Apply Now for Creative Skills Training Programme for Arts Practitioners
The Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, Trinidad and Tobago, prepares for the World Cultures Connect ‘Creative Skills’ training programme for arts practitioners from the 16-18th October 2015, having joined forces with Visiting Arts, alongside The Africa Centre, South Africa and The Pacific Arts and Culture Foundation in Fiji on the comprehensive Culture Works Connections programme. The initiative is funded by the ACP Cultures+ ACP-EU Support Programme to ACP Cultural Sectors, financed by the European Union and implemented by the ACP Group of States, and aims to build a community and lasting network of creative businesses in more than fifteen countries in the Pacific, the Caribbean and Africa over three years from 2014-2017.
A targeted workshop training package and suite of training modules, which will be delivered in two parts has been developed by Visiting Arts Training Consultant, Kate McBain with the assistance of Elize Rostant, the lead contact for Trinidad and Tobago and Culture Sector Specialist at the Culture Division, to equip creative practitioners with the business development, project management and marketing tools and insights required to enhance their capacities for international working. C. Brian Williams, Founder and Executive Director of Step Afrika! based in Washington, DC, will join the team, bringing over 20 years of experience during which his troupe has toured in Europe, South & Central America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Caribbean and throughout the United States. The training will be co-designed by the creative businesses themselves through the course of the programme.
To participate in this training programme, please complete our online form: http://goo.gl/forms/uSsNzSWktu by Friday 2nd October 2015. Successful applicants will be notified by 9th October and will be required to undertake short submission tasks to confirm their participation in the programme.
If you have any questions, please contact the country coordinator for this programme, Elize Rostant, at nationalregistrytt@gmail.com or 753-3940/3969.
The Culture Works Connections programme builds stronger, more sustainable creative businesses that are able to access world markets and develop collaborations. The four components of the programme aim overcome one of the major barriers to international working, which is the need for good accessible information on what exists and how to reach it.
The training modules are grouped around three key, interlocking themes:
– International Collaborative Working and Profile Building
– Planning for & Managing International Collaborative Projects & Partnerships
– Positioning, Marketing & Routes to Market
The training programme involves attending a practice-based interactive weekend workshop between the 16-18th October 2015 at Queen’s Hall arts centre in Trinidad and Tobago with Visiting Arts Professional Development Trainer and a Regional Consultant. A social evening event is scheduled on the 18th, where participants will be encouraged to discuss their experiences and present their output and future plans following the course. A panel discussion, which will be open the public and press, will take place on Tuesday 20th 5pm featuring. The weekend intensive will be followed by a series of virtual presentations and surgery sessions with experts spread out over several months to support participants’ self-directed learning and strategic planning. Peer learning and collaborative working will form a considerable part of these sessions
In August 2016 as a final stage of the programme, there will be an opportunity for selected workshop participants to convene in the UK for a networking week and to showcase their work during the Edinburgh Festivals. The results of the programme will be shared during this time at Visiting Arts annual International Producers’ Breakfast in partnership with Creative Scotland.
