Thanks for checking out our latest COVID-19 action report in May. Creative Sparkworks hope you safe and well.

Our Community Mental Health Support Worker sends her wishes to us all while she is doing frontline work in an elders’ care home. We are super proud of her and we hope her all the best ♥

Following our swift initial responses to COVID-19 and the UK government’s guidance, we have been moving forward as a charity and have come up with new ways to better support our communities and beneficiaries beyond London Borough of Lambeth.

In the past months, we have adapted our Film2Learn2£arn courses to the rapidly changing situation, with improved remote teaching and feedback system, exciting new briefs, and expanded areas of learning, such as SFX and animation, led by our Creative Director Sam Edwards.

We also continue to work with our partners, local authorities, organisations, and communities, to further advance the way we deliver our services and benefit young people especially during and after this hard period.

Our 2019/20 Film2Learn2£arn students received their second brief away from the workshop to film and edit on their mobiles on the subject of ‘my daily routine in life under lockdown’. Our students experimented a different style of filmming, some made animation or worked with special effects, some further advanced their personal styles.

A beautiful montage of truthful, stylish, and uplifting works in response to the brief, click below to enjoy:

Taking creativity to next level

We are working hard to support our 2019/20 Film2Learn2£arn students and help them improve their filmmaking skills and employability after the course, despite the COVID-19 challenges.

We have expanded the content of the course remotely, with new opportunities and tutorials on animation and special effects. And we encourage them to experiment with materials, props, and new ways of filmming and editing, followed by dedicated discussions and feedback sessions.

The third brief, released in the first week of May, encouraged students to “recreate their favourite film scene”. The outcome will be available and updated here soon, please look forward to it 🙂

Moving forward

Every summer, Creative Sparkworks runs community arts and craft projects (the ‘Buzzy Beez’) and activities for local children and young people, to help them discover their interest in arts, and help improve their skills while staying connected with other local young people. We understand the benefits that creative arts bring to wellbeing and would like to continue delivering such projects, but in a tailored way to meet the need of the lockdown situation.

We have applied for a Lambeth community grant ‘Sparking Off Online Your Media Career’ so we can recruit and deliver our courses to young Lambeth residents remotely during the next 6 to 12 months! Updates and formal announcement to follow.

Moving forward

From Lockdown Life 2, in response to a Film2Learn2£arn brief. Watch it here: https://vimeo.com/413534343

We took part in an informative BAFTA webinar, linking up the main players in entry level employment in the film and TV sector – Film London with Nahrein Kemp, BAFTA with Tim Hunter, BFI with Jen Smith Head of Diversity, MAMA Youth with Cristina Ciobanu.

An enjoyable Trustees Zoom and drinks party was held on Tuesday 5th May when we would have held a Board meeting. We look forward to another Trustees informal meet very soon to catch up with everyone.

The CEO and the Chair attended a webinar on Digital Leadership run by the ACVOS; it was an opportunity to share the issues facing small and not so small charity leaders and ackowledge the deep effects on optimum functioning which COVID-19 has.

Sparkworks workshop in summer 2019

A range of grants to support our new Digital Creative Skills and Employment Training projects both local and pan-London have been submitted or in application by the CEO. One success so far. Updates to follow.

Our Youth Employment Manager and Partnerships & Business Development Manager attended an excellent training session delivered by London Youth – Virtual Safeguarding for Children and Young People; this will support our revised Policies and Procedures in the new remote working situation.

London Youth also provided a forum ‘Connecting in COVID-19’ for youthwork organisations to share their experiences.

Looking forward to future activities

If you read our newsletter sometimes, you will know that Sparkworks and our young people have proudly filmed London’s biggest free family festival Lambeth Country Show in 2018 and 2019 as their official filmming provider.

Despite the show being cancelled for this year, we are delighted to be invited to film it in 2021, and we look forward to the wonderful event in the coming year.

The 2019 Lambeth Country Show official highlights, filmed by Sparkworks’ young people, received very positive feedback from the Show and the Council. And it is expected to be shown at a virtual event this year that will be announced soon. Updates and invitation to follow. Special thanks to Sam for his outstanding work.

Although due to COVID-19, we have to postpone our Gala Screening Event at the BFI Stephen Street, we expect to see you again soon with exciting films and lovely activities later this year.

We will also meet and chat with a bond stronger than ever. It will be so nice to see you there! Formal announcement to follow, but please do get in touch to say hello and we will secure your place 🙂

About Film2Learn2£arn

Funded by the Walcot Foundation, the course provides free inclusive filmmaking skills and employment training, with paid work experience.

We started our first Film2Learn2£arn course in 2013, in response to requests from young people in our locality.

We aim to increase our young people’s general wellbeing, education, skills and employment through the arts.

Since when, we have delivered industry approved and funded film skills and employment training courses to over 100 young adults, 85% of whom have moved into paid entry level work in the industry, 5% entered higher education, 5% are in full-time other jobs or training.

We are here for Lambeth’s next generation.

We want to hear from you

If you are a film/TV professional, we’d like to invite you to do a motivational speech/lecture for our students!

If you feel like lending us a hand, any form of donation will be so helpful! (Kit donation is great too!)

If you are a prospective student, contact us now to book your free place for next year! You may have the chance to come in and discover more about the course.

If you are just interested in what we do and want to find out how to help, or to collaborate, we’d love to hear from you too!

Contact us now by emailing info@creative-sparkworks.org or ring 020 7735 9095, we want to hear from you!