2017-2018

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CHAIR’S REPORT— Jannie Brightman

2017-18 has seen Oblique Arts go from strengthto strength with new directions, new

funders and new artists enriching our charity. For the thirdyear, we delivered the art installation at Cambridge FolkFestival (p12). This year we created an all new backstageshabby chic Bass Bar for the performers, large flowercutouts to interact with in the children’s garden area, largetextile flowers on frames and more pallet-based furniturefor festivalgoers.We were again able to engage sixenthusiastic and multi-talented volunteers to workalongside Oblique artists.Pedal Powered Barbers (p8)was back at Strawberry Fair along with the Art Raft (p22)with a pirate theme, supported by Sainsbury’s Waste Less,Save More Campaign. During the year we developed ourwork with our local Traveller Community.The CambridgeCommunity Foundation funded the weekly Engage (p10)workshops at Smithy Fen, while Lush supported ourTravellerAdvocacy work. New this year is a two-yearHeritage Lottery Oral History Project (p11) inpartnership with the Museum of Cambridge, to recordmulti-generational stories of Traveller life in Cambridgearound the Midsummer Fair. This year we continued ourcollaboration with our European partners in EUErasmus+ (p9) projects, as workshop leaders and

participants in Zaragossa, Spain.We have continued ourwork with young people in Cambridge in theYouthEngagement Project YEP! (p6) developing the skills neededto become a positive force for change in their own livesand in the life of their communities.At Jimmy’s NightShelter (p18) we are now providing weekly artsworkshops with results that have been truly inspirational.We have expanded our work with people with disabilities,funded by the Arts Council, through Mixed BagTheatreGroup (p14), with a play performed at venues includingStrawberry Fair, followed by a photographic exhibition; andCity Council Section 106 funding for CreativeWritingWorkshops at the Edge Café.We participated again in thee-Luminate festival in central Cambridge (p15) withprojections in Benet Street.This was a compilation ofrotating images based on our successful Bright LightsCB4 (p16) project, a pop-up light show at six venues inChesterton, celebrating and exploring the creative brainof local residents and artists, including the most vulnerable.Women of Strength (p20) resulted in an astonishingexhibition of work by women living at the Edward StoreyFoundation.We held design and painting workshops withKings Hedges Brownies (p7) to make an outdoor wallmural. Finally, we did our yearly Tree Planting (p23).

WE HAvE grOWN our charity over the pastyear and increased funding accordingly.Currently our income has increased to£65,939, with £49,712 in grants and theremainder in commissions and tenders.The move into tendering for the deliveryof socially engaged art projects is new forus and we expect to build upon thisapproach in the next year in order toensure sustainability.

Our growth has enabled us to diversifyand we have continued to make EU linksin order to provide exceptionalopportunities for our artists.We continueto receive project funding from our Cityand County Councils together with theBig Lottery, Arts Council and a HeritageLottery Fund grant, all contributing to ourwork with young people, disabled adults,Travellers and the wider community.

FINANCE REPORT

ERASMUS+

ZARAGOSSA

YEP!

BROWNIESMURAL

PEDAL POWER

BARBERS

GYPSIES,TRAVELLERS

& ROMA

E-LUMINATE

MIXED BAGTHEATREGROUP

PAGE 8

CREATIVEWRITINGPAGE 21

PAGE 10–11PAGE 14

WOMEN OFSTRENGTHPAGE 20

PAGE 12–13

BRIGHT LIGHTSCB4

PAGE 16–17

PAGE 9PAGE 6

PAGE 15

ART RAFT& TREE PLANTINGPAGE 22–23

PAGE 7

JIMMY’S

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CAMBRIDGEFOLK FESTIVAL

1. YEP! 2. BROWNIES MURAL 3. PEDAL POWER BARBERS

4. EU ERASMUS+ ZARAGOSSA 5. TRAVELLERS + ORAL HISTORY

6. CAMBRIDGE FOLK FESTIVAL 7. MIXED BAG THEATRE

8. E-LUMINATE 9. BRIGHT LIGHTS CB4 10. JIMMY’S

11. WOMEN OF STRENGTH 12. CREATIVE WRITING

13. ART RAFT AT STRAWBERRY FAIR 14. TREE PLANTING

PROJECTS

GEMS OFART AT

YEP! (YOUTH ENGAGEMENT PROJECT)

Participants 12

Audience: 550

We have worked with theYEP!group since last year, setting uptheYEP! committee with tenyoung people aged 16 & 17.Wetaught them about logo design,branding, online and offlinemarketing, teamwork, activecitizenship, community artprojects, and getting involvedin volunteering projects.

YEP!Active CitizenshipOurYEP participants arelooking for communityengagement projects thatpersonally motivate themand have a positive impact onthe lives of others, resultingin creative, imaginative andinspirational outcomes.

YEP! Key ‘Youth Proofers’TheYEP! group formedthemselves into a wellbranded and marketed groupwho have unique skills andservices to offer to businessand community partners toassess provision for youngpeople.They are able tosupport events and providefeedback platforms foraudiences to use both onlineand offline.

YEP! Sugar Smart CampaignOurYEP members are currentlyworking towards creating a videofor Jamie Oliver’s Sugar Smartcampaign with CambridgeSustainable Food. They aredeveloping the story of glucosegeorge, who shows us whatsugar does to our bodies!

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Participants 12Audience 2,000

Kings Hedges Brownies are working in thegarden area of the Arbury Library.They havebeen planting flowers and renovating the area.As part of this the girls wanted a mural andtook part in drawing and painting workshopswith us. A local builder provided a scaffoldingplatform so that the children could paint thewall with the artists.

go and grab a bookand enjoy the gardenfor yourself!

BROWNIES MURAL

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PEDAL POWER BARBERS

The Pedal PoweredBarbers is a site specific art

installation appearing at a number ofvenues/events throughout Cambridge and the

UK. It allows for two cyclists (or combination ofpedal power and solar power) to generate around 40w

of electricity.The performance area is a stage/barber shopwhere two barbers cut hair. Power use on stage is

demonstrated in the form of clippers @ 10w each, soundsystem, lighting and fans. Our cleverly designed units replace

traditional generators and allow the audience to see theinput and output of electricity.All plans for theconstruction of these units are available online.

Hundreds of festival haircuts and beard trims havebeen given to the delight of our audiences.

.www.facebook.com/pedalpoweredbarbers

Participants 1650*Audience 10,500Online 40,000* including barbers, haircutting

subjects and pedallers

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EU ERASMUS+ IN ZARAGOSSA SPAIN

Consumo Conciencia in Zaragossa, Spain hosted this project onmethods of harm reduction for young people in the non-formaleducation youth field.The main objective was to educate participantsin reducing risks associated with drug use and to advise partnerorganisations about the development of a methodology to increaseawareness about drug use focussing on young people in particular.The group promotes accurate information and quality training foryouth workers and others involved in the issue.We were able toexplore our creative approach to learning with partners from five EUcountries.We learned a lot and had a wonderful time with the team.Sadie Few and Beverley Carpenter attended.

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We deliver mobile Artworkshops in the wintermonths for teenagers.Weare registered with‘Education Otherwise’and can provide somesupport for Travellerchildren whilst not inschool.We liaise withlocal education providersto call for an end tobullying anddiscrimination and tooffer advice aboutculturally appropriateapproaches to workingeffectively with Travellerfamilies.This project isfunded by CambridgeCommunity Foundation.

CREATIVE LITERACY ENGAGE 2 –MOBILE ON-SITE ART WORKSHOPS

GYPSIES, TRAVELLERS AND ROMA TRAVELLER ADVOCACY

We offer a help and support servicewith follow-up case work. Main areas ofwork include welfare advice, familysupport, education, homes and healthcare.We facilitate engagement between theTraveller community and statutoryproviders of services to address barriersto education and other basic human rights.We are involved in supporting planningapplications and appeals and challenginggypsy & Traveller Needs Assessmentsto address barriers to inclusion such asdiscrimination. We liaise with FriendsFamilies and Travellers, Citizens AdviceBureau, legal teams, the National gypsy,roma,Traveller Council and others tosupport families with a wide range ofissues and The project was fundedby Lush.

Our work with the Travelling community is very important for us.They are thelargest ethnic minority in Cambridgeshire and much discriminated against. Aspart of our Theory of Change model, we support this protected cultural groupin order to move toward a fairer society for all.

Participants 550Audience 600

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HERITAGE LOTTERY FUNDORAL HISTORIES

ORAL HISTORY CLIPS available to viewat https://oblique-arts.com/projects/gtr

Oral Histories: Roma & TravellerCommunities in CambridgeThis project, which began in June2017, focuses on Traveller fairs andmarkets that have existed forcenturies.We are collecting storiesabout trading at the fairs, travellingto the fairs and changes over theyears. In the spring of 2018, ourteam was joined by a youngromany gypsy from a TravellingShowman family.The stories willbe shared on the CapturingCambridge website at the Museumof Cambridge and online athttp://www.archive.org, so thematerial will be available foreveryone, with a view to informingand educating people about therich cultural heritage of romanygypsy and Irish Travellercommunities and the importanceof Traveller Fairs in their culture.We have an ongoing collection ofvideo and other material that isbeing catalogued and archived aspart of the project.

The project is funded by the HeritageLottery Fund.

Oral History Project: The Great Gonzo woman wrestler

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We made the art installations for theCambridge Folk Festival again this year.The artist team had a few new projectsalongside recurring ones. Our newestinstallations included the backstage areaand pallet chairs for the DEN! Ourfunky/ shabby chic backstage area was agreat hit with the artists, staff andvIP

guests. We got some great responsesfrom people and greater interactionwith our work.We had a lot of funsetting it all up. Also a big thank you toour volunteers this year, without themwe wouldn’t be able to do it.

Participants 20Audience 15,000

CAMBRIDGE FOLK FESTIVAL

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MIXED BAG THEATRE GROUP

Participants 15Audience 2000

We are happy that Mixed Bag Theatre – an exciting all-ability creativearts group in Cambridge – has become an integral part of Oblique Arts.We were successful in gaining funding through the Arts Councilfor the development of a new play.The group aims to draw upon eachmember’s individual strengths and personality to create fruitfulperformances brimming with energy, colour and imagination. “We useour 'mixed bag' of inspiration to begin a new story that takes us on a journeyinvolving play and songwriting, drama, dance and singing skills, costume andprop-making and a public performance.” Performances of “A Mixed Bagof Twisted Tales” took place this summer at Strawberry Fair and theSalisbury Club on Mill road.

The show’s photography exhibition, based on photographs by Kaygoodridge, toured a number of venues including St. Phillip’s Church,Mill road cafés and Barnwell.

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Audience 16,000E-LUMINATE – BRIGHT LIGHTS

We were invited to participate in the e-Luminate Festival again this year.It is important for us that artists collaborate with non-artists in thecommunity to explore their creative potential. Coming together in thisway we have achieved an engaging and thought-provoking outcome ofhigh quality. Community art can be labelled as an inferior art form, butwe strongly oppose this presumption. During the project we have lookedat the ‘creative brain’ in all its colourful glory. Laid over the imagery ofbrain activity are the ideas and creative expression from the drawingsand moving image elements in the work of more than 150 people.

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BRIGHT LIGHTS CB4This project produced pop-up light projections inspired bythe community, based around the creative brain. A colourfulinterpretation of circulating ideas and emotions were takenfrom a series of workshops run by artists with communitygroups in CB4.The groups were made up of specificindividuals who use their brains in very different ways.This project is an exploration of the minds of creativeprofessionals and people living with various mental healthdifficulties, including dementia. Participants from rowanHumberstone, Cambridge Art Works,Thrift Walk Studios(Cambridge Art Salon), Manor Care Home,victoria Homesand Wintercomfort took part.The objects and images thatthey produced were incorporated into moving imageprojections shown around theCB4 area, ending with a lightinstallation at Mitcham’s Corner.

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Participants 150Audience 10,500

WORKSHOPS

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GEMS OF ART ATJIMMY’SEvery Tuesday between 2pm and 4pm we host creative workshopsat Jimmy’s. For over 20 years, Jimmy’s has been providing help forthe homeless in Cambridge.They work with the local community,volunteers and partner agencies to deliver 24/7 emergencyaccommodation and supported housing for those who wouldotherwise be homeless or vulnerably housed.

Oblique Arts has provided artists and volunteers to work withresidents and all outcomes can be seen on our blog at oblique-arts.com/tag/jimmys.

Workshops haveexplored differentmediums including:

1 abstract imagesusing masking tapeand acrylic;

2 collage withmagazines, typenewsprint, andtissue paper;

3 monoprintsusing texturedpapers, plants,ferns and doilies;

4 marbling.

Participants 120Audience 320

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Here are a few of the manycomments from both staffand participants thatOblique Arts worked withthis year celebrating thecreative brain:

“Our students are student-artists.We do not focus on disability.They get a huge amount fromachieving something and seeing itexhibited; a huge amount of self-esteem and confidence.”– rowan Arts

“We always take opportunities tobe involved in creative projects…the homeless don’t get a lot ofacknowledgement, recognitionor affirmation on a day-to-daybasis.” – Wintercomfort

“They loved to see their artworkon display. It was somethingdifferent for themand we would like to do morewith you.” – victoria Homes

“I think projects like this arevital for wellbeing, especiallyfor those suffering fromdiseases such as dementia andAlzheimer’s.” – Manor Care Home

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Working with partners including the Manor Care Home,Edward Storey Foundation andvictoria Homes inCambridge, we have provided workshops for elderlypeople, including people living withdementia, sensory impairments andphysical disabilities.

We held an exhibition of thework at the Darwin gallery,St Augustine’s Church onrichmond road.

WOMEN OF STRENGTH (AND IMAGINATION FROMMATURE PARTICIPANTS)

Participants 45Audience 450

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CREATIVE WRITING AND ART/ILLUSTRATION AT THE EDGE CAFÉ

Edgewords was a series of workshops led by performance poet andwriter, Jean Dark.We discussed finding and developing your ownwriting voice; writing with the theme of renewal and reconnection;finding and developing inspiration techniques for writing; exploringdifferent writing forms; producing a weekly blog; writing as acommitted regular practice; editing and refining written work andproducing a print anthology of our writing.The anthology waslaunched with readings and performances.

Beverley Carpenter led art/illustration workshops at the recoverycafé. Participants included those in recovery from drug and alcoholabuse and other local residents.

“So, I am training myself to practise my writing – allowing myself to getthings ‘wrong’ so that something I write may speak to someone in acertain place at a particular moment.” – Munisha Ahmad-Cooke

“Writing is a craft: First you write a draft, and then you modify it until it has the rightshape. Writing is an art. We don’t need writing to survive physically … yet written workis essential for the soul.” – Bernice Zeib

“I want structure, shape and perfection. I want humour, seriousness, pathosand joy. I want detail, perspective, overview and closure.” – Jane Conrad

“Being open to explain and perform my own work (with the kindhelp of the group) felt like letting go of the fear!” – Lisa Evans

From the blog: voices of our writers

Participants 30Audience 1,800

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ART RAFT WASTE REDUCTION CAMPAIGNAT STRAWBERRY FAIR 2017

The Art raft waste reduction project reminded us that “oneman’s rubbish is another man’s treasure”.We noted how muchwe throw away.The Art raft was intended to inspire a rethinkabout surplus foods and containers and we gave out recipeideas and inventive designs.A fun feature was the pirate theme.Find the treasure by using rubbish.

This project was led by Oblique Artsin collaboration with Sainsbury’sWaste Less, Save More Campaign,Cambridge Sustainable Food Networkand Cambridge Food Cycle.

The boat sailed from Strawberry Fair along the river Camdistributing waste food and sharing recipes.The stand wasdecorated with reworked plastic bottles and lids. Imaginethe endless ideas of what you can make with your emptyplastic bottles? Flowers, pirate treasure, hats and anythingelse you can imagine. Save money and have fun makingthings. Imagine what you can make with a good recipe andfood you might have thrown away.The stand had a busy dayand visitors were inspired by the recipe and spare foodpacks.We hope they carry on with their good intentions.

Participants 15Audience 2000

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TREE PLANTINGLast year we again held ourannual tree planting of 480native trees to improve theenvironment for the future.We believe that planting treesis an important creative act intimes of environmental crisis.Our partners in this includeThe Woodland Trust,WaterlandOrganics and Fen End Farm,Cottenham.

Participants 15

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Charity no. 1142653 www.oblique-arts.com mail@obliquearts.co.ukOBL

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