Phiona Richards Email & Phone Number

Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire

I create interactive book sculptures and jewellery pieces from the pages of unloved books using traditional and heritage craft skills.My work takes me into schools, colleges, universities, galleries, museums and commercial companies where I provide bespoke workshops.

Northamptonshire

Corby

The Eloquent Fold is a not for profit community organisation with a focus on arts, crafts, health and wellbeing. The Eloquent Fold aim to deliver innovative projects that support and engage disadvantaged or hard to reach members of the community. Our objectives are to connect communities through creativity whilst strengthening wellbeing and forging new channels of communication with those who feel isolated and alone, may be affected by illness or changing circumstances. We are committed to sharing our skills and creativity with community members in order to build stronger links with those who are disadvantaged or lack opportunities to access high quality arts and wellbeing initiatives within Corby.Projects include:-Pebble in Your Project September 2022 - September 2024Where the group meet every fortnight for a cuppa and a chat at a local cafe, then they move across to the local library for a two hour creative workshop over a period of two years.REMOTE PROJECTS 2020-2022We have been actively engaged in supporting our members during the COVID crises. When lockdown happened the project we were working “Material Memories” had to be put on hold. We managed to successfully fundraise enabling us to continue working to support our group, many of whom were living alone or shielding. The two remote arts projects we ran had a framework of resource pack, online forum, an online gallery page for sharing artwork, plus a weekly Zoom coffee morning. Our group have told us that these projects have been a lifeline which kept them connected and allowed them to continue to be creative. Sharing solutions, ideas and ways of maintaining their wellbeing during stressful and uncertain times.As artists we have adapted to circumstances and made things happen. Within this new project we want to continue conversations started with people during lockdown about the changes we've had to make and the challenges that are yet to come.

Corby, Northamptonshire

Over the years, I have supported Made with Many, formerly Made in Corby with various projects and one-off activities for the communities of Corby and Wellingborough.Wellingborough Stories - 2022My role was to work with the members of Teamwork to gather their stories using creativity as a visual tool. I offered a series of 8 workshops which aimed at gathering a small biography of each person in the group then turned into a series of books to be shared at a community exhibition.CONNECTING CORBY 2019-2020A creative project to explore the common threads that connect local people. Despite this project being halted due to lockdown, and the celebration event being cancelled, I worked closely with Made with Many within COVID guidelines to ensure the work produced by the groups was ready to be professionally photographed. Selected works from each of the associated projects were displayed in an online virtual gallery allowing the participants and their families to visit their work and have a sense of pride in their creations. https://madewithmany.org/virtual-exhibition-corby/PROCESSIONS 2018 / ARTICHOKE / MADE WITH MANYI was amongst the 100 artists selected to be part of this banner making project to celebrate the centenary of some women getting the vote. Working collaboratively with artist Carole Miles along with a group of women from Corby to design/develop a collaborative banner, aged from 14 to 85. Ideas were drawn from historical research and conversations which took place during the sessions. Everyone contributed to the sewing and the completed banner was taken to London to be part of a huge celebratory parade, a Procession of hundreds of banners. These banners have been on tour though out the country and have been exhibited in an exhibition in London.These banners now feature in a book entitled, Women Making History - Processions, The Banners.

Corby, Northants

Working in partnership with Fermyn Woods Contemporary Art on their Education Project to support excluded young people in KS3 and KS4 from the William Knibb Alternative Education Academy to successfully filter back into mainstream education at local schools. Workshop session are with a small group of students, for an agreed amount of time which allows them to explore their strengths and weaknesses through creativity. The young people often display a variety of behavioural issues so great care is taken to encourage, inspire, empathise and discipline when needed. I work closely with the Learning Support and the Education Officer at Fermyn Woods to ensure that a quality experience is provided.

Boston And Spalding Libraries

Taking pART is an Arts and Health partnership project funded by the Mental Health Promotion Fund through the Managed Care Network and Transported. ArtNK through this partnership provide a series of free integrated visual art activities in two libraries in Lincolnshire.All were welcome, but there was a special emphasis on those experiencing mild to moderate mental health issues.My role within the project was to design and implement the first two workshops which each ran for four weeks. The activities provided were designed to develop new skills, build lasting relationships and encourage mutual support in a welcoming and inclusive environment.At the end of the first three sets of workshops ArtsNK organised a Celebration Day to share the creative outcomes people had achieved.

Sneinton And St Ann'S, Nottingham

Throughout 2015 Backlit presented the heritage of the little known, Nottinghamshire, Victorian textiles manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, Samuel Morley. A Learning Programme was developed and supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund and presented By taking a new approach to exploring heritage, connecting with people who do not usually engage with history, the arts and cultural venues the programme brought history out of the traditional ‘museum’ space and into community settings on the edges of Nottingham city; Sneinton and St Ann's.The programme engaged and collaborated with local residents from St Anns, a large council estate and Sneinton. Both areas are predominantly working class, ethnically diverse with families on low incomes that may often feel excluded from heritage sites or cultural venues.My position within the programme was to design and present a series of creative workshops to be entitled' "Penny Sessions" using Samuel Morley and his factories as a starting point.Techniques and experiences that the community explored during the workshops included:- poetry, bookmaking, embroidery and glovemaking. Each workshop went at a pace sensitive to each group.

Boston And South Holland, Lincolnshire

Corby, Northants

Art Tutor for Happenin@Corby. A local initiative to help keep youngsters aged 9-13 off the streets and giving them something more productive to apply their energies to.

See Freelance Artist Corby Borough Council

Leicester, United Kingdom

Design Crafts, Paper

Education record