cymraeg (clic)
Home
Cymraeg
Membership
Message Board
Committee
History
Useful Info
Links
Contact us
In back
ARCHIVE
Ingredient X
(Arts Month)
EVENTS & PERFORMANCES
Ingredient X
(Arts Month)
MUSEUMS & GALLERIES
Ingredient X
(Arts Month)
OPEN STUDIOS
Getting Better
We all need to see how
well we are doing and to improve.
If its creative inspiration you're looking for then keep in contact with venues and galleriesas well as by checking out websites.
There is also the excellent Broadsheep which is particularly valuable for its listings of smaller events, workshops and venues. There are also very useful directories (bands, venues, therapists) at the back.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Monitoring and evaluating is something that most of you will already have some experience of. Funding bodies will almost always want to know that their money will be going towards improving the quality of life of your participants and that you have identified a need in your area. Find out what’s already available- how are you different? What’s special or extra about the work you do? What is lacking in Powys? Do you have a desire to change this and if so how are you going to do it? If others are offering similar work can you then build partnerships and help each other towards greater goals?
These are all the sorts of questions funding bodies want answers to, and rightly so. What is the point of Art if it is only benefiting the Artist? This doesn't mean the vision should be compromised but that clear goals and a plan of how to achieve them benefits everyone. Aside from funding and personal goals effective monitoring and evaluation of your own work allows you to use your time and money more effectively and develop work of a higher quality.
If the process is fully integrated into your working practice it allows your journey of development to be shared with other staff members, volunteers, funding bodies, audience and participants; offering a level of ownership to all involved. It ultimately can make the difference between your project, and future projects, being a success or a failure.
Voluntary Arts Wales have produced a pack called A guide to the creative evaluation of participatory arts projectswhich provides sample frameworks and evaluations from existing organisations as well as a raft of other techniques and tools to help you along your way.
The pack emphasises the point that there is no formulaic process for evaluation and you must develop an evaluation process which best suits you.
Whether to carry out your monitoring and evaluation by a member of staff or an external evaluator must also be considered. Organisations such as VAW may be able to do this for you.
PAVO have also produced a guidance document on Monitoring and Evaluation which can be e-mailed to you on request via info@pavo.org.uk or by ringing the PAVO help desk on:0845 009 3288www.
See also - Monitoring and Evaluating (VAN briefing 80)
Web and e-mail
It is beyond the scope of this page to explain how best to use the electronic communication, but there are some basics you ought to be familiar with.
Blind Copy
When sending bulk e-mails (to lots of people at the same time)don't just put all the addresses in the send box. If you do, the e-mails can be 'harvested' and used in ways that could be a nuisance - unwanted marketing, for example. Instead,send an e-mail to yourself and use the blind copy (bcc) facility.
Updating your Website
If you have the money to spare, then get someone to update your website for you. But it is often better to invest in a content management system, that you can update yourself.
If your web designer doesn't know what that means, you're probably using the wrong one.
One of the best ways to invest in professional help is not in the content, but in getting your site visited more often. There are tricks in getting your site listed high in search engine rankings, and one of the simplest is to get lots of other sites to link to you. They will usually only want a reciprocal link.
When using pictures and graphics - the best way to liven up a site - don't make the file sizes too big (not everyone has broadband) and don't forget that some people prefer to view websites without images. Make sure you have text equivalents wherever possible.
We won't pretend that the Powys Arts Forum Website is perfect in these respects, but it is important to do as much as you can, which is what we do. The great thing about websites - unlike print - is that you can keep improving them bit by bit.
Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations (PAVO)
receive funds
from the Welsh Assembly
Government through Wales Council for Voluntary Organisation (WCVA) to
help groups in the community. They provide advice, training and even
funding for some types of activity. They
also have strong links with Powys County Council and can help raise
issues of concern. PAVO
are also consulted on new strategies and policies, so it is useful to
keep in touch.
Powys County Council
The Council provides support to a number of galleries and venues in the
county on an annual basis.
It also provides support for some arts activity through its Community
Enablement Support Fund, but
the fund is open to all types of community activity, not just the arts.
The Council does have an Arts & Culture Co-ordinator, Louise Ingham,
who guides the Council's
strategy in the arts, and an Arts Development Officer, Lucy Bevan, who
assists groups, individuals and organisations - such as Powys Arts
Forum - on a more day to day basis.
There are also two companies funded and controlled directly by the
County Council - Theatr Powys and Powys Dance -
who work in schools on education through the arts.
Community Strategy
More and more emphasis is being placed on the Community Strategy, and
if you think your work might fit into one of its key themes, it would
be useful to get hold of a copy. Each
county was asked by the Welsh Assembly Government to provide a view of
the main issues:
º Health & Wellbeing
º Lifelong Learning
º Economic Development
º Environment
º Community Safety
Arts Council of Wales
Receives funds directly from the Welsh Assembly Government to support
arts
activity across Wales. There is an office in Colwyn Bay which serves
Montgomeryshire, and
one in Camarthen which support Radnorshire & Brecknockshire. Powys Arts Forum are not
entirely convinced that dividing the county in two in this way is a good idea.
The Arts Council runs a number of
grant programmes for
organisations and individuals, and can offer helpful advice and
contacts.
The Wales Arts Review (December 2006) recommends that the present
arrangements be re-structured,
but no definite decision has yet been made (February 2007).
Community Arts Organisations
There are three organisations in Powys who work closely together,
following a
review in 2005 that recommended improved linkages. They are CARAD
(Rhayader) Celf O Gwmpas (Llandrindod Wells) and Arts Connection
(Llanfyllin). In the south of the county there is also Arts
Alive(Crickhowell) and Brecon Action (Brecon).
Voluntary Arts Wales
Voluntary Arts Wales were set up several years ago and are funded by
the Arts Council of Wales
to be the point of contact with the Voluntary Arts sector. They are
part of the Voluntary
Arts Network which provides excellent training, information and support
details of which which are to be
found elsewhere on this page.
OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES
Theatres & Arts Centres
This section is in preparation - please bear with usFunding
We hope to add a few useful links to funders here.There is also be occasional news of interest to artists working in Powys on the Home/Welcome Page of the site. Click on the link at the top or bottom of this page.
Misc
BROADSHEEPWales & border listings magazine with sections on arts, complementary medicine and more,plus band directory and small ads sections.
Contact:
Pete Mustill
Mayfield
Stapleton
Presteigne
Powys
LD8 2LS
tel/fax: 01544 260051
broadsheep@aol.com
www.broadsheep.com
DIRECTORY OF SOCIAL CHANGE
Some of the most consistantly useful publications of the last twenty years has come from the Directory of Social Change.
It is well worth looking at their publications, which may be obtained from your library or bookshop. Visit their website for a complete list. www.dsc.org.uk. OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES
Galleries
This section is in preparation - please bear with us
Return to Top