|
Making the Most of the Arts
A Guide to Managing Participatory Projects
By Gerri Moriarty
Merseyside Acme
£5
Dateline: 2nd January, 2006
It’s inevitable that at some point funding will play a role in
any arts project. Recent years have seen a shift away from continuous
revenue funding to more one off, project-based funds. Making the
Most of the Arts continues Merseyside Acme’s aim, under its
Creative Futures programme, to pass on the skills and knowledge
necessary to succeed in the arts in as simple and accessible a way as
possible.
At only 41 pages excluding appendices Making the Most of the Arts
is barely more than a pamphlet, but all the information is here to guide
a beginner to putting together a successful arts project, and provide
a handy reminder for the more experienced.
In ten short chapters, some only a single page long, Moriarty takes
us through the entire project cycle from writing the initial brief to
final evaluation. She talks about the use of donations in kind and mentions
the pitfalls of sponsorship, a vital consideration and one that other
guides have failed to mention. Moriarty’s writing style is fluid
and easy and the book is an enjoyable read. She clearly speaks from
experience and has gone to considerable efforts to make her book accessible
to those with better things to do with their time than read books.
Those who have already sought funding will know that it’s too
easy to become so engrossed in the fundraising process that you lose
sight of just what your project is trying to achieve. Those just starting
out may be daunted by funders’ demands. Moriarty helps to simplify
the design and implementation without losing sight of the project benefits
that made you start this long and difficult process in the first place.
Her attitude is inspiring, positive and focussed on the benefits of
the project, not the money.
The only thing I find myself wishing it had was a more developed evaluation
section. Evaluation has become a major concern of funders in recent
years and that section could have done with being more than one page.
The book costs a fiver, less than two pints of beer. Given the support
it can offer, both to the beginner and the more experienced, it’d
be foolish not to get a copy.
Making the Most of the Arts is only available from Merseyside Acme.
Email info@merseysideacme.com
for details.
Ged Quayle
Articles from 2006
Articles from 2005
Articles from 2004
Articles from 2003
Articles from 2002
Articles from 2001
Articles from 2000
Articles from 1999
Articles from 1998
Articles from 1997
|
