Secret City Arts

Claire Evans

Claire Evans graduated from Winchester School of Art in 2003 and since then has been working as a workshop leader running Animation and Visual Arts projects for all age groups and abilities. Past clients have included BBC Blast!, the CBSO, Creative Partnerships and Bright Space, Acorns Children’s Hospice and 7 Inch Cinema. In 2006 she was awarded a prize for the Big Draw event (part of the National Campaign for Drawing) she co-ran at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter.


Helena Gough



Helena Gough is a sound artist and freelance workshop leader who works in a variety of collaborative contexts. She offers young people the chance to explore environmental sound, recording and composition using real-world sound materials and free audio editing software. Helena is also a leader for Sound and Music’s ‘Sonic Postcards Project’, which was recently awarded The New Statesman New Media Award for Education. The software she uses can be downloaded from these websites:

Audacity

Soundplant

If you would like to contact Helena and find out more about her work then please get in touch by email: info(at)helenagough.net

Mandy Ross



Mandy Ross, Secret City Arts’ writer, has published over 60 children’s books with Ladybird, Child’s Play, Heinemann and others.




She runs writing workshops for people of all ages, and has worked with Birmingham Book Festival, Write On!, CBSO, Welsh National Opera, and Birmingham Libraries.

Mandy does lots of arts and health work. In 2007 she set up the Cancer Patients’ Writing Group. Their work was published in Being a Patient, which you can read by clicking here. Mandy’s play, Cradle to Grave, celebrating 60 years of the NHS, was professionally performed by The Hearth Centre, funded by Unison and the Arts Council. Mandy is currently working with Polly Wright of Hearth on Reading for Well-Being within Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust. More detail at Reading for Well-Being.

Mandy co-edited For Generations: Jewish Motherhood with Ronne Randall, published by Five Leaves Publications. You can email Mandy at mandyross(at)blueyonder.co.uk

Pyn Stockman



Pyn is a drama practitioner and mask maker who has been devising and delivering projects and performances with Schools and Community Groups for 15 years. She creates exciting accessible projects for people of all ages and abilities centreing on a participant led approach . She is ‘an excellent and experienced facilitator, project leader and workshop provider’. Specialist workshops include mask making , mask work, dramatic storytelling, devising, script writing, and improvisation. She has a particular interest in combined arts and is active in creating her own devised performance and mask work both independently and in collaboration with other artists.

If you would like to see a range of Pyn’s projects then visit www.dramask.com or email pyn(at)dramask.com