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About Us
WHO ARE OPEN
DOOR COMMUNITY ART PROJECTS?
We are a group of volunteers who collaborate on creative art projects in and
around the town of Sheringham in North Norfolk. From large carnival and Christmas decoration projects, to small workshops
in our unit we invite everyone to get involved! Visiting Sheringham for your holidays? You are more than welcome to join us. Contact
Colin Seal for more information. Becky
Robinson is our newly appointed Chairperson. Ms Robinson was unanimously elected by Open Door volunteers at our February meeting
2012. Colin Seal stands down as Chairman after two years but remains hughly active in the Open Door group. Becky led our team
of young people to win 1st prize in the 2010 Sheringham Carnival and contributes to the planning and running of art workshops
held throughout the year.
BEGINNINGS The Open
Door project was conceived in early 2010 by a diverse group of Sheringham artists and residents who were interested in developing
a community wide group to facilitate arts projects. Our initial aim was to offer arts workshops, projects and opportunities
to a wide range of local residents and visitors, run by skilled volunteers, which would engage and inspire participants. We
also proposed to become involved in existing community events such as the carnival and various local festivals.
BECOMING A LOCAL CHARITABLE ORGANISATION Following
a successful application to the Lottery Fund we secured £10,000 which enabled us to engage and equip a local industrial
unit to use as a base, complete health and safety risk assessments and provide every volunteer with a CRB check. Since June
2010 we have been actively engaged in a wide range of community arts projects which have inspired and engaged a range of residents
and visitors alike.
OUR PROJECTS Open
Door Community Art has been actively involved in a range of projects since its conception, these include: - Carnival 2010. The group
worked with local primary school children to create a walking art gallery of ‘old masters’, researching famous
paintings and bringing them alive. The group came second in Sheringham Carnival and won their category in Cromer carnival.
- Family
workshops – Throughout the year the group run family art and craft workshops often to coincide with local events e.g.
COAST arts festival, Christmas lights switch on. This enables parents and children to join in with free art and craft activities
run by skilled volunteers.
- Outreach – being an isolated rural community the group has run outreach arts
workshops in Gresham village and Salthouse, to enable a wider range of residents to access our projects.
- Break – the group
has offered art workshops to adults with learning difficulties with their work being displayed as a part of the COAST arts
festival.
- Inventors
workshops – The group worked in collaboration with The Mo (Sheringham Museum) to run science based ‘inventors workshops’ for families.
- Graffiti workshops –
in order to engage local teenagers who often receive negative publicity the group has run graffiti workshops for both the
carnival and in conjunction with the local skatepark (The Strip).
- Clock
tower cladding – for every local event e.g. Carnival, Christmas lights, Crab and Lobster festival, the group has painted
cladding which envelopes Sheringham Clock tower. This has always been painted with local children, and provides a centre piece
to the town’s festivities.
- Christmas Lights – in conjunction with the Upcher Community Partnership the group have run the past two years Christmas lights switch ceremony in Sheringham. This has included turning the town
into ‘Panto-land’ with giant murals and creating larger than life mod-rock sculptures to be displayed around the
town. Both switch on events have included arts workshops, engaging a wide range of children, and have incorporated competitions
for families.
- Carnival 2011. The group once again entered both Sheringham and Cromer carnivals
with a walking procession including a giant octopus and umbrella jellyfish, created entirely by primary school age children
during workshops. The float won best in parade at Sheringham Carnival and came second in their category at Cromer.
- The group has tried as much as possible to work in conjunction
with other local voluntary organisations and groups e.g. we have provided giant deckchairs and postcards for the Crab and Lobster Festival, art events for the Carnival, school exhibitions and workshops for COAST, storage space for the Community Wardrobe, and painted
scenery for local amateur dramatic societies (Cley Players).
From the above projects we have received an immense amount of
positive feedback from members of the community, and we have become an integral part of Sheringham life, as a resource for
local groups, festivals and organisations, and a major provider of free activities, workshops and projects. We
have a wholly inclusive ethos, and our activities are open to everyone, regardless of age, race, gender, or ability. Every
activity we have offered has been free and facilitated by volunteers. Any further funding will
allow the continuation of the group by securing the industrial unit which serves as our base. The rental costs for this unit
are £3000 a year, with utilities running at approximately £250 per year. Our rates are currently £97 per
month, but following our new independence from the Upcher Community Partnership these should be dramatically reduced.
OUR FUTURE: 2012
The benefits provided by the group will be documented in pictorial
and written form through our website, providing a running record of projects, workshops and activities. We will also measure
our success through our interaction with other community groups and organisations e.g. the Carnival, Crab and Lobster Festival,
COAST with feedback provided through their regular committee meetings. The main evaluation of our success will be provided
by the amount and range of attendees we engage through our workshops and projects. We
have already planned future projects which would be put in serious jeopardy by the loss of funds for the industrial unit.
These include: - Easter Junk Music Workshops – in conjunction
with Creative Music East and North Norfolk District Council we are running two days of workshops making music from junk (collected
during the Sheringham beach clean), which will culminate in an open air concert.
- Carnival 2012 – in
conjunction with a wide range of community groups (Guides, Scouts, Brownies, Beavers, local nurseries, schools) we will be
creating a semi-permanent serpent mural along Sheringham Prom which will be displayed throughout the Carnival celebrations.
-
We
will provide art workshops during the jubilee celebrations planned for June.
- We plan to create a Viking
longship float to enter in both Sheringham and Cromer Carnivals, which could be adapted to form a raft for the annual Sheringham
raft race. This will be created during workshops with Primary school age children in our industrial unit.
- We are in
the process of creating giant postcards for the Crab and Lobster Festival.
- We have planned to offer
three mornings of craft workshops during the COAST festival which will be run from our unit.
-
We
respond to any requests of help advice or space to use from local organisations, and aim to be community led.
The benefits provided
by any funding will be the following:- Allow continuation of the group through providing
a base for workshops, storage and projects.
- Further involvement in community festivals and projects (Crab
and Lobster Festival, COAST, Sheringham Carnival, Sheringham Christmas Lights.)
- Provide a unit for the use of other community organisations (Community wardrobe,
Cley Players).
FEBRUARY 2012
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