Dep Arts Ltd

Archive for the ‘Dep Arts News’ Category

What we have been up to…

by Rachael on March 27th, 2012
Dep Arts News

Over the past few weeks I have been up and down the country with various other Dep members in order to facilitate and deliver our exciting projects and partnerships.

Last month three facilitated discussion based dinners for the Northern Area Dance Network took place in Leeds, Liverpool and Newcastle. Following on from the initial Northern Area Dance Network Meeting that was facilitated in November 2010, by Dave Edmunds and Charlotte Vincent, who were commissioned by Arts Council England, Yorkshire. Last week saw the final meeting of NADN take place, which involved members of the Arts Council, independent choreographers, venues and companies gathering to discuss the dance ecology of the North. The meetings were a fantastic opportunity to discuss the outcomes of the dinners and come up with strategies in order to further the conversations. More information about the event and an archive of the evenings can be found here: www.amplified10.com/nadn12/.

This Month also saw the first one to one sessions for the Escalator Trainee Dance Producers, which took place in the South and the South East. The Escalator Dance Producers Scheme was put into place to support and nurture Dance Producers in the region. Through a mixture of workshops, seminars and mentoring we hope to equip the participants with the right support and skills to become independent Dance Producers.

Today also marks the opening of our spring season of work at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre, programmed in partnership with Northern Ballet. Tonight’s performance is a fantastic double bill, showcasing the work of Joss Arnott Dance and James Wilton Dance. When asked to sum up what the audience can expect Joss Arnott stated, ‘fierce athletic females, sweat, beasts and pounding music!!’ with James Wilton remarking that his piece is full of, ‘flying bodies, crash rolls, martial arts, last minute catches and high risk contact work.’ It is a must see evening and the only chance to catch these companies in Yorkshire, this season!

To book tickets click HERE

British Dance Edition 2012

by Fiona on February 10th, 2012
Dep Arts News

Photos from Tanzmesse 2010

So, that was BDE 2012! For those that don’t know what BDE stands for, it’s British Dance Edition and it is held every two years in a different city in the UK. It is in simple terms an industry showcase for British Dance. The first BDE took place in 1998.
With this year being 2012 and all that, the event took place in London last weekend and saw delegates from all over the UK and overseas come to London to see and talk dance for 4 days.

This was my 5^th BDE and it is always a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and colleagues from across the globe all in the name of dance. It takes a small army of volunteers to run BDE and to shepherd the 300 or so delegates from venue to venue, coach to coach, reception to reception. The project management team for BDE 2012 did an amazing job and deserve a medal or at least a couple of days off! The team in London were superb and certainly from what I experienced it ran like clock work. Even the snow did not seem to cause too many major problems.

It was also great to see so much dance on offer in the capital and it worked really well with all delegates being able to see all of the main shows without having to choose between them or shows overlapping. Even the dreaded delegate bus transfers were spot on!

We (Dep Arts) were fortunate enough to be allocated a place at the trade fair on the Saturday, which was dutifully manned by Phil and Shelley including the required trade fair lollies to give out. However, it’s in relation to the trade fair where my main critisms of BDE 2012 come in. As some of you will know, we take part in a fair amount of international trade fairs at Dep Arts and I personally have been attending them all over the world for the last ten years. Trade fairs like Tanzmesse in Dusseldorf are amazing opportunies to network, share ideas, meet new and old friends, see new work and to sell work which, although may sound a little crass, is a huge part of what we all need to do to make a living.

The trade fairs at places like Tanzmesse http://www.tanzmesse-nrw.com/pages/messe2012-en.htm , Cinars http://www.cinars.org/cinars2012/ and APAP http://www.apapnyc.org/Pages/default.aspx are mega events taking over large hotels or conference centres and last for 4-5 days and run in conjunction with a main performance programme. This opportunity to connect with potential partners, venues and artists is critical particularly if you are working in a global context.

The Trade Fair at BDE 2012 was anything but mega. It took place in a small rehearsal studio at The Place, 2 hours on day one and 4 hours on day two, with room for no more than 10-15 companies on each day to have a stand. In all honesty, it felt slightly embarrassing to be British at the trade fair knowing what the various international delegates in attendance are used to and for us to be back to the days of a small table and a laptop to try and do justice to the amazing work of the companies and artists we work with.

For me, it’s one of the fundamental issues for BDE going forward. What is BDE? Who is it for? If it has anything at all to do with selling (distributing work) then a good trade fair is vital. Previous trade fairs, in places like Liverpool (which took place in the magnificent St Georges Hall) and Cambridge, have been amazingly successful and worthwhile events that add to everything else that is going on during BDE weekend rather than take away from it.

It was obviously a key decision made by the consortium for BDE 2012 to have such a small trade fair and I am sure they will have their reasons, but in the current climate, I cannot help but feel it was the wrong decision and something I hope that will be very different in two years time when BDE 2014 moves up to Scotland.

So finishing on a positive note, my favourite show of the weekend was ‘Boing’ by Travelling Light Theatre Company http://www.travellinglighttheatre.org.uk/boing ; a warm, funny, happy show that had the kids in the audience in fits of giggles. Well worth checking out!

David

Dep Arts Update

by Shelley on February 6th, 2012
Dep Arts News,Fifth Word Theatre Company,James Wilton,Joss Arnott Dance,PairDance,Phoenix Dance Theatre,Retina,Rosie Kay Dance Company,TongueTied Theatre,Verve,Wayne Sables Project

I have almost completed my second week as the new administrator at Dep Arts and I have already begun to learn new skills and taken on new responsibilities. It is set to be another busy season for Dep and there will be plenty of opportunities to develop in this new role.

It is all go in the Dep Arts office as we continue to work with new artists and projects. I am delighted to announce that Fifth Word Theatre Company will be joining the Incubate programme. We look forward to working with the company and hope they enjoy as much success as some of our other Incubate artists.

The spring season will soon be getting under way with multiple artists touring the UK.

The premiere of Phoenix Dance Theatre’s breath taking new show, Crossing Points kicked off last week at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Congratulations is also in order for Retina Dance who premiered at Nottingham Playhouse last week, with their fantastic show Layers of Skin.

There will be plenty of opportunities to see work by our artists at venues throughout the UK. Make sure you check out our website’s calendar to find out show dates for Tongue Tied Theatre and Verve, both of which will be premiering their new work, and all our other artists who will be performing.

Also, both our Hull Dance and Northern Ballet season will be up and running soon, with plenty of opportunities to see and experience work around Yorkshire from innovative dance artists which include; PairDance, Rosie Kay Dance Company, James Wilton, Joss Arnott Dance and Wayne Sables Project.

February is definitely set to be another busy month, so make sure you catch our fortnightly blogs to find out what the rest of the Dep Arts team have been up to and what will be happening in upcoming months.

All the best,

Shelley

Dep Announcement

by Rachael on January 13th, 2012
Dep Arts News

Since starting as Intern Producer at Dep Arts in June, the past 6 months have been a very busy time for the company.

It has been an excellent experience developing as an Intern alongside the big changes that have been happening within the organisation. From Dep Arts office move, re branding and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we have managed to settle into our roles and responsibilities as Interns.

Whilst at Dep Arts, I have definitely improved my ability to take on new and challenging tasks with confidence. It has been a brilliant opportunity to work alongside Phil, and help support him with the many artists he works with as an Associate Producer.

After a busy first half to my internship, I am delighted to announce that I have been asked to take on the role of Administrator at Dep Arts. Dep Arts is committed to working with young people in order to develop their skills and gain future employment within the arts industry, both Phil and Rachael began their careers as interns at Dep Arts, and are now integral members of staff team.

As an arts graduate it has been incredibly difficult to find employment in recent years, and without vital work experience, those who wish to pursue a career in the arts and take those first steps will continue to struggle. For someone who is still in the early stages of developing a career, this new job role will be an opportunity to progress further continually honing my skills.

Dep Arts are currently looking for a new Associate Producer Intern to join the team. If you are interested in the position please email admin@departsltd.com for more information.

Shelley

Round up of 2011

by Rachael on December 20th, 2011
Dep Arts News

It has been a fantastic year for Dep Arts, with some huge achievements and milestones for the artists we work with and the company itself. At the beginning of summer we packed our bags and moved upstairs in order to accommodate our three new interns, Alison, Fiona and Shelley, who have been fundamental in achieving the amazing successes we have enjoyed. To go along with our change of scenery Dep also underwent a re-branding and website re-development, in order to better showcase our artists and the many services we offer. To celebrate our new image and give our Edinburgh Fringe bound companies a good send off, we held our first ‘Dep Fest’. The event was hugely successful giving us a chance to catch up with old friends and new.

At this years Edinburgh Fringe Festival both Rashdash and Balbir Singh Dance Company enjoyed rave reviews and packed venues. Rashdash went on to have a sellout run picking up a Fringe First award for the second year running and two Musical Theatre Matters awards.

After the success of Edinburgh, we increased our staff team by appointing Clare Clarkson as our new General Manager in October. Clare has proved a wonderful addition to the team, making it hard to imagine a Dep team without her. Throughout the year we have enjoyed a phenomenal rate of success with our Grants for the Arts bids, resulting in a successful bid for Escalator Dance Producers, a programme designed to support excellence in dance producing and touring, which kicks off in the New Year.

Throughout 2011 dep has been responsible for programming 175 performances in 73 venues, with 2012 set to be even busier.

We would like to say a massive thank you to our artists/companies, the venues we work with and to our blog readers, we hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The Dep Team.

Incubate Success

by Fiona on December 5th, 2011
Dep Arts News

At Dep Arts we strive to work with exciting emerging artists across the UK. Over the past year we have worked on delivering and refining our newest program, Incubate. This program is specifically dedicated to developing the UK’s freshest talent. Over the last 12 months Incubate has enjoyed some really exciting success stories ranging from international performances, successful G4A applications and sell out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Rashdash Theatre have enjoyed two successful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as part of the Incubate programme, winning a Fringe First two years in a row and two Musical Theatre Matters awards for this years show ‘Scary Gorgeous’

Tongue Tied Theatre joined the Incubate program early this year and have recently returned from the The Shanghai International Contemporary Theatre Festival, having been selected as one of the ’10 things to see in Shanghai’!

We hope to continue this success into 2012 with the new additions to the Incubate program including Wayne Sables Projects (Barnsley), Pair Dance (Hertfordshire) Appetite Dance Productions (Newcastle) and Joss Arnott Dance (South East).

If you would like more information about the Incubate program please contact us on the information provided on the contact area of the website.

Phill, assistant producer.

Projects

by Rachael on November 28th, 2011
Dep Arts News

This is my second week, working as Dep’s new Project Manager and its full steam ahead.

It was announced earlier this month that we were successful in our Grants for the Arts bid. The funding will be awarded to a new initiative, which will form a second strand to the Escalator Dance scheme – Escalator Dance Producers (EDP). The project will aim to identify and develop a new group of creative dance producers within the East & South East regions. We are extremely excited to be working on this new scheme, which will start in January and run for twelve months.

Dep have also been asked to work as the project manager, for the second year running, on ‘imove on the street 2012’ following its successful run last year. Next years incarnation will see it grow even bigger, with dates in three major cities and three towns, showcasing international and homegrown talent.

The New Year will also see two other projects come to fruition, the Northern Area Dance Network Meetings (NADNM) and Hull Dance 2012. The NADNM will take place in February, offering attendees the chance to raise and discuss topical issues that face the dance ecology. These issues will then feed in to a larger event, taking place at the Yorkshire Dance Centre in March.

Hull Dance, now in its second successful year, focuses on the development of dance within Hull and Humberside. We are happy to announce that the spring program is now confirmed for 2012, companies include Wayne Sables Projects and Verve 12. Keep an eye out for more information about Hull Dance and these projects in the coming weeks.

Internships

by Rachael on October 28th, 2011
Dep Arts News

Hull Truck Theatre organises an annual fare for local students that encourages them to explore possible routes into working in the arts. Dep Arts were invited to host a stall at the event, which our three interns manned.

Through this experience the interns were able to reflect on their recent experiences whilst working at Dep. Our project management intern Alison stated that, “working as an intern has allowed me to place what I’ve learnt in lectures and workshops alongside knowledge from the industry to really get a grip on how things work”. This positive experience is also mirrored through Phill’s experiences of working for Dep, which has a 50% retention rate for interns. He states that ‘My Internship gave me the chance to get my foot in the door, after it had finished I was then able to work as an Assistant Producer for Dep Arts and a Project Manager for Balbir Singh Dance Company. I am now a full time member of staff for Dep Arts and pursuing my internship was the best career move I made.’

My own experiences as working as an intern have also been hugely positive, however there has been a lot of attention thrown on to internships by the government as to whether they are accessible as most internship are unpaid. Deputy Priminister, Nick Clegg, a former intern himself, suggested that internships which are sought via “internal networks” and do not provide re-imbursement are virtually inaccessible to the vast majority of young people, which can be the case with full time internships.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to gain employment as a graduate with an arts degree, so working for little or no pay as part of a part-time internship was one of the only ways I found to gain meaningful experience and in turn paid employment. Although it can be hard working without a wage, it allows you the freedom to take measured risks within the workplace and gives you a sense of focus and determination. For myself working without a wage was one of the biggest motivational tools, as I made sure I got the most out of every opportunity, ultimately learning a great deal in a short space of time.

For more information about the internship we offer please get in touch here

For more information about internships please click here

Marketing for Contemporary Dance

by Rachael on October 14th, 2011
Darshan Singh Bhuller,Dep Arts News

On Monday the whole Dep team took part in a marketing training day in order to get a further sense of new marketing trends and campaign styles, with Kate Sanderson from Indigo Ltd. The training session raised a lot of questions for the team, regarding target audiences and figures; here is what Rachael thought about the day:

One of the most interesting parts of the day touched upon target audiences and how to profile them in order to specifically target there needs. After discussing the various different ‘types’ of audiences it became apparent that the general public falls into distinct categories.

This prompted me to question whether audience members should be told what to expect from a Contemporary Dance performance, which can be widely open to interpretation, or whether audience members should be left to make up their minds as to what they have seen.

This can be argued either way; personally I feel that guidelines can help give an audience member a frame in order to hang the performance in. This is perfectly illustrated through Darshan Singh Bhullers’ ‘Caravaggio, Exile and Death’ print which states that the piece will ‘…take the audience on a journey of a mans search for forgiveness and redemption…’ This text allows the audience to focus on the key themes of the piece, without being prescriptive. However it could also be argued that this may blinker the audience to extraneous themes, which they may have not considered.

From this question sprung a myriad of other opinions regarding formalised marketing techniques such as critical endorsement versus audience response and whether the star rating system still works as a draw to pull in audiences. Ultimately the day proved a huge success by allowing the team to interrogate current marketing techniques and discuss our own opinions in order to come up with new and inventive marketing plans.

Darshan Singh Bhuller will be performing ‘Carravaggio, Exile and Death’ on Saturday 15th October at The Carriageworks, Leeds, Click HERE for tickets

for more information about Indigo Ltd click HERE

Decibel Showcase

by Fiona on September 16th, 2011
decibel,Dep Arts News

This week I attended the Decibel Showcase in Manchester, which was my first arts festival as an intern at Dep.

The event took place over four days with performances, presentations, discussions and the opportunity to network. I took part in the trade fair on the Thursday morning, where Dep Arts had its own stand with tons of information and material relating to our artists and companies and the work we do with them. As someone who has worked for Dep for nearly four months it was a brilliant opportunity to put faces to names, chat about our work to people and see what other companies in the arts are getting up to. As my internship is based on the design side of things it was also great to have a wander round and see the many different ways other companies are communicating through print, digital and video means.

Speaking of videos, we have just released our new autumn show reel featuring the artists and companies that are available for touring in autumn 2012. Featuring the music of Brad Sucks it is a preview of the artists and companies that will be touring their work next year. Have a watch on our homepage or over on our Vimeo channel.

Dep at Decibel

by Rachael on September 12th, 2011
Company Chameleon,decibel,Dep Arts News

The team at Dep Arts are really excited about attending Decibel this year, which has a great line up of shows including Company Chameleon, who will be perfoming Search & Find at the Zion Arts Centre, this Wednesday.

Search & Find is an excellent example of the highly skilled and challenging work continually created by Anthony Missen and Kevin Edward Turner. The piece explores the idea of connection and disconnection between people, as two protagonists search for a way to find a sense of shared understanding and purpose. Physically awesome and sensitive, the work invites you to consider your connection with others. This work also features an original sound score from renowned composer and musician Miguel Marin.

Dep will also take part in the showcase on Thursday, with a stand full of information about what we do and all the great artists and companies we work with, so feel free to stop by for a chat.

See you there!

Edinburgh Update

by Rachael on August 22nd, 2011
Balbir Singh Dance Company,Dep Arts News,Rashdash

So I am sat in one of Edinburgh’s many cafes with a coffee on a Monday morning catching up with a few emails. This week is the last week of the Fringe and two out of the three Dep Arts’ shows we have up here this year finished over the weekend. RashDash with Scary Gorgeous won yet another Fringe First (see earlier blog post on this) and Balbir Singh Dance Company has had a great run at Dance Base with great audience numbers and consistent 4 star reviews.

There has been a lot of talk in Edinburgh this year about audience numbers and some suggesting that numbers are down on previous years; with over 2000 shows it’s difficult to say, Edinburgh feels as busy as ever and the really great shows that generate the festival hype still look to be selling out. RashDash sold out well before the end of the last week but only time will tell on what the general sense is regarding numbers for this year.

Another point of interest this year is in regard to stars. With so many people now reviewing shows and giving stars, are they still a true guide to if something is good, bad or indifferent? I do feel to have so many members of the audience writing blogs and reviewing shows is a positive move, as at the end of the day, they are the audience and that is whose opinion we should be interested in above anybody else’s. However it does then make the star system potentially redundant.

So I am now off to the ‘Visiting Arts Producers Breakfast’ and to see a whole load of shows today. Check out my blog on Wednesday for more Edinburgh mutterings and you can also follow me on twitter @departsltddavid

- David

Phil on Tour

by Rachael on August 10th, 2011
Balbir Singh Dance Company,Dep Arts News,Rashdash

Back from the opening week of the Fringe festival and the frolics are in full force! Over 800 shows to choose from and the mile is packed like I have never seen it before. Once I got to the Fringe I checked in with both the Dep Arts companies Balbir Singh Dance company and RashDash Theatre, who both received some great reviews from their press nights and are all set to start the Fringe with a bang!

Whilst in Edinburgh it’s always good for me to see what new dance works are out and about, so 15 shows in 30 hours is a pretty good hit!

I can thoroughly recommended Falling man/Decreasing Infinity. I have to admit when I first read about this piece by Thomas Small, I had some reservations concerning the concept, however I am willing to eat my own words and say ‘WOW’, what a classy and well executed piece of work. This piece was followed by Balbir Singh Dance Company with an extremely contrasting duet, the contrast in the works compliment each other and this is a must see Double Bill. Whilst at Dance Base I can also recommend a highly entertaining Solo by Arnica 9CH, which was extremely funny with a great message about dancers and the damage that dancing can do to the body.

I was again amazed at RashDash and how drastically the piece has grown, having seen 2 scratch performances of the work I was set to see a more polished version, however it was almost like watching a new show. This is a fantastic piece of theatre which made me question, as to what level people will go to for fun! The girls have defiantly hit the jackpot with the band, Not Now Bernard and I would recommend this piece to anyone!

I loved my time at the Fringe and will be returning for some of the British Council week, to see more shows and to ensure the smooth running of Company Chameleon’s performances at Dance Base. Watch my twitter page for tweets on must see shows and reviews for Dep Arts companies.

Dep Fest 2011

by Rachael on August 3rd, 2011
Balbir Singh Dance Company,Dep Arts News

The sun was shining and the wellies were out last Thursday as Dep Fest finally came around! Luckily the weather allowed for a great barbecue which certainly saw all of us enjoying a few too many sausages and going back for seconds and thirds. After the fantastic food, all the guests made their way inside for another treat, a performance of Decreasing Infinity by the Balbir Singh Dance Company. The dancers had the guests transfixed and the performance has got everybody at Dep in high spirits for the Fringe Festival.

The musical entertainment for the evening was electro-pop band, Escort Knights. The Leeds based group ensured that everybody was up and dancing for the rest of the evening with hits like Contagious (which features on our homepage video!)

A massive thank you to both Balbir Singh Dance Company and Escort Knights as well as Starkey’s for the great food and everybody at Slung Low and The Holbeck Underground Ballroom for the use of their great venue.

If you want to catch Balbir Singh Dance Company or either of our other companies heading to Edinburgh see their websites: www.balbirsinghdance.co.uk, www.rashdash.co.uk and www.companychameleon.com. Be sure to give Escort Knights a listen too: www.escortknightsmusic.com.

Check our website soon for pictures of DepFest!

Dep Arts: New Look!

by Rachael on August 1st, 2011
Dep Arts News

A warm welcome to our new website and branding at Dep Arts

After a lot of hard work and late nights for Breakfast Creatives and the Dep Arts team, the new website and branding is finally complete. The week before the launch has been long and tiring with constant clicking, emailing, and phoning between Breakfast and Dep Arts to ensure the website was just right and ready to go. But after plenty of tweaking and editing we have a very sleek, brand new website for everyone to enjoy. We marked the launch of the website by celebrating with friends and colleagues at Dep Fest which took place at the HUB.

Not only does the website have a new look and layout, it also contains lots of exciting new features, such as our new blog which is updated throughout the week, as well as wonderful videos of past and present artists created by our new marketing intern Fiona, which features music from up and coming local electro pop band The Escort Knights!

We would also like say a big thank you to Spinning Top Films who produced a short film of David, the team and Balbir Singh, which gives a quick glimpse of Balbir Singh Dance Company’s rehearsals and contains a short insightful interview with the Company Director of Dep Arts, David Edmunds.

Why not check out all the new areas of the site, particularly the team page and get a good look at our beaming faces, and our artist’s pages for images, videos and information on productions. We have some fantastic work for you to look at: past, present and future.

Thanks to everyone who has helped and supported us through this process. We are ecstatic about how the website has turned out and ready to represent the innovative and dynamic work we are producing here at Dep Arts.

Dep Arts Autumn Tours

by Fiona on July 21st, 2011
Company Chameleon,Dep Arts News,Phoenix Dance Theatre,Rashdash

‘Rites’ – Company Chameleon

The Dep Arts team are questioning where the time has gone with just a week until our brand new website goes live and July drawing quickly to an end. That can only mean one thing – Edinburgh Fringe Festival is approaching! Watch out for our Edinburgh newsletter coming out soon detailing our brilliant companies taking shows there this year.
After the excitement of the summer we go straight into our autumn shows where four of our companies – Company Chameleon, Darshan Singh Bhuller, Phoenix Dance Theatre and Retina – will be touring the UK.

Company Chameleon will be premiering their new show Gameshow in Manchester and Leeds after developing the piece at the Choreodrome in London before embarking on a UK tour with Kith/Kin.

Kith/Kin consists of two parts – Before Night Fell and Rites. Rites was the first major work from Chameleon, making use of the personal and shared histories of Missen and Turner, whilst investigating those rites of passage shared by men in a more universal context. Before Night Fell choreographed by Beth Cassani is an exploration of male identity, friendship, camaraderie and bravery whilst together they develop concepts of physical risk, game structures, intimacy, vulnerability, power and manipulation.

Phoenix Dance Theatre are touring a mixed bill of Declarations and Reflected both of which contain four short and varied works combining to make a spectacular show. The autumn tour is also the start of a year of celebrating 30 years of Phoenix Dance Theatre and the third tour under Artistic Director, Sharon Watson. Both shows made great impressions on their last tour and are set to impress across the UK this autumn.

'Declarations' - Phoenix Dance Theatre

Darshan Singh Bhuller will be touring with the brand new Caravaggio: Exile and Death – dance theatre inspired by the life and work of the 17th century master painter. Exile and Death takes the audience on a journey of a man’s search for forgiveness and redemption after a life fascinated with youth and sexuality, violence, solitude and love. Scarred by imprisonment and the Catholic Church’s dismissal of his works, Caravaggio lived a painful and dramatic life. Combining highly physical choreography with stunning lighting design and projections and a beautiful soundtrack, Darshan has created a show that tells the story of Caravaggio’s life and art.

'Caravaggio - Exile and Death' - Darshan Singh Bhuller

Retina’s Layers of Skin unites their skills in creating artistic touring productions as well as leading large-scale participatory projects. Retina has firmly established itself as a company that produces high quality performances as well as a company that enables other dancers, either professional or community, to excel in process and performance. Artistic Director Filip Van Huffel has a unique ability to encourage individuals to move confidently and creatively and Layers of Skin will maximise his strengths.

'Layers of Skin' - Retina

Keep an eye out in the next week for the launch of our beautiful new website and keep checking back here for all news and updates on the Dep Arts team and our clients.

Update

by Fiona on July 13th, 2011
Dep Arts News

Everyone in the Dep Arts office is gearing up for the multitude of events that are taking place over the next couple of months.

Our re-branding is coming along in leaps and bounds and after mountains of pastries and many emails we have decided upon our brand new logo and web design. So far this has been an extremely exciting journey, which has seen our initial random thoughts, turned into brilliant designs that have caused hours of debate within the team.

In order to launch our new branding, our interns Fiona and Shelley have been furiously working on a launch event, which will take place later this month. Not only will this event showcase our brand new website, it will also give us a chance to catch up with our lovely artists and associates. Keep checking the blog for more information about ‘Dep Fest’.

It has now been over a month since Fiona and Shelley joined our team as the new interns and it’s hard to imagine the office without them! Fiona has spent most of her time glued to her MAC creating wonderful e-flyers and marketing materials for Dep, whilst Shelley has spent time working on the logistics of Dep Fest and planning everything down to a T. - You will be able to read more about our interns and the rest of the team on the about us section of the new website.

Whilst everyone in the office has been busy planning and creating welly shaped decorations (something to look out for at Dep Fest!), Phil has been travelling the globe, most recently attending the Teatro a Corte 2011 festival in Milan. During his short stay Phil was able to watch some wonderful pieces and make some great contacts over in Italy.

Thanks for checking out today’s blog, let us know what you think by leaving a comment

Rachael.

Office Move

by Fiona on July 1st, 2011
Dep Arts News

It has only been a few weeks into my internship and there is plenty going on at Dep Arts Ltd. Breakfast have been working hard on designing our brand new website and rebranding, and we finally have an exciting all-new image for the company.

Not only is there a buzz about the new branding, Dep Arts have also moved into a brand spanking new office. Unfortunately, we chose to move offices on the hottest day England has seen for a very long time! However, through a lot of sweating, lifting and perseverance we successfully moved everything without any incidents (thankfully it was only up one flight of stairs in the building) We celebrated with pizza and spent the rest of the day sorting boxes and building a lot of Ikea furniture. I was very proud of Phil building a new shelving unit, until we found two screws on the floor that were vital for keeping it standing!
So, here we are in a big spacious office, with air and sunlight and plenty of projects and ventures to keep the team happy. Keep a look out for our fresh new logo and website by the end of July.

Shelley x

Introducing…

by Fiona on June 20th, 2011
Dep Arts News,Edinburgh Fringe Festival,Ponydance

Hi all! My name is Fiona and so ends my second week as the new (and first) Arts and Events Marketing Intern and it seems I have come in at quite an exciting time. Dep Arts Ltd is currently gearing up for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as well as moving into new offices, launching a new website and signing up to work with some exciting new companies (see earlier Ponydance blog.)

I am currently taking a year out from university (studying Art & Design at the University of Leeds) in order to gain some valuable experience and get a taste of the real world before graduation and I am thrilled to accept a years placement with Dep. From spending just a few days in the office I have already seen how busy the coming year will be and how no day will be the same. Thankfully, I haven’t been thrown in the deep end but there is lots to be getting on with. I’ve been busy designing promotional material, editing together videos from raw footage of shows and have been given the exciting task of helping to organise an upcoming Dep Arts event. Alongside all this I have been getting to know the companies that Dep Arts Ltd works with plus setting up a Twitter account so be sure to follow me for all Dep related news - @departsfiona

Be sure to check out our three Edinburgh Fringe Festival companies – Balbir Singh Dance Company who will be performing Decreasing Infinity, RashDash with Scary Gorgeous and Company Chameleon’s Rites and an outdoor performance of Search and Find. Also take some time to have a read of the other blog posts on this holding page, whilst we wait in anticipation of our new website launch coming very soon. Tonight I am looking forward to seeing RashDash’s Scary Gorgeous at Theatre In the Mill in Bradford before they take it to Edinburgh in a few weeks time.

Keep watching this blog for more about what Dep Arts and our companies are up to.

'Rites' - Company Chameleon