Here's the Latest News from Caged Beastie....
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05.11.23: Our followers may have noticed a lack of activity on our site of late. This is due to Martin's involvement as Associate Artist with Anim8s, a charity dedicated to providing exciting experiences in digital media to groups and individuals in Fife and beyond. Anim8s has gone from strength to strength in recent months and you can learn more about it at www.anim8s.com where you can follow links to our social media. In the meantime, here are some images from Anim8s projects to whet your appetite!
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04.05.20: Another project with the lovely people at Seal Dunfermline. The Rise of the Emoticons allowed a group of young people from the organisation to create a photo comic story that dealt with some of the emotions that young people can experience and suggested some ways to help deal with the stresses they can cause. The participants created a series of emoticon models and integrated them into their story. They also designed and decorated a calm space, a room dedicated to relaxation. A massive thanks to the group and to everyone at Seal for their support and for asking us to be involved.
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29.04.20: In 2019 a group of six women came together to create the Recognition Matters project. They had a shared perspective on child welfare and protection but had arrived at this perspective in different ways. The project brought together their knowledge with a view to strengthening practice and improve the experiences of families. Caged Beastie provided media support to the project in the form of a range of films and printed materials. The film here tells the story of the experiences of Azaria Faver, a young mother with experience of child protection processes as she was using drugs when she became pregnant. A big thanks to all at The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University and City of Edinburgh Council for giving us the opportunity to work on such a powerful project.
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07.03.20: A short film made by young people from Dunfermline High School with support from Martin and Andrew. This was an Anim8s project created with support and funding from Matthew Fitt at Scots Hoose. William Letford’s poem has a homecoming, a busker and a macaroni pie. It is about seeing fire in familiar things and stopping to listen as the world hurries on. A huge thank you to all to Laura Barbour, Dunfermline High School and all the young people who contributed so brilliantly.
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06.07.19: Some shots from our recent visit to China. Martin joined The Scottish Dragons from Whitehill Neighbourhood Centre in Hamilton for 5 days of exploration and excitement in Tianjin. The Scottish and Chinese young people involved created Adventures in Tianjin which as well as being a cracking read was the result of a real cultural collaboration involving writing, photography, comics and the all important translation. A massive thanks to everyone involved including the Dragons and the staff and pupils at Tianjin Number 3 High School.
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Identity Inc. are a group of young people who meet in Cupar, Fife to explore and promote issues of importance to LGBT+ young people. We worked with them at Cupar Youth Cafe to create a new logo for the group and a series of postcard images to enhance their efforts to publicise their group and activities. An interesting project. Thanks to all the young people who took part.
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02.04.19: We've been quiet on here due to Martin having been spending time with Anim8s on the 'Learning on Track: From a Railway Carriage' project. Here's the final film, borrowed from the Anim8s website! Anim8s is a registered charity that provides creative learning opportunities with a focus on children and young people. Please do head over to our website and take a look.
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01.12.18: Fair Trickit is an exhibition created in collaboration with Claire Needler from Aberdeen University and Banff Academy. The project encouraged young people from the school to create a series of comic strips, images and a booklet that illustrated and outlined the processes involved in their exploration of the Scots language and their native tongue. A pleasure to work in Aberdeenshire again!
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23.06.18: We've been working with girls from Queensferry Community High School to create a series of images that will form a part of the review of youth services in the area after being exhibited at the local Youth Talk event.. A huge thanks to all who took part.
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01.12.17: A long overdue sharing of the Power UP Power DOWN videos created on behalf of Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland and Scottish Women's Aid. The films highlighted court ordered parental contact, domestic abuse and the voice of the child. An important project and one we're proud to have played our part in. The one below is the summary section but you can read more about the project and find links to all the films here. Illustrations were provided by Claire Hubbard at Emseeitch.
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10.10.17: Very pleased to report that today we received confirmation of our Investing in Children Membership Award. Investing in Children (IiC) is a UK initiative that promotes the rights of children and young people. Over the last 21 years, IiC has developed a range of different ways in which children and young people are supported to say what they want to say and help to improve services used by them. The award recognises and celebrates examples of imaginative and inclusive practice. You can read the full report here if you'd like to!
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24.02.17: Very slow with the updates this year so here goes for a first post of 2017! This is a wee piece we made on behalf of CYPCS with children and young people from the schools in South Lanarkshire who proved such fun to work with. Great kids, great ideas!
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27.11.16: Here's Kieran and Ali's film which asks questions about the lack of opportunity young people have to comment on the quality of the teaching they receive. Thanks to them, to Investing in Children and for those involved at University of Edinburgh for giving us the opportunity to work on such a thought provoking project.
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27.11.16: Pleased to report that the first public screening took place yesterday of the films produced in collaboration with Investing in Children and the University of Edinburgh. The young people from Durham and Chester-le-Street were at the heart of a research project exploring how the experiences of young people in the education system might be improved. We worked together to create 7 short films. Pictured here are Chloe, Jasmine, Leah and Ali. Big congratulations to them and to the other young people who were so impressive on the day and throughout the project.
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11.11.16: Great fun last night at the launch of Seal Stories, a comic book created in collaboration with Seal Dunfermline, an agency who do great work with a range of young people in Fife. The stories include an invisible girl, a mind-reading boy, a magic telephone and paintbrush, space travel, time travel and even a bit of rail travel. A huge thanks to all the staff, volunteers and young participants at Seal!
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11.11.16: Pleased to present the final version of the Young Edinburgh Action video. No need to say too much here as the group and the video pretty much speak for themselves. A great group to work with!
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10.06.16: Some images from a very creative weekend with Young Edinburgh Action at Wiston Lodge. We had a really productive weekend despite the beautiful weather and surroundings! YEA are a group of young researchers who research and speak out on issues that affect young people and whose work has a genuine impact on Council policies. It's a real pleasure to work with such a motivated, sussed group of young people and I'll post the film we're making with them once it's done and dusted.
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28.04.16: Young People from across Fife's seven areas gathered together at Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy for a consultation day and their first viewing of The 7 Wonders of Fife, a comic novel celebrating the wonders of Fife and its young people. This project has been a delight to be involved in. It took us a year to complete but it was a year well spent. A huge thanks for everything to everyone at the truly wonderful Fife Youth Arts.
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20.04.16: A great finale to the Looking Back project at Howden Park Centre yesterday. The project allowed young people from two West Lothian schools to explore and express their views on conflict and the impacts of active service on the lives of members of the armed forces and their families. A huge thanks to all at St Kentigern's Academy and the veterans from British Legion Scotland, Livingston Branch for taking part.
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15.03.16: Delighted to report that the Celebrating Diversity project at St Augustine's High School won the Convener's Award at the Edinburgh Children and Families Achievement Awards 2015. Great to see the school rewarded for the hard work put in and very pleasing to be associated with their success!
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28.10.15: Huge thanks to all the kids, parents and Staff at Fair Isle Nurture Centre in Kirkcaldy who completed the Fair Isle Stories project with a super event on Wednesday 28 October. We screened the film, we read the book, we launched the library and we ate the popcorn! More serious faces in the image below but then ribbon cutting is a serious business....
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01.10.2015: Time to introduce this little guy who's currently starring in The 7 Wonders of Fife, a project that celebrates the creativity of young people in Fife and will result in the creation of a photo-story book that will be used to help secure future funds for the Fife Youth Arts. The alien was made in collaboration with young Connectors and Directors of the project. More to follow!
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The Fair Isle Stories project is approaching completion. Martin and Storyteller Fergus McNicol have been working with parents, children and staff from Fair Isle Nurture Centre, Kirkcaldy to create a range of exciting outputs including Fair Isle Stories. The storybook devised and written by parents is back from the printers and film maker Andrew Low has now started the Fair Isle Film project. Here's an image from the book to whet your appetite:
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07.07.15: Some these images from Shanghai, taken in July during our visit to the newly opened Art Space for Kids (ASK). This innovative project is the first of its kind in China and we very much enjoyed meeting new people. We wish ASK all the best for the future....
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02.07.15: The Austerity Bites: Children's Voices project is currently being exhibited in Strasbourg and has its own website for the duration of the exhibition. Take a look here.
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28.06.15: The Celebrating Diversity project at St Augustine's High School in Edinburgh is now complete and the exhibition panel, including some lovely portraits, is on display at the school. Here's a picture of Agnieszka, Michelle and Chantelle with the exhibition:
Updated @ 05 December 2023