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2023
WHAT A YEAR!​
Members of Work in Progress onstage during rehearsals for our first public Sharing!
Photo : Rob Grey (Rad Stuff Photo Video), October 2023
Four visiting Guest Artists (Manon Llwyd, Lowri Kirkham, Tamara Hall, and Little Peaches), our 'Sneak Preview' mini-Sharing, performance at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, successful funding, working with documentary filmmaker Rob Grey, collaboration with Choirs For Good, being shortlisted for a DLL Active Communities Award... and of course our FIRST PUBLIC SHARING... It's been GREAT!
Funding news!
DIOLCH ~ THANK YOU
GWYNT Y MÈŽR OFFSHORE WIND FARM!
Work in Progress is thrilled to have been awarded a grant from Gwynt y Môr!
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Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm helps coastal the communities of Conwy, Denbighshire and Flintshire "to achieve amazing things" -- and we're so honoured to have been selected by Gwynt y Môr. The grant will go towards running costs so our group can continue (and grow!).
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Check out Gwynt y Môr's website to find out more and read more about their organisation.
2023 Sharing: Journeyman
W E D I D I T !
Our first public Sharing went down a storm! We're still buzzing! As one of our members said "it's like we're living in a dream!".
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Our Sharing consisted of music, singing (harmony and solos), acting, dance and movement, sign language, poetry, short stories, spoken word, and a ukulele and kazoo to boot!
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And everything in our Sharing centred around the concept of journeying -- through friendships, grief, pain, love, realisations... alone and with others... it all focussed on journeys -- and the topics covered were quite diverse! Everything from struggling with anxiety or rejection to finding new friends, sharing a laugh, feeling accepted and loved, even being abducted by aliens!
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We performed with three of this year's Visiting Guest Artists: composer Manon Llwyd, actor Tamara Hall, and dancer Little Peaches. Our friends Choirs For Good also performed and we joined forces in a powerful performance of 'Fix You / Sit Down', which we first performed together last summer.
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The entire evening was an incredible experiences for all involved and we received some amazing feedback from members of the audience. We'll share some official photos soon (which you'll be able to see in our Gallery) -- until then, here are the pages from our programme. We can't wait to do this again!!!
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We are all a Work in Progress. Together we can do so much!
DLL Active Communities Awards
We have been shortlisted!!
WOW! Work in Progress has been nominated and shortlisted for a prestigious DLL Active Communities Award in the Best Arts in Health category!!!
Ian Gwyn Hughes, Head of Public Relations at Football Association Wales, has been confirmed as the MC for DLL’s Awards Ceremony which will be held on November 22nd at the Rhyl Pavilion and 1891. More details to follow, but for now…
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…DIOLCH! THANK YOU for supporting us — this has been an incredible journey so far, and we’re not done yet!
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Click here to see all the things Denbighshire Leisure Ltd does.
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We are all a Work in Progress. Together we can do so much!
Guest Artist: Tamara Hall
Work in Progress had such a blast working with Tamara -- or should we say PLAYING with Tamara! She packed so much into her workshop with us -- warm-ups, creative collaboration, puppetry... Our Work in Progress Orchestra was so funny!
We observed many different ways that people communicate emotionally and physically, and how everybody's body moves differently and then incorporated what we'd learned into original stories. It was an absolutely fantastic experience getting down on the floor and truly reconnecting with a sense of play!
FUN FACT: Our members were so brilliant at letting their hair down and embracing their 'inner child' that we included a scene in our Sharing involving all we'd learned from Tamara. Several of our members portrayed very young school children playing -- and misbehaving!
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Many thanks to the Arts Council of Wales for funding Tamara's work with us.
Announcing our first Public Sharing!
Thank you, Cartref Ni!
Cartref Ni supports adults, predominantly with learning disabilities, to be as independent as possible, fulfil their potential, live their dreams and be part of their community across Conwy, Denbighshire and Flintshire. With over 30 years experience, we believe in living as well as caring; as a charity we reinvest any profit into our services, making a positive difference to the lives of the people we support.
Through the generosity of our amazing sponsors Cartref Ni, all of our members are now proud owners of their very own branded shirts and hoodies! The logo on the front was designed especially for Work in Progress based on our members' ideas and input, and the hoodies have the added bonus of having our tagline printed on the back: 'We are all a Work in Progress. Together we can do so much! Whenever there is an official Work in Progress event, you'll see us in these branded tops. We all agreed that we felt incredibly proud putting those shirts on!
Photos & video: Rob Grey, Rad Stuff Photo Video
Diolch! Thank you, Cartref Ni!
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We are all a Work in Progress. Together we can do so much!
Work in Progress is heading to Llangollen!
Wow -- this year just gets better and better! We have been invited to participate in this summer's Inclusion Project at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod!
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The award-winning Inclusion Project takes place every year and provides a platform for non-competitive and community groups to share their talents and let their voices be heard. Groups are invited to perform on the prestigious Pavilion stage in front of an international audience of hundreds -- and in 2023 the event has been included in evening programming.
WE DID IT!
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Here are some members of Work in Progress with the certificates they received from the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.
The certificates thank them for performing in the 2023 Inclusion Project 'Connection', and for "promoting friendship and understanding between the peoples of the world".
Come see what we've been up to!
YOU can help build the FUTURE of WORK IN PROGRESS!
We have BIG DREAMS and we need your help!
It's been so much fun having Rob Grey (Rad Stuff Photo Video) visiting some of our sessions this year. Rob has captured enough footage to give us some great photos and a little 'behind the scenes' video, but WE WANT MORE!
We're so proud of our members! We think the world should see what they are creating and achieving together!
We would like to create a short documentary about our journey this year (including our Sharing in October) to post on our website, social media, and use for other promotional purposes.
The film would help us continue to grow by spreading the word to more potential members and supporters. It would also be used to connect with possible partners and sponsors. All of this would mean that we’d be able to continue to offer exciting opportunities, sessions, and workshops for our members in a fun, accepting, safe space.
If you would like to help us reach our goal, please donate to our GoFundMe page. No amount is too small and every amount makes a big difference! You can also help by spreading the word and sharing this link with your friends and telling people about the good work we do. Thank you!​
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We are all a Work in Progress. Together we can do so much!
Donation from Choral Variations
Thank you,
Choral Variations!
We were recently contacted by Choral Variations, a mixed-voice choir in Llangollen. After 40 years of friendship and making music together, they have sadly decided to close down the choir. They reached out to us and offered to donate some of their remaining funds to Work in Progress.
It was so generous and kind, but also bittersweet. We're moved by the thought of a beloved community choir closing its doors, but we're also so honoured that our fledgling group has been recognised by them. We will keep their legacy alive and continue to make music accessible to all!
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We are all a Work in Progress. Together we can do so much!
Local Filmmaker & Photographer: Rob Grey
It's been exciting to have the opportunity to work with Rob Grey from Rad Stuff Photo Video! He's been taking photos and videos during some of our sessions and it's been so cool having him there. He describes himself as "chill yet professional" and we couldn't agree more!
Rob is a North Wales photographer and filmmaker who really put our members at ease. Not everyone feels comfortable knowing they're being photographed, and one of our members was particularly nervous. Rob quietly spoke with them personally and showed them how his camera worked and even let them take photos of him! Taking time to explain what, why, and how he was doing things made a huge difference.
Rob has captured enough footage to give us some great photos and a little 'behind the scenes of Work in Progress' video, but WE WANT MORE!
Rob will be visiting us throughout the year as well as film our Sharing in October. We'll then create a short documentary about our journey this year to share on our website, social media, and use for other promotional purposes. We're so proud of our members and we think the world should see what they're achieving together!
Guest Artist: Manon Llywd
Manon Llwyd, our second Visiting Guest Artist, also facilitated a workshop with our members in February 2023. Manon is a first language Welsh musician, composer, arranger, and performer. She is resident musician at Venue Cymru and works with children and adults of all ages and ability.
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We asked Manon to work with our members and help them create their very own song for Work in Progress. So much was discussed! From themes and genres to lyrical content and so much more. It was fascinating to see how she gathered our members' ideas together.
Manon was an inspiring artist to work with! One highlight of her song-writing workshop was a writing exercise that really unleashed everyone's imaginations. She is going to take all of the ideas that our members gave her and compose our song. She'll also create a fully-orchestrated backing track for us, which will be used in performances and Sharings.
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An unexpected surprise was that Manon agreed to perform our song with Work in Progress at our Sharing this October!! What a treat!
FUN FACT: Leslie, our Artistic Director, was also inspired by Manon's workshop in a different way! Because of this, part of the work that will be produced in this year's Sharing is based on a theme that we explored together during Manon's visit.
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Many thanks to the Arts Council of Wales for funding Manon's work with us.
Funding from an Anonymous Sponsor
We cannot say thank you enough to our Anonymous Sponsor who made a generous donation to Work in Progress! We'd love to thank them publicly but they've requested to remain anonymous... We're respecting their wishes, so consider this our public thanks!
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Your donation to our group means a lot and has helped us deliver a wonderful experience to our members. Thank you so much for your support!
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We are all a Work in Progress. Together we can do so much!
Thank you!
Funding from the Regional Integration Fund (RIF)
In February we received funding from the Regional Integration Fund (RIF)! This funding helps us continue to hire our venue for weekly sessions. It also covers our Volunteers' expenses. Our volunteers are incredible and they mean so much to us! We are very grateful for everything they do to make Work in Progress such a special group. Thank you to the Regional Integration Fund for supporting them!
We are all a Work in Progress. Together we can do so much!
Funding from the Denbighshire Coastal Partnership
Wow, what a month February turned out to be! We also were fortunate to receive funding from Denbighshire Coastal Partnership. This also covers our venue hire for weekly sessions, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief knowing Work in Progress members have a safe space to explore the performing arts together. Peace of mind is worth so much!
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Our thanks to the Denbighshire Coastal Partnership!
We are all a Work in Progress. Together we can do so much!
Guest Artist: Lowri Kirkham
Our first Visiting Guest Artist of the year was local artist Lowri Kirkham. Lowri is a facilitator, designer, and published author. She is also the brains behind Gobaith Galeri), a community-led project that connects local people with culture and heritage. By facilitating in-person projects and workshops and then bringing the community's creations to her online gallery, Lowri is making local heritage accessible for everyone. We knew she would be the ideal person to help our members create an original logo for Work in Progress!
Lowri led a discussion with our members and taught us what goes into logo design. The members spent went into great detail highlighting what they wanted the Work in Progress logo to embody. All of their concepts and design ideas were given to Lowri and she went home and somehow drew EVERYTHING together that the members asked for! Concepts, colours, themes, you name it! Our members have total ownership over their group's identity and how Work in Progress will be represented online and in print.
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FUN FACT: When we first approached her with our plans and our request, she was so excited about what we were doing that she ended up becoming a member of Work in Progress herself!
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Many thanks to the Arts Council of Wales for funding Lowri's work with us.
Funding from the Arts Council of Wales!
Following the incredible success of our Pilot Project we were fortunate to have secured funding from the Arts Council of Wales! Because of this, we can take Work in Progress to the next level with more members and some really exciting plans.
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This funding will not only help us with the day-to-day needs of running our group with things such as venue hire for sessions and workshops, insurance, website, and much more, but also allow us to engage the services of Artistic Director Leslie Churchill Ward each week. It will also allow us to host workshops with four incredible Visiting Guest Artists:
Facilitator, author, designer
composer, arranger, songwriter, performer
Dancer/Choreographer, producer, model
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Tamara Hall
Actor, Facilitator, Musician, and
Mental Wellness Ambassador
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Not only that, but the funding from the Arts Council of Wales will allow us to work with Critical Friend Elise Jackson and Deputy Stage Manager Lesley Collins. We will greatly benefit from their expertise.
Finally, receiving this funding will also allow us to hold our next Sharing in a theatre, putting our members and their talents in the spotlight where they should be! The Sharing will be take place at Theatr Twm o'r Nant, in Denbigh – a fully accessible theatre in the heart of Denbighshire – on 7th October 2023, the same week as World Mental Health Day We hope to see you there!
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We are all a Work in Progress. Together we can do so much!
Our Sponsors
