We are delighted to announce that we have four artist opportunities as part of our Arts Council England Emergency Fund programme.  These will form part of the six-month Festival Echoes programme from June to November 2020.

PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE FULL COMMISSION BRIEF OF WHICH THIS IS AN EXTRACT:

Festival Echoes is a series of one-month artist commissions from May – October 2020
Four open commissions are available: July, August, September, October
Artist Fee: £1,250 (includes up to £250 for materials and expenses) 
​Theme: Creating art in a different landscape
For each commission an artist will create work, of any art-form, in response to the theme.
The artwork must be available to view by members of the public online and/or in public space and then broadcast online as video, photographs or audio content.
The artist may prepare something specifically for online presentation or, alternatively, something that can be photographed or filmed in situ and thereby seen online.
Each commission to run for one month between July and October
The work must be completed by the end of the calendar month for presentation at the start of the following month.
The artist may present their work online as a developing project during the month of creating.
Following completion, the artist will prepare a short evaluation of their experience in written and visual format, this will hopefully help with self-reflection and feed into the development of Festival Stoke.
We are looking for proposals that:

• Provide people across the communities of North Staffordshire with more opportunities to enjoy culture
• Experiment in creating art in new contexts
• Can be shared online using social media, YouTube, etc.
• Propose working in a new and experimental way, for the artist 
• Provide an opportunity to develop creative practice
• Respond to current global situations and issues, which may be general or from the perspective of a particular locality or group of people 
• Are ‘family-friendly’

We are particularly, but not exclusively, interested in receiving proposals: 

• That include an outdoor/nature element 
• From people with a wider cultural heritage
• From artists, we have not worked with before

Proposals must comply with any Coronavirus (Covid-19) UK Government guidance current at the time of the commission
Commissions are open to artists and creative practitioners irrespective of geographical location who are resident in the UK.

We thought you'd like to know a bit more about the stunning banners that have appeared in Stoke town centre. 
SURFACES is a series of six large, bright and bold, fabric banners created to hang along the main street of Stoke-upon-Trent.  The banners are designed and hand-stitched by Rhiannon and the designs use abstract imagery inspired by two of the most striking buildings in the town centre:

• The recently renovated Sutherland building on Church Street
• The old Stoke Library opposite Sainsbury’s

"I propose to create a series of vibrant outdoor fabric banners with bold designs that are directly inspired by the architectural forms of Stoke’s buildings. The designs respond to the environment of Stoke’s streets, abstracting shapes, colours and forms to create layered compositions that trigger associations with the locality and invite people to look at the surroundings anew."  Rhiannon Hunter

Sadly someone has pulled down and stolen one of the Twelve Essence heads. The one pictured is a sculpture of Christine Thorley and was sited outside Wetherspoons. 😔. It must have taken some effort to remove and then carry off.  The Police have been notified and we hope to get it replaced if possible.
If anyone saw anything or might know something please do get in touch. Please also keep a look out in case it’s been ‘dumped’ somewhere.
One of the good things is some of the lovely comments that people have put on hearing the news:

• Love all this artwork in Stoke.
• Hope it's found. The artwork is awesome 👍 I'd ❤️ to see more in the future 💯
• The masks make stoke a brighter, more interesting place to live. let alone the effort put in. What the frock is wrong with people?
  
• I wish people would see how such a thing can make brighten up peoples lives but devastate them when it's been taken away. No more said.
  
• I saw that on my way to work and wondered where it had gone 🙄 why would someone do something so pointless in the middle of a pandemic?
  

We are pleased to announce that we have been awarded funding by Arts Council England as part of their Covid-19 Emergency Response Package.
The funding will ensure that we can continue with our festival programme and strengthen the organisation for the future. 
Keep an eye out for our Festival Echoes artist commission opportunities, which we will be publishing in June and look out for more art coming your way over the summer months.

Mandy from the Tourist Guides reviews the Mapzine (Map of Stoke Town) part one.  
The Tourist Guides are performed by Scratch and Sniff Theatre for Festival Stoke.

We were hugely disappointed that the new TOURIST GUIDES for Stoke, the delightful Sandy and Mandy, had to take their lovely pop-up tourist kiosk home, days after launching in the town.  🙎🏻‍♀️🙎🏾‍♂️
But not wanting those super-trendy outfits, and Mandy's gorgeous glasses, to go unseen they've been busy preparing some entertainment for you online instead so that you can view from the safety of your home.
We hope this will brighten up your day in these difficult times.🤩🥳
The Tourist Guides are performed by Scratch & Sniff Theatre

Following the fun launch day of our Spring programme and the sudden developments to restrict social contact the Festival Stoke team members have been busy working out how we can still deliver the lovely events we had planned for the Spring.  Thankfully, the superb outdoor Art Street artworks were installed in time and you can see them around the town centre of Stoke.  
Sadly, the Tourist Guides are not able to go out and about with their pop-up tourist kiosk, but they are working on creating some online performances for you to enjoy at home.  
The brilliant Mapzine will not be available until people are able to go out and about in shops and public spaces, but we will keep them safe in their box, so you can pick up a copy later in the year.
Art Stop workshops are being rescheduled, hopefully beginning in August and running through to October.
Our showcase performance event Mysterious Moth thankfully can be rescheduled for the autumn, and the artists and performers will be busy working on make it a super-special event in the meantime.  (In a safe way of course).
Obviously this depends on how the coronavirus situation develops but we hope to bring you some more lovely, bright and fun arts activities before the year is out. 
And do keep your eye on our social media feeds for upbeat and positive content. @festivalstoke
Take care everyone and stay well.
The Festival Stoke Team 

Coronavirus – advice for participants in Festival Stoke projects and events (groups, staff, volunteers).
We are taking precautions to lower the risk of becoming infected with Coronavirus as much as we can during Festival Stoke activities and events. Planned activities will go ahead as scheduled but if we do have to cancel an event because of Coronavirus, then we will contact you in advance to let you know, where we can. Please check our Facebook Page, social media or website (https://www.festivalstoke.co.uk) for updates. 
 
We ask you to please help us in lowering this risk by observing these steps:

1. Please don’t attend a Festival Stoke activity or event if:

• You are feeling unwell or suspect that you may have Coronavirus symptoms, instead please visit https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19 and follow medical advice.
• You have recently visited an at-risk country and have not yet self-isolated. Information about international travel and self-isolation can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-specified-countries-and-areas/covid-19-specified-countries-and-areas-with-implications-for-returning-travellers-or-visitors-arriving-in-the-uk

1. If you have attended a Festival Stoke activity or event and then feel unwell afterwards, please visit the NHS111 link above and follow medical advice. 

 
If any of the above steps apply to you then it’s really important to let Festival Stoke know about the situation. Please contact us on info@festivalstoke.co.uk or 01782 714776.

Festival Stoke Spring Programme opens with the launch of Art Street on Saturday 14th March
11am - 3pm, Stoke town centre.

Art Street will feature multiple large artworks in the town centre and main streets of Stoke:
'Essence' celebrates the secret stars of the city with fantastic sculptures created from natural and upcycled materials.
'Surfaces' highlights the town's favourite buildings with bright hand-created graphic banners.
On the day there will be:
Mapzine guided walks around town including viewing the Art works with the zany 'Tourists' street theatre.
The Tourist Guides street performers will be on hand outside the library with lots of information and will take you on a guided tour of Art Street! 
Free Bean can decorating and planting at Art Stop with Rachel Ballard and Jess Byron and ‘Space to Connect’ Cafe at Bread in Common. (Both at 72 Hartshill Rd). 
​Artist Shiv will be doing a creative Moth activity in the market.

We are delighted to announce our partnership with EMR (East Midland Railway) for the Spring Events programme.  It's easy to travel to Stoke by train from one of the stops along the 50 mile route across North Staffordshire from Crewe to Derby, and you can book your tickets direct from our website, click here:

• Derby 
• Uttoxeter
• Tutbury & Hatton
• Blythe Bridge
• Stoke-on-Trent
• Longport
• Kidsgrove
• Alsager
• Crewe

Stoke town centre is only a five minute walk from the station which makes it a great option for visiting.