TYPE OF WORK
Cross-artform performance, installation, carnival, festival and ceremony

TARGET GROUPS
Actively seeks to include all members of communities in exploring their capacity for imaginative personal expression and creative community regeneration.

GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT
UK, North America, Australia/New Zealand, Western and Southern Europe.

COMPANY POLICY
Welfare State International (WSI) is led by arts practitioners who pioneer new approaches to the art of celebration and ceremony, where people actively participate and gain the power to celebrate moments that are wonderful and significant in their lives. WSI designs and constructs performances that are specific to place, people and occasion. The company recognises the central role of art in establishing creative communities and shaping our values. WSI has considerable experience in training artists and non-arts professionals and seeks to leave a learnt legacy of skills to move partners from a ‘can’t do’ culture embracing art as their human right.

SCALE OF PROJECTS
Number of Practitioners: 1-20
Number of participants: 5-150
Preparation time: 2 days – 1 year
Contact time: 1 day – 30 days

PERMANENT STAFF: 8
John Fox, Artistic Director
Sue Gill, Director of Ceremonies
David Penn, Management Director
Jay Haigh, Programme Manager
Eileen Strand, Business Manager
Anthea Rathlin-Jones, Marketing Manager
Dot Queen, Administrator

The Night That I Was Born (UK, 2002)
A one-day workshop as part of a conference for worldwide delegates from a range of non-arts professions (teachers, health and aid workers, administrators). The aim of the workshop was to nurture and nourish participants in their work and to inspire them to look at the potential of creativity as a tool within their own working practice.

The process enabled participants to respond to The Night that I was Born, a theme common to all regardless of language, race and religion. Participants related their autobiographical stories, which were digitally recorded in their own voice, and often their own language.  Each person then created a shoebox tableau, an image/landscape to illustrate their story. The tableaux were brought together in a finale – an intimately lit installation, animated by the recorded voicescape over which each told his or her own story to the group. This celebration was an unexpectedly powerful and moving conclusion to the day.

Participants produced a high standard of work, gaining confidence by working quickly and efficiently towards a finite conclusion. They learnt to connect their heads and their hands, developing new skills to take easily into their own situations. They moved from being strangers at a conference to being a secure and connected group involved in shared creative exploration, some feeling safe enough within the experience to express deeply held personal issues such as loss and suffering.

Partners: University of Leeds School of English Workshop Theatre, British Council.

Dot Queen or Jay Haigh
Welfare State International
Lanternhouse, The Ellers
Ulverston
Cumbria, LA12 0AA

T +44 (0)1229 581127
F +44 (0)1229 581232

E info@welfare-state.com
W www.welfare-state.org

“Endless possibilities of owning and sharing creativity. I’m less concerned by imposed expectations, and excited about the creativity within all individuals.”
Participant

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