includes specific health and well being projects as well as the
core activities concerned with our members and maintaining
a strong network of groups and individuals concerned with
voluntary art in the Wakefield district. Current projects are:
The Comic project sponsored by the Wakefield NHS Community Alcohol Awareness
Service gives young people in Airedale an opportunity to produce creative
photographic work. Diva comissioned an artist to work with the youngsters
to go on to produce their own comic strip publications to raise awareness
of the dangers of alcohol misuse.
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Friday
5 June and the staff parents and pupils from Airedale High School
gathered together with DIVA Staff and NHS Officials to celebrate
the launch of the project comics.
DIVA Comic Project was funded by the NHS to promote alcohol awareness in young people. |
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If you would like to be involved in the IMPACT Project please contact Marissa Wakefield, Diva's Artistic Director on 01924 383773 or email her at diva@pop3.poptel.org.uk
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If
you would like to know more about new Discover opportunities, please
talk to your care co-ordinator, or phone Maria on 01924 383773 to
discuss the referral process. |
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To find out if your group could apply for ZEST funding contact Maria Bottomley on 01924 383773 or email her at maria-diva@pop3.poptel.org.uk |
...
2004 - 2007
...
Bringing
Art & Technology together, DIVA was
funded by The Big Lottery Fund for an exciting
creative technology project to benefit local groups.
The
project began in April 2004 and ran for
three years.
Voluntary artists explored creative ways of using IT.
Activities ranged from workshop training sessions
in specialist software to ambitious video projects
for Second Chance and Outwood Community Group.
Lots
of groups sent representatives to learn about
new technology in the free Create+Connect Workshops.
Next
Generation Girls Group used
their creative talents
during Saturday Morning sessions enjoying Animation
Workshops and creating their own original work.
In 2002/2003 Diva began an 18 month pilot project run in partnership with South West Yorkshire Mental Health NHS Trust. The aim of the Inspire Project was to develop creative skills through a series of three artists' residences.
Inspire is now running as an independent art group and in Spring 2005 Diva was commissioned to deliver further creative workshops with adult mental health users in a two-year partnership with Wakefield MDC & Kirklees Social Services which became the Discover Project.
As well as the projects that Diva is currently working on
Diva has a wealth of experience stretching back to 1996!
Experience of projects covering all art forms and helping with the
problems that face all voluntary groups with one to
one advice from Diva Staff and specifically tailored
advisory placements with other professionals.
Below is a selection of the projects that DIVA
has run in the last twelve years.
2006 was the ten year anniversary of Diva and we began our year of celebration
with the FestDIVAl. funded by Arts Council
England.
FestDIVAl was a month long festival of Voluntary
Art across Wakefield District featuring performances and exhibitions from
many of our group members and other voluntary arts organisations.
FestDIVAl culminated in the festDIVAl Fun Day on 1 July 2006 in Wakefield Cathedral Shopping Precinct on a hot and sunny Saturday.
And to bring the celebrations to a close in July 2007
DIVA hosted the first of what we hope to be many
Voluntary Arts Awards to celebrate the unsung
heros and heroines of Voluntary
Arts in Wakefield. This took place at
Waterton Hall and more pictures can be
viewed by clicking this link
Awards Pictures
Please
follow the links below to view images
from DIVA's celebrations.
FestDIVAl
Festival
Fun Day
2006
- 2007 A project for young people run by DIVA for Wakefield Young People's
Arts Forum & WMDC.
The project provided an opportunity for young people aged 13 - 19 to get
together from all areas of the district and get involved in the arts!
..
The Mix Project utilised WMDC Young People's Service
van which was ready and fully equipped with computers
for the participants to use, enabling DIVA to bring a
programme of exciting arts projects to venues around the district.
The choir preparing to perform
Something New
on the steps of Wakefield Cathedral
Sing
Out With
Wakefield Voices
In 2002, DIVA, funded
by the performing Arts Foundation
commissioned
the composition of a cycle of songs to reflect the changes to the
Wakefield District over twenty years.
Composer Pete Rosser
and Jane Buckler interviewed local people,
ran music workshops and produced original a new Wakefield Cycle.
Singers from across the district performed at Wakefield Volunteers
Gala, Hebden Bridge Festival, Wakefield Cathedral Precinct and
Normanton Gala. A CD recording was made at Ackworth School.
Pete Rosser is an inspirational composer who has been working with singers and musicians of all abilities around the country for over ten years. He has worked on large and small-scale community music projects in Bristol, Birmingham, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire fusing elements of jazz, folk, contemporary and popular music with instantly hummable tunes. Most recently he led DIVA's Joining Voices project and composed and conducted Postcards From Out of the Blue for the Wakefield Community Choir, which was performed at venues across the District during 2000.
Jane Buckler works regularly as a writer/librettist for the Education departments of the Royal Opera House, Opera North and English National Opera. Her work includes Operaville for Opera North, a community piece inspired by seven Bradford families which was performed in Bradford in 2000. Airheads, commissioned by Glyndbourne Opera and performed by 16-19 year olds, toured Germany. Jane also writes plays for theatre and Radio 4.
Ali Bullivent led weekly rehearsals with the choir.
A series of open workshops in Spring 2001 resulted in the completion of DIVA's embroidered and appliquéd double sided fabric banner.
Working
with artist Karen Babyana DIVA ran a series
of workshops exploring different ways of working
with textiles to create a banner reflecting Wakefield's
Voluntary Arts. Techniques were explored using
fabric pens, photos, transfers, applique and collage
with a range of craft materials.
Our
banner has been displayed at exhibitions and
events across the district and we hope to find it a
permanent home in the DIVA office at
Charlotte Street Wakefield.
A series of Visual Arts workshops including life drawing and collage was sponsored by the family of the late Muriel Stewart a life long supporter of voluntary arts in the Wakefield District.
In 2000 Diva was funded by
the Community Fund to develop the
network of Art Groups in Wakefield.
Pass it On, where established groups shared their knowledge and
experience with newer groups was an important part of this project.
This also led to the link Up
Register that held details of skills and
individuals ready to pass them on.
The project had three main strands incorporating Music, Visual Arts and an inivative
Advisory Placement Scheme
As part of the A4E project funded by the National Lottery Diva called together a community coir and engaged an artist to compose original music and Postcards from out of the blue was born. Postcards was performed four times at venues across the district and an audio CD was produced. Many of the people involved in this project went on to form a new choir, Wakefield Voices which are now members of DIVA.
Bringing together groups and artists
or other professionals with
special skills.
Karen Babayan, Diva's Artist in Residence, ran open workshops
in addition to working with groups like:-
Art Circus Education Art Group
Centre X1 Youth Club
Eastmoor Residents Arts
Group Nine Artists
Pinderfields Hospital School
Wheelers & Wobblers Sports and Social Club
Wakefield Asian Welfare Association.
Exhibitions
of work produced were held at Yorkshire Art Circus, Wakefield Art Gallery
and Unity House, Wakefield.
Some of the banners produced are still on display across the district
Eastmoor Residents Arts had an advisor to
develop their committee and planning skills.
Diva brought Castleford Gilbert & Sullivan Society
together with an advisor to develop marketing skills
and increase audiences.
Knottingley Concert Brass had an instrument audit
and conducting workshop.
was one of the earliest Diva projects, producing original orchestral music, which was performed live at Wakefield Theatre Royal in 1997.
In 1999 Diva facilitated an exhibition of work from local camera clubs documenting the work of 20 voluntary arts groups. Packs of postcards featuring the photographs were produced for sale and the exhibition was shown at Pontefract Library, Wakefield Art Gallery and Yorkshire Art Circus, Castleford.