News & Events
Summer2008 Headlines
Esol trip to the Botanical Gardens of Wales
New Mentoring Scheme
WRAP at DAL
Digital Storytelling Workshop
Refugee Week 2008
Many Thanks to Systembox
Dragon Arts and Learning are extremely grateful to Systembox for their recent, generous donations of materials.
Botanical Gardens of Wales
On July 3rd the ESOL students enjoyed a great day out at The National Botanical Gardens of Wales courtesy of The Gateway Gardens Trust supported by their main funder The Heritage Lottery Fund. The trip was an exciting finish to ESOL classes, which have been on going since October.
Mixed nationalities, all communicating in English enjoyed discovering the plant origins of everyday food and all about Fairtrade products from the volunteers who run the Bittersweet project there.
Rain held off long enough for us to also enjoy a tour of the gardens, including the new hothouse there, a tasty lunch, visit to the dome greenhouse and a surround film viewing.
Well done to all the ESOL students who have worked hard this year and hope to see you all again for enrolment for new courses in August.
Refugee Week 2008
JUNE 17th - 19th 2008 AT DRAGON ARTS AND LEARNING CENTRE
The centre ran a series of Art, Pottery and Photography sessions throughout Refugee Week 2008 to promote positive encounters between members of their ESOL English group, other workshop members, outside agencies and the local community.
The events took place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of Refugee Week 2008. The objective was to design and create a collaborative wall painting based on the atlas of the world and to pinpoint which country each member comes from.
Members were asked to draw the world map on one of the centre walls and members of the centre all took part in painting in countries.
They also took portrait photographs and made a border detail showing the various countries emblems and flags.
The pottery class made ceramic tiles in the shape of national flags, which eventually will be mounted in a frame and displayed at the centre and hopefully other community venues.
Members were offered disposable cameras to take home with them and they also took them out on a ‘whistle stop sightseeing tour’ of Swansea and Gower arranged by the photography group. People took pictures of places they have become accustomed to during their time in Swansea, their communities, past-times and things that inspire them. As part of an on-going photography project, Dragon Arts plans to put together a portfolio of this work for all to see.
On Thursday 19th June, a ‘Food from around the World’ event was held at the Cyrenians Community Centre. It was an event open to the public and local community groups encouraging people to taste and enjoy different food, music and culture.
Women who attended had wonderful designs painted on their hands and feet by two Henna tattoo artists, Rena and Sofina. The event was vibrant and entertaining.
Follow this link to read food columnist Jenny White's write up on the event.
Dragon Arts and Learning Centre currently has members from over 27 ethnic backgrounds who are residing in the UK for a variety of reasons whether they are seeking asylum, have been given refugee status or have come to the UK as economic migrants. It has become clear to staff that many share the same problems and prejudices regarding integrating into their communities. People from ethnic backgrounds also find it hard to share experiences between them because of the language barriers that exist so it is extremely beneficial when they communicate using English, which is taught at the centre, as a mutual language. Many ethnic minority members possess great artistic talents gained in their homelands but had previously felt reluctant to join the other creative classes because of the language barriers. The events truly endeavoured to break down those barriers, promoting positive encounters and multicultural integration, which was the specific aim of Refugee Week 2008 not just in Wales but nationwide. To see more pictures from the week follow the link below.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/sites/swansea/pages/refugeeweek08slideshow.shtml
Wales Remote Assessment Project (WRAP)
DAL in conjunction with Wales Remote Assessment Project (WRAP) has recently embarked on an initiative to promote and help all learners get the most out of ICT, regardless of physical disability. We aim to provide a system of advice, information, assessment and support at DAL, in which, learners can make use of Assistive Technology (such as specialised hardware/software)to make the learning of ICT a more enjoyable and empowering process.
Digital Storytelling Workshop
A Digital Storytelling workshop was held at Dragon Arts in April. Members were given the opportunity to create their own narrative in their own words using recorded speech, photographs, drawings and video editing. They drew on material from their own lives, local history and family history.
The workshop were run by Stuart Jones and Prys Lewis and organised in conjunction with Swansea University Department of Adult and Continuing Education.
Follow the links below to view the 5 digital stories.
Peer Mentoring Pilot
A new course to help members become mentors has been launched in Dragon Arts. Two members Leighton Wilkins and Dai Meredith are helping the centre pilot the new course through photography and pottery. The course which started in April, involves the peer mentors learning how to use their knowledge and skills to help fellow members to develop their skills in a particular subject area. Both Leighton and Dai are working with a chosen member and supporting them in the class room, while developing their own understanding and skills that will help them become an effective mentor. The course is OCN accredited and will run for approximately 10 weeks.
In 2006 Dragon Arts and Learning were proud to have worked with Swansea City Opera to create Wales’ first Street opera, “From Cars to Mars”. The creation of this original production allowed the members of Dragon Arts and Learning to discover first hand how the magic of opera can enrich all lives and can increase self-esteem and confidence.
This year we were lucky enough to be invited to work with SCO again, this time members participated in their production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” at Swansea Grand Theatre on 26th January.
The photograph shows the cast backstage in costume and make-up!
(Standing L-R) David Jones; Ivor Sloan; Vicky Murugasan; Shaun Gillespie (Seated L-R) Kevin Phillips; David Colclough.
DRAGON ARTS & LEARNING CENTRE'S NEW YEAR EXHIBITION
January 22nd - 26th.
THE WHITE ROOM
in the SWANSEA GRAND THEATRE.
To be officially opened by COUNCILLOR ERIKA KIRCHNER BSc (Hons).
Due to the tragic loss of our Celfi Gallery & Gift Shop in a horrific fire last July 2007, we have decided to hold a NEW YEAR EXHIBITION to keep up the morale of our centre members until the move into our new permanent home. We will have our new shop/community-based gallery in the old police station development complex (directly opposite the Glyn Vivial Art Gallery, Swansea) this up and coming August 2008. We will keep you updated with this progress via our website, it is a very exciting time for both staff and volunteers of the retail training scheme, CELFI GALLERY & GIFT SHOP.
Member's Photograph chosen for official Christmas Card
Andrew Davies AM came to personally thank David Thomas, a member of our photography workshop, for allowing him to use David’s wonderful shot of Mumbles Bay on his official 2007 Christmas Card which has been sent out to constituents of Swansea West. David has had a rough time of it this year following the death of his father and a fire at his home. He really appreciated the recognition. Andrew wished David and Dragon Arts and Learning Centre all the best for 2008.
Open College Network Wales
An OCN update!
Congratulations to all Dragon Arts & Learning Members that have successfully completed Open College Network Courses since Christmas.
At present date 142 individuals have enrolled on 380 Open College Network Units at Dragon Arts & Learning Centre of which 101 units are completed and 279 are on going.
Subjects currently on offer include Arts & Crafts, Ceramics, Digital Photography, General Computers, Guitar, Healthy Living, Retail, Sound Recording, Traditional Photography, Web Design and Word Processing.
There are Four Levels that relate to all learning achievement: Entry level, Level One, Level Two, Level Three. Open College Network Courses are tailored to each individual’s needs and abilities, allowing you to work and learn at your own pace towards a level you are comfortable with.
Puppet Making Workshop Trip
Members of our puppet-making workshop enjoyed a trip down to the Gower Heritage Centre in January for the culmination of this current course. The puppet-making course is a chance to learn a variety of Arts and Craft skills in a very relaxed and fun environment. The course will restart in September 2008.
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| Dragon Arts Centre, 54, Morfa Road, Hafod, Swansea, SA1 2EN Tel: 01792 467940 email: dragon@dragonarts.co.uk | |||