence. We allow them to explore and realise new opportunities, create new social networks and friendships, build resident-led projects and create long lasting community change.
Our Charity's 18th Year.
We are raising funding to deliver collaborative projects that focus on:
Let's Talk 2020 Futures
A project supported by the Veterans' Foundation focussing on PTSD and complex mental health awareness, and providing support to Veterans who are living with post combat trauma. Providing one to one mentoring, remote learning, friendship and support.
Tommy Chase - Groove Merchant
Feature Documentary in Development
Chronicling the impact of hard bop drummer Tommy Chase on London's burgeoning jazz club resurgence in the 1980's. Visiting the venues, the people, and the music, discussing his subsequent disappearance from the scene, and his later life dealing with vascular dementia that ultimately robbed him of his beloved music.
Out Of Many Voices
Supported by a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund
Delivering a series of workshops across multiple art forms to engage with our local community, providing a platform for positive communication, creative, life and employability skills.
Young, Gifted and Unheard
We provide the creative platform for gifted young adults who because of complex social and mental health challenges, are very often hidden and unheard. By offering a safe creative space, we open up significant opportunities to nurture and support, building their confidence and coping strategies so they can develop their talents and feel part of our creative community.
Expedition To Kosovo - Creative Volunteer Project 2021
We're fundraising to support our next expedition to Kosovo with a team of creative volunteers and a film crew to make our third visit to the NGO The Ideas Partnership and the community in Fushë Kosovë. The objective is to create volunteer and travel experiences that improve the employability of local young people, whilst offering support to the Ashkali community in Kosovo.
#Out of Many Voices Project
An opportunity for young people 16-25 to learn, explore,
build confidence, find their own path and unique voice.
Funded by BIg Lottery Community Fund
#OUTOFMANYVOICES
Short Courses and One to One Mentoring
Looking to make life changes, start your career, get a job or become an entrepreneur? We offer training and support to help you on your way.
Employability and Enterprise Training, with mentoring and practical experience to help you feel more confident and focussed, ready to plan your future in a positive way.
Email us for Further information info@actionforarts.org.uk
Volunteering with ACTION FOR ARTS
Want to get involved in our projects, learn skills and meet new friends?
You'll receive training and have the opportunity to work with a great team, whilst also helping communities in the UK and Europe.
Fill in the boxes below, hit the submit button and we'll be in touch with you.
How We Work
We collaborate and partner with like minded companies, organisations and individuals to deliver engagement projects. This strategy has proved to be extremely effective for achieving our outcomes, whilst sustaining the charity through fluctuations in the economy and cuts to local and national funding.
Examples of some of our many successful projects
Music Buddies
Managed by a team of young professional musicians, and our Music Buddies Volunteer Support Crew, the aim of the project to empower young people through creativity.
Project Goals:
With funding support from Gwirvol
A Home for Elham - Documentary
A random connection on Facebook leads to an incredible friendship with a family in Kosovo.
In 2013 Action for Arts sent a film crew and a team of young volunteers with musician Dani Washington, to document the journey he undertook, to meet the little boy, Elham, he connected with through Facebook. We wanted to highlight the plight of a young family suffering extreme poverty and harsh living conditions, in Fushë Kosovë - one of the most downtrodden areas of Europe.
Our aim, was to gain the attention of the international media, so that we could start raising funds to safely house the Krasniqi family. This story has been one of happiness and heartbreak, we've made friends with the Ideas Partnership an amazing NGO in Kosovo, and linked with some truly remarkable people from around the world, who have joined forces to help the community in Fushë Kosovë.
We visited for a second time in 2016, to record developments in the community since our first trip to Kosovo. Bringing more volunteers with us this time, who were given the opportunity to visit the Ideas Partnership Community Centre, and meet the young people who participate in the many initiatives and workshops delivered there. It has been an empowering experience for our UK volunteers, seeing life through the eyes of those less fortunate. This has inspired them to be more compassionate and community minded, excel in their studies and work hard to secure sustainable employment.
Vinyl - Feature Film
We challenged ourselves to help shoot a feature film in 28 days. Of course we achieved it through the help of our local community, support from Director Sara Sugarman and fabulous crew from LA, New York, San Francisco, London and Wales
Filmed on location in North Wales and featuring a high profile international cast.
Action for Arts provided 30 young people from the local community, with employment and training opportunities over the entire 6 months from pre-production to production under the Future Jobs Scheme.
Vinyl received several international film festival awards, general release in UK cinemas, and aired frequently on Sky Box Office. We are very proud that members of the young cast, have since become internationally successful in film, television, theatre and music.
Jamie Blackley (The Halcyon) , Alexa Davies (Mama Mia Here We Go Again) and Dani Washington (Neck Deep)
Click Poster for Trailer
V Creation
V Creation offers young creative people age 16-24 the opportunity to join forces and lend their talents and expertise to a range of projects.
V Creation was made up of a team of people wishing to be part of the creative economy, turning their passion and talent into employment. There were opportunities to work on projects in:
This unique initiative based in the North West, offers the chance to develop creative skills, gain some authentic work experience and training.
V Television
Produced by a young people's production team
Some of the work we produced for V Television the youth led television channel and production team, supported by creative industry mentors.
V Television Programme Concept
Producing online content to promote creative entrepreneurs and artists who are just starting out in their careers.
Away Days
Music and Arts - One Day and Weekend Events.
A series of one day and weekend festivals, aimed at promoting tourism both in and out of season, to raise the profile and boost the economy of coastal towns.
Funding a Project
Need help sourcing funding for your project?
Get in touch with us for advice and guidance.
info@actionforarts.org.uk
Our Trustees
Paul Bradshaw
Broadcaster World Wide FM &
Publisher of Straight No Chaser Magazine
Trustee
Martin Williams
Managing Director of Radar PR
Trustee
Simon Edwards
Programme Curator for
Dublin, Cork & Edinburgh Film Festival
Trustee
Tony Minvielle
Broadcaster Jazz FM
Trustee
Sam Nayar
North Wales Entrepreneur and Hotelier
Trustee
Contact Us
We gratefully acknowledge support from
Copyright Action for Arts 2020
Action for Arts Trust Limited is a Registered Charity in England and Wales
Registered Charity Number: 1093013 - Registered Company Number: 04390384
Registered Office: 70 Pen y Bryn Road, Colwyn Bay LL29 6AL