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A practical approach to partnership initiated Dingle community arts festival the Fez. A major public art commission, from London Road Development Agency, 1996 was followed in 1997 by a high profile contribution to the European Year Against Racism – Great Teams. A national Drugs Challenge Fund grant enabled Artskills to run the first follow-up course, producing nationally acclaimed information cards Drugspotting. Creative involvement of staff and trainees in the Liverpool Pathways Photography project and Joseph Rowntree & University of Liverpool’s Neighbourhood Images in Liverpool study, in 1998, preceded the organisation being featured in Communities On-Line: Making the Net Work for Neighbourhood Renewal response to the Social Exclusion Unit’s Bringing Britain Together, in 1999.
The original plan had been to pilot new approaches and then pass them on to a suitable partner to continue, or ‘devolve’ them as independent going concerns. The latter applied and thus Artskills Limited was established, incorporating as a Company Limited by Guarantee and receiving charitable registration by April 1999. |
In its first year of independent operation, Artskills continued to secure major funding grants to deliver its projects. It has developed the ‘Artskills model’ in new areas, geographically – in association with the Liverpool Rope Walks Partnership – and in terms of programme content, delivering Basic Skills in English and Maths, film studies & video production and drugs awareness, as well as its core provision of visual arts, creative ICT (Information & Communication Technologies), drama & creative writing, communication and ‘world of work’ skills, all accredited by the Open College.
Also early in its independence, Artskills initiated AVOCADO – the Association of Vocational Arts & Media Development Organisations, with three well established charitable company partners (Ariel Trust – radio & media; CADT – Centre for Arts Development Training; and Hope Street – performing arts) to share good practice and resources, work towards common standards, formalise progression routes for participants and sell our ‘models’ to a wider market. |
