Creative Pathways provided training, workshops and events for both members and partnering organisations with the goal of equipping inspiring people to work creatively, confidently and collaboratively.
Here is a summary of the education we provided:
Further education
Creative Pathways engaged with multiple Universities and Colleges in and near Herefordshire by providing opportunities for students to volunteer, career talks and mock interviews relating to the arts, culture and heritage industries.
Our partnering organisations, The National Trust and Ledbury Poetry, kindly gave their time to provide a mock interviews with feedback for students to develop their practice and gain confidence.
Ellie provided talks to hundreds of students across Herefordshire about entering the creative industries, setting up a business, and tips for professional engagement with organisations.
Emma commissioned a video that provided useful information about successful job interviews.
Our partnering organisation Ledbury Poetry provided both talks and a video about engaging with the Arts Award.
Mentorship
Ellie Scanlan provided 1:1 mentorship to Creative Pathways volunteers, Young Reviewers, and Work in Culture members. The mentees ranged in ages, interests and level of experience. The mentorship provided a space those interested in Arts, Culture and Heritage to explore their options, set goals, network, and develop their practice. From the mentorship books were written, plays were produced, jobs were gained, videos were made and businesses started. You can read some of the mentees feedback here.
Participant training
Our participants received training from Creative Pathways and partnering organisations. Here are some examples of the work we did:
Creative Pathways hosted "A beginners guide: Using instagram to display and promote your work." The workshops supported aspiring volunteers in creating and using social media as a means of promoting their work and engaging with potential audiences.
Creative Pathways also funded and hosted a social media marketing workshop for both participants and volunteers in the arts, culture and heritage sectors. The workshop was lead by Design in the Shires.
Ledbury Poetry provided Creative Pathways participants training via zoom with Artistic Director Chloe Garner, to give participants the opportunity to learn more about the arts industry and how to run a festival.
Ledbury Poetry also provided event photography training during their 2023 festival and Creative Pathways funded a professional photographer to lead the project. During the 2023 Ledbury Poetry created multiple Artist Management internships for Creative Pathways members, with training, networking opportunities and work experience.
Creative Pathways funded a theatre lighting workshop at The Malvern Cube to equip volunteers with the skills and knowledge to set up and light local theatrical productions. The workshops were led by Paul Jones: lighting technician, musician, pilot and co-manager of Mu Mu recording studios.
Creative Pathways funded a workshop in developing an arts and heritage exhibition which was held at the Ledbury Heritage Centre with Ledbury Places. The workshop was delivered by artist and facilitator Jeanette McCulloch.
Herefordshire National Trust provided Creative Pathways participants with a tour of Berrington Hall and a 1:1 discussion with heritage professionals about marketing and events programming.
Training for Organisations
Creative Pathways provided and sourced organisational training with the aim of supporting their capacity for taking on volunteers and nurturing their growth in the arts, culture and heritage industries.
Our Best Practice Forum for working with volunteers was led by Ellie Scanlan. The session was attended by organisations across the arts, culture and heritage sector. In the session we explored methods of obtaining volunteers, methods of coordinating volunteers, ways to support volunteers, methods of training and upskilling volunteers, identifying potential audiences and volunteering demographics and ways to overcome the challenges to volunteering.
Our workshop entitled Writing Better, Stronger Funding Applications, was led by Arts Fundraiser Peter Salt. The workshop provided insight about approaching arts funding applications for organisations and individual practitioners, and was well recieved: “A great day, thank you!” ‘Informative’ ‘Very helpful’ ‘Inspiring’ ‘I gained clarity, motivation and top tips’ ‘Bespoke training for all of us in the room.’
Creative Pathways hosted a Social Media Marketing workshop delivered by Design in the Shires for arts, heritage and cultural organisations based in Herefordshire. The workshop was attended both in person and online and proved to be both valuable and popular.
Creative Pathways also hosted training led the mental health charity Mind regarding dementia awareness. Many of the organisations we engaged with engaged with audiences and volunteers that have been impacted by dementia. The training equipped the participants with ways to recognise and facilitate those experiencing dementia.
Creative Pathways also hosted a Neurodiversity in the Workplace workshop led by The Brain Charity. 20 representatives of cultural organisations across Herefordshire attended to learn how to better support their volunteers, employees and audiences with neurodiversity needs.
Events and networking
As well as workshops and training, Creative Pathways hosted multiple events to bring volunteers and organisations together such as coffee meet ups, Get your words out workshop and sharing days. We also attended the events of local organisations such as the Ledbury Community Day and quarterly meetings with Herefordshire Cultural Partnership.
