Club Soda Pop Week Pop Fun

Club Soda Pop Week Pop Fun !

In the week running up to the Club Soda Pop Tent on the 31st of July, Club Soda created Pop Week. During Which Club flung open its doors and invited the general public to assist in the design and decoration of the Club Soda Pop Tent and big brother interview gazebo. Pop week allowed Club Soda to interact with the public in a completely different way. By encouraging Club Soda members and volunteers to share common projects, and thus common goals. For example the relaxing and creative environment of the Pop week work shops, gave Club Soda members a chance to spread the message of Club Soda and in turn listen to what the public really thinks about Club Soda.

The unique combination of creative volunteers and a finite budget created an explosion of bejeweled and some what inexpensive decorations, sculptures and wall hangings. The sheer number of decorative objects should be applauded as equally as their aesthetic appeal. For at least fifty percent of the materials used were donated, reused, and or recycled. Therefore reducing the quantity of new material Club soda needed to buy: and in turn helping the environment by turning items people often throw away into beautiful treasures. For example most of the materials used came from Sutton Squirrels Community Scrape Scheme to which Club soda is a member.( Description and contact details for Sutton Squirrels are at the bottom of the page).

Pop Week also played its part in supporting upcoming artists by providing both materials and the opportunity to have their pieces of art showcased to the public. For example Jolie a recent art graduate created a giant bottle of Club Soda and accompanying bubbles, out of paper mache and chicken wire. The Club Soda Bottle will play a critical role as the main piece of decoration near the Pop Tent stage, and is a thoughtful play in the word Club Soda. Yasmin, another recent art graduate created a beautiful Croydon clock tower sculpture, that will provide the dual purpose of reminding the public of where the heart of Club lies and will eventually be placed, in the chill out zone of the Pop Tent.

Yasmin very kindly wrote the following about her Club Soda experience….

'' My ideas for Pop Week were to bring different parts of Croydon together, by making models of buildings and places important to Croydon and Club Soda, the buildings would all be brightly coloured, in keeping with Club Soda's branding. In the end it was only possible to make the Croydon ClockTower. Other decorations we made were the CD garland/curtain, which gave individuals the opportunity to decorate a CD each, and build upon what the others had done, the same idea was behind the bunting''.

When a Club Soda member came up with the idea of creating and selling badges, to help promote Club Soda. It was warmly welcomed, so much so that many Club Soda members learnt how to use the badge machine and created a huge haul of badges. This small flame of entrepreneurship spread like wild fire with Club Soda members asking themselves what skills do they posses in which to create inexpensive items to sell at the Pop Tent event. The energetic buzz that was created was not due to the expectation of making a lot of money, but use the Pop Tent as a platform to demonstrate their skills to the public. Lenya a Club Soda member created dozen hand crafted felt bookmarks at a cost of £1.50 each. The fabric used to construct the bookmarks came from the fabric bins at the local college she attends, and therefore was free. Lenya stated that she enjoyed making the bookmarks because it was relaxing, and may benefit Club Soda.

To all the Club Soda members, volunteers, and anyone one else involved in Pop Week. I would just like to thank you for your wonderful and varied contributions.

Written by Caroline Dodd

Information about Sutton Squirrels

The squirrels (Community Scrape Scheme) is a charity that has collected surplus materials from factories, offices, shops and the public for many years. The squirrel community scrape scheme has membership of over eight hundred organizations. Organizations pay a monthly a yearly subscription fee and their members can collect donated items. Charity number 1091877 and Company Reg. Number 4365191

http://www.Squirrelscommunityscrapsheme.btik.com/p Home.ikml

Club Soda receives funding from the Media Trust

Club Soda receives funding from the Media Trust

Community Voices is an England-wide program funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG), Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (formerly DIUS) and delivered by Media Trust .

It aims to engage, inspire and empower communities who feel disadvantaged or isolated with the confidence, skills, and access to resources and funding that will enable them to find their voice and make it heard, using digital media.

Communities around England have been making a positive difference to their lives by using creative digital media under the Community Voices project. We selected 25 community projects to receive funding of either £1,500, £7,000, £14,000 or £61,000, as well as support from digital mentors. We also made awards to communities demonstrating the inspiring use of digital media in disadvantaged communities under our Inspiring Voices scheme. Take look at these communities and their projects. Browse our interactive map below, and watch a new documentary called Community Voices featuring seven of these communities.

Club Soda is run by a group of people with learning disabilities who get together in order to face the challenges of exclusion and isolation. The Community Voices project

. The aim of the project was to bring together people with learning disabilities and challenge perceptions of what having a learning disability means. The community wanted to set up a media team and with training in film production and communication skills produce a film about a Croydon music festival at which they had their own ‘Pop Tent’ featuring musicians and DJs with learning disabilities. They also planned to promote social events for people for learning disabilities through film and online.

 What the community did
 The newly formed media team received 24 weeks training from media specialists. They practiced their new skills by filming interviews with each other on the impact of belonging to the community. With their mentors, they planned how to shoot the Croydon Summer Festival, getting footage of the event’s preparations and planning how to cover the Festival itself – what to shoot, where to position cameras, what interviews to get. They organized and filmed the day’s activities with music, DJ sets and a headline event.

The completed film was screened in the cinema at Croydon Clocktower to the local community, Club Soda members, local council members, and the Mayor, and was also made available on youtube.

The project changed the community in a number of ways.

• Participants learnt valuable new skills and gained knowledge that will help them to access mainstream opportunities. One member has already had paid employment as a result of the project.

• The process built up their confidence and made them proud of speaking out about themselves and their achievements.

• They had to work as a large team in order to succeed in making their film and they experienced the value of teamwork

• They put their skills into practice at their first public event – the Croydon Summer Festival – enabling the day to be recorded, remembered and shared among the wider community.

• Next steps – to train up others and pass on their newly acquired skills. (www.mediatrust.org/community-voices)

Club Soda greets Heavy load and other supporting acts

Club Soda greets Heavy load and other supporting acts

On the 15^th of January 2010 Get your ear plugs ready! Heavy Load*, the punk band from Brighton, is coming to Croydon! A Club Soda special event, supported by Croydon’s Leisure Link forum and ‘Shift the Shift!’ campaign. A night of very loud Hard Rock and Punk music—definitely not for people who hate noise! Support acts: ‘The Pretty Dolls’—Croydon day services’ very own rock band; William Slack; Catherine O’Rourke; Zombie Crash. Heavy Load runs the national ‘Stay Up Late’ Campaign. Visit the Stay Up Late website: www.stayuplate.org. Supporters, please help people to stay until the end of the night! Shift the Shift and Stay Up Late! Yeaaaah! (Leisure Link news Letter issue 49).

If you weren’t, you missed out on a great night of rock and punk music! Heavy Load, the punk band from Brighton, came down to support Croydon’s ‘Shift the Shift!’ campaign. They were supported by Catherine O’Rourke and Zombie Crash. The great news is that lots of people stayed until the end of the gig! Thumbs up to their supporters! Heavy Load started the ‘Stay Up Late’ campaign. Visit the website at: www.stayuplate.org

“It was a good night. Lots of people turned up. I interviewed people about ‘Shift the Shift!’ on film. I spoke to Catherine O’Rourke, one of the performers and bought a CD from Zombie Crash. I’m helping make a film about the gig for the Croydon Film Festival. ”Sedley

“It was very good...excellent! The young girl—Catherine O’Rourke— was very good. All of it was good. It was a good atmosphere. You should come next time!” Amanda (Leisure Link news Letter issue 50).

Shift the Shift!

Imagine this…You are at a disco, club night or evening event. Half way through, just as you are starting to enjoy yourself, chatting with friends, you are told you have to go home because the staff are changing shifts! Sadly, this still happens for some people when they have been looking forward to an event for a long time. Some homes make a big effort to change staff shifts to suit the activities people want to do and support them to stay until the end of events. So, it is possible! All homes should change staff shifts to fit around the activities of the people they support, rather than the other way round. Club Soda supports Croydon’s Shift the Shift Campaign! (www.clubsoda.org.uk).

Oliver Tipper, Croydon Clocktower’s Audience Development Officer, and Leisure Link forum member supports the ‘Shift the Shift’ campaign. Oliver will help raise awareness about ‘Shift the Shift’ through the Beautiful Octopus Club and other initiatives, in partnership with the Leisure Link forum. For details of the Beautiful Octopus Club and other club nights and discos for people with learning disabilities, please visit Leisure Link’s online calendar at: (http://www.croydononline.org/ leisure/leisurelink-events.asp)

Shift The Shift The Movie

The resident Club Soda Media Crew filmed the Heavy load event on the 15^th of January 2010. The night had two main aims Firstly for the guests to enjoy a hearty night of Punk Rock. Secondly for Club Soda to Archive how important Croydon Council Shift the Shift Campaign was. By creating the Shift the Shift documentary, which highlighted the potential difficulty disabled people can face, when trying to access social events at night due to shortages of support workers. The Club Soda’s Media Crew interviewing Musicians, Councilman, Careers, and the General public on camera on the topic. As well as editing, and marketing, and selling tickets for the documentary premiers at the David Lean cinema on the 28^th of April. Cheeck out the Shift the shift documentary on www.clubsoda.org.uk or Youtube.

Club Soda Spring Party 24th March 2010

Club Soda Spring Party 24th March 2010

Club Soda (in association with the Beautiful Octopus Club) This is a fantastic live event run by people with learning disabilities. Live music, open mic, chill out spaces, massage table, karaoke bar, theatre, films... there are loads of spaces to explore and of course the famous dancefloor. One of the Front Line acts is Lizzie Emeh.

Be inspired! Lizzie Emeh was discovered by HeartnSoul and is one of its main artists. Colin Hambrook caught up with Lizzie Emeh at the Blue Camel Club, the Old Market Arts Centre, Hove on Monday 8 March 2010. It's hard not to be entranced by Lizzie Emeh's talent. Whether she's singing soul, R&B, jazz or funk she knows how to reach out to her audience and get them to respond.

It’s a fun night for regulars at The Blue Camel Club and Lizzie knows how to deliver what the 150 or so clubbers want to hear. Belting out the chorus of 'I Like the Bass' she gets the audience to chant the 'pom, pom, pom' in the refrain. A sea of arms are raised in the air in anticipation. It’s impossible not to be engaged.

Loud and Proud was released in October 2009 at the Royal Festival Hall on Heart n Soul’s own record label. Lizzie Emeh attracted an audience of 800 strong. She says: ‘The Royal Festival Hall was totally amazing. It's hard to put into words. Beverley Knight - one of the most epic people in the music world - introduced me onto the stage via video link - as "a pop princess with soul." It was quite surreal. I only knew about it two days before the performance, so it was a great surprise.’

Since then she's been touring throughout the UK promoting the album, primarily playing to audiences of learning disabled people. Lizzie says: ‘It's a big step for me - now I am following a solo career. Heart n Soul have been strongly behind me. It's been really, really good.’

In the process she has courted a fair amount of media attention with interviews in The Guardian, Times Online, the Evening Standard, BBC Radio 4's Today Programme as well as a great interview with Gus Garside from Art Spider. This is quite an accomplishment, and although there is the usual medical model interest in the mainstream features, Lizzie’s personality is strong enough to get her message across about the importance of challenging the prejudice and discrimination learning disabled people face.

Lizzie’s talent was discovered by Heart n Soul more than ten years ago when she got up to perform at an Open Mic session. Since then she’s written and performed in some of Heart n Soul’s touring shows like Large and has travelled with them across Europe and Asia.

She has come a long way since then and Loud and Proud is a testament to that fact. The album took a year and a half to put together, and all the songs on the album have been written or co-written by her. Some of the songs – like Angels and Over You – are very personal – and others like People Over the World and Manifesto have more of a political edge. These two were written by ad-libbing with collaborators Danny Smith and Mat Fraser.

The album incorporates a range of music styles: ‘When I write I have a rhythm and beat in my head. It all happens in the studio. Sometimes Mark will give me a bass line, Charles or Danny will play some chords and the words and tune come. We'll throw different ideas around. I want people to listen to my songs and respect where I am coming from. I have a big ambition to be the first learning disabled artist to get a M.O.B.O. award.

Lizzie has a few short films under her belt now. She starred in Heart n Soul's first ever drama short film called Celebrity Shotgun, written by the actors and directed by Mat Fraser. The film was put forward for the Oska Bright Best Acting Award and went on tour to twenty five festivals in the UK and around the world.

It’s been a long and fruitful journey since the Heart n Soul’s Squidz and Octopus Clubs first came about. Lizzie reflects: ‘It was when Heart n Soul were touring Belgium that they first decided what had to be done. A club owner wouldn't let the band in. He said they had to change, so they changed clothes, and went back. But he still said 'no.' So the band thought 'if they won't let us play in their clubs we'll invent our own.'

Since then, club nights that mirror Heart n Soul’s ideas – like Carousel’s Blue Camel Club - have sprung up, right across the country. Heart n Soul have nurtured a whole playlist of groups of learning disabled artists. ( http://disabilityartsonline.org/lizzie-emeh).

First Christmas Party

Club Soda’s First Christmas Party

A last reminder! Wednesday 16 December At Croydon Clock tower 7 to 11pm. Tickets cost £6. They are selling fast. Live music; Karaoke; open mike slot for people to show off on stage; theatre by Greengoose; wheelchair art; balloons; films; art exhibition by Space C studio artists… The artists Delroy Ford Lenya Chrisanthou Robert Lovejoy will be preparing work for an exhibition in Space C—Croydon Clock tower's community gallery. Exhibition 16 December to 2 January 2010 Space C The Space C studio artists’ work will be on show at the next Club Soda. It will include different types of art, including print, mosaic, sculpture, water colours, drawings and more. Some pieces of work will be for sale (Leisure Link News Letter issue 49)

Club Soda’s ‘Christmas Party’ on 16th December was massive, with over 300 people attending! The club featured a main dance space, karaoke in the bar, open-mic, theatre performances in the court, films in the cinema, a ‘cool out lounge’ and an art exhibition – phew! There were 3 performing arts companies there (including resident theatre company Big White Light) and 7 resident DJ’s. Every aspect of the club was co-produced and co- managed by people with learning disabilities; from the cloakroom staff to the sound and lighting crew! Club Soda was developed through Croydon Clock tower’s relationship with groundbreaking arts organization, Heart ‘n’ Soul; in 1999 they established the first club in Croydon run by people with learning disabilities, The Beautiful Octopus Club; it ran for 10 years. The existence and success of Club Soda is thanks to this long-standing relationship between the Clock tower and Heart ‘n’ Soul. Our next Club Soda ‘Party’ is on Wednesday March 24th 2010. It will feature an exciting live performer called Lizzie Emeh. Lizzie is making history as the first solo artist with a learning disability to release her album to the general public. (disabilitycroydon.org.uk)

Club Soda's First Class

Club Soda’s First Class Wednesday 3oth of September 2009

Good news for arts! Croydon Clock tower has been granted money o run weekly arts training courses for people with learning disabilities from Autumn 2009. The training will prepare people for paid work in the arts. It will include acting, directing, filming, administration, promotion, front-of- house, lighting, sound, stage management, technical skills and customer care. (Leisure Link News Letter Issue 47)

Launch Of Club Soda

Launch of Club Soda

The launch of Club Soda takes place on 9th July at Croydon Clock tower, and marks the tenth anniversary of a regular club night event for people with learning disabilities. The club was previously known as Beautiful Octopus Club. This will be the first time that the event has been entirely produced by people with learning disabilities .Who have made artistic as well as practical decisions about the organization and running of the event ( croydon.gov.uk)

Leisure Link interviewed Sedley Wilson about Croydon’s first ever Club Soda night held on 9 July 2009. Club Soda is the new name for Croydon’s Beautiful Octopus Club. Sedley told Leisure Link:

“Club Soda was a good night. The people with disabilities working at the club had T-shirts saying ‘Staff’ and the new name; ‘Club Soda’. In the ‘Open Mike’ slot, a girl with a great voice sang the famous Titanic song; ‘My Heart Will Go On’, and someone else played the keyboard. Another really good thing is that people have been staying later into the evening at club night recently. ”People had choices about what they wanted to do, like dropping in to the cinema or the chill out room, or doing some painting. Someone in a wheel chair was also able to join in by painting with their wheels…. Everyone feels that they can belong to a club like that. It makes a lot of difference that people feel part of it. The best thing for me was learning how to use a professional camcorder on a tripod. I helped out Sonny with filming the event and then took photos of the chill out room. The live acts were brilliant and the DJs – Julie Brickley, Hannah Marvelly, Brian Jones, Valerie Newcastle, Dennis Ellis, Anthony Yarnham—were good too. (Leisure Link News Letter Issue 47)