CREATE!
Activate Performing Arts
CREATE! is a free course for emerging Dorset and BCP-based people to better understand how creative projects/events are made from start to finish. The course is free to attend and funded by Activate, Arts by the Sea and b-side.
Participants take part in workshops led by experienced professionals, which cover subjects such as:
- What makes a great event?
- Building a network
- Marketing and audience identification
- Financing an idea
- Risk management
- Developing ideas from the ground up
The course initially ran online in 2020 (during the COVID-19 pandemic) and was aimed at young people aged 18-25. In July 2023 the course ran again for participants of all ages (over 18) and we were able to meet in person at a range of artistic venues across Dorset.
Participants took part in workshops and had the opportunity to prepare a pitch document for an idea that Activate, B-side and Arts by the Sea gave feedback on. At the end of the course, candidates were able to bid for a pot of funding from the three partners that could help seed-fund their idea.
After the course, each participant was offered an extra 1-1 mentoring session to check progress on creative ideas and development. Networking events were also held at each of the following festivals for participants to keep in touch with each other and each organisation:
INFO PACK – CREATE! 2023 – Information pack
“Budgeting was an eye opener and the detail in that session was great because usually I would look at budgeting and be really scared, but actually going through it with someone was more relaxing and better than doing it by myself and be thrown in the deep end. .”
– CREATE 2020 Participant