Saturday 15 September 2012

Art workshop with Elvis and Gilbert @Bavubuka




Today, a creative connection was forged between The Art-tree Foundation, and Bavubuka Foundation. Through working with Bavubuka representatives, Elvis and Gilbert, we undertook a project working with the young people at M-LISADA orphanage, to exercise their artistic talent.

Szanie Elvis, a visual artist and MC, lead the project. A talented artist himself, he teaches workshops for young people in the hope of giving them the chance to explore their creativity, try something new, and give them a chance to learn a new skill which could provide possible sustainability.

With the help of Gilbert Frank Daniels, a young photographer and journalist, Elvis led the workshop. He taught the young people about paint, how to think about the designs they wanted to create, and to express themselves freely. He demonstrated by creating a t-shirt, and then let them get to work.

The young people engaged with the task fully, they used their home and lives as inspiration for the designs, and created some beautiful work. It was great to see them so focused on task, and really use their minds to think about what they wanted to create. It was the first time using paint for many of them, and they all spoke about their positive experience of the workshop, and how much they enjoyed it.

Many thanks to Gilbert and Elvis, and the Bavubuka Foundation, for their commitment and dedication. We look forward to connecting with you in the future.

The Art-tree Foundation


Preparing to begin...


A beautiful t-shirt design.



The finished t-shirt.



The final product.

Peace out,

The Art-tree Foundation

Friday 6 July 2012

The Art-tree Foundation festival


Everyone loves a festival.
So on Saturday 30th June 2012, The Art-tree Foundation, in collaboration with local band Analogue Haze, organised a day of music, drink, and festivities. With the aim of creating links with local musicians, raising awareness, and raising some funds, the day and evening was a huge success.
Art-tree Foundation director Melissa Fielding kicked off the evening with an acoustic set, and was joined for a few songs by her brother Simon, who accompanied her on drums.
Following, were Derbyshire based band My Menagerie, including Art-tree’s own Simon Fielding, graphic designer Ryan Benniston, and fellow band members Holly White and Josh Rogers. The band entertained us with their own material, encompassing a vast array of instruments, which included the ukelele, melodica, and banjo. 
MOCHA followed My Menagerie, bringing up the beat with some great rock classics, and getting the crowd singing and dancing. 
Afterwards, Spartan 5 took to the stage and entertained the crowd with their soulful and lively set.
Finally, it was time for Analogue Haze, who turned the event up a few notches with their array of 80s covers, including Spandau Ballet’s ‘Gold’ and Soft Cell’s classic, ‘Tainted Love’. Frontman Darren Stafford was passionate and energetic, providing vocals for a lively and dynamic set. 
Analogue Haze keyboard player Kev Sharp was the organisational brains behind the whole musical operation, from securing a venue, to finalising the line-up. He and Analogue Haze worked incredibly hard throughout the entire run up to event, and during the festival, it wouldn’t have happened without them. The Art-tree Foundation would like to express their thanks and gratitude, not only for their organisation, but also for their fantastic set.
It is the aim of The Art-tree Foundation to keep on creating links with musicians and artists, both locally and internationally; this festival was the perfect opportunity to forge important connections with creative people in the region.
Thank you to the staff at The Swan in the Rushes pub, who were brilliant throughout the whole day, and kept up with the audience’s incessant need for beer and chips! Thanks also to the landlord Austin, for his support.
We hope to continue working with the above musicians, check our website and facebook for future gigs and festivals!
The Art-tree Foundation C.I.C


 Melissa Fielding, 2012

 My Menagerie, 2012

 My Menagerie, 2012

 MOCHA, 2012

 MOCHA, 2012

 Spartan 5, 2012


Analogue Haze, 2012

All photographs copyright The Art-tree Foundation C.I.C 2012

Clairvoyant evening


On the 24th June 2012 The Art-tree Foundation hosted 'An Evening of Clairvoyance' at The Blessington Carriage pub in Derby. 
As one of the oldest pubs in Derby, The Blessington Carriage was the perfect venue to bridge the gap between our world and the unknown, offering an effective spiritual setting.
Our Guest mediums were Frances Munro, who started the evenings ethereal entertainment. She was followed by Dawn Larose, whilst  Lillan and Carol Scott provided private readings throughout the night. 
This event was our first public fundraiser for The Art-tree Foundation and we have a huge thanks for our guest mediums who made the night such a success.
We would like to thank everyone who came to the event and a would like to thank our guest mediums, they were fantastic and really set the tone of the evening. 
We would also like to thank the Blessington Carriage for letting us borrow their function room for the night.
See you all next time!

The Art-tree Foundation C.I.C


Arts and culture volunteering. Why is it important?

Arts and culture organisations-
It is National Volunteer Week. From 1st- 7th June, organisations around the country are celebrating the contribution of millions of volunteers across the UK. Here at The Art-tree Foundation, our workforce solely consists of volunteers, so we recognise the need to support and push the option of volunteering to the wider community.


As an arts organisation working overseas, we are in a small margin of organisations and charities. Not many organisations working overseas concentrate on the arts and culture, we are one of few. However, we recognise that this is our niche, what sets us apart from the rest. We love the arts, we love talent, and we love the effects it has on communities, both large and small.

 
Participation in the arts promotes personal growth, enhances confidence and improves social contacts. It can also contribute to networking and provide benefits in other areas such as environmental renewal and health promotion. However, due to the limited amount of arts organisations focusing their work overseas, there is a reduced number of volunteers in this sector. Nonprofit organisations generally function on limited resources in terms of labour, funding, space, venue and time. When money is scarce and funding is difficult, nonprofit organizations must rely on the generosity of individuals who can afford to give their precious time at no cost, thereby providing stability in an unstable time. We want to emphasise the mutual benefits of volunteering for arts and cultural organisations.

 

For the individual volunteer, working in the arts can lead to enhanced confidence, skill-building and educational developments. Volunteering is also a way to learn new things and develop new skills, and to gain valuable life experience. In regard to future careers, volunteering has an unmistakable positive impact, with over 73 % of employers choosing to recruit candidates with volunteering experience, rather than without. In relation to arts volunteering, certain creative activities promote growth and positive social skills, including self- confidence, self-control, conflict resolution, collaboration, empathy and social tolerance.


For those the organisation seeks to help, volunteering in the arts can help nurture creativity. In a society where children are arguably educated out of creativity, arts organisations can provide invaluable support and artistic development.


We must continue to advocate for high-quality arts experience for young people, to engage them in decisions that affect them, and to reflect and value young people’s own cultural expression and creative freedom. The only way to do this is through the time people willingly give, through their relentless energy, and through their creative passion.

Thursday 28 June 2012

Football kit donation

We would like to send a big, and long over due, thank you to football coach John Simms for generously donating a whole football kit! This will be travelling with us when we visit Uganda September.



Tuesday 29 May 2012

Donated books

The Art-tree Foundation would like to thank Mrs Insley for her donation of over 200 books! They will be sold in order to raise funds for Mlisada Orphanage in Uganda.




Thursday 26 April 2012

10th April 2012 curry night...


On the 10th April 2012, at The Rose of Bengal, Castle Donington, we hosted our curry night to raise some much needed funds for The Art-tree Foundation. 
The evening was a huge success; we had a full house, filled with family and friends; it was the perfect event to officially launch our organisation.
The Rose of Bengal provided a delicious meal, including tasty poppadoms and pickles, onion bhajis, and four amazing curries. The food went down very well with our guests, who enjoyed a glass of wine or two with their meal.
Our Art-tree staff, Samuel Collard, Lara Ashwell and Simon Fielding worked hard to sell raffle tickets to raise some extra money, and to entertain the customers, we had an intense quiz!
Thanks to everyone who came and supported us, we hope you enjoyed the evening and the food, we certainly did!
Big thanks to everyone at The Rose of Bengal for letting us take over their restaurant and cooking us a delicious dinner!
See you next time.


 Mr and Mrs Collard tucking in...

Art-tree staff-member Lara organising the raffle...


 It's making me hungry...