Dear Supporters<br><br>Very short notice but here is some info about the Stimulating Participation in the Informal Creative Economy (SPICE) workshops. Ideally people will be able to take part throughout, as the workshops carry a kind of narrative to explore the topic. But, no problem if not. <font face="trebuchet ms,sans-serif">People from outside of Sheffield
can attend, but their travel is only covered from Sheffield due to the funding.<br><br></font><div><font face="trebuchet ms,sans-serif">There are people taking part from broadly each of the four workshop areas.The idea is that the
participants have some connection with one of those areas and the
communities in them. Steve Thompson, Community Media Manager at the Teesside University, is leading the first workshop.<br><br></font></div>The organisers definitely need to confirm today/tomorrow about next week's attendees though. There are three places left available, so get in touch with them asap if you can attend - contact details at bottom of email.<br>
<br>--------<br><br><ul><li>Travel expenses from Sheffield will be covered for delegates</li><li>In advance of each workshop, delegates will meet at Sheffield Train
station and travel with the other delegates to the workshop locations.</li><li>There is no registration fee.</li><li>Accommodation for the workshops is provided as are meals.</li></ul>
There are four workshops, dates and locations listed below:<br><br><b>SPICE: Stimulating Participation in the Informal Creative Economy </b><br>
<br>This project investigates the informal creative economy (such as guided walks, ad-supported blogs and community-<br>generated tourism or marketing materials) that has grown up around cultural heritage projects and its role in <br>
developing the well-being of communities. University researchers from Kings College London, Sheffield Hallam <br>University and the University of Teesside are working with members of communities based in four distinctive <br>
locations (London, Oxford, Sheffield and N Yorkshire/E Cleveland) where innovative cultural heritage activity is <br>taking place. Through a series of workshops blending discussion and practical tasks, key issues in developing a <br>
vibrant informal creative economy will be analysed by active participants from the four neighbourhoods. <br><br>The Council of Europe defines cultural heritage broadly as ‘a group of resources inherited from the past which <br>
people identify, independently of ownership, as a reflection and expression of their constantly evolving values, <br>beliefs, knowledge and traditions’; including ‘all aspects of the environment resulting from the interaction <br>
between people and places through time’. And the UK Government says that active cultural heritage work makes <br>an important contribution to community cohesion. We will be exploring how these resources and the creative use <br>
that people make of them build values, beliefs, knowledge and traditions to share. <br><br>There are four workshops as part of this project, each focussing on a slightly different aspect of the relations <br>between people, place, identity, creativity and sustainability. These are: <br>
<br><b>Understanding the Informal Creative Economy: Definition/Scope/Reach – </b><br><br><b>East Cleveland/North Yorkshire, May 24th-25th </b><br><br>What is an<i> Informal Creative Economy</i>? And how and why would we nurture it?<br>
<br>This workshop looks at the value of activities that grow up round place and community and identifies core <br>elements with an eye to attracting more engagement: both as audiences and as participants. The economy is <br>
unpicked as a site of value exchange, including how cultural, social or financial aspects interplay. <br><br>We will do our work in Saltburn, in the former homes of the mine owner and mine manager in an area that has <br>
been building a new identity as tourist destination in the wake of the withdrawal of the coal and steel industries. <br><br><b>Nurturing the Informal Creative Economy: Identity/Impact – <br><br>London, June 15th-16th <br>
</b><br>What does it mean to recognise heritage? Whose counts and how is it to be expressed? <br><br>This workshop acknowledges that all movements for change – even those that protect/develop heritage, <br>environment and place – introduce chosen and hidden impacts. It looks at how processes work to highlight <br>
different aspects and considers the effects on participants, bystanders and those to be influenced. <br><br>The London workshop will focus on the life of The Strand, a historic street in the centre of the West End, and the <br>
many strata of people who come through it, work or live there.<br><br><b>Maintaining the Informal Creative Economy: Viability/Sustainability/Income – <br><br>Sheffield, August 1st-2nd <br></b><br>What does it take to make creativity sustainable? How do values balance in the informal economy? <br>
This workshop considers the nitty-gritty of keeping your activities afloat, whether by recruiting fresh energy or <br>generating more cash. <br><br>We will be based in the Gist Lab, a city-centre open source hub for local activities that is so new that it is still <br>
creating its identity within the Creative Industries Sector that Sheffield is known for. <br><br><b>Summing up the Informal Creative Economy: Cohesion/Growth/Summary – <br><br>Oxford, August 26th-27th <br></b><br>What are the big goals? How do we keep them in focus? How do we attain them? <br>
<br>This workshop sees us drawing our learning together and preparing case studies and tips to put into a summative <br>document and multimedia record of the project. We will gather insights on building community, preserving culture <br>
and making longer-term projects viable and record this learning for use with policy- makers and publics interested <br>in generating an informal creative economy based on place. <br><br>The last visit is to Oxford’s Jericho Boatyard, focus of a long campaign to preserve both a historic location and a <br>
way of life. We will be based on a boat on the canal and close the sequence with thoughts on what we need as <br>moorings and what we can carry with us. <br> <br><b>Notes: </b><br><br>The purpose of the workshops is to gather information about existing informal creative activities which draw on <br>
the resources of cultural heritage and to look at practices that make them sustainable and of value to the <br>community. People may contribute in different ways, from providing publishable case studies to giving anonymous <br>
accounts of their feelings of involvement. The final materials that summarise our findings will be circulated to <br>community groups, policy makers and cultural heritage projects as well as being available to the participants of the <br>
project to use under a creative commons licence. <br><br>We have space for only a few people from each location to visit others. You may sign up for one or many; places <br>will be allocated on a basis of availability, topic and balance of participants. If you are interested, please contact <br>
Michelle (on <b><a href="mailto:M.Tanner@tees.ac.uk" target="_blank">M.Tanner@tees.ac.uk</a> </b>or<b> 01642 384334</b>) in the first instance. <br><br>Journeys will be primarily by train and will be pre-booked/paid for as part of our arrangements for visiting <br>
participants. In addition, at each workshop, we will cater for visiting participants and provide a bed. Please note <br>that in Oxford that bed will be on a boat and in shared berths. <br><br>There will be additional spaces for local participants at each workshop and lunch each day will be provided. <br>