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published NOVEMBER 13, 2009

Create and Reed Smith give Bede a creative make-over

Between Monday 2 and Friday 13 November 2009, the dynamic creative arts charity Create is taking its transformational changing:spaces project to Bede House in Bermondsey (a charity offering development opportunities for disadvantaged groups in Southwark, allowing them to develop their skills, enjoy life, and play their part in the community), thanks to funding and volunteering from international law firm Reed Smith. During a series of creative workshops between 2 and 6 November, run by Create’s professional artist and writer, a group of adults with learning disabilities who are members of Bede House will produce original artwork and poetry on a “my Southwark – real and imagined” theme. Starting with two creative writing and storytelling workshops, Create’s writer will draw ideas from the participants to pull together a series of group poems. Using these and the ideas generated during the writing workshops as the starting point, Create’s artist will then lead three days of visual art workshops. During these, working both in small groups and individually, the participants will develop creative thinking and visual art skills to create a series of sketches and painted images on paper. The work produced in these workshops will form the basis of the mural designs for Bede’s hall and lounge area. Create’s artists and the Bede participants will be supported throughout by volunteers from Reed Smith. On 11 and 12 November, Create’s artist will lead a team of 20 Reed Smith volunteers each day to transform the hall and lounge area by painting up the participants’ artwork onto the walls as giant murals. Sections of the participants’ writing will also be included. The new spaces will be “unveiled” on Monday 16 November at 11am. The participants, members of the local community, RS volunteers, local dignitaries and media will all be invited. This changing:spaces is part of More Creative, Create’s flagship multi-artform project that works with different communities across the London Borough of Southwark. Since its launch in summer 2006, the project has engaged over 1,350 children and adults including: primary and secondary schoolchildren; older people; adults with learning disabilities; local families; and international parents including refugees and asylum seekers. Activities have included creative writing, storytelling, jewellery making, music, dance and visual art. Create’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, Nicky Goulder, said of the project: “changing:spaces will give service users at Bede House the chance to make this communal space truly their own through the creation of murals sprung from their own designs. changing:spaces places participants’ creativity at the centre of this transformation, which means the final result is something that they can feel proud of. We are delighted to be working with Reed Smith, which has funded the project and will be providing volunteers throughout. I can’t wait to see the finished results!" Chris Marshall, Senior Pro Bono & Community Manager at Reed Smith, said: “Reed Smith is very proud to continue our partnerships with both Create and Bede House and to bring them together on this exciting project. This project has provided an important opportunity for us to engage with our local community – a core commitment for us as a business. We hope that this project will enable Bede to continue to build on its very special work in Southwark and our employees have been thrilled to be a part of that.”