Everyone at Charnwood Arts would like to wish you a very Happy New Year! Plans are already well advanced to make 2012 one of our best years yet , so..... Watch This Space....!

The 2011 Annual General Meeting took place on Monday November 21st and was very well attended by supporters, staff and trustees alike - including several prospective new Trustees. The evening went off smoothly and was ably chaired by His Worship the Mayor of Charnwood, Cllr Bernard Burr. The accounts for 2010-11 were approved and Cound and Co reappointed as our Accountants for the coming year.

....but not very far! On Tuesday November 8th, we moved lock, stock and mosaic to our new offices - all of two doors down the road at 27 Granby Street, formerly the offices of our magnificent accountants, Cound and Co. Telephone numbers, fax number and e-mail addresses are the same as they are now. We've had a memorable few years at the library but we're sure that our new base will take us to even greater heights. (Especially as we'll now be on THREE floors, not just one!)

I need some volunteer marshals for Picnic in the Park! Wouldn't you like to help out?  Be part of a great community event? Gain some valuable experience? add it to your CV? Work as part of great team? I need volunteers to help me to steward this lovely family event. You will be required to assist stall holders on the day, answer queries from the general public, be vigilant about public safety, help performers if required and general duties of a park based family event. You do not require any experience as you will be fully briefed prior to the event. If you are interested in getting involved, please do give me a call on 01509  821035 or email me on rebecca.abrahams@charnwoodarts.com. For more about Picnic in the Park, read on........

Charnwood Arts is delighted to announce that we have been accepted into the new National Portfolio Funding scheme of Arts Council England with an award of £131,000 rising to £137,500 in 2014/15. In a major shake up of national arts funding, Charnwood Arts has been chosen as one of only 695 successful organisations out of the 1,333 which applied to the Arts Council. 

The Loughborough Mela 2011 is taking place on Sunday 31 July 2011. We are looking for a committed community minded person to co-ordinate this event.

Many thanks to everyone who attended the 33rd Charnwood Arts Annual General Meeting. We are delighted to welcome back Helen Flach as Chair in a year which will see some exciting changes in the structure of the organisation. Minutes from the meeting will be posted here soon.

Following the enormous success of Vision ’09, a competition aimed at young photographers in the UK and worldwide, Charnwood Arts is again challenging the world to come up with the most original, exciting and innovative photographs we've seen yet! This year there are FOUR categories, three of which are open to photographers of any age and one for young people only. For full details and how to enter, click on the web link below.

Loughborough Mela has scored a double triumph by signing TWO stars of the Asian Music scene to headline at their Town Centre event on Sunday June 27th between 12 noon and 5.00pm!

Sun 13th June, 2010 - 12pm to 5pm @ Loughborough Town Centre

Picnic In The Park is 30 years old this year! Over three decades, this Charnwood Arts run outdoor extravaganza has grown into one of Loughborough's best loved annual events. And if you go down to Queen's Park on Bank Holiday Monday May 31st, you're most definitely in for a great celebratory surprise! Headlining this year are the amazing Black Umfolosi 5! The original Black Umfolosi was formed in 1982 by school friends in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, who named themselves after the Umfolozi Omnyama River in South Africa - to where their ancestors can be traced. In 2010 The Black Umfolosi 5 continue to present their spectacular songs and dances thrilling audiences worldwide with a whole new line-up. Their performances are energy driven and completely engaging, mixing a great gentleness of spirit and song with an exuberance in dance. Their trademark harmonies mixed with intricate rhythms, clicking and clapping are highlighted during their brilliantly choreographed shows with a full range of movements from subtle to vibrant stomping and leaping! Queen’s Park is a beautiful place to spend a late-Spring afternoon and this year will be even more fun than usual! This year’s activities will include Tri-Golf, Children's Rides, Sports Activities, Belly Dancing, Food and a host of speciality stalls and information points. Performances will be taking place all afternoon, in addition to Black Umfolosi. Artists appearing include Bill Brookman, Ska-Amanga, Maynard FlipFlap, Shakti Dancers and many more. This year's Picnic is taking place as part of National Family Week's Picnic Day. It will be one of hundreds of Picnics happening all over the country on Bank Holiday Monday to get the week off to a flying start. Charnwood Arts looks forward to sharing a wonderful 30th birthday with you.

Most poetry editors are pleased if their little magazines get above issue five. Issue ten and they're ecstatic. That's why Charnwood Arts - and especially editor Deborah Tyler Bennett - is delighted to announce the arrival of Issue 20 of "The Coffee House"! Copies are available now from the Charnwood Arts Office, 31 Granby Street, Loughborough. Featured poet and translator for this record breaking edition is Thomas Orszag-Land - poet, translator and foreign correspondent who writes for The Guardian / Observer News Service and The Times Literary Supplement in London. Featured prose writer is Morelle Smith, author of "Touching The Shell" and "Diehard's River Train". Other writers in this edition include Mark Goodwin, James Conway, Jane Seabourne, Graham Hardie, Robert Leach, LIsa Parry,David McCormack and many more, including the remarkable ten-year old Ellamae Hindley,who is definitely a young writer to watch. The artwork in this edition is by Jack Yates, Deborah Tyler Bennett and photographer Kevin Ryan, a detail from whose work "C de Gull" (!) can be seen at the top of this story....

Happy World Community Arts day 2010 from everyone at Charnwood Arts.

Writing Industries Conference 2010 Saturday 6th March 2010, Loughborough University A Literature Network, Writing East Midlands and Loughborough University project.

Rebecca Abrahams, our Kala Kahani co-ordinator has been working with Leicester based Atmospheres to create a new film made to celebrate the successes of the Pacesetters Programme for the NHS

Kev Ryan of Charnwood Arts attended the State of the Arts conference in London recently. Over 500 leading artists, entrepreneurs, cultural leaders and policy makers met to discuss the future of the arts in England. Click on the link to share some of the speeches and debate that took place there. What are the two main parties thinking....?

Don't forget the 17th February is World Community Arts Day! Artists and organisations around the world will be celebrating creativity en masse! Join in...sign up.....put some fun and community into the arts!

We were delighted to welcome the director of 501 Artspace in Chongqing to discuss final arrangements for an exhibition curated by Ming Turner which will tour to China in April 2010

Best Wishes for a great 2010 from everyone at Charnwood Arts! Get ready for a packed year...