Cultural Development Support Scheme
 

A diverse programme of arts events and initiatives is delivered across the University each year, as a result of funding from the Cultural Development Support Scheme.  The annual scheme, which is presented and managed by the Cultural Development Department, allows all University staff to bid for financial and practical support for quality arts events that engage external audiences and partners and contribute to the University’s external profile.

First established in 2004, the scheme has to date allocated over £270,000.  Recent inclusion of a funding strand to reflect the University’s widening participation, access and outreach objectives has stimulated the design of a number of projects which meet these aims, as well as satisfying the cultural aspirations of the scheme.

Successful applicants are given both a financial allocation and expert practical support from Cultural Development staff in developing their project.

There were 42 applications submitted for the academic year 2009/10 and, of these, the 17 applications listed below were judged to best meet the scheme’s objectives.  The selected projects showcased many facets of the University’s cultural and creative capacity to a variety of audiences.

The ongoing outreach projects / special initiatives funded by the Cultural Development Support Scheme are as follows:

• Centrifugal Sequence V1, Belfast campus
• The Secret Laboratory, Belfast campus
• Contemporary Souvenir, Belfast campus
• Good Derry, Good Londonderry, Magee campus
• Reading Our City’s Story, Magee campus
• Ensemble-in-Residence – DECIBEL, Magee campus
• Lunchtime Concerts 09/10, Coleraine and Magee
• SCALE, Belfast campus
• Empty Spaces, Belfast and Magee
• Masterclass in Applied Art and Video Archive, Belfast campus
• The Great Derry Dada Circus, Magee campus
• Ulster Media Show ’10, Coleraine and Belfast
• Feedback, Magee campus
• The Little Box of Wonders, Magee campus
• The World of Animation, Belfast campus
• Creative Impact, Belfast campus
• Choral Concerts, Coleraine and Magee

Further details about the individual events emanating from these projects can be viewed in the events section of this website.

Centrifugal Sequence VI, Belfast

A programme of events - lectures, tours, workshops, performances and film screenings – in a variety of venues around Belfast, will coincide with the launch of a book entitled The Centrifugal Book of Europe.  The Centrifugal project on which this book is based, is a loose grouping of artists, educators, architects and theorists who come together to develop mobile and speculative methodologies for investigating the spatial, political and economic forces and pressures that produce contemporary ideas of Europe.

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The Secret Laboratory: Notebooks and Narratives

An exhibition, publication and short film will be produced using the sketchbooks of local artists and architects, as well as a range of national/international contributors, with the intention of portraying the development of their ideas, thinking and work in order to shed light on the design process.  The aim is reveal how private ideas are ultimately developed into the buildings and environments which adorn our city landscapes.

The exhibition will be curated in partnership with PLACE and displayed at PLACE, accompanied by talks, workshops and an opening reception.

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Contemporary Souvenir

The Contemporary Souvenir project will design, prototype, develop and manufacturer Irish souvenir products for distribution throughout Northern Ireland and further afield.  Following on from initial exploratory workshops and market research, a selected range of products will be prototyped and eventually manufactured.  The essence of the project is to commission respected designers to produce artistically interesting and valuable items that offer a commercial alternative to plastic leprechauns and shamrocks.  It is planned that the University’s brand will become synonymous with clever, witty, valuable items that are sought after by tourists for their cultural integrity and outstanding design.

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Good Derry Good Londonderry

The first Irish exhibition of the internationally recognised graphic design initiative Good 50x70, a non-profit organisation that aims to increase public awareness of those who fight to improve social hardship globally, will be hosted by the Magee campus.  The exhibition will promote the use of good design to address global social issues.

Coinciding with the exhibition will be a range of events involving industry, social enterprises and charities to explore the importance of good design and to unlock the potential for using good design to highlight key issues in the North West region.  A design workshop for the HE, FE and schools participants will then look at ways of presenting the ideas and issues raised by the local groups and follow-on workshops in the colleges and schools will help to develop posters that deliver the social issues raised.

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Reading Our City’s Story

This project will introduce primary school children to the Derry and Raphoe library project with a historical re-enactment to set the project in its historical context and a visit to the conservation studio.
 
Drama students from Ulster’s School of Creative Arts will script and perform the historical re-enactment of a short sketch featuring two of the main persons involved in the setting up of the library - Ezekiel Hopkins who was its founder and bishop of the city at the time of the Siege and his successor William King who was instrumental in developing the library.  In a visit to the library’s conservation studio in Shantallow Library the participating schools will encounter the skills of conservation, be shown how the books are preserved for future generations and be given an opportunity to make their own book.

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Ensemble-in-Residence - Decibel

Decibel, the innovative, multi-instrumental ensemble will be the University’s Ensemble-in-Residence for 2010.  Formed in 2002 by Northern Ireland’s own Ed Bennett, Decibel is a collective of composers and performers who perform experimental and unusual work.  DECIBEL’S performances combine live instrumental music with electronics and in some cases live video mixing. They are known for performing in venues not necessarily associated with a contemporary music ensemble thereby diversifying and broadening their audience.

The Ensemble will be based at the Magee campus in March 2010 to deliver an intensive programme of workshops, public performances and outreach work with schools and community groups.

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SCALE: Designing Time in Place

Staff from the University of Ulster’s School of Architecture and Design in collaboration with the Landscape Institute NI and PLACE will offer a programme of lectures accompanied by masterclasses, workshops, an exhibition, a careers open day and local ‘walk arounds’.  The events are designed to stimulate debate about durable valued environments, (Scale: surface and weight, music and temperature, climb and proportion) and to address issues relating to design, policy, planning and management of external landscape places, and the experiences of communities living in those places.  With noticeable changes to our public environment (place, community, energy, transit, waste) and the evolution of governance - how do we create the heritage areas of tomorrow?

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Empty Spaces:

Students and staff across disciplines within the Faculty of Art, Design & the Built Environment will work in partnership with Arts & Business on an initiative to programme a series of events and activities in empty retail spaces in Belfast city centre.  The aim of the project is to conceive and create exciting ‘happenings’ and installations in a selection of highly visible retail locations in Belfast’s city centre in collaboration with Arts and Business.

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The Great Derry Dada Circus

This outreach project will feature live performances of two major works by Erik Satie: Parade and Cinema.

Children studying music in local schools and members of the local community will take part in a series of music rehearsals and workshops to prepare for participation in the presentation of the ballet, Parade, a Dadaist romp set in a circus top with a musical arrangement for piano/4 hands and percussion.  Children and members of the local community will be encouraged to participate in the choreographic component of the show.

Cinema, one of the earliest film-scores ever written, was created to accompany a silent movie made by Rene Clair.  In piano/4 hand format, Satie’s score will be performed to accompany a public screening of the film.  University students working in collaboration with the local community will also create new films influenced by Satie’s and Clair’s original masterpiece.

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Creative Impact:

The University of Ulster, in partnership with the Probation Board for NI, will engage a group of 6 to 8 young people, from the Probation Board’s programme for young offenders involved in car crime, in a series of workshops in ceramics and printmaking on Friday evenings.  The project will be planned and coordinated between the two organisations to offer young people unfamiliar with the Higher Education setting an opportunity to experience its scope, potential and relevance for them.

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Feedback:

‘Feedback’, a groundbreaking new project designed specifically for students on performing arts courses at FE colleges, will be delivered by Satellite, the University of Ulster’s dance outreach team, in partnership with artists from Assault Events, the University of Ulster’s resident dance company.  Through a series of music, dance and creative technology workshops, as well as creative online participation using online social media, this innovative project will explore ways in which social media can be used to enhance and assist creativity.

The use of online social media will enable all the participating FE colleges to communicate with each other to share and develop their experience and create more work they can share online.  The project will culminate at the end of June 2010 with the launch of an online Facebook archive exhibition.

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The Little Box of Wonders

This is a multi-disciplinary theatre project culminating in a devised performance for 6-8 year old children in May 2010.

Drama students from Ulster’s School of Creative Arts will work in drama workshops with children in two primary schools in Derry over a six-week period.  The material acquired from these workshops will be developed by the drama students and staff to devise a 30-minute drama performance with dance and music.

The final work will be performed by Ulster staff and students for school audiences in Derry and then as part of the Belfast Children’s Festival.  The project will come full circle, bringing the work back to the schools with whom it was originally conceived, by taking them to see the performance in Belfast, thereby involving them in the Children’s Festival.

The work will also be performed in the Foyle Arts building on the Magee campus for other local primary schools, Ulster staff and their families.

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