What we did: Highlights from October – December 2015

A look back at what City Arts did from October to December 2015. We want everyone to see the full range of City Arts’ activities so, as well as the articles, videos and photo galleries on our website, we are sharing regular quarterly reviews of our work, including news from First Art, a major arts programme that is taking City Arts into North Nottinghamshire and North Derbyshire.

Check out some highlights below or download our new-look review of what’s being happening at City Arts at the end of last year.

Young Producers’ Free Frame Festival

The Young Producers are a group of young people, aged 18-30, who support our work whilst we support their professional development and give them access to City Arts’ resources.

With City Arts’ support a small selection of the group formed a committee charged with putting on a mini-festival of the arts at the end of November. The result – devised, developed and curated by the group – was “FREE FRAME”, a three-day festival of exhibits, music and performance that explored notions of freedom, experimentation, incompleteness and exchange. Seventeen up-and-coming artists, all aged between 18 and 30, created diverse and imaginative new artwork for the exhibition. A late night event, on the 28th November, featured folk music, jazz, acoustic punk and mind-bending experiments with feedback.

Newstead Dragon

Futures Newstead asked City Arts to create something special for their bonfire night on Saturday 7th November.

Commissioned by City Arts, local artists Daria Ujma and Sarah Turner worked with young people from the local community to transform CDs, plastic bottles, drinks lids, soda cans and phone top up cards into a stunning dragon sculpture.

The amazing finished sculpture made an appearance at Newstead Bonfire Night. Lit with LEDs, the dragon delighted audiences out to watch the spectacular firework show. Since the event the dragon has been on display at Gedling Borough Council’s Civic Centre in Arnold.

Armchair Gallery

Short films created for the Imagine – Arts and Older People programme were used in workshops at Abbeyfield’s Millbeck and Sycamore House care homes. Armchair Gallery showcases a number of choice items and artworks selected by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire from their personal collection.

With the support of artist Sam Metz and dancer Andrea Haley, residents took inspiration from the treasures of the Chatsworth collection to create their own artworks. Local station Notts TV aired a report on the project whilst Art Council England highlighted the work on the homepage of their website.