Wrexham Shared Prosperity Fund Canal & River Trust Arts Project
Creative Practitioner / Artist Call Out
Canal and River Trust are seeking a creative practitioner to bring about change in how schools, young people and the wider community engage with the World Heritage Site located on the Llangollen Canal.
What we’re looking for
How can creativity shape place-based learning to add value to the existing learning and skills offer at Trevor Basin.
Beginning with schools, Canal and River Trust are exploring Trevor Basin as a unique space for intergenerational learning exploring place-based learning across themes of local heritage, environment, landscape, identity, social history and connectivity.
We are looking for an experienced Creative Practitioner(s) to co-construct and trial place-based activity with 2-3 schools to re-imagine and inform the potential of the education offer for schools at the Trevor Basin site that could connect to the 11-mile World Heritage Site canal network. We would like to understand more about the uniqueness of the World Heritage Site and surrounding areas and how the waterways could better connect and represent the schools, learners and their communities.
- How can we amplify the narrative to engage new and existing communities?
Applications are open to ambitious Creative Practitioners from any creative practice across all disciplines, whether you’re a dancer, a storyteller or an architect, the most important thing is that you can apply your creativity underpinned by extensive practice to co-construct a place-based enquiry exploring themes around but not limited to, local heritage, environment, landscape, identity, social history and connectivity.
Job Description
It is essential that you are able to:
- Imagine and re-imagine.
- Draw on your experience of working with schools and your own artistic practice to develop sustainable relationships with schools, stakeholders and the wider community.
- Demonstrate an ability to utilise creativity and place-based learning to embed sustainable change in teaching and learning.
- Facilitate creative exercises to discover how working at and with the World Heritage Site could support teaching and learning in the curriculum. It is essential that the enquiry is developed with the school/s, not something developed for the school/s.
- Apply your experience and creativity to enquiry-led teaching and learning.
- Inspire learners to enhance their learning experience.
- Create a sense of belonging.
- Support schools with promoting learner autonomy; considering how learners can learn about and take ownership of the Llangollen Canal to protect it for the future.
- Link with ideas, approaches, experiences, communities, organisations and/or partners that could support and enhance the enquiry and facilitate deeper and wider community engagement.
- Apply your project management skills to research, planning, delivery and evaluation of creative enquiries, ensuring ongoing reflection throughout each stage.
- Be a catalyst for change.
Use your ability to challenge, support and discover new ways of working to develop a sustainable practice that can inform the potential of the learning and skills offer for schools working at Trevor Basin. - Harness and share the learning to celebrate the process and contribute to the dialogue at a wider-celebratory event in December alongside the other artists and communities across the World Heritage Site.
- Support legacy aims.
Trial new ways of working that can add value to the existing learning and skills offer at Trevor Basin. This may include collaborating with staff and volunteers and/or creating resources to enable the continuation of the co-constructed learning developed at the site.
- Work with the project team to agree success criteria that reflects the needs of the school/s alongside the aims and objectives of all partners. Demonstrating excellent communication skills to work unsupervised to a deadline.
This opportunity is inclusive and open to all. We encourage applications from people who identify from backgrounds and experiences currently underrepresented in the arts (including, but not limited to: Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, people with a disability or life limiting condition, working class, LGBTQ+). The ability to speak the Welsh language is desirable but not essential.
The selected Creative Practitioner will work at selected schools and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Trevor Basin Visitor Centre, Trevor, Wrexham LL20 7TY
Contract Type: Freelance
There will be 3 stages of delivery:
- Research / planning (May – July)
- Delivery (September – October)
- Evaluation / celebration (November - December)
The successful applicant will need to be an ideas generator, able to effectively negotiate partnerships; working alongside the project team to support in identifying the children, teachers, staff, volunteers and wider communities that will be involved.
Fee: £300 per day or £150 per half day plus reasonable travel expenses outside of a 20 mile radius of Trevor Basin across an equivalent of 21 full days between May – December.
This payment is inclusive of VAT.
There will be an additional resource budget available to support the delivery of activity.
Applicants must be available to:
- Attend an interview Thursday, 18 April 2024
- Work toward showcasing the work as part of a celebration event which will take place between the end of November and early December date tbc
All other days between May – December to be negotiated.
How to Apply:
Please send an expression of interest, accompanying CV and up to 3 x jpeg images / video links to your work to Claire Farrell. Please ensure that your expression of interest reflects the job description and includes previous relevant examples.
You may alternatively provide a 5 minute film or recording outlining the above criteria.
An existing enhanced DBS would be desirable. However, if you do not have one we will need to arrange for a DBS as a matter of urgency upon appointment.
Closing Date: 12pm 12 April 2024
Please submit your expression of interest or for more information please contact:
Claire Farrell - World Heritage Site Art Project Director
claire.farrell@canalrivertrust.org.uk
Background
This opportunity is part of the Canal and River Trust (The Trust) Pontcysyllte World Heritage Site Art Project which is a community arts placemaking project taking place between December 2023 and December 2024. Creative practitioners will work extensively with World Heritage Site (WHS) communities with a focus on four areas in Wrexham Borough to explore place-based themes spanning connectivity, heritage, landscape, identity, playful colloquialism and social history. Founded in 2012, Canal & River Trust is the UK's largest canal charity, caring for a 2,000-mile network of stunning canals and navigable rivers. Connecting many of the UK's urban and rural areas, we provide essential spaces for wildlife and people, helping us all feel happier and healthier. The 250-year-old waterways in our care – the canals, embankments, culverts and reservoirs as well as the bridges, locks and towpaths – and their vital ecosystems are threatened by the growing impact of climate change and more extreme weather. Pontcysyllte World Heritage Site Art Project is funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local businesses, and people and skills. For more information, click here