Goodbye CKI......Hello ARTROOTS

Hi everyone! 

Sorry we haven't been in touch for a while, we've been working behind the scenes and making some BIG decisions about the future of CKI. 

On 12th June we held our AGM in Bristol.  It covered the period 2010/11 and 2011/12 as our last AGM was held in October 2010.

The key decisions that were made were;

1. To dissolve CKI and transfer over all of the CKI assets to the newly registered charity/company ARTOOTS.  

As some of you will know we have been working for the last 2 years on making the structure of the organization more robust in order that we can access more funding.  After many discussions and lots of advice (huge thanks to Graham Partridge from the Bristol & Avon Law Centre), we decided the best option was to register as a charity and company limited by guarantee.  After over a year of working behind the scenes, in March this year we finally received confirmation that Artroots was registered.

Artroots is a registered charity and company set up to carry on the work of CKI (we could not use our existing name).  At present the trustees of Artroots are; Steve Lamprey, Mandy Wong, Julian Thomas, Donna Taylor and newly appointed Jeff Kemble.  Artroots is registered and liable to The Charity Commission and Companies House (you can find our details on both these websites).

We are now in the process of transferring everything over from CKI to Artroots.

2. To put the work of Artroots 'on hold' for 1 year while Mia and Sian follow up on other avenues in their work and personal lives.  

As you may know both Mia and Sian have dedicated much of their own time the last 4 years in a voluntary capacity to run CKI.  After a lot of deliberation and discussion at the beginning of the year, they both made a difficult decision and agreed that they needed a break.  Running CKI has taken up a huge amount of their time and affected their financial/personal circumstances over the last 4 years.  However, they both feel that CKI/Artroots has a lot of potential and that they may be able to come back after a break, revived and full of the energy that is needed to run the organisation and secure funding. At present there is no-one else who is willing/able to take on the roles Mia and Sian have in the organization, and so it is unable to continue to be ‘active’ without their input.  After a year has passed the Artroots board along with Mia and Sian will review the situation, and decide if there is a future for Artroots. 

Mia has recently re-located to London to get more hands-on creative experience in props/costume making, and all sorts of other amazing creative stuff!  

Sian is planning to move to Zambia for a year in Sept, to take up a volunteer post as Development Coordinator with Barefeet Theatre (funding dependent).  More info http://www.justgiving.com/Sian-Lamprey-Barefeet-Dev-Coord

We hope you will support us in this transition and we will of course update you on the future of Artroots.

If you would like anymore information please don’t hesitate to contact us on creativekids.int@hotmail.co.uk

Once the transfer to Artroots is complete we will be closing our CKI e-mail account, and will send out new contact details.

A HUGE THANK YOU!!!

Finally we would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has supported CKI since it began in March 2008!  Whether that be through donating, being a member, volunteering your time, working with us, or attending one of our many fundraising events!  We simply could not have done it without you!

We have learned many new skills……accounting, blogging, performing, even how to make it snow in Lusaka! 

We’ve discovered hidden talents in many who have volunteered with us in Bristol – fashion designers, models, lots of wonderful Grannies and Grandads….and who could forget the hysterical Gertrude our compare, bingo caller and auctioneer! Gertrude by name, gert rude by nature!

And last but definitely not least….we have worked with fantastic, talented and truly inspiring children, young people and adults in Zambia and Kenya!  You have changed our lives, and we will never forget you!

It has been a roller coaster of a ride…so far……

We hope you have a wonderful year, and we will be in touch…..

Sian, Mia and The CKI Team.

Workshops at Oakleigh School, London

We were delighted to be invited to Oakleigh School at the end of last term to run a day of Zambian themed workshops. Oakleigh School has an existing link with Choongo Basic School in Zambia, and two of the teachers visited Zambia over the Easter holidays. Our day of workshops on Monday 26^th March was in preparation for their visit to Zambia.

Oakleigh School caters for children aged 2 – 11 years who have severe and complex learning difficulties. Some of the children have profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) including sensory or physical needs. Other children have autism spectrum conditions (ASC) and severe learning difficulties (SLD) or PMLD.

The students took part in activities inspired by our time in Zambia and the amazing artifacts we have brought back, many made from reused materials. Students enjoyed getting messy using clay and bottle tops to make mosaics, making Zambian homes in boxes, trying on clothes made from Zambian fabric (chitenge), exploring Zambian artifacts and instruments and listening to Zambian music. In their classes the students also made bunting to decorate their school inspired by the colourful patterned Zambian fabric called ‘chitenge’. The day was finished with a Zambian themed assembly by Emma, the teacher who has built the link with Choongo Basic School.

We had a wonderful day at Oakleigh School, and would like to say a huge thank you to the staff and students for inviting us!

For more information about Oakleigh School and our day there, please visit their website at http://www.oakleighschool.co.uk/index.php/teaching-learning/global-education-blog

TREE TALES…...from Zambia to Zone A at Totterdown Art Trail!

Thanks to everyone that came along to the Tree Tales exhibition back in November at the Totterdown Art Trail 'Front Room'!

Below: Pull out the stamens to read what students at Hillcrest Primary wrote about trees....

Below: Listening to the Tree Tales from Zambia and Bristol....

We exhibited the interactive tree sculpture made by children at Hillcrest Primary School on Zone A (next to The Bush Pub) Wells Road, Bristol! It was a really lovely day, and we were so lucky with the weather! Lots of children, families and a few intrigued grown-ups came along to take part in art workshops - making flowers from reused plastic bottles, planting seeds and checking out the talking tree sculpture.

Below: The tree at night

Below: Tree stories, poems and facts from Hillcrest Primary School exhibited at the art trail

To listen to the tree tales and sounds from children at Hillcrest Primary and young people from Barefeet Children's Council, Zambia please visit www.soundcloud.com/creativekidsint

Below: Plastic bottle flowers made at Totterdown Art Trail

To find out more about the project which started back in July please visit our previous blogs http://creativekidsinternational.blogspot.com/2011/11/tree-tales-at-front-room-art-trail.html

Below: Preparing plastic bottles for the tree sculpture at Hillcrest Primary

And last but by no means least, we would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who made Tree Tales possible!

Filwood, Knowle and Windmill Hill Neighbourhood Partnership Fund; Hillcrest Primary School; Barefeet Children’s Council (Zambia); Tobias Tembo (Barefeet Theatre, Zambia); Charlie Henry; Stewart Wright; Rachel Shelley; Natalie ‘I only do drilling’ Corfield; Viv Maginnis; Laura; Jig; Claire England; Katie Goldsmith; Gnisha Bevan; Steve Lamprey; Keir Williams; Bristol South and Easton Swimming Pool, and everyone who collected and donated plastic bottles!

Below: Year 5s at Hillcrest Primary making and testing out their tree designs in 3D

Is it waterproof?


Below: Hanging tree poems, stories and pacts on the giant 'T' at Hillcrest Primary

TREE TALES AT FRONT ROOM ART TRAIL!

Children at HILLCREST PRIMARY SCHOOL, Bristol have been taking part in an exciting creative arts project! Designing and making a tree sculpture from re-used plastic bottles they have collected.

All 420 children at the school took part in workshops over two days with Creative Kids International, making the tree and recording stories and soundscapes all about trees.

The tree sculpture and children’s recordings will be exhibited THIS SATURDAY (19th Nov) at the ‘FRONT ROOM' ART TRAIL, on a community space (known as Zone A) next to the The Bush pub on the Wells Road, Totterdown.

As well as seeing the tree, children will be able to take part in FREE art workshops, plant a seed to take home, and witness the tree come to life through storytelling and song!

‘TREE TALES’ will be exhibited SATURDAY 19^th NOVEMBER 1pm – 6pm

on Zone A, the green space next to The Bush pub on the Wells Road, Totterdown.

Bring your kids along -

1 – 4pm: Art workshops and plant a seed to take home!

4pm: Storytelling and song!

WHAT IS 'TREE TALES ALL ABOUT'?

STORIES FROM ZAMBIA....

Another exciting element to this project which was part funded by the ‘Filwood, Knowle and Windmill Hill Neighbourhood Partnership Fund’ is opening up a dialogue between children in Bristol and children and young people in Lusaka, Zambia, where Creative Kids International work with partner organization Barefeet Theatre. Young people from Barefeet Children’s Council recorded stories, facts and thoughts about trees in Zambia which were played to the children at Hillcrest Primary before workshops started. They also learnt a Zambian song about Mango Trees! The recordings from Zambia will form part of the exhibition this weekend, and recordings from the children at Hillcrest Primary will be sent back to them in Zambia.

WHY TREES?

This project was inspired by Barefeet Theatre facilitators' stories about the trees in Fountain of Hope Children's Centre, Lusaka where they grew up. Three trees still stand in the grounds of the centre, which before there were any buildings were used for; sleeping under, cooking under and learning under.

We were so inspired by how important the trees in the children’s centre in Lusaka had been, and what they had witnessed change around them over the years, that we wanted to do something where children and young people here in Bristol and in Lusaka, could share their stories about trees and their communities. Trees are such a vital part of our lives and our communities wherever we live in the world, and we felt it would be a great way of children in both countries sharing stories and information with each other, as well as thinking about their environment.

The project began in July when Creative Kids International ran an introductory workshop with two Year 5 classes at Hillcrest Primary School. Working with Mia Harris and Sian Lamprey from Creative Kids International and visiting artists Charlie Henry and Stewart Wright, the Year 5 students took part in one of three different tree themed workshops; Tree Designing; Tree Storytelling; Tree Drama Workshop. The Year 5s’ designs, stories and photographs were exhibited in August at the new M-Shed Museum in Bristol as part of the 'Pride of Place' Neighbourhood Partnership Awards. Then before the whole school began working on the project, the Year 5s spent a day with Creative Kids International, testing their designs through scrap model making, in order to decide what materials would work best for the large tree sculpture.

More info:

Front Room Art Trail – www.frontroom.org.uk

Barefeet Theatre – www.barefeettheatre.org

Filwood, Knowle and Windmill Hill Neighbourhood Partnership Fund www.bristolpartnership.org