ADVICE, SUPPORT + GROWTH
FOR CREATIVE ENTERPRISES ACROSS
LEICESTER, LEICESTERSHIRE + RUTLAND
the webinart programme has now ended. many thanks to all who took part.
Here's what we did
WebinArt was Creative Leicestershire’s one-year professional development programme. We collaborated with knowledgeable arts industry experts and creative organisations across Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Rutland, to deliver bespoke business mentoring, live online interviews, and engaging live webinars packed with valuable industry know-how.
We offered three parallel membership types, designed to support creatives with varying experience:
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Evolve membership - For creative practitioners of any experience level
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Emerge membership - For early career creative entrepreneurs
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Establish membership - For mid-career / experienced artists and makers
The programme ran between Monday 1st June 2020 + Friday 28th May 2021.
What was Included?
> core benefits for evolve members (any career level)
Each membership type ran side by side between June 2020 - May 2021. Our Evolve members benefitted from our core activities shown above. Evolve membership was open to all creative disciplines of any level, throughout the UK.
> Mentoring for EMERGE members (early-career)
In addition to the core benefits, our early-career members (~ less than 3 years in business) had the opportunity to undertake three one-to-one tailored business mentoring sessions with one of our expert mentors. The early-career programme was open to all creative disciplines, mostly based in the East Midlands.
> Peer-mentoring for establish members (mid-career/established)
Led by artist and mentor Ruth Singer, the mid-career initiative was for visual artists and makers with more than 3 years in business, and was of most benefit those based in the East-Midlands.
In addition to the core benefits, Establish Membership provided:
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An online forum where members shared and learnt from each other, facilitated by Ruth Singer with monthly focus challenges and topics
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Monthly Zoom networking sessions
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Quarterly peer mentoring sessions with a small group of like-minded artists/makers
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Optional add-ons (pay as you go) 1 : 1 mentoring with specialists
Core Benefits
> Valuable Online Learning
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12 live webinars took place over the year, hosted by our professional partners:
How to: Run a great online creative workshop
How to: Create stand-out digital comms and PR
How to: Earn a living as a creative
How to: Nail your Instagram marketing
How to: Work collaboratively; building relationships with artists, volunteers and organisations
How to: Understand which customers + services make you money
How to: Bring Together a creative community
How to: Write creative copy to tell your story and engage people
How to: Run a community arts programme
How to: Create an event to remember
How to: Deliver creative programmes with young people
How to: Work with Heritage
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6 live online interviews were hosted with creative professionals from each of our partner organisations:
All of our valuable content was recorded and shared via our online library.
> supportive community
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Over the year, members took part in monthly friendly and welcoming networking opportunities to meet and connect with like-minded creatives across Leicestershire, Rutland and Derbyshire.
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We built an active private Facebook community of members, mentors and experts to share information, ask questions and support others.
WebinArt 2020/21 was generously subsidised by our funding partners -
Leicestershire County Council, Arts Council England, Derbyshire County Council, Hinckley + Bosworth Borough Council, North West Leicestershire District Council, Blaby District Council + Rutland County Council.
what people said
JO NASH
PARTICIPANT
"I’m glad to have been part of such an inspiring programme. The content has been really interesting and relevant, and my mentor is amazing. It’s nice to meet and just talk to someone who understands the pressures of being a creative."
KAT STARCZEWSKI
PARTICIPANT
"To have a confidential space with an experienced mentor where I can talk about my practice as well as my work life, and how that fits together, was really great and a rare experience since graduating."
SAM WHELAN
MENTOR
"The flexible time to make contact, guide, challenge and support participants at the pace and depth that suits their needs is great, however formally that fits with them."
JODIE CRESSWELL-WARING
MENTOR
"I feel delighted to be involved - It’s such a needed programme! Programmes like this can help bridge that gap to ensure they know what the broader creative industry looks like - or at least to make visible what is existing around them."
MARTHA MOGER
MENTOR
"I’ve had a ball! I enjoyed delivering my webinar and would love the chance to do another one. The mentoring was interesting and personally speaking, very satisfying for me. It was good to be able to encourage people to see them move on."
SHAUNA MCKEON
PARTICIPANT
"The programme has been very enjoyable and encouraging as I've had the chance to listen to and meet professionals who’ve made a success of themselves. My mentor has also enabled me to clearly refine my goals as well as helping me develop a plan of action to reach them."
KAJAL NISHA PATEL
LEAD ARTIST
"It really is a wonderful project. The short and snappy style of the interview was perfect for social media and it was received very well by followers, friends, fellow artists, commissioners and other professionals."
RACHEL CARTER
LEAD ARTIST
"I can’t believe my facebook video had over 700 views over the course of a week or two! Love the edited version too, this would be too cost prohibitive for an artist to commission for their website, so getting this as part of the programme is wonderful."