Jaw Jaw was a project conceived before the Covid-19 pandemic to address isolation and loneliness in our communities, and to offer creative and cultural activity to those who had previously been unable to access it.
Villages in Action in partnership with Exhuberant Health & Wellbeing and Wellmoor, a part of the Moretonhampstead Development Trust, delivered a hybrid project which took on a new relevance and importance during the global events of 2020. The impact of the pandemic on the performing arts industry has been devastating and the touring sector, of which Villages in Action is a part and on which it relies for artistic programming, has been severely inhibited. Although these challenging circumstances were in place we were able to reimagine the project, and we delivered it in two parts:
Phase 1 of the project ran from February until August 2020, focusing on remote online delivery of creative workshops as well as informal ‘club’ sessions managed and hosted through the communication system with additional features used to support participants outside of the creative workshop activity.
Phase 2 focused on 3 elements of live activity during Autumn 2020:
Hybrid (online and in-person) movement workshop and performance sharing
She Who Dares: Off The Wall Aerial Dance Circus live rehearsal (live stream)
The Strongman by Bash Street Theatre (in-person public performance)
If you would like to discuss the project please contact mair@villagesinaction.co.uk
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About us
Villages in Action (ViA) is a charity that has, for nearly 30 years, brought high quality professional performing arts events to communities in Devon, as part of a national rural arts touring network. We continue to work with many local volunteers to select and present theatre, music, dance and more, right in the heart of our communities.
With community gatherings on hold, we are currently
running a pilot digital programme with a social prescribing partner, to test the
delivery of arts activity directly into people’s homes. Started before the
Covid-19 pandemic, this is now attracting a good deal of interest and we hope
to develop the work more widely.
For the last 3 years the work of Villages in Action
has been managed by Creative Kernow, the charity that runs Carn to Cove, our
neighbouring rural touring scheme in Cornwall. We are now at a pivotal moment
in our development, looking to the future to ensure the long-term
sustainability of arts-led activities in rural communities in Devon, and we’re
excited about the opportunities that a period of reflection and partnership
working has provided.
As part of that process of reflection and
realignment for the future, we are now in a position to recruit some new board
members to help us to develop and deliver an ambitious and relevant plan of
activity.
By empowering communities to develop, organise and
sustain their own cultural activity we aim to:
act as an agency to enhance
the quality of life of all members of those communities
reduce social isolation
build up a sense of enterprise and self-confidence
address other issues of
relevance to our communities through specific, time-limited projects.
Villages in Action is a
registered charity and limited company, governed by a board of unpaid trustees,
currently receiving funds from Arts Council England, East Devon District
Council and Teignbridge District Council., with recent project funding from
Devon County Council.
Our work mostly takes place in
the Council areas of Teignbridge, East, West and Mid Devon and South Hams.
The role of Trustee
The trustees are responsible for
the overall control and direction of the organisation in two main areas:
support and accountability. The role of the Board is to provide entrepreneurial
and strategic leadership to steer a renewed way of working in pursuit of the
organisation’s objectives, and prudent and effective control including the assessment
and management of risk.
There are some areas of specialist
expertise that we are particularly keen to have represented on the board, in order to strengthen these aspects of
Village in Action’s delivery, but we are much more interested in your experience,
knowledge and commitment than your formal qualifications:
Access/Inclusion – personal/professional insight into how cultural organisations can address barriers to participation/engagement.
Arts in education and work with young people including skills training
Fundraising – a track record of income generation within the cultural/charity sector.
Health & Safety – the knowledge/confidence to advise the Board and support the Management Team as we develop this important area of our practice.
Legal – the professional knowledge to guide the Board in its legal responsibilities, with a specific focus on partnerships and employment.
Marketing – direct experience of developing brands and building audiences, particularly within the arts/ cultural/charity sector.
Theatre/Live Performance/Creative – professional experience of working across the UK Theatre industry, with artistic practice and/or producing an advantage.
Representation of potential partner organisations with a non-arts focus such as the environment, health, digital audience development. There will be others, they may have a Devon-based or a wider focus.
The duties of a Trustee are:
To ensure that Villages in
Action complies with its governing document (Memorandum and Articles of
Association), charity law, company law and any other relevant legislation or
regulations.
To contribute actively to the
board of trustees by giving firm strategic direction to Villages in Action
setting overall mission, vision and values, defining goals, setting targets and
policies, and evaluating performance against agreed targets.
To ensure the financial
stability of Villages in Action, maintain proper fiscal oversight and ensure
sufficient resources are secured to fulfil the charity’s mission.
To ensure that controls and
reporting systems are robust.
To review and monitor risks.
To safeguard and promote the
values of Villages in Action enhancing its reputation, and ensuring
transparency and accountability in the organisation’s activities.
To actively contribute to
Board recruitment, development and review and succession planning.
To respect the role of staff.
To maintain confidentiality
of Board business.
To declare any potential
conflicts of interest at the earliest opportunity.
To attend all board meetings,
except when absence is unavoidable.
To engage fully in the
charity’s work, including attendance at performances/events and, on occasion,
to formally represent the charity on behalf of board and staff.
Commitment
The roles are unpaid voluntary positions. Travel expenses to board meetings will be provided where appropriate. The position will normally be for a three-year term, ideally commencing from Summer/ Autumn 2020. Elections/re-elections take place annually at our December AGM.
Board members are expected to
attend a minimum of 4 board meetings per year and to participate in the work
and promotion of the organisation between board meetings where possible,
attending performances and events as well as being an ambassador for Villages
in Action.
Each trustee brings a unique
range of skills and experience, and we encourage people from all backgrounds
and with all levels of experience to apply.
Opportunity
We are seeking people with a
range of experience as well as the skills, knowledge and commitment to support
our existing work and to ensure that our board represents the widely varied
communities that we try to serve. We
think that the best organisations have a diversity of voices, so we’d like to
hear from anyone regardless of their race, gender, disability, religion/belief,
sexual orientation or age.
The organisation strongly supports continuing professional development for both staff and volunteers. Trustees may benefit from mentor support if it was mutually felt to be beneficial. In addition, Board members are expected to attend a Board Away day once each year, the content for which to be decided by the members in advance.
How to Apply
If you are interested in joining the board of Villages in Action, please download and tick the relevant boxes in Trustee Skills List, and send along with a cover letter/email outlining your interest and experience in no more than 2 sides of A4.
We shall be looking for a range of
different skills, and do not expect you to be able to tick all the boxes!
Please send your completed
application to:
mair@villagesinaction.co.uk
By 12 noon, Tuesday 23 June 2020, with
interviews during the week commencing 29 June 2020.
Please note that
all our meetings are currently being held on line because of the Covid-19
situation. We will be keeping this under
review as lockdown regulations evolve over the next few weeks and interviews
may also need to be done remotely.
For an informal conversation
about the role, please contact the Chair of Villages in Action, Catherine
Devenish, on 07977 502246.
