"Lots of field barns are decaying through neglect, because they have fallen out of economic use. I'm interested in gathering our photographs together. Please add geographical information if possible. By doing this we can get an overview of the state of Field Barns. And by adding your pictures to the group, it may lead to your pictured barn gaining a new use for the 21st century."

"look at an important film produced by the city in 1925/26, reflecting on progress since 1910, together with extracts from Professor Johnson's forthcoming documentary film on Federation."

"will begin to explore and develop material for a site-specific dance designed to be seen from a window. Participants will look at ways of working with site, playing with the peculiar romance involved in trying to communicate across a distance. The work will be fun and accessible encouraging people to work to their own strengths. The residency will culminate in an informal sharing of the work in progress on the final day."

"People who hand-make artist books, zines and other paper ephemera."

"a high level programme for business leaders, senior managers or directors and aims to equip delegates with enhanced knowledge and practical tools to develop both personal and organisational skills."

"You will work with University Fine Art lecturers, and practising artists, on practical sessions which will equip you with the skills and knowledge to build a portfolio which will help when attending interviews (for courses or professional situations) or when pitching to clients and galleries. This programme is free, but you will need to provide your own materials and lunch."

Three sessions will run in November 2010, and then again in March 2011. These days will cover: "What is a Portfolio?"; "Building a Portfolio"; and a 30 minute portfolio review slot. Interested? Please email your details and reasons for wanting to attend, to: newgenerationspace@googlemail.com

"It is with great regret and reluctance that the Board of Script has taken the decision to dissolve the company as of the end of August 2010. The loss of [Arts Council] Regularly Funded Organisation status in March 2008 has had a serious impact on the company's resources, and the reliance on ever-decreasing pots of project funding has made its future existence unsustainable."

"to organisations in the North Staffordshire region to meet external funders and learn about funding opportunities. The free event is open to anyone from North Staffordshire, working in the voluntary and community sector, schools, social / community enterprises or is looking for funding."

"Often film-making and literary fiction are offered as a way of escaping the everyday, and particularly during bad times. It is often a dichotomy that this escapism also prevents us from dealing with the issues that need to be addressed (that, in a sense, have created the conditions for the need to escape). Escapism in such forms allows us to not only escape from our thoughts and concerns but also to remove ourselves geographically from our immediate environment or location."

"two gigantic industrial units, one mile north-east of Birmingham city centre — this August! These spaces are particularly suited to large-scale sculptures, performances, digital projection and installations"

"Urban Vision North Staffordshire is holding a conference in the autumn, looking at ways in which redundant heritage assets of the area could be bought back into sustainable use for the benefit of the community. The plan will be to identify a number of potential assets in the area, and look at ways in which Urban Vision can work with community groups to develop a heritage project that can meet a recognised need"

Community Liaison Officer – WEL/53637
Web Developer – WEL/53638
Graphic Designer -WEL/53640
MCA – WEL/53642
Press Assistant – WEL/53643
Web Designer – WEL/53644

All vacancies are part time, 25 hours per week and are funded through the Future Jobs Fund. To be eligible to apply, you must be a 'Stage 3' claimant of Job Seekers Allowance (i.e.: unemployed for between 26 to 50 weeks). To check your eligibility, get further information and/or apply for any of the vacancies please contact your local Jobcentre Plus, quoting the vacancy title & reference number above. Please note you are required to book an appointment with your advisor, and application packs will only be sent out to people referred by them. Closing date for all vacancies is: Friday 20th August 2010.

"We are seeking original high quality short films up to 10 minutes in length that offer an erotic experience from a female perspective. Films do not have to be explicit but should deal with erotic or sexual themes in some way. Ideally we want to see arousing, thought-proving and moving films that capture a woman's experience of sex or sexuality. Entries don’t have to be made by professionals. First-time filmmakers are welcome. We are happy to see submissions from anyone with a desire to create good female-friendly erotic art. There are no fees to enter this competition. Deadline: 16th August 2010."

"a Graduate Digital Marketing Assistant is required by a plumbing and bathroom company based in Stoke-on-Trent. The PR/Website Blogger will work in a small marketing team, feeding back ideas to the business, re-cycling and improving concepts, and helping to launch new ideas, activities and environment. Candidates will need to have a strong knowledge and confidence in Photoshop and multimedia packages, and Dreamweaver would be an advantage."

"casual monthly co-working event where home workers, freelancers and small business owners get together and all work together in the same place for a day. The event will appeal to anyone who wants a change of environment once in a while, and an opportunity to participate in a mixture of work, chat, sharing ideas, helping others with business issues, passing on tips and even collaborating on the birth of new projects."

"Children will create every aspect of a 20-minute animated film, from the hand-drawn characters to the plot twists, and even the costumes and sound effects! Animators and filmmakers will tour the country holding workshops and kids (defined as from 5 to 11) will also be able to send in their ideas through the Tate Movie Project website. The resulting film will be broadcast nationally on BBC TV."

"excel in participatory workshops and feel inspired by nature and the potential offered by the urban outdoors. These residencies would be of particular interest to artists who would like to further their experience in arts and health work in North Staffordshire".

"This event will be of interest to anyone thinking about either using social media to develop their business, or media practitioners and enterprises that are looking to add this service to their portfolio. The event will be led by Steph Jennings, Digital Marketing Officer at Light House, and consultant for Walsall Council and Replenish New Media. Steph has over 5 years experience working in social media, helping organisations plan and deliver digital marketing strategies."

"...instead of our usual topics we are inviting creative groups from across North Staffordshire to talk to our members about their activities."

^{New! 12.07.10}     Added to the Directory: Timothy Osborne, a portrait photographer based in Stoke-on-Trent.

^{New! 09.07.10}     Job:  The organisers of the annual Buxton Festival require a full-time worker to develop and implement the marketing and media campaign for Buxton Festival. Application deadline: 31st July 2010.

^{New! 09.07.10}     Job:  A talented metal worker (fabricator, blacksmith) is required in the Midlands. You'll make and finish a wide variety of public metal sculptures. Interested? Please send your current C.V. and expression of interest to:  andy@artfabs.co.uk

^{New! 09.07.10}     Disabled young people (aged 13-18) from Stoke-on-Trent are invited to learn how to play and write music using new technology. The sessions are run by Make Some Noise, with experienced musicians. There are four opportunities: 26th July at the Victoria Hall; 2nd August in Longton, 9th August on the Meir estate; and 16th August at the Victoria Hall. Interested? Please phone: 01782 600869.

"practical, achievable ideas to improve the health and well-being of people living in cities. The Liveable Cities Award is aimed at ideas and concepts which have not yet been implemented. These ideas must: demonstrate a simple solution to the challenges of keeping cities liveable; be original, and not previously proposed or developed, either in whole or part, by anyone else; be implementable within a maximum of two years."

"Arts & Business in association with the National Campaign for the Arts (NCA) are creating a Culture Forum, to serve as a democratically-elected arts group with a direct line to Government - looking at issues such as increasing the contribution from the private sector, reducing the impact of arts cuts, creating innovative funding models and delivering increased cultural philanthropy. If you would like to be part of the Government's debate on the economy and are a director, development director or trustee of an arts or cultural institution in England and a member of either Arts & Business or the NCA, then stand for candidacy. 20 posts are available, with 5 representatives each from small, medium, large and major organisations. Due to the urgency of these issues and the Chancellor's call for input the deadline to put your name forward by is Thursday 1st July 2010."

^{New! 01.07.10}     Job:  Walsall Manor Hospital requires people who can introduce arts activities into the hospital. The Create! project offers patients and visitors opportunities to participate in creative activities. You'll work for a minimum of a 2 hour shift, once a week, for a minimum 10 week period. Full information from:  kerry.hodgkiss@walsallhospitals.nhs.uk

"aims to address all aspects of rural and regional experience, consciousness, and representation of displacement, dispossession, the transformation or destruction of communities, the idea of community, across a millennium of change and loss, ... exploration of the historical transformation of the landscape, the relation of land to identity, regional as opposed to national identity, folklore, folk practices and oral tradition through song, dance, story-telling and forms of ritual and seasonal practice"

(Older "What's New?" items are archived here, and even older items (2002-2007) are are archived here as a 1.2Mb PDF.)