About this site
The CreativePeople website is a single point of reference for anyone working in the arts and craft industries looking to develop their professional practice. It represents the CreativePeople network – a membership of over 100 organisations and individuals.
Site map
The menu at the top of the site lists the ten basic sections of the site and also offers (first in the list) a Text Only option for viewing the site as a whole. The menu remains accessible at all times to make navigating the site easy. There is a Back button at the bottom left of every page.
As an overview, here is a summary of what each section covers. You will find that some elements (such as the Show partners feature) are available on all pages of the site:
1) Home/Search
A basic introduction to CreativePeople, also to the Network search function, which is fully explained below. A selection of top news stories also feature on the lower right hand side of the page (this selection will change every time you visit the site). You can also quickly view the list of members within CreativePeople by clicking on Show members immediately underneath the Network Search box.
2) About CreativePeople
A simple description of the CreativePeople network, what it offers and how it operates.
3) News
Current news stories of interest to those working in the arts and craft industries. News stories are presented first of all in summary form. Click on the title to view the full details.
This section also enables you to contribute news stories by clicking on the form at the bottom right of the page and following the onscreen instructions.
4) Opportunities
Details of events and other opportunities on offer, including advice sessions, commissions, competitions, conferences, courses, mentoring schemes and jobs within the sector. You can search this section using the form at the bottom of the page, either by subject, region, date, category, or any combination. You do not need to use all these criteria. If searching by date, select ‘on’, ‘after’ or ‘before’ from the dropdown menu, and then select the date by clicking on the calendar icon. For help searching by subject, please refer to our Word Hoard of typical keywords.
Opportunities are presented first of all in summary form. Click on the title to view the full details.
You can also contribute details of opportunities by clicking on the form at the bottom right of the page and following the onscreen instructions.
5) About the Members
This shows the organisations and individuals within CreativePeople. Click on the title of any named member to go to the page with full details on this member.
6) Resources
This is a collection of guides, information sheets, reports and other documents assembled by the CreativePeople network.
Resources are presented first of all in summary form. Click on the title to view the full details. If the resource is held by another organisation on another website, the direct link will be there for you to follow.
If the document is a long one, or in a complex format, you may find that it is presented in its original file format, for downloading. Simply click on the title of the document on the left of the page under the heading ‘Linked media’.
7) Links
Details of organisations and contacts which are of particular interest to CreativePeople are held in this section. A few examples appear automatically (and the selection will change on every visit to the site). If you wish to search for a particular organisation – or type of organisation – use the form at the bottom of the page. You can search by name, subject, region, type, or any combination. You do not need to use all these criteria.
Links are presented first of all in summary form. Click on the title to view the full details, including a direct link to the relevant site.
8) Subscribe
In order to keep fully informed of all CreativePeople news and opportunities, it is a good idea to register with the network. Use this page to submit your name and email address, and to request any of the email news bulletins available from CreativePeople members. You will also be given the opportunity to tell us more about yourself and your professional development needs. This is a useful process in itself, encouraging you to reflect on your own career development and requirements. Any information you offer will only be used anonymously for statistical purposes (which is enormously useful in helping us to secure further funding for the arts). You will however be able to access this information again yourself, and you may choose to share it with a CreativePeople member if seeking personal advice or guidance in a one-to-one consultation. After you have submitted the information, you will be sent an automatic email giving you a password for re-accessing your personal record.
9) Become a member
Apply to become an individual, organisation or group member of CreativePeople by using the application forms that can be found in this section of the site.
10) Contact Us
We hope that the site provides all the information you need about CreativePeople. If however you would like more information about the work CreativePeople does collectively, or if you are not sure which CreativePeople members to contact, this page gives you the contact details of the CreativePeople Project Manager, who co-ordinates the network.
Search the Network
On the right hand side of the home page you will find the (pale blue) search the Network box. This facility enables you to search across the information about the CreativePeople members and their services and artforns as well as geographica area(s) coverd. Simply use the pulldowns to select the area covered and/or artform and/or service available and a list of relevant CreativePeople members wiil be returned. When you use this facility, the results appear on the left hand side of the page (again on a pale blue background).
Linked media
In any of the sections, and if using the Graphics version of the site, you may find an associated image on the left of the text. You may also find that additional images and other files are ‘attached’. These will appear as file names underneath the ‘Linked media’ heading on the left. These file names are links, and will appear on both Text and Graphics versions of the site. Click on any one of them to access the file. If it is an image it will open in a new window. If it is a document such as a Word document or pdf file, clicking on the filename will download it to your computer.
Cultural Diversity
The CreativePeople network and members are developing their knowledge and understanding of the key issues relating to disability and cultural diversity to ensure that the network is working towards its goal of inclusivity. The organisation Decibel – although a fixed-length project rather than a member in CreativePeople – has generously contributed funding to the site.
Viewing options
The CreativePeople has been built to work on most modern browsers in mind , primarily Internet Explorer version 5 or later, and Netscape version 5 or later. If you use a screen reader please select the Text only option (first on the top menu). This will deliver a fully functional version of the site but little or no graphics. This option may also be preferred by those using a slow internet connection. The graphics however are kept to a small size and should be very quick to load. If using the Text only version, you can switch back to the Graphics version at any time. In either version, you can adjust the size of all the text by using the relevant function within your own browser.
Printing from the site
All pages of the site, including any database record returned via a search, can be printed directly, with any graphics included. Remember that you can adjust the text size before printing if you wish.
More about the Network
If you would like to know more about CreativePeople, its history, management and future plans, you can download a CreativePeople Information Pack and a Development Plan from the Resources section.
Terms and definitions
Some terms are used throughout the site and so, rather than define them each time, we have provided the definitions below.
CreativePeople aims to use plain English. If however you do find yourself perplexed by any acronyms, abbreviations or terms of jargon, it may be useful to refer to KSam’s jargonbuster at http://www.ksam.org.uk/ – select ‘resources’ then ‘Acronyms’
Region
We define regions according the Arts Council England’s nine divisions: East England, East Midlands, London, North East England, North West England, South East England, South West England, West Midlands, and Yorkshire. Please refer to the Arts Council England website to see which counties and towns are covered by each region.
We also refer to organisations and opportunities in Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and we include ‘England’, ‘UK’, ‘Europe’ and ‘International’ within our regional classifications.
Practitioner
By ‘practitioner’ we mean any person performing, creating, supporting or managing across the arts, crafts and cultural sector. This includes, but is not limited to, artists and crafts workers of all sorts, their employers (in whatever sort of relationship) and facilitators.
Inclusion
The CreativePeople members are currently working together to clarify our understanding of what we mean by inclusivity so that it goes beyond equal opportunities. At a minimum, we commit to meeting all legal frameworks on social justice and aspire to a more progressive framework supporting people’s aspirations rather than entitlements.
Further Assistance
If you find that you still have any further queries or difficulties in making full use of this site, please contact the site administrator [email protected].