Cognitive Composition: Embracing the Unexpected - a New

Model on the Cross Pollination of Statutory Mental Health

Services, Professional Arts and Cultural Industries.

“Creativity comes from looking for the unexpected and stepping outside your own experience.”

— Masaru Ibuka – (Co-founder of Sony Corporation & founder of The Institutes for the Achievement of Human

Potential).

This report has been constructed by Colin Park, Christine Eade and Sarah Laughton and ratified by the Pea

Pod Collective.

We would like to thank the many associates and collaborators that have offered their support and whose

words have been woven into the text.

CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

SUM OF THE PARTS

The Pod

The Pod and Revive café

Taylor Johns House Music and Arts Centre

The Peapod Collective

Core Members of the Peapod Collective

Creative Collaborators by organisation

Creative Collaborators by artist and discipline

Relationship Dynamics

INVESTMENT

Investment Chart

Return on investment

Testimonials

ARTS BY CATEGORY

Music

Still Image - Photography

Fine Art

Studio Practice

Foundations

Love Creativity//Love Arts#

Moving Image

Narrative

Creative Practice for narrative environments – collaboration of media

EMBRACING INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS AND ARTS PLATFORMS

Pecha Kucha

Doug Tielli, Tin Angel Records

CREATIVE INTENT

Future Framework

ENDS//BEGINNINGS

Abstract

The Pod and Pea Pod Collective continually strive to cross pollinate creative skill, artistic intent,

human drive, creative excellence and inherent curiosity by facilitating and constructing environments

conducive to inter-disciplinary practice and experimentation. They encourage, inspire and enable people to

engage with the issues, practices, opportunities and insights that run across creative industries. They

incubate and assemble events led by creative professionals who are practicing artists, composers, film

makers, programmers, writers, curators working or influential in the creative industries and provide an

exciting climate for challenging cross-disciplinary debate on contemporary cultural themes and issues.

cu·ri·ous/ adjective

1. eager to learn or know; inquisitive.

2. prying; meddlesome.

3. arousing or exciting speculation, interest, or attention through being inexplicable or highly

unusual; odd; strange: a curious sort of person; a curious scene.

4. Archaic.

a. made or prepared skilfully.

b. done with painstaking accuracy or attention to detail: a curious inquiry.

c. careful; fastidious.

d. marked by intricacy or subtlety.

Creativity challenges and infiltrates what we do (and how we feel) both subconsciously and consciously.

Through collaboration with professional artists and creative industries on a local and international

platform, symbiotic and transformative relationships have evolved.

The Pod inspires, engages and reaffirms people’s connection with the arts and creative industries. Access

to the arts in Coventry was ordinarily via community education, community arts or clinical art therapies.

It was evidenced that there was a need to plug a gap, as although these approaches are of value in some

stages of a recovery journey, people recognised that they wanted to validate their existing skills through

co-production with professional artists, industries and environments. From this recognition grew the

determination, impetus and personal resilience to shift from being silenced recipients of statutory or

entry level services, to composers, performers, co-producers, mentors, critiques, designers, commissioners

and providers of opportunity to experience the arts at a level that is accessible, yet challenges

perspectives.

Working with experienced arts professionals has had the effect of both allowing people to reveal assets

they had not previously applied worth to or re –immerse themselves in to the professional arena. The

creative process develops people's critical thinking and eye. Through critiquing work and having your work

critiqued via stimulating conversation and debate, emotional intelligence and resilience is enriched.

Inspiration (countable and uncountable; plural inspirations)

1. The act of inspiring or breathing in. 2. breath 3. The act or power of exercising an elevating or stimulating influence upon the intellect or emotions;

the result of such influence which quickens or stimulates; as, the inspiration of occasion, of art,

etc.

"The worst enemy of creativity is self-doubt." - Sylvia Plath

Sum of the Parts

The Pod

The Pod is a Coventry City Council resource for people determined to improve their mental health. It

advocates that people have capacity to direct and control their recovery journey. The Pod’s

Personalisation and Recovery pathway is multi-faceted and incorporates Foundation Planning which creates

focused time to develop recovery plans. The support offered is solution focused, personalised and

responsive. The Pod's approach aims to optimise a person's connectivity to and inclusion in their

community and thus build fast, firm and diverse sustainable social support networks. As an outcome of

partnerships with the third sector and statutory organisations and our grass roots neighbourhood based

work we create sustainable bridges to universal opportunities or employment. The Pod utilises Social

Brokerage skills to directly support people to research, appraise and cost new opportunities and then

complete Direct Payment applications when and where relevant. All of the above has been proven to reduce

people's dependency on, or revolving usage of, both secondary mental health and specialist health and

social care commissioned services in the third sector.

Recovery is about focusing on building the resilience of people with mental health issues, not just on

treating or managing their symptoms. Recovery enables the re-establishment of connectivity to the

'ordinary' thereby helping people reduce the sense that they are defined by their diagnosis and

encouraging them to see themselves as a valid member of the wider community. This often has the effect of

increasing the level of personal ownership of and control over their condition, resulting in improved

self-management and a reduced reliance on health services.

Although the Pod’s remit and work is multifaceted, a common strand is that all facets either implicitly or

explicitly aim to build individual and /or organizational capacity for creativity, innovation and

resilience. The Pod leverages funding streams and entrepreneurship and as an outcome generates social

capital and cross sector/mixed economy investment. Its ‘can do’ approach acts as a catalyst for

collaboration and clustering and thus aligns creative sector development opportunities to the broader

public policy objectives. Whether by intent or default the Pod has successfully enabled the emergence of a

community of practice which is driven by and has a focus on collaboration-based innovation. As a

consequence the Pod has gained a reputation as a creative hub or a ‘convergence centre’.

The Pod, in co-production with the Peapod Collective, commissions professional arts practitioners to

achieve its aims & encourages an interaction with the arts. The Pod encourages artists to remain as

artists rather than give too much away to tutoring. Arts in community settings are often presented in a

teacher student style, which leaves participants following instruction rather than taking a lead in

pushing their own curiosity. This approach places emphasis on the impressions & conclusions that people

naturally form when confronting new types of experience. Similarly, spectators will often look for

familiar paradigms and seek out assurances of these from the artist, which can diminish the impact of the

Art and dissuade people from acknowledging any further impressions.

“I see the residency at the POD as a kind of landing platform that will allow me to continue my practice

in a very stimulating environment.” Mircea Telega –(Fine Arts and Illustration studio residency @the Pod).

n. pl. re·cov·er·ies

1. The act, process, duration, or an instance of recovering.

2. A return to a normal condition.

3. Something gained or restored in recovering.

4. The act of obtaining usable substances from unusable sources.

The Pod and Revive Café P

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2010

2011 2012

2013

Revive café is the core of much of the cultural exchange that occurs on site at the Pod. The Café

attracts around 300 customers a week and also functions as a training kitchen, an exhibition space (for

semi-permanent Fine Art exhibitions) and a general performance area. The Café also serves as a ticket

outlet for Taylor John’s House Music and Arts Centre offering a 20% discount for people associated with

the Pod.

The café hosted ‘Revive Your Evening’, a monthly Open Mic event, compered by Angryfish, a disability arts

activist who was associated with the Pod via Being Heard workshops which he delivered in 2010. Working

with a Disability Arts Activist was an approach that service users, The Council and social care leads

understood and accepted. The ‘Revive Your Evening’ model became formulaic and closed, not attracting a

diverse audience and was preventing citizens from progressing on to wider interests in music and the Arts.

It, by default, became part of the ‘mental health’ establishment as opposed to part of the creative

industries in the city.

This led to the Peapod Collective taking control and reshaping events.

Subsequent and transformational taster and foundation events are still held in the café, but are steered

by the Peapod Collective, who evaluate the risk benefits impact. An Example is ‘LOVE ARTS // LOVE

CREATIVITY #’ which serves as opportunity to explore possibilities either as contributors or as

spectators.

Taylor Johns House Music and Arts Centre

Taylor John's Music & Arts Centre is a mixed arts, not-for-profit organisation which delivers music

tuition, community projects, provides performance and rehearsal space and programmes high quality music

concerts. The arts centre is based in two neighbouring venues; one is two conjoined former Coal Vaults and

the other is a 5 room, mixed rehearsal space in Coventry's Canal Basin. Taylor John’s House has operated

as a non-for-profit company limited by guarantee since 2008.

Since Taylor John’s House opened in 2006, having developed out of ‘The Tin Angel’ café music venue, they

have grown their own in-house audience and are regionally synonymous as an intimate place to see world

class acts alongside local and national musicians.

Over the years Taylor John’s has built relationships with national and international promoters/agents and

has managed to secure unique bills (the Tin Angel was the first venue Jose Gonzalez played in the UK).

As well as live music performances Taylor John’s has become a hub for other community events and artistic

genres. It has hosted numerous photography and fine art exhibitions, plays and monologues, film and

comedy.

As of August 1st 2013, Taylor Johns Music and Arts Centre became ‘The Tin Music and Arts Centre’

establishing its status as a charity.

The Peapod Collective

The Peapod Collective was formed in 2009 through a partnership with the Pod and Taylor John's House. The

director of Taylor John's House, the Manager of the Pod, and a person with lived experience of mental ill

health were the constituents of this phase in the Peapod Collective’s development and they secured seed

funds for pioneering workshops through an Awards for All Lottery grant.

As an outcome of this seed project, the Peapod Collective now comprises 8 people with both lived

experience of mental ill health and expertise as arts practitioners. This expertise includes; composers,

published poets, arts graduates and administrators, sound technicians and musicians.

Membership is fluid in response to the self-defined shape of a person's unique recovery journey. The

Collective itself is restricted to a maximum of 12 active members and allots 6 month’s membership to new

applicants to encourage a reactive approach to its project planning.

The Peapod Collective provide direction to Taylor John’s House, ratify decisions, mentor beneficiaries,

ensure the voice of the beneficiary is always heard and responded to, commission work, quality assure and

write bids.

In terms of practising an art form, the members, as practising artists themselves, are keenly aware of

what recipients of Art’s funds are most likely to benefit from and as such are able to identify where

positive long term gains are most likely to be found. In this regard, when 1:1 workshops are requested by

people accessing the Pod, it is acknowledged that successions of workshops are often required to sustain

the learning curve and reinvigorate creative thinking. This is in keeping with a tradition of artistic

process, where a phase of discovery is regarded with equal or greater importance than the result achieved.

With guidance from a professional, this discovery can become self-sustaining, focused and empowering; an

outcome facilitated by someone who is equally interested in the emerging process of the individual

attending the workshop.

Core Members of the Peapod Collective

Christine Eade

In addition to her work in the role of POD Manager, Christine is also a key Collective member. Drawing on

her vast experience in creative activities and collaboration, she has been instrumental in bringing the

different people and elements together to ensure that the projects, activities and events delivered by the

Pod are made even more effective. Her boundless enthusiasm and encouragement has been a constant source

of inspiration for all participants that have engaged with the Pod and her participation, particularly in

the Sound Moves music and dance improvisation sessions illustrates her creative, selfless approach.

Sarah Laughton

Sarah Laughton facilitates and encourages creative and pragmatic conversations amongst the Peapod

Collective and develops connections amongst the members and the wider artistic community. She perceptively

encourages signs of awaking enthusiasm with lead-ins to opportunities for personal and artistic

development.

As a clarinettist and saxophonist, she has frequently used her talents to unite musicians and spectators

in collaborations. Her acute sense of the dynamic of these gatherings allow for timely melodies to drift

in as invitations of auditory exploration, encouraged breaks from patterns of habit, which are skilfully

consolidated in union with the surrounding accompaniment.

Adam Hibberd

Adam Hibberd is a pianist capable of accommodating and adapting to various styles of music and is a

mainstay in the musical improvisation of the Peapod Collective. He is also engaging as a solo performer

and is a composer of complex and often bustlingly intriguing compositions. As a member of the Collective

he is a committed and observant contributor, bringing well-timed addendums & elucidations to the fore of

discussions. His suggestions are considerate of the group's aims in totality and of the individual aims of

Peapod Collective participants.

Matt Lister

As a key Peapod Collective member and participant, Matt has contributed to Pod activities and events in a

variety of ways. As a keen, highly creative photographer Matt has been responsible for collecting many of

the images that have been used to document, illustrate and advertise Peapod output. He is also an active

participant in many of the music workshops and improvisation sessions and has also turned his hand to

acting; playing the lead role in a short film created by the Pod entitled ‘The Jigsaw’.

Andy Whitehead

Andy Whitehead (BA Hons 1st Class – Music Composition and Professional Practice) is a professional

musician, a director of Taylor Johns House Music and Arts Centre and Collective member. Andy is a

professional musician who has extensive experience in the music industry as a composer and session

musician. Having worked with international recording artists both live and in the studio he has experience

in all aspects of the music industry and has appeared on BBC radio and television with a variety of

artists.

As a member of the Peapod Collective Andy is involved with the Pod as a music tutor and also enables

improvisation sessions, inspiring others, respecting and nurturing their own individuality. He has a

unique way of bringing together the sounds that everyone offers to the table in a real-time composition.

He is a clear and relaxed communicator and has an in depth knowledge of contemporary music (and indeed the

history of music) through his music qualifications and his experience of working in the music domain at

Taylor John’s House. His informed and passionate contribution is also hugely important in terms of event

management and constructing bids.

Colin Park

Colin is an invaluable participant of the Peapod Collective and his importance was acknowledged by his

placement as apprentice to the Pod and Taylor Johns. His contributions to Peapod meetings are incisive and

insightful and he is freely able to tap into his broad range of interests which include art, music

(including composition, vocals and bass), film, animation, photography, the internet and indeed IT in

general. As a bass player he is a reliable contributor to the improvisation sessions producing music

which blends harmoniously yet intricately to the overall soundscape.

Lucy Dowden

As the most recent addition to the Collective, Lucy imparts clarity and contributes fresh ideas; adding a

vibrancy that has positively shifted the dynamic of the core members.

Summary

The make-up of the Collective ensures that at any one point at least one member is able to commit to, or

mentor and inspire others to take the lead on the varied functions of an arts administrator, be they

research, bid writing, venue management, programming, promotion, marketing, evaluation and auditing.

Creative Collaborators by

organisation:

Awards for All

Bring Colour

NIACE

Evolve Projects

ICE

Coventry University

Taylor Johns Music and Arts Centre

DeCoda

Talking Birds

Silhouette Press

Creative Collaborators by

artist and discipline:

Adam Hibberd (Composer & pianist)

Adele Mary-Reid(Photographer)

Amber Merrick-Potter(Fine Artist)

Andy Guthrie (Musician)

Andy Whitehead(Musician)

Ben Haynes(Drummer)

Brian Harley (Filmmaker)

Colin Park (Musician)

Dark Actors

David Sanders (Singer/songwriter)

Delightful Young Mothers

Devon Sproule (Singer/songwriter)

DON'T MOVE!

Doug Tielli (Singer/songwriter)

Drew Coleman (Sound Engineer)

Euan Rodgers (Drummer)

Feathered Edge

Hannah Sutherland (Fine Artist)

Ian Whitehead (Sound Engineer)

James Birkin (Fine Artist)

Janet Vaughan (Pecha Kucha, Coventry)

Kate Walters(Music Producer)

Kerri Moore(poet)

Kristy Gallagher(Singer/songwriter)

Lucy-Ann Sale (Singer/songwriter/Musician)

Malc Evans (Musician)

Martin Green(Fine Artist)

Mason Le Long(Musician)

Mircea Teleaga (Fine Artist/illustration)

Richard Warren (Singer/songwriter)

Rosie Bolton(Fine Artist)

Sarah Laughton(Musician)

Si Hayden (Singer/songwriter)

The Pockets

Relationship Dynamics

Citizens

Pod Staff

Revive Café

The Pod

The Peapod Collective

Taylor John’s

House Music & Arts (The Tin Music & Arts Centre)

Staff

Resources

Venue/ Rooms

Brokerage

Exhibition

area

Social

Performance

area

Responses

Coventry University

Love Arts

/Love

Creativity

#

Professional

Fine Artists

Group

Workshop

s Individual

Workshop

s

Workshops

University Graduates

Seed Funds

Pe

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Eclectic Music & Arts

Practitioners

ICE

Faculty of

Performing

Arts

Apprenticeships

*Fundraiser

*Creative development – Bid Writer

Investment

The time lines embedded in the publication demonstrate power shifts– those power shifts are the markers

for transformation; who took the financial lead and who took the decision making lead in terms of design

and content. PURPLE indicates the Pod (Coventry City Council) had accountability. ORANGE indicates where

Taylor John’s House had accountability. GREEN indicates when transformation took place resulting in the

Pea Pod Collective taking accountability. BLUE indicates the level of in kind match.

2011 - 2012 2012 - 2013 2013-2014

Pod Budget £1,000 (Revive you

Evening)

£5,600 £5,000 allocated

External funds secured by the Pod for

EVOLVE apprenticeships and events

such as Adult Learner’s Week and

projects

£4,000 (EVOLVE

Apprentice)

£3,000 EVOLVE Apprentice

(coordination role for

Collective)

£3,000 (VIP project)

Awards for All Grant(held by Taylor

Johns)

£3,000

£6,000

In-Kind Match (Pod staff time) –

Manager plus Development Worker

£1,000

(Development

Worker)

£2,000 (Manager)

£4,000 (Development

Worker)

£3,000 (Manager)

£4000 (plus the EVOLVE

apprenticeship)

**In–Kind Match - Collective’s time

– social capital

£1,000 £3,750 £3,750

In-kind match Studio Hire (based on

other studio rental costs)

£3,000 £6,000

In-Kind contribution from Tin Angel

Records

£1,000

**In kind investment from the unpaid members of the Collective is *Time Banked and has enabled films to be

made, people to access professional piano tuition - Collective members bank their time and create a

virtual pot that others can draw on. Other projects like VIP sub-contract to the Collective so they can

commission creative professionals.

Total cash investment (combination of grants and revenue) between 2011 and 2014 - £28,600

Total in-kind investment £27,500

This demonstrates the collective desire to capacity build programmes and source mixed economy investment.

The in kind investment in the studio space has a significant strategic impact in terms of the Arts and

regeneration in the city.

*Time banking is a pattern of reciprocal service exchange that uses units of time as currency.

Return on Investment

The approach has been multi-faceted and achieved depth and breadth outcomes. The return on the investment

is most readily explained by categorising the impacts.

Impact 1

The approach has enabled 7 people with severe and enduring mental ill health to take ownership of and

management for the development, commissioning and delivery of the programme.

Impact 2

The key objective of the approach was to enable professional artists to reach people and people to reach

professional artists. All initiatives hosted at the Pod have had an open door policy to maximise

opportunities for cross fertilisation and engagement. We estimate that during the life of the initiative

we have reached 1500 people.

Impact 3

The Peapod Collective has also organised creative programmes off-site to include gigs, Pecha Kucha, Sound

Moves, book launches and film nights reaching approximately 750 people.

Impact 4

25 people with severe and enduring mental ill health have progressed from one off taster sessions to a

foundation programme with a professional artist.

Impact 5

11 people have further developed their interest via personal investment or a direct payment.

Impact 6

The approach is aimed to support and raise the profile of the professional arts community and to date we

have been able to pay 30 artists at Arts Council rates. The approach has also enabled us to capacity build

the Art’s industries.

Testimonials

“My connection with the Peapod Collective has improved my situation in various ways throughout the

duration of my involvement. In the early stages, it allowed me to purposefully apply my experience in

music and design without having to deal with the pressures of commercial work. The momentum that builds

between being recognised as a competent amateur to being held accountable as a professional has always

left me lost and susceptible to over evaluating my output; the Peapod Collective has allowed me to steer

clear of that.

Throughout the course of my time in the Collective, I have had a lot of contact with local creative

professionals and I’ve found that interactions with them have revealed certain commonalities that have put

me at ease about how I understand life in general. This in turn has inspired me to build on the example

and to work so that others can benefit from these kinds of interactions. As a consequence, I have a better

understanding of what I want to achieve and how I can go about achieving it.” – Colin, (Peapod Collective

to creative development and bid writing).

“Sarah, Pod Development Worker, is an accomplished clarinettist and I felt I had to make the most of my

acquaintance with her by composing a piece for clarinet and piano. I had in mind a piece I had originally

conceived for solo piano which I felt could easily be adapted for clarinet as well. I set about doing this

using a music software package called Sibelius which I had already managed to procure on a Direct Payment

with the help of the Pod. I thought it unlikely the piece would ever be played so I was delighted and

grateful to the Pod when I was given the opportunity to perform it with Sarah for Adult Learners Week. The

rehearsals initially involved a Yamaha digital keyboard and were a bit disappointing because of a lack of

dynamic range. However at this time the Pod managed to procure a real upright piano for the Revive Café

with a consequent improvement in the performances. I was especially pleased with Sarah’s interpretation of

the piece and how she had already got to grips with the technical difficulties of the piece. As a whole I

am so appreciative of the Pod because it seems they were essential in every step of the process from

bringing this work from tenuous conception to a concrete reality.”- Adam, (Music composition and

collaborative performance).

“It is the ultimate gift as a musician; being asked by a composer to be the first person to interpret,

breathe, live and perform an original composition, with no precedent in terms of how that performance

could sound. Adam’s composition stretched both myself and my clarinet technically and organically.

Performing with Adam, as composer, as he accompanied on piano, was the joint realisation of the composer’s

notes on the stave; transforming them and becoming lost in a culmination of adrenaline, choices and

curious accidents.” – Sarah, (Music composition and collaborative performance).

“The taster session allowed me to be creative. I also found it fulfilling and awesome to be so expressive

and loud. It allowed me to feel kind of free and relaxed. I didn’t feel self-conscious or pressured and

the group work at the end was great as I felt we achieved something as a team.” – H, (her response to a

collective drumming session at a Love Creativity//Love Arts#).

“My mum listens to classical music and I love the sound of the violin. It would be nice to read music,

play and learn something new. I've always wanted to learn the violin. I would like to say to my mum that

I can play something. I find the sound of the violin soothing. I never had the chance to learn at

school. I was never really there. I'd love to have a go. I'd love to be able to play a song.” – V, (his

response to a violin foundation session at Love Creativity//Love Arts#).

“Katherine the violin teacher is no longer teaching me as she has got a job in Birmingham. She has given

me some pieces to learn, which I do every day and the name and number of another violin teacher who I am

going to phone to book lessons.” – V again,(after having 10 violin sessions).

“My photography gives me a talking point when meeting new people which improves my social interaction

skills. It also gets me out of my flat as I spend a lot of time indoors. The three tasters I had with

professional photographer, Russell, were clearly structured and he took me right through from composing a

picture, to editing on the computer. He is relaxed and easy going and a good listener.” L, (his response

to photography foundation sessions).

Arts By Category

Music

“All Art constantly aspires towards the condition of music.”

(Walter Pater - English essayist, critic of art and literature).

Music: Definition of Music 1. The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified,

and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre. 2. Vocal or instrumental sounds

possessing a degree of melody, harmony, or rhythm.

Music represents a significant area of exploration and discovery at the Pod and most aspects of music

making and appreciation have been covered by the various projects the Peapod Collective has been

responsible for.

The universal accessibility of music ensures that the overall music-related programme of events has

attracted people to The Pod that would not have previously had an association with the building. This has

usefully reduced the stigma of the building as a ‘closed community mental health service’ and paved the

way for broader Art experiences in the setting.

Performances are, however, not restricted to the Pod and Revive Café and formal and semi-formal

performances have taken place at other locations, namely Taylor John’s House and at the Department for

performing arts at Coventry University.

Music is not restricted solely to experiencing live performance and the diversity in terms of the

potential to engage with music provides opportunities to discover a variety of instruments, styles and

disciplines.

The Peapod Collective has commissioned professional musicians to facilitate foundation sessions offering

opportunity to taste, test, breathe and feel music in its different guises, and to provide one to one

sessions, once individuals have discovered an area of interest. This has included the wider area of music

composition, embracing traditional composition and sequencer oriented composition; allowing someone to

develop their own compositional voice/performance style and harness the necessary attributes, that are

often already present but perhaps not fully discovered.

Free-form improvisations that enable participants to react musically to each other and various other

stimuli resulting in a form of sonic sculpture, which is best described as ‘spontaneous composition’, have

been another way of stimulating interest. The freedom for participants to explore both as part of a

collective and individually, simultaneously allows them to gain experience as a cell working as part of a

larger organism and thus develop a more intimate relationship with their own instrument or creative voice

by exploring and exceeding the limitations presented by more ‘conventional’ performance and compositional

techniques.

Some improvisations have incorporated dancers, accompanied Pecha Kucha presentations and provided ambient

music for exhibitions. They are responsive to environment, scene and audience. Experimental aspects of

improvisation have included the use of randomised sets of instructions on slideshows (at times projected

on to dancers) and musical responses to art exhibitions. Many of these experiments form the basis of

permutations that result in a gradual evolution of practice and inform both the Peapod Collective and

others who have been involved.

The documentation of these creations is extremely important to the project as it provides a sense of

tangibility to work that sometimes, by its ephemeral nature, the effects of which can vanish. The use of

technology has enabled us to capture much of this work in the form of sound recordings from live events

such as the PEEP publication and CD and in more traditionally conceived works such as the soundtrack for

the Peapod Collective’s collaborative film project, ‘The Jigsaw’.

Moving forward, The Peapod Collective aims to continue and build upon these areas in order to allow

participants to evolve within the project and as individuals so that more may benefit from what has become

a highly creative and vibrant artistic hub.

Still Image - Photography

“The camera relieves us of the burden of memory. It surveys us like God, and it surveys for us. Yet no

other god has been so cynical, for the camera records in order to forget.” - John Berger, About Looking by

John Berger, J. Laslocky (Editor), ISBN: 0679736557

The still image as a medium is familiar, accessible, ordinary and approachable for most; the portability,

spontaneity and shareability offered by a mobile phone camera are a case in point. Still images express

in all kinds of ways the ordinary and extraordinary and create much debate.

Through the Peapod Collective individuals have been connected to professional working photographers, some

to develop their creative eye and technical skills for personal interest, others to begin a longer

learning journey and others to professionalise their practice. One such individual has been commissioned

on a time bank basis to produce work for Coventry City Council publications.

The opening exhibition ‘Found Portraits’ by Martin Green in Revive café, as a collection of photographs,

created much interest, comment, response and debate and was quickly regarded as intrinsic to the café

environment. Such was the will for it to remain in some form, the original exhibition evolved and became

‘Living Quarters’ a collaboration between Martin and Adele Mary- Reid; defined in part by the artists as,

‘a juxtaposition of two types of photographs that were taken 3 or 4 decades apart; a dialogue between two

artists and the users and administrators of the exhibition space.’

“What stirs my curiosity is that which is inevitably lurking within the details of a place, person or

thing. I will use photography as a tool to seek what I have never seen, what I don’t expect, or can’t yet

imagine, and then contain the small moments of memory by transforming them into a spectacle.” Adele

“The true content of a photograph is invisible, for it derives from a play, not with form, but with time.

One might argue that photography is as close to music as to painting. . . a photograph bears witness to a

human choice being exercised. This choice is not between photographing x and y: but between photographing

at x moment or at y moment.” - John Berger - The Look of Things, 1974.

Fine Art

Fine Art: Definition of Fine Art: 1 [mass noun] (also fine arts) creative art, especially visual art whose

products are to be appreciated primarily or solely for their imaginative, aesthetic, or intellectual

content: the convergence of popular culture and fine art.

Fine art develops independent and lateral thinking, as well as embracing and nurturing a unique/atypical

level of resourcefulness. Individuals develop their own ideas rather than operating only in

prescriptive, rigid and narrow terms. The Pod studio, exhibitions and creative narrative program enable

people to inform and influence critical debates that surround fine art/arts practice. This encourages

people to articulate their work within a broader context, which may be contemporary or may relate to

society in general. As creators people develop an innovative and determined personal approach to problem

solving, and this has a much wider application and impact. The Pod and Peapod Collective believe that

creativity is a vehicle through which people develop independent ideas and their personal

concept/relationship with recovery.

Studio Practice Arts Classes

Pod Manager intervention

Hired Art Room

Professional Studio Space

Pilot Studio Residency

Open Studios

Pea Pod Collective

intervention

Into Arts Faculty

Intro ICE

Selection Process for new

Fine Artists

Pilot Artist Private View

New Residencies commence

2011

2012

2013

“What does an artist do when they move in to a new space? How do they bring their new practice in to a

new territory and how does the histories of those spaces conduct and contrast with the artist's work?

Exploring, discovering and cataloguing is sometimes no different within the studio than foraging for weeds

and plants in urban and natural surroundings.” – Amber, resident studio artist @ The Pod.

The studio space has evolved over the last 20 years. Historically it was an art therapist's clinic and

consultation room, evolving in to a space for a day centre officer to run art classes exclusively for

those with mental health diagnoses. In the last 12 months, a metamorphosis established it as a revered

studio space for professional fine artists.

The studio residency at the Pod, allows people to see an artist at work and have the opportunity to have a

conversation, debate and share experiences. The variety of responses to this process reveals that people

react quite differently to artists and can be inspired to acknowledge the legitimacy of different ways of

seeing the world as much as they might also be inspired to create.

The scope of the residency, however, provides much more than that, and alters and enhances views of what

an artist might be in far more subtle ways. The general enthusiasm for the themes of the art, elicits a

renewed sense of permission to be more generally open in sharing impressions about specific passions or

about the wider world.

Foundations

Programming Arts Events

at the Pod and at Taylor

John’s House

Commissioning and

planning Love Creativity

// Love Arts#

Evaluating Delivery

Conceptualising Write and

Eat – Narrative Café©

2012 2013

2014

Foundations: Definition of Foundation:

1: The act of founding, especially the establishment of an institution with provisions for future

maintenance.2. The basis on which a thing stands, is founded, or is supported.

The Pod’s creative foundation program is an exploratory stage so is wide-ranging in nature, enabling the

acquisition of key practical and conceptual/abstract skills. To date it has covered drawing, painting,

film making, three-dimensional design, photography, improvisation, music composition and introductions to

playing musical instruments. This innovative cross-disciplinary approach to creative practice is a perfect

platform for building a portfolio and kick starting or reigniting creativity and new directions in

creative practice.

Love Creativity // Love Arts #

Love Creativity // Love Arts # is a significant contribution to the foundations programme and brings

professionals together to provide workshops and demonstrations. It is designed to encourage the chance

discovery of creative interests and utilises Revive Café as a Hub for this initial convergence of

activity.

Experiential learning has led participants to greater involvement with the wider community and the Pod

supports the transition when necessary by brokering arrangements with individuals and organisations to

ensure that a responsive and fluid engagement is maintained.

For the wider community it has also helped to generate an appreciation of cross-disciplinary approaches

and has linked people in with each other as collaborators beyond the usual roles of tutors and learners.

Moving Image

Moving image: Definition of Moving Image (Performing Arts) a. a sequence of images of moving objects

photographed by a camera and providing the optical illusion of continuous movement when projected onto a

screen b. a form of entertainment, information, etc., composed of such a sequence of images and shown in a

cinema, etc.

"Robert Altman once said that filmmaking is a chance to live many lifetimes. This is undoubtedly a sound

endorsement that alludes not only to the craft and the subject matter of each film, but to the lives and

times that revolve around them." Brian Harley, filmmaker.

The Pod made a connection with nationally acclaimed filmmaker Brian Harley through local film network

Short Night Films. The relationship has developed momentum, creating an appetite for engaging with film

on different levels.

The Pod's relationship with film began by testing the validity of becoming a screening venue for Short

Night Films, a flourishing network of local filmmakers. Brian Harley creates an eclectic, yet considered

ensemble of short films which enables people to have provocative debate.

"It's about selecting local work and issues; being enabled to show anything with no censorship however

sensitive or controversial this may seem as it is in essence relatable. It's about being democratic.

Nights were sometimes artistically programmed, other times randomly. They ranged from the daft and silly

to serious and challenging, entertaining and cinematic.

It was a great forum in which to exhibit. There is not much opportunity in Coventry for showing short

films. The relationship with the Pod added another cultural element to the city. There is and has always

been quite a high profile for music in Coventry, but not for film. It was great to exhibit local short

filmmakers, creating a theatrical feature, a free event, where audience had access to the filmmakers

themselves first hand. It is a rare and useful thing for filmmakers to gain an immediate response to

their work and engage in debate. Equally, how often does an audience have the chance to have a

conversation with a filmmaker after watching their film?" Brian Harley

Through this relationship, local film makers have utilised the Pod as a film set for a show reel.

People with lived experience of mental ill health through involvement with the Pod have moved from

audience, to contributors, to commissioners, to filmmakers.

Their portfolio of experience includes:

Experiential learning; mentored by Brian Harley, creating Vox Pops with people who attended a Local

Authority Personalisation event to record the impact of the event.

Creative critiques, contributors and co-directors for a film commissioned by Health relating to

stories of those using mental health services across Coventry and Warwickshire.

Producers of the Peapod Collective documentary.

Executive Editors for Far Away Voices, a film documentary commissioned through Whitefriars Housing.

Film makers of 'Jigsaw' a commission devised, filmed and scored for Snapshot mental health equality

Training.

Film makers and Producers of 'Evolve' documentary for a Strategic Health regional dissemination

event.

co·pro·duce

verb (used with object), co·pro·duced, co·pro·duc·ing.

1. to produce (a motion picture, play, etc.) in collaboration with others.

2. to manufacture (goods) in partnership with others.

Also, co-pro·duce.

Narrative Open Mic – Revive Your

Evening

Citizen

Poetry

Desire to Publish

Direct Payment

Book Launch at Taylor

John’s House

Silhouette Press

Response Programs

Write and Eat –

Narrative Café ©–

2010

2012 2013

Narrative: Dictionary definition of narrative: 1. an account, report, or story, as of events, experiences,

etc. 2. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) (sometimes preceded by the) the part of a literary work that

relates events 3. the process or technique of narrating.

All stories are valid and however uncomfortable, should be permitted to create debate. Silencing them or

ignoring them, is to deny something real about someone’s experience. Part of the human experience is

feeling uncomfortable. Curiosity is also part of the human experience. People have a natural point at

which they may choose to cut off when they see something as weird or unusual; this is perhaps the exact

indicator as to why it should actually be looked at.

“At a time in your life when your voice feels suffocated, detached or stolen, to enter an environment

where your words and sounds spring forth seemingly easily is no mean feat. I can't imagine that there are

many other 'mental health service provisions' in the UK that have managed to achieve this to such a

heightened degree. Perhaps in the future the Pod will look at harnessing the local art and music scenes

even more in order to regularly create the kind of invigorated mix on show that night.” (Atma Singh @

Revive your Evening).

Historically, within the service, narrative was placed in the context of poetry and play reading groups or

creative writing 'classes' and used to explore and focus on ill health and people’s mental ill health

experiences. They were psychological interventions run by day centre officers and were by nature of the

activity, voyeuristic, passive and investigative and/or stifling in terms of creative and critical

thinking.

Creative practice for narrative environments – collaboration of

media

Pod Manager intervention

Refurbishment

Gallery Rails

Fine Artist (MG)

Found Portraits exhibition

MG Studio Practice (visit

to Artspace)

Living Quarters Exhibition

(AMR and MG)

Private View

Response Events

2010

2012 2013

The Pod takes a responsive view to the idea of narrative and encourages people to value a rhythm of

evolving enquiry distinct from the retrospective narratives we use to describe ourselves to others. The

approach allows for the maturation of ideas that would perhaps have been undervalued as ambiguous or

pushed away as unusual if conclusions were drawn too readily. It enables people to explore, develop and

share their creative interests through text, image, sound and physical space.

The Pod has shifted the organisational culture to incorporate and include the stimuli that can best allow

for these types of experiences in the following ways:

Private views and response work

“Felt strangely validated by discomfort, I suppose art at its best unsettles to some extent. (Good

Crumble!)” - Guest at the ‘Living Quarters’ private view.

The Pod’s first major commitment to establishing itself as a creative hub was in the investment in

professional gallery rails. These have been important for the on-site exhibitions and have asserted a

clear statement of Art focussed purpose.

Each exhibition has been launched with a private view and there have been semi-formal opportunities to

respond to the exhibits throughout the course of its duration.

One such response involved the collation of both words and musical ideas about perceived themes of the

exhibition. These responses became outcomes themselves and stimulated further interest in the exhibition

and the methods that were used to produce the responses.

Open studio for resident artists @ The Pod

Part of the agreement with the fine artists who have a residency in the Pod studio is that they organise

studio open events. It is anticipated that these will be integral to studio holder events regionally. Open

studios provide a platform for critical discussion.

Sound Moves copyrighted to the Pod and the Peapod Collective

Sound Moves describes an improvisation, creating a sonic and movement landscape in real time using

electro/acoustic instrumentation in order to unite performer, audience and space in a unique, ephemeral

musical/movement experience. This was in collaboration with dancers from DeCoda.

Improvisation: Dictionary definition: 1. to invent, compose, or perform with little or no preparation.2.

To play or sing (music) extemporaneously, especially by inventing variations on a melody or creating new

melodies in accordance with a set progression of chords.3. To make do with whatever materials are at hand.

“I've learned stuff about my breathing, my body + my awareness.” (Sound Moves participant).

Write and Eat - Narrative Cafe

Commissioned by the Peapod Collective, this is a monthly event, in its embryonic stage, at which

Silhouette Press host an evening in Revive café where writing can be plentiful, and synergy between

professional writer and emerging writer can be explored or forged.

Zine Fair

This will create a regional point of reference through connecting Coventry venues, writers and small

presses.

Narrative Master Classes

Master classes are run by professional artists, are public facing and exploratory and are intended to

embrace, stimulate and extend people’s knowledge of arenas such as Word Press and You Tube.

A narrative environment is a space, whether physical or virtual, in which stories can unfold. A virtual

narrative environment might be the narrative framework in which game play can proceed. A physical

narrative environment might be an exhibition area within a museum, or a foyer of a retail space, or the

public spaces around a building - anywhere in short where stories can be told in space.

“The art of narrative is by definition a highly aesthetic enterprise.” (Aesthetic approach to narrative –

Wikipedia).

aes·thet·ic: noun ( used with a singular verb ) 1. the branch of philosophy dealing with such notions as

the beautiful, the ugly, the sublime, the comic, etc., as applicable to the fine arts, with a view to

establishing the meaning and validity of critical judgments concerning works of art, and the principles

underlying or justifying such judgments.2. the study of the mind and emotions in relation to the sense of

beauty.

“When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls. What is to

happen next will take place within the four walls of the story. And this is possible because the story's

voice makes everything its own.”

― John Berger, Keeping a Rendezvous.

Embracing international artists and arts platforms

Pecha Kucha

Pecha Kucha is a worldwide event held in over 500 Cities. Japanese for Chit-Chat, it utilises a rapid

slideshow presentation format where 20 slides are shown for just 20 seconds each. The Pod has been a venue

for one such event and Peapod Collective members have participated in several such presentations. One such

presentation involved responding to the slides via the improvisation of music and dance.

The event at the Pod was unique amongst other Pecha Kucha events because it occurred in the day and

attracted a new audience to Pecha Kucha. It was held to promote Adult Learners Week (NIACE) and had a

theme based upon ‘learning and unlearning’, which gelled well with both the casual and engaging style of

Pecha Kucha and the Pod’s overall creative intent.

Doug Tielli, Tin Angel Records

The Pod has worked with international recording artists such as Doug Tielli and Devon Sproule who have

performed to an intimate audience in Revive Café.

“It was a very special night, a very special get-together. And as often happens at special nights, there

will be something that strikes a very particular and very deep chord, for different people and for

different reasons. Doug Tielli, a talented Canadian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, had been

whiling away the days prior in Keresley regularly walking someone else's dogs, having returned from Europe

where he had been performing. I found out afterwards that he'd temporarily misplaced his passport and so

had cancelled a flight that would have otherwise whisked him away back to Toronto. Instead here he was

in the city that his label Tin Angel Records calls home, playing a short and intimate acoustic set. Thanks

to the Pod's ongoing and exciting collaboration with Taylor John's, a local performance and rehearsal

venue which employs staff connected to Doug's label, this confluence of circumstances meant that his

sweetly aching falsetto voice faded in and out at the Pod, as it strolled with simple carefree ease

through several songs, whilst we the listeners soaked it in. For me, his voice and music advocated utterly

indirectly, regarding a sort of post-environmentalism where nature spoke for itself. Certainly visceral,

yet at the same time the tones were mostly restrained. And it was effortless.” (Atma Singh -@ Revive your

Evening).

Creative Intent

The Pod and the Peapod Collective will extend the benefits of involvement in the arts and broaden people's

experience and connections with both the creative industries and mental health. This will be achieved

through the continued development of a participatory arts programme that will seek to inspire images of

possibility, build personal, professional, and community capacity and resilience whilst informing

sustainable and mutually supportive connections across communities of interest, the creative industries

and neighbourhoods.

Future framework

To continue to be brave and honest about what is working and what is not working.

To capacity build the Collective with new members.

To have focused fundraising campaigns led by the Evolve Creative Development - Bid writer.

To develop further on our commitment to fine arts graduates in the city through the provision of

professional studio and exhibition space.

To build capacity through brokering relationships with professional arts organisations and freelance

artists.

To provoke debate about arts sustainability and impact across the West Midlands.

To take ownership of our work and brand our ideas and products.

To encourage positive risk taking amongst all associates of the Pod.

ENDS//BEGINNINGS

“The Pod makes access to the arts and culture an everyday experience and I think that there is an

opportunity for this model to be adopted throughout the statutory sector... It is my view that the Pod is

making a significant contribution to the cultural life of the city.” - Martin Green (Fine artist and

exhibitor @the Pod).

“There is pleasure in movement and the unexpected.” (Sound Moves participant).

“Doesn't have to be perfect to be good.” – (Love Creativity // Love Arts# participant).