"Passion, Partnerships and Empowering" the one day, National Conference exploring and celebrating partnership working and the participatory arts on 16th October at Derby QUAD will now feature a resident performance poets for delegates to stick comments to.

Poet, comedian and reformed psychiatric nurse, Rob Gee will wander throughout the conference encouraging people to stick any comments on passion, partnerships or empowerment in the participatory arts to him (or even talk to him if they wish). From these he will create a ‘poem in a day’, to be performed at the close of the conference.

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The event also features key speakers:

· David Cutler (Director of the Baring Foundation)

· Eugene Van Erven (Director of the International Community Arts Festival) and

· Participants from community arts projects.

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Case Studies leading to open discussion sessions with:

Lucy Neal (Founder of the London International Festival of Theatre) on the work of social reformer, suffragette and passionate, radical arts practitioner Mary Neal and how looking at past work can influence current and future participatory arts practice.

Geoff Rowe (Director, Big Difference Company) on how the organisation grown to gain national profile whilst retaining a continued commitment to being embedded within the communities it works in.

Kevin Ryan (CEO, Charnwood Arts) on the development of Next Level Cafe, nature of negotiating complex relationships as required to bring about the realisation and continued sustainability of such a project.

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Workshops sessions and activities in the QUAD Gallery space.

For full details and booking information click on the link below.