Thanks for checking out our latest issue that covers updates in late summer and early autumn. We at Sparkworks hope you are safe and well.

We have been informed of lots of fruitful outcomes on both organisational level and individual level, including successful funding applications, and successful graduate employment. We know how difficult it was to make any of those achievements to happen.

Finding Paid Work in the time of high unemployment

The UK unemployment rate has been on the rise due to the pandemic, and the creative industry in particular has suffered badly. Helping young people get paid work in the TV and Film industry has been one of our major missions. The impact and pressure have been huge on us.

Despite the difficulties, 7 of our EQUIP 1 and Walcot Foundation course alumni have obtained paid work over the past few weeks. Starting from this autumn, we will be helping 15 young Lambeth residents in identified financial need, after being granted by the Walcot Foundation. This FREE 6-month online course will be providing them skills and employment training, and paid entry level work placement in the TV and Film industry (‘Digi-sparks ignites your online career’!)

We are very proud of them, as well as of our lead professional tutor Sam and our Youth Employment Officer.

With the Chancellor’s Kickstart Scheme announced, we have also prepared our promotional material to interest production companies, and we are also interested in working with other small charities. 

Early this summer, 3 of our EQUIP Paddington Development Trust (ESF and ESFA funded) trainees were paid to work as runners and marshals on Break, an innovative film production. The premiere, which just took place in a socially distanced drive-through manner, is believed to be ‘the first film premiere since the UK lockdown‘. The film is also currently on tour in the UK, find out if there is a one scheduled near you! 🙂

With special thanks to our former student Adriana Kyotková for reaching out to us. Kyotková also commented, as the Production Coordinator, that our students ‘were brilliant and the producers were happy too. Very hardworking. Thank you.’

Our Equip 1 participants and Walcot alumni have also been participated in many online workshops and lectures, such as the one on Making Pitch Documents by Rupert Lloyd of Noor Productions.

If you are interested in joining us, as a trainer or a trainee, or a potential collaboration, please give our latest course promo (scroll down) a watch, and talk to us at info@creative-sparkworks.org

Grant Applications

Our key grant team led by our CEO Sylvia Edwards have been working almost nonstop to get new grants in and to keep the charity running.

We entered the application for the London Community Fund Wave 3, and we are thrilled to be selected!

We have also applied to the Lambeth Youth Promise, an opportunity to become one of our borough’s key deliverers for youth skills and training programmes.

Meetings and Collaborations

We have been invited to and participating in a wide range of networking events, and have been working hard to form new partnerships.

For instance, we e-met Mike Butler from The Foundry in Vauxhall; Eoin Hefferman from Lambeth Integrate; the BBC’s ‘The Next Episode’ Series producer; Eric Huyton, founder of the Media Training Hub and a distinguished DoP working with David Attenborough in far-flung locations, and he is giving us a motivational talk this autumn; Kotryna at The Third Floor to explore more ways of partnering etc.

We have also getting in touch with many different film and TV companies including the BBC, Pinewood, Sky, 3 Mills Studios, Working Title films etc. We have already secured several entry level jobs and actively seeking more.

Happy Collaboration & Filming Times

From 2019/20 Film2Learn2£arn

The Buzzy Beez

We had 2 weeks of socially distanced creative activities run for the local children aged 4 to 13 on the China Walk Estate, planned and delivered by Fiona and Audrey.

Activities included pottery & mosaics,  jewellery & mask making, animation, glove puppets, embroidery, bag and t-shirt stencilling, as well as collage & painting. Please check out the highlights edited by our tutor Fiona below:

Also thanks Kirsty, Josephine, the China Walk TRA, Pamela Southall and the Chair for all their support!

The Buzzy Beez will run again this October half term! Please email info@creative-sparkworks.org to book 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!