Thrive: Skills Workshops for Emerging and Professional Creatives

Thrive: Skills Workshops for Emerging and Professional Creatives

As part our programme for community arts practitioners, we are excited to share 4 upcoming skills based workshops that are open for all to attend. These sessions are specifically designed for artists who have a professional practice, who are also looking to develop a community focussed practice.

These workshops will cover: community teaching practice, marketing, business set-up and safeguarding. By the end of this workshop series you will have the skills necessary to set up, market, safeguard and deliver your community arts sessions.

We recognise the challenges that face freelance artists, and aim for these workshops to up-skill and empower creative practitioners in our community. These workshops will run from 10am-4pm and will also be a great opportunity to network with other local creatives.

If the cost is a barrier to you, please get in touch with imogen@themiddlefloor.com in order to access one of our free, subsidised spaces. These are self selecting and are offered on a first come first served basis.

The workshops can be booked together or separately.

𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟲𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀

Josephine Sillars is an arts marketer and fundraiser with experience across dance, theatre, music and film. This workshop will cover marketing tools and campaign management strategies to understand how to best market yourself and your work.

Through this workshop, we will look at:

• Digital Marketing vs Print Marketing
• Social Media and how to make the most of advertising
• Developing new audiences
• Creating an audience development pack

By the end of the workshop, you will have a clear understanding of how to best present yourself and your work to a wide variety of audiences, and how to make marketing tools work for you.

No qualifications or experience necessary. Participants are encouraged to have a project or idea in mind to bring to the workshop, as we will be doing small tasks throughout the day, but this is not mandatory.

𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟳𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 ‘𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆’ – 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀 (𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲) 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗿 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗥𝗮𝘄

Dr Anni Raw has been active in community and participatory arts for 35 years, initially as singer/community musician and facilitator, Anni’s Arts and Health PhD research explored community-based participatory arts practice, with 40 expert social practitioners in the UK and Mexico across the spectrum of arts disciplines.

Using the ‘Workshop Ecology’ we will explore an internationally researched and tested model for expert socially applied arts practice. The workshop will introduce and work with the six key elements of expert pedagogical practice in arts workshops in community settings. These elements were universally identified amongst 40 expert practitioners in the UK and Mexico across the spectrum of arts disciplines, and have been recognised and ratified by numerous practitioners internationally.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be clear about how to develop their own practice, using the ‘Workshop Ecology’ to maximise and strengthen the value of their community-based arts offer, and how they can explain this work to others.

𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟴𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘆


Tracy Witney is the Head of Learning and Participants at NSCD. She serves as the Designated Safeguarding & Prevent Lead, bringing an extensive background in dance education and student welfare.

This session is designed to equip emerging community artists with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to understand safeguarding and their role in creating safe, inclusive environments for their work. Through a blend of discussion, role-playing, hands-on practice, and practical exercises, participants will develop the ability to design effective safeguarding procedures and risk assessments tailored to their community arts practice.

By the end of the session, participants will be confident in designing and delivering safeguarding risk assessments and procedures tailored to community needs, have practical experience in creating safeguarding frameworks for their practice, understand safeguarding responsibilities to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants, and feel empowered to address safeguarding concerns effectively while maintaining professional integrity.

𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟵𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁-𝗨𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘂𝗺 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘁

Callum is an experienced arts administrator working across dance, theatre and more. In this workshop he will talk you through everything you need to consider, from business and finance to legal, before delivering classes as a creative practitioner.

By the end of this workshop you will have been provided with the necessary knowledge and skills you need to ensure your next endeavour is as sustainable and successful as it can be.