Burning the Clocks lantern-making workshop
for staff at the University of Brighton
Laura Crow
Contents
Same Sky2
Same Sky thinking
4
Burning the Clocks
6
Children’s Parade
8
Young People’s Art Exhibition
10
Celebration time
12
Parades of light
14
Performance16
Workshops17
Public art & commissions
18
Making a lasting difference
20
Young Same Sky
22
Projects for additional needs
24
What we can do for you
26
Our work with Schools
28
Who we are
32
1
Same Sky
Lighting up your community
Same Sky is an award-winning community arts charity based in the lively seaside
city of Brighton and Hove in Sussex. We create magical, out-of-this-world events:
luminous night-time parades, fantastical puppets and floats, large-sky fire shows,
staggeringly imaginative costumes and concepts.
Every step of our creative process is about bringing people together, encouraging
equality and belonging through a shared experience of art, and creating moments
of magic that will feed the imagination for a long time after.
Chichester Harmonic Convergence 2003
John Varah
2
Same Sky is the largest community arts organisation
in the South. Our portfolio includes everything from
street parades to water-based theatre, carnivals
to choreography; sculpture trails to fire and light
spectaculars. We create extraordinary artwork,
carnival props and puppets to commission. We
provide the artistic spark, expert guidance and
practical techniques for you to develop your own
projects. Through creative workshops we empower
teachers, children and community groups to stage
their own artistic events and parades, and to make
eye-catchingly imaginative costumes. We work with
local authorities, arts festivals, businesses, schools,
community groups and individuals. We work with you
to make your event stand out.
3
Same Sky thinking
Everything we do is about experience. When our
team sits down at the start of a project the focus is on
creating an experience that will touch, enchant and
delight. And as our plans develop we want everyone
involved to enjoy the process with us to foster feelings
of inclusion and achievement through a shared
experience of creativity.
Alongside our commissioned work,
we build connections with people
who’ve never been involved with art
before, and those in hard-to-reach
groups in the community. People of
any age who lack financial or family
security, people who have problems
with learning, who are physically or
emotionally unwell and people who
for whatever reason feel outside of
things. We work with them to develop
creative skills and talents, and show
them how art can change their
everyday life.
4
Our story
Same Sky has been bringing
creative energy, public art
and entertainment into the
community for over 25 years.
It began after a shocking crime
in a local park and the cry for
positive action to bring people
together. Out of the wish to renew
a sense of pride and safety in the
neighbourhood and to lift people’s
spirits, Same Sky’s first parade was
born.
Since then, Same Sky has been
creating colourful, playful, lifeenhancing events and workshops in
Brighton and the South East,
and as far afield as Ireland
and Ghana.
When you start having fun
with art:
You feel better about
yourself, your life,
and other people
It gives you the
chance to create
something you are pleased
with or proud of and would
like to share
You find the
confidence to
make other changes, for
yourself, and for friends
and family
Millenium Seedbank, Wakehurst Place
John Varah
5
John Varah
Jenny Bootle
Sharon Mee
[email protected]
John Varah
John Varah
Nikki Gunson
Philip Carr
Burning the Clocks
A magical event bursting with
creativity and light
For almost two decades, Burning The Clocks has become a special date
in Brighton’s calendar. Taking place on the winter solstice, this fantastical
procession brings magic to the Regency streets, with a stream of luminous
lanterns and a spectacular 2,000-strong parade. When the winter carnival
has wound its way to the beach, people pass their handmade lanterns – filled
symbolically with their hopes and dreams – into a blazing bonfire and look
skyward for the stunning waterside pyrotechnics.
Held on the shortest day (longest night)
of the year, this growing tradition marks
the passing of time by ‘burning the
clocks’ and welcoming in the new sun.
With over 20,000 spectators, this popular
event that captures the essence of the
season, turns the spotlight away from the
more commercial side of Christmas and
lights up the darkest of winter nights.
Now an annual fixture in Brighton’s
calendar, it draws extra visitors to the
seaside city.
6
Free lantern-making workshops are held
in the community and the paper and
willow lights are decorated by adults and
children alike. They are asked to think
about the dreams they want to send into
the fire, adding an extra layer of meaning
to this memorable night.
What a great advert
Burning The Clocks is for this
wonderful city of ours
Bill Randall,
Mayor of Brighton and Hove
John Varah
Bec britain
Bec Britain
Our family loved making the
lanterns…this is our third
year, and once again Burning
The Clocks was celebratory,
powerful – and huge fun
Burning the Clocks parade 2010
Dominic Alves
7
Laura Crow
From a thank-you letter
Children’s Parade
The largest annual children’s
event in the UK
Children love to lead a parade and each May in Brighton they do
exactly that – in joyful and colourful style. For over 25 years the
Children’s Parade has opened the Brighton Festival, with 5,000 local
schoolchildren stepping into showstopping costumes they have
designed and made themselves.
With imaginative themes to inspire them –
100 Years of Cinema, The Planet, Brighton
Street Names, World Food – the children
are involved from the first moments of the
parade planning. It is, quite simply, their
celebration.
Along with local community groups,
almost 80 local schools, infant to
secondary, take part and enjoy a real sense
of pride as their hard work turns into a
vibrant procession of dance, drama and
fun for the whole city to watch. Around
10,000 people come along to see the
parade and are captivated by the children
and their many creations: colourful,
entertaining and brimming-with-energy.
Masterclasses for teachers
After initial brainstorming with teaching
staff, our team run special masterclasses,
passing on their skills and providing the
confidence to make huge centrepieces and
costumes. We help with design ideas and
encourage the children’s imagination to
flow. We help to develop choreography,
and instruct teaching staff in how to teach
dance and parade chants.
The Children’s Parade is one of
Brighton’s most-loved and most
inclusive events. For more than 25
years it has celebrated the talent,
commitment and creativity of our
young people and opens Brighton
Festival in an irresistible blaze of energy
and excitement. Same Sky’s expert
work over the six months prior to the
parade, with children, parents and
teachers right across the city brings
our community together, enriches our
Festival and ensures a magnificent
celebration year after year.
Andrew Comben
Chief Executive,
Brighton Festival
Same Sky provides fantastic support
to schools throughout the year to
inspire us and help us come up with
imaginative ideas, create fun things to
carry, wear and wave, and choreograph
lively dance and chant routines.
8
Bec Britain
Alison Bartlett,
Brighton parent and teacher
Jenny Bootle
Bec Britain
9
Bec Britain
John Varah
Children’s Parade 2006: World Food
Jenny Bootle
Bec Britain
Young People’s
Art Exhibition
Part of a bigger picture
Creating and exhibiting a piece of art is an inspiring and empowering experience.
Our Young People’s Art Exhibition is a groundbreaking project that gives young people
the chance to study, work and exhibit together like professional artists.
Working in a group with an artist and a curator, this
is an exciting, challenging and unique experience.
At the end of the project the students’ work is
displayed in a large city-centre gallery space
for the public to enjoy.
Young People’s Art Exhibition 2005:
The Tinderbox
John Varah
10
Fabulous fibs
and fishes
For this exhibition based on the story of
Pinocchio the school children created:
Clay figures for an installation
based on Anthony Gormley’s “The
Field”. Each figure was the same but
with a different nose. The pupils were
asked to think of a lie and imagine the
nose that told that lie…
Beautiful embossed silver fish –
made from string and silver foil –
based on the part of the story when
Pinnochio is swallowed by the whale.
Two-dimensional puppets with
moving limbs, made from split pins.
Previous funders include Paul Hamlyn
Foundation and the Ernest Cook Trust
John Varah
John Varah
John Varah
Inspirational
theme:
Liar, Liar
For the past 10 years we have worked
with primary and secondary children
in Brighton to give them the unique
experience of seeing their artwork
develop from their own small piece into
an extensive and professional installation.
We make it real and use work by popular
artists to excite and inspire them.
Whether it’s Jeff Koons or Georgia
O’Keefe, Francis Bacon or Banksy, the
work of other artists helps the children
develop their own ideas and styles.
An experienced artist encourages the
children to think about how artists work.
Using contemporary artists as reference
points for techniques, methods and
styles, the children learn the importance
of research and creative planning.
Lastly we arrange a special viewing of
the children’s work and invite teachers
and students along so that the children
get the buzz and confidence-boost of
exhibiting like professional artists.
Their work is then displayed as part of
an installation at a month-long curated
exhibition, in prestigious local venues
such as the Gardener Arts Centre Gallery
or Phoenix Brighton.
The standard is exceptionally high and
creative. Each year we come up with a
creative theme for the children to work
round. So far we’ve taken them on A
Journey thru U, exploring all the bodily
systems, Under The Greenwood Tree, the
lives of Robin Hood and his merry hoseclad men, Liar Liar, based on Pinnochio’s
nose-growing stories, O The Shape I’m in,
fun ways with geometry and R we there
yet? trips, travels and adventures.
A big thanks for all the hard work you
put in with my 32 students.
The exhibition looked fab and
the children had a
real sense of worth
and importance.
Jo Black, teacher
11
The impact on the group is
immeasurable, but seeing them
so proud of who they are and
what they are taking part in,
speaks volumes. They know they
have a voice and it is listened to.
Youth Carnival Club Leader
Celebration Time
Dancing in the streets
Same Sky knows how to throw a party… the bigger, bolder, brighter, the better. We
design fabulous floats, incredible inflatables and parade-stopping puppets. We create
one-off parades or individual sections for your celebrations. However big or small your
event, we will work with you to get the style and tempo just right. Experts in the field of
event production and coordination we’re also expert at building atmosphere, ramping up
energy, pacing the parade and keeping the flow going. Whatever you want to put on,
we will make sure you are more than dressed for the occasion.
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Chichester News 2010
[email protected]
Social Cohesion
in Kent
John Varah
John Varah
This nine-year collaboration with Cohesion
Plus, the cultural diversity delivery arm
of the Kent Equality Cohesion Council,
shares art as a way of addressing British
identity, racial equality and community
cohesion.
Together, Same Sky and Cohesion Plus
produce a range of outreach events in
schools. These special events help them
fulfil their programmes with culturally
diverse school populations and use art as
dialogue to discuss a sense of place and
belonging.
The events cover Gravesend, Dartford,
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, and
have included luminous Festivals of
Light, vibrant Melas, and St George’s Day
celebrations for all faiths and ethnicities.
John Varah
John Varah
In partnership with
Thames Festival
transforming the everyday into something
full of marvel.
key sections for the parade with our Dark
Carnival and lit inflatables.
Celebrating the liveliness of London
and the unifying theme of the Thames
threading through it, this is the capital’s
largest outdoor arts festival. A thumping,
jumping mix of live music, dance, river
races, street art and pure pulsating
carnival. Since 1997 the Thames Festival
has been doing what all good festivals do:
Same Sky first created something
special for the Festival in its second
year with Night Carnival: a captivating
procession of light with illuminated
dancers and drummers, lantern-carriers
and masqueraders. The Night Carnival
has continued and we’ve been involved
with the Festival ever since, providing
We also share our skills and work with
other carnival groups such as Mandinga
Arts, Kinetika, HAFAD (Hammersmith &
Fulham Action on Disability), and Lumina.
We work with London schoolchildren
creating parade centrepieces that make
this an evening of full-on fantasy and fun.
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Making it magical
[email protected]
Parades of Light
Same Sky is all about lighting up people’s lives, and our lantern
parades are brilliant at doing just that. Over the 25 years of
running these luminous processions we’ve discovered that the
simple pleasure of making and carrying a lantern, or watching
the flickering lights go by, unites everyone involved.
To big and bold
Oxford Inspires develops arts and culture
for the city and asked us to work on a
Christmas-time lights festival, attended
by over 15,000 people. Working with
local artists, we used our hands-on skills
As well as lighting up seasonal celebrations to make visually arresting large-scale
such as Diwali or Christmas, we make
lanterns of famous Oxford buildings, such
locally-focused, imaginatively themed
as The Ashmolean and The Bodleian.
lanterns for smaller parades or large-scale The light show was a ‘classical’ success
lantern processions ablaze with illuminated and as a legacy Oxford has continued to
inflatables and puppets.
celebrate Light Night every year since.
John Varah
Our workshops are a great way for people
of all ages to work together, and get
together, as they make their own lanterns
from willow sticks and tissue paper.
Whether it’s simple pyramid lanterns or
giant sculptures and effigies.
From small…
14
The lanterns made at your masterclass
workshops were really impressive and we
were delighted you interpreted the theme
so beautifully, reflecting the architecture of
our well-known buildings. This year will be
an inspiration in the years to come.
Sarah Maxfield, Oxford Inspires
Graeme Monk
In the tiny Sussex village of Alfriston we
worked with primary schools and local
historical societies to create a parade
that would reflect the village’s rural
history. Together we came up with sheep
lanterns to celebrate their years of local
sheep rearing. The parade was greatly
enjoyed, crossing fields and stiles, knitting
the community and landscape together
symbolically.
Chichester Harmonic Convergence 2006
John Varah
Swale
Winter Lights
This arts event was commissioned
by Swale Borough Council to reduce
vandalism and arson in a new park. Our
idea was to create an event that would
be edgy enough to engage with the
young people who’d been damaging the
park. Drawing on local mythology, our
lantern procession set out to re-awaken
the wyvern: a local legendary winged
creature. With a breath-taking bit of
magic, a huge moving dragon sculpture
leapt out of the shadows to lead the
procession.
We drove our van into the park and set up a metal workshop
in a tent to make fire drawings… within minutes of arrival
the local youth were hooked in and word went out on the
bush telegraph. The workshops engaged a group who
were considered hard to reach with purposeful, controlled
activities to get them into positive contact with the
Park Ranger. The after-dark celebration event brought
more people than ever before to the park as enthusiastic
participants braved the elements for a wonderful lantern
procession and fiery finale.
Dan Lake, Project Manager for Same Sky
15
John Varah
© www.thepopupphotographyshop.co.uk
Jenny Bootle
Performance
Daring, dynamic, distinctly dramatic
Same Sky has a passion for creating thought-provoking, spirit-lifting
art that lends itself to performance and participation.
Sky Dome
Brains and beauty
A brilliant arena for performing arts, Sky Dome has an extraordinary outer translucent
skin and inner living-and-breathing giant multimedia brain.
Young people from Spiritus and Young Same Sky put on a mesmerising show from
within the Dome, giving a glimpse of what an imagined future world looks like. Dance
and shadow-play were woven with multimedia techniques, pulsating light sequences
and dynamic sound.
The young people, who come from Brighton and the local towns of Rye and Uckfield,
channelled their creative energy into futuristic dance and movement, and developed
new talents through filmmaking, shadow-shape design and technical operation.
Same Sky worked in collaboration with Rosaria Gracia, Rolemop Arts, Guy Carter, Spiritus and
Brighton Arts
16
Divers
Going under the waves
Creating a spellbinding piece of public
art for the Brighton Marina, this dramatic
‘shipwreck in reverse’ conjured up what
lies beneath with hauntingly atmospheric
underwater lighting and rigging.
In collaboration with Mike Roberts, Graham
Gilmore, Charlie Morrissey, Paul Harrington and
Thor Macintyre-Burnie
Bec Britain
Workshops
From simple imaginative workshops for children to expert
guidance on complex carnival construction, we will teach you
and your group how to design, style and create something
unique and wonderful. Whether it’s headdresses, lanterns and
costumes or floats, puppets and big-make figures.
Our artists are experienced, creative,
helpful and people-friendly. They know
how to work with groups of all ages and
skill levels. We work with you to ensure
the workshops are pitch-perfect for your
project.
Masterclasses
Do you want to teach creative projects
yourselves? Same Sky will pass on
our artistic expertise through tailored
masterclasses. If you are involved in an
event or exhibition where you need to
make props, scenery or costumes, we give
you the skills to bring out the best in your
class or group.
The best things were the great ideas,
helpful staff and friendly atmosphere.
Really excellent – thank you so much
for a great day.
Kerstin, participant at Brighton
Marina’s “Creatures of the Deep”
workshop
Jenny Bootle
Hands-on creativity
Each year as part of the Brighton Festival
Children’s Parade, we hold carnival
construction masterclasses for teachers,
giving them the skills and the confidence
to be creative in new and dynamic ways.
They learn how to source materials, work
up ideas and create their own fantastic
parade piece. They then go back to
the classroom fired up to teach the
children how to style and make their own
creations. Let us know what your group
would enjoy.
Same Sky is very good at
giving you the confidence to
get out there and give it a go.
Arts in Education
Co-ordinator
17
Public art &
commissions
Out of this world
Same Sky creates show-stopping, celebratory artwork for
exhibitions, touring shows, launch events, installations and
commissions. Whatever your vision we can help make it happen
with our team of skilled and innovative artists and designers.
Our work is all about making people feel happier, brighter and
more in tune with the people and landscape around them.
1 Babs Brighton Pride float
Commissioned by Brighton Marina, the
‘Babs: Carry On’ float entertained the
crowds at Brighton’s Pride parade.
2fiLight Installations for
Whispering Woods
This memorable event began at twilight.
Visitors wandered through a beautifully
lit woodland landscape as 200 voices
from 10 West Sussex choirs sang out.
Performances took place at Tilgate Park,
West Dean Arboretum and finally at
Bignor Park. Part of West Sussex Ahead
of the Game.
3fiBig Tim at Wimbledon
‘The Serve’, a stunning 17ft sculpture of
British tennis champion Tim Henman, was
made from steel rods and shrink-wrap
and filled with 3,500 balls. The queuing
crowds could show off their forearm skills
by whacking a serve into the sculpture.
Produced for Robinsons at Wimbledon
2007.
18
4fi‘Mind the Bump’ figurehead
Joy, a happy 12ft pregnant woman
was the figurehead for local legal firm
Martin Searle Solicitors ‘Mind the Bump’
campaign. The campaign highlighted
employee rights for pregnant women and
won the Gatwick Diamond Digital Media
Campaign.
5fiPink Pavilion
We turned the iconic Brighton Pavilion
pink for one week as part of Brighton and
Hove Art Commission’s ‘City Lit’ and to
celebrate Brighton Pride.
6fiWhitehawk Chalk Bird
This stunningly simple image, set on the
hills above Whitehawk in Sussex, has
become a symbol of hope and peace for
local residents over the past ten years.
They are now so committed to keeping
the spirit of Whitehawk flying high that
every year they hold a ‘soaring day’ to
refresh and renew the chalk, bringing
people of all ages to work together.
7fiSculpture trail in Owlbeech
and Leechpool Woods
Using willow, wood and stone, we
commissioned and curated a trail
of natural artwork through stunning
woodland in West Sussex. We worked
closely with the Weald Forest Ridge
Landscape Partnership Scheme, to meet
their aim of bringing a renewed love of
the great outdoors and to encourage
people to visit this Area of Outstanding
Natural Beauty.
6
Bec Britain
John Varah
Martin Searle Solicitors
John Varah
John Varah
1
2
3
4
5
19
7
Courtesy of WSCC and Colin Barker
Nikki Gunson
Making a lasting
difference
How we work with people
Same Sky believes in
bringing out the best in
everyone. Art can help
to open up new ways
of thinking, feeling and
appreciating the world.
Through our work we set
out to reach people who are
facing problems – whether
at school, at home, or in
their daily life. Our aim
is always to make lasting
change: when we work on
a project, we want to pass
on what we love about
being creative and leave
the people we’ve worked
with fired up with the same
passion and the practical
skills to take it forward in
their own way.
20
Dolly the cyclist at Cambridge’s ‘Field for Dreams’ 2012
Alba Garcia
Jenny Bootle
Jenny Bootle
Making a building
a happy place
Jenny Bootle
Jenny Bootle
The Nesting In, Branching Out project for
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Cambridge Community Olympic
Commission “A Field for Dreams”
All about getting the people of Cambridge involved in and celebrating their city, this
project centred around the 2012 Games and the Torch Relay. The 4-month outreach
program ended with a celebration of local dance and music and a fabulous parade
by local people.
Same Sky shared their creative teaching skills with a team of local artists so they
could deliver an extensive workshop programme to over 25 local primary, special and
secondary schools, and over 40 local community groups and ethnic minority groups.
The groups ranged from homeless people, women’s and child-and-toddler groups to
older people, people with mental health problems and a project for bullied children.
Hundreds of people made beautiful flags and items to wear and wave for events that
celebrated the city of Cambridge and the Olympics. On the day that the Olympic
Torch Relay came to Cambridge, groups paraded onto the stage in a colourful and
exuberant display.
Same Sky identified the local groups, finding ways to work with and enthuse them.
At the end of the project, the baton was passed to the artists, who continue to use
their new “Same Sky skills” in their city.
We were asked by Chalkhill, a centre
in West Sussex which provides mental
health services for children and young
people, to work with them on the launch
of its new building. They wanted us
to make the centre somewhere the
young people would feel confident and
comfortable, to feel it was their space.
Our team of artists set up workshops and
encouraged the young people to make
sculptures, take photographs, print fabrics
and learn how to spraycan so they could
decorate parts of the building with their
own work and in their own style, before a
grand opening.
A significant part of Chalkhill’s success
has been to involve the young people
who use our services in every stage of its
development. The official opening was
pitched really well and we have had a lot
of positive feedback. However the biggest
success in many people’s eyes was the
young people’s event – Chalkhill seemed
to come alive that night and this could not
have been achieved without your vision,
support, passion and talent.
Claire Singers, Implementation Manager,
Chalkhill
21
Young Same Sky
Growing skills
Young Same Sky opens doors for young people through arts and
media projects. Through initiatives that get them involved in their
community, we give them hands-on creative experience, expert
guidance and real reasons to get excited about their futures.
Young Same Sky was set up to make
young people feel good about what they
can achieve. We open up opportunities for
locally disadvantaged young people, aged
13-25, get them involved in projects that
excite and challenge them, and give them
real, useable skills for their futures.
The young people in Young Same Sky work
on every aspect of working in the arts: they
learn event design, project management,
production, costume design, set building,
choreography and community and school
workshop delivery.
They also learn workplace skills such as
managing time schedules and budgets
and understanding the importance of
teamworking, communication and getting
on with people.
The experience often has a positive
impact on young people’s desire to reengage with education and employment.
Over 200 Young Same Sky members
have gained Bronze or Silver Arts Award
accreditation and all members have either
progressed onto college or university, set
up as freelancers, gained employment or
continue to volunteer as peer mentors.
22
Clare Ellison
Clare Ellison
I love Young Same Sky and being in it has
given me some great experiences.
Young Same Sky TV
It’s helped me with successful funding
applications for my own projects and
given me access to equipment that
wouldn’t normally have been available to
me. And I’ve had the opportunity to learn
and then teach others about things that
interest me.
This documentary-film project put the
spotlight on the annual Pride festival
in Brighton. Over 30 disadvantaged
local young people worked together
to document what Pride brings to the
town: what people like about it, feel
about it and say about it.
Sharon Mee
It feels great to help out with an
organisation I believe in. There are many
brilliant projects with lots of fun surprises
to take part in!
Emily (aged 21)
Young Same Sky is a group of young
people that come from all different
backgrounds and we help each other.
The projects and events are all about
helping our community so you feel good
about that. I’ve been a member for 4 years
and done lots of different things with the
group, including stewarding the Children’s
Parade, directing the documentary about
Pride, operating the camera for the Sky
Dome and leading Chichester Festival
parade with flares.
Using vox pops live-linked from the
parade, the young people collected
community views and then played them
on a large screen to the Pride audience
in Brighton’s Preston Park – showing
their work off to over 80,000 people.
The documentary was also exhibited
at a local arts venue as an interactive
installation – with pressure sensors to
link objects and images to the opinions
and ideas that the young people
collated and then documented. It was
a huge success and gave the town
a refreshing insight into the festival,
through the group’s innovative and
technically clever film.
A collaboration with Rolemop Arts and
Brighton Arts
Funded by Media Box
Being part of Young Same Sky has meant
that I’m more confident at working
with people of all ages and the whole
experience has helped me get into college.
‘Atom’ and Young Same Sky
created for the ION project 2010
Clare Ellison
Jacob (aged 17)
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Projects for
Additional Needs
Exploring new worlds and new sensations
Same Sky loves the idea of playing with the senses. The experience-based projects
we run for people who have learning or physical disabilities put the focus firmly
on having fun with touch, colour and sound. We want everyone involved to find
pleasure in new experiences. Same Sky organises fun and friendly activities that the
whole family can take part in. Using sound, bright colours and things you can touch
and feel, these are stimulating and interactive experiences.
Otherworld
& Planet X
Out of this world…
Otherworld and Planet X are multisensory
playspaces specifically for children with
profound or multiple learning problems.
They feature wonderful soft sculpture
environments for people to explore and
mess about in. The ceiling is hung with
simple shapes lit up with pictures, and the
space contains inflatable toys, tactile foam
playthings and multi-media projections.
It all adds up to a relaxing safe place
where young people can create their own
fantasy alongside their family or carers.
We use art, theatre, new media and play
that is open and accessible to everyone.
We chose outer space as the theme
because there are no boundaries, just
endless possibilities.
24
Corinthe Rizvi
A collaboration with Paddington Arts and
Different Planet Arts with funding from Awards
for All and Unity Theatre Arts.
I’ve never taken the lads swimming before
as I can’t afford it. Thank you so much.
Courtesy of Southern Water
PARTICIPANT ON FEEDBACK FORM
The Swimmer 2012
Courtesy of Southern Water
The Swimmer
Courtesy of Southern Water
The big splash….
The Swimmer was a wet and wonderful water-based theatre show open to children,
families and groups who don’t usually get the chance to go swimming. All those who
came along were invited to make the big splash and become part of the show. There
were floating sets, spectacular costumes, interactive games and a giant Grandmother
Turtle puppet. Held at The Prince Regent Swimming Complex in Brighton, it was an
event that left everyone with a smile on their faces.
Part of the Brighton & Hove Children’s Festival with funding from Children in Need, Brighton & Hove
Arts Partnership and Southern Water
25
Courtesy of WSCC and Colin Barker
Our services
What we can do for you
Amazing art, amazing events. Same Sky is a powerhouse
of creativity. We can make your event come alive in any
way you want. With costumes and drama, puppets and
light, arts innovation and events expertise. Just let us know
how we can help to make your celebration the best and
brightest in town.
Fantasia Garden
This imaginative set of lit
pieces conjures up a world of
extraordinary colour, strange
creatures and mesmerising
mermaids.
Mythical beasts, cuttlefish,
stars, ruby slippers, crabs and
mermaids.
We advise on community
outreach and social cohesion.
Ready to hire
Ready-made or bespoke.
Choose from a full set or a
single theme prop to bring
magic to your event.
26
John Varah
Nikki Gunson
We regularly employ firework
contractors, specialist
composers and musicians, and
artists and technicians with
specialist skills to make your
event go off perfectly.
Night Garden
Fire Garden
Our lit night garden is pure
enchantment.
Light up the night with our
fantastically conceived fire
artwork – guaranteed to
captivate.
Luminous flowers, floating
lotus lilies, chandeliers
suspended from trees,
dandelions, peacocks,
butterflies, and a giant tree
that lights up in an array of
colours.
Courtesy of WSCC and Colin Barker
We offer a complete event
management service, either
single element or whole
project. From artistic direction
through to production and
safety.
Fire drawings and animated
fire puppets, firepots and
firepoles, and other firey
wonders.
Lit festoons and
way-markers
Create some magic and
moonlight and music with
our illuminations and night
sounds.
Strings of lights, lit pathways,
leaf-shaped waymarkers,
light poles, chandeliers and
sound sources to surprise and
delight.
A stunning stand-alone piece
that creates a brilliant focal
point.
Giant turtle with floating
games (for swimming pool
only), or lotus lilies and an
illuminated butterfly.
For blown-up fun, these
huge, beautifully designed
illuminated centrepieces are
complete scene-stealers for
any parade.
Colossal fun, our effigies can
be as charming or alarming
as you like, all in the best
possible taste.
Sky Dome
Flags
Designed to fascinate and
entertain, bring your event to
life with its fabulous futuristic
light-and-sound capabilities.
Flapping, fascinating colour
and statement with our array
of fabulous flags. Will enhance
any event.
The 15 meter diameter
dome provides cutting-edge
projection and light shows
or can act as an ambient
presence.
Choose from tall display flags
for site décor or smaller flags
to wave.
The effigies are available for
hire seasonally or speak to us
about bespoke figures.
Skulls, colourful abstract set,
or zorbs – transparent orbs
with internal lit ephemera.
Sharon Mee
© www.thepopupphotographyshop.co.uk
The Tower radiates different
colours and is lit up with
pulsing lights that can be set
to music.
Effigies
becBec
britain
Britain
Light up a water feature with
graceful floating creations or
swim with our giant turtle.
Large mobile inflatables
Puppets and
walk-abouts
Full of whimsy, wonder and
magic, our puppets are
expertly made and lovely
movers to highlight your
parade.
Puppets available include Mr
Wolf, characterful camel and
our space-age lit ION puppets
or put in a bespoke order.
John Varah
Illuminated tower and
chasing light poles
John Varah
Courtesy of Pallant House
Alex Saunders
Floating sets
Bikes with performers
Spinning, spectacular and
sensational, it’s showtime with
our six sidecar bikes.
Ideal for parades and
processions. Bikes can be
decorated with lit objects.
Available to hire with
performers only.
27
Our work
with schools
Making great art work…in your school
Same Sky is passionate about bringing art into children’s lives.
Along with the sheer pleasure of making and creating, there are
sound reasons why getting involved in the arts has a lasting and
positive impact on a child’s education.
28
Art in the
classroom
Five good reasons
Making and painting teaches
children new and exciting
practical skills
Creating artwork improves
cognitive skills
Finders Keepers at
Billingshurst 2005
John Varah
The students really love and appreciate
working with you and several of our very
difficult students have reacted really
well to the Same Sky experience. I am
quite sure that for some of them this will
be a precious positive experience that
will stand out from quite a few negative
ones.
Geraldine Forde, Teacher of Art &
Design, Saint George’s Church of
England School, Gravesend, Kent
Working together with classmates
encourages problem-solving and
brainstorming
Builds an experience of
teamworking and promotes the
habit of communicating new ideas with
confidence
Art improves how we think about
ourselves. It develops belief in
being able to face challenges and in
being successful
Making-workshops and
art classes
Same Sky runs innovative in-school
classes teaching children new artistic
techniques and processes where we let
them feel in control of the process and
create a piece that makes them feel
personally happy and proud. We let the
children make their own decisions so that
they feel a real sense of achievement
at the end of the project. We also offer
artist-led PPA (Preparation, Planning and
Assessment) time cover.
Creativity weeks and
cross-curricular learning
We also come in to work with schools for
special creativity weeks, where we focus
on a specific project or range of skills.
And we provide cross-curricular learning
classes with an artistic slant so that the
children broaden their understanding and
enjoyment of art.
29
Teacher masterclasses
Artwork just for your school
Each year as part of the Brighton Festival
Children’s Parade we hold special carnival
construction masterclasses for teachers.
The teachers are taught how to make
a fantastic parade piece and develop
their skills to take back to the classroom.
These small group sessions are led
by a Same Sky artist who works with
them individually so they can explore
creative ideas, master the techniques
and learn how to pass their skills on to
their students. We also teach additional
masterclasses in samba, dance or lantern
making for school parades and events.
Same Sky creates brilliantly imaginative
commissioned permanent art for schools.
Whether you have your own ideas or need
us to work with you on the concept, we
can use virtually any medium to make a
talking-point or celebratory piece for your
school.
We run specialised artistic masterclasses
round the country. At Hawkes Farm
Primary School, East Sussex, we taught
a class to all the teachers in the school
on a willow sculpting design that they
then worked on with their students;
we ran a lantern-making workshop
in Pembrokeshire; and a colourful
printmaking masterclass for Surrey
primary school teachers.
We’ve made artworks in mosaics, murals
and textiles. We also use materials such
as old tyres which we turned into a
jolly centipede for a local junior school
playground. We created the head of the
Bevendean Giant for Bevendean School
children to plant shrubs in for their Year
2000 celebratory garden.
This is what makes life worth
living! Excellent help all day – good,
constructive work in a friendly safe
environment. We were amazed at how
much we got done and at the quality of
the work too! The Same Sky team were
great!
Chris Blackburn, Bevendean Primary
School
Hazel Varah
Tyre centipede
Roger Bamber
30
Paul Render
Perfect playtime
Hazel Varah
For this lively project we worked with
an entire year-group from Thomas
Knyvett College, an improving
secondary school in Middlesex, to
transform their rundown playground.
After creative consultation sessions
with the students, our team of artists
worked alongside staff and pupils
to bring major artistic pieces to the
space. We added a curvy quiet-seating
area decorated with a Gaudi-style tile
mosaic; a talent-zone stage for music
lessons and performances; and a
muralled climbing wall. It was a huge
project that has changed how the
children use their play area – and their
free time.
You let the pupils take charge of
decisions in their work, which we do not
always manage to do and it is great to
remember how this does often work.
Art and Design Teacher at
Secondary School
Dear John and team, Thank you for
helping me make my crab. I thought I
couldn’t make it at first but when I did
I was delighted. I couldn’t believe my
eyes when I saw the video. At the end I
really thought I couldn’t do it but when
I did I was pleased with myself.
Thank you for helping.
Yours sincerely,
Jack 8 years old
Supported by Creative Partnerships Sussex
and Surrey
School celebrations
Same Sky is expert at bringing artistic
magic to special occasions for schools.
Parades, Christmas celebrations, summer
fetes, end-of year shows. From lantern
parades to luminous costumes, puppets
to floats, simple themed events to grand
occasions in the school’s calendar, just let
us know how you want your special day.
Pupil at Great Binfields Primary
School, Basingstoke
31
Who we are
The people behind the
creative scenes
John Var
a
Artistic
h
Director
“Art is all ab
out
lives – in eve lighting up people’s
ry sense”
Jack Lynn
Passionate
a
into the w bout inviting everyo
orld of art
ne
an
forms, Joh
n has bee d all its
nh
the creativ
e team at eading up
Same Sky
over 12 ye
for
ars. His lu
m
in
is as divers
e as the p ary career
rojects he
directs: he
w
for the pio as the lighting desig
neering th
eatre and ner
company
a
Industrial
& Domesti rts
Theatre C
c
ontractors
; he taugh
at the high
t
ly
College of creative Dartington
Arts in De
von; he’s to
internatio
nally with
his printm ured
exhibition
akin
s; a
the Phoen nd he is a founder g
of
ix
largest ga Arts Association, th
llery and s
e
tudio grou
the south
p in
east.
John is a le
a
vibrant art ding figure in Brigh
ton’s
istic scene
and has
curated sh
ows for a
sp
profession
al and com ectrum of
munity gro
He is know
ups.
n
exciting lig for his innovative a
nd
hting and
prop-mak
skills (he d
ing
ev
controlled eloped the first rem
programm
otea
in carniva
l costume ble lighting
s an
and lives a
nd breath d floats)
es designin
making an
g,
d
bring out creating events tha
t
the best in
people.
32
Sharon M
ee
Project
Manager
“Children do
be
creative circ st under the best
umstances”
A dynamic
and divers
e
manages
and co-ord artist, Sharon
inates the
Same Sky
sc
partnersh hool and communit
ips, workin
y
gc
both youn
g people a losely with
nd teache
With over
rs.
20 years’
e
xp
working in
arts educa erience
tion, proje
managing
ct
an
learning w d devising creative
orkshops,
she has de
and develo
signed
p
Sky and v ed both the Young
olunteer p
Same
rog
has an inn
ate skill fo rammes and
r bringing
best in yo
out the
ung peop
le.
Her artwo
rk
inspiration is extraordinary and
al:
large-scale from mind-blowin
g
p
installatio uppetry and huge
ns to brillia
textile
nt lit sculp
and the m
ture
os
As well as t intricate of paintin s
gs.
a passion
fo
learning, s
he also tra r arts-based
ins comm
artists, sha
unity
rin
creative th g her skills and
inking. He
r belief in
transform
the
ati
with every ve power of art gro
ws
project.
e team
Our creativ
Dan Lake
Project
Manager
“There’s not
hin
moment wh g as magical as the
en an event
springs into
life”
Jenny B
ootle
Full of pos
itive energ
y
an inspire
d designe , Dan is
r-maker a
skilled pro
nd
du
a backgro ction manager. Wit
und in boa
h
t-building
teaching,
and
he is also
a brilliant
manager w
proje
h
every step o knows how to ma ct
ke
o
exhibition f an event, carnival
or
work – pra
ctically, lo
and creati
gistically
vely.
Specialisin
g
outdoor c in partnership proje
ommunity
c
events, Da ts and
passion fo
n has a
r creative
learning a
skill for bri
nd a
ng
finding wa ing people togethe real
ys to build
r and
co
enthusiasm
. He has a nfidence and
wide swee
experienc
e: organis
ing region p of
shows, co
al
-ordinatin
g complex touring
projects o
outdoor
ne
and safety very level, includin
g
, and man
aging edu health
programm
cational
es for teac
hers, stud
artists. Wh
ents and
at
role is brin he loves most abo
ut his
ging educ
ati
– and peo
ple – toge on, events, art
the
them and
create ma r to empower
gical mom
ents.
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Natasha Pa
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Sarah Parso
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Tom Patters
Pat Power
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Paul Rende
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Doro
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Anthony Sil
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Lindsey Sm
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Paul Streetl
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Jonathan Sw
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Ben Thomso
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Martina Tig
Kelly Turner
Hazel Varah
its
otographs
Photo cred
credit the ph
to
ed
pt
m
te
en
We have at
t it has not be
brochure bu
each
of
or
used in this
at
in
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identify the
acknowledg
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ould like to
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y
Sk
e
d
m
ite and
image. Sa
t been cred
work has no
se
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raph.
w
og
ne
anyo
their phot
for the use of
em
th
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an
th
John Varah
[email protected]
Registered charity no: 1042454
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Same Sky
Designed by Helen Joubert Design
Copy by Kerry Fowler
Printed by Synergy Group
Cover image: Floating lotus lilies at Diwali
John Varah
Steve Thornton for Breeze Photographic
Bec Britain
Alison Bartlett
Jo Coles
Sharon Mee
Same Sky
The Annexe Studios
Belmont Street
Brighton BN1 4HN
Tel: 01273 571106
Email: [email protected]
www. samesky.co.uk