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Curious Cargo offers workshops in education in:

Puppet making using a variety of methods, materials & techniques - the images say it all!
Puppet making using a variety of methods, materials & techniques. Projects featured include: small & large-scale mouth puppets & set dressing for Seeds of the East festival 'Animated Greenhouse',
Manchester; multi-operator bunraku-style puppets for Edge Hill University Performing Arts & Visual Theatre BA Hons students, Liverpool & Oldham Theatre Workshop; suitcase puppetry 'Super Heroes'
project, at 3 primary schools in Oldham; rod puppets with 3 x Yr 1 classes at Deepdale Infants School, Preston; and with children & their carers from St Chad's RC Primary School, Manchester; large-scale
parade & multi-operator puppets with St Leonard's C of E Primary School; large-scale puppets for show at Medlock Valley Primary School, Manchester.







Mask making using a variety of methods, materials & techniques

Projects featured include: gegant & small-scale masks for St Leonard's C of E Primary School, Padiham; Artist's In Schools 'Mask Alive' Project, Manchester; 'Masquerade' project for LGBT Young Peoples Group - Pride, Manchester; 'Gifted & Talented Workshop', South Birmingham Schools Network; Training workshops for Manchester Art Gallery; & Manchester Metropolitan University PGCE students.








Curious Cargo offers workshops in projection, shadow & shadow puppetry techniques; creating shadows & environments by using found objects, puppets,
and our own bodies.

Projects featured include: Creative Partnerships 'Inclusion' project with Mary Elliot Special School & Trinity Primary School, Wolverhampton; V&A 'Image & Identity'
project with Manchester Art Gallery & the ReD House, Bury; Artists in Schools 'Playing with Shadows' project, Blackpool; 'Lighting the Legend' project, Ordsall Community
Arts, Salford; Wilson Stuart Special School, Birmingham; 'Gifted & Talented Workshop', South Birmingham Schools Network.; James Brindley Hospital Schools, Birmingham;
& Imperial War Museum North, Manchester.







Curious Cargo offers a range of 'performance' workshops including: mask movement, puppeteering techniques, & street theatre/improvisation/drama games.
Projects featured include: Seeds of the East 'Animated Greenhouse', Manchester; puppeteering workshops with Edge Hill Performing Arts students,
Liverpool; 'Trade Super Troopers Safe Sex' street theatre project, Leicester, Artists in Schools 'Masks Alive' project, Manchester; suitcase puppetry
'Super Heroes' project, Oldham; & a 'Visual Theatre & Circus Skills' Creative Partnerships project with Newman Special School, Rotherham.

Mask Movement

Images include: Mask Movement workshops for Imperial War Museum North to accompany their special
exhibition 'Once Upon A Wartime' 2012; Creative Partnerships project with Newman Special School, Rotherham; & Artists in Schools 'Masks Alive' project,
various schools, Manchester.



Puppeteering Techniques

Projects featured include: Seeds of the East 'Animated Greenhouse', Manchester; puppeteering workshops with
Edge Hill Performing Arts BA HONS students, Liverpool; suitcase puppetry 'Super Heroes' project, 3 x primary schools & a special school in
Oldham & staff training for Oldham Theatre Workshop.

Photo 2 by Lewis Wileman

Street Theatre

Workshops in improvisation, devising, costuming & performing have been run with various groups & age ranges to include:
Trade Sexual Health Project, Leicester, 'Trade Super Troopers' safe sex campaign; Kendal Youth Theatre Group; & Oldham Theatre Workshop.





Curious Cargo works with groups to make gegant puppets, props, banners, costumes & lanterns to animate parades, and makes bizarre and wonderful
sculptures & props for installations.

An installation of pumpkin lanterns & 2 gegant pumpkin puppets made with East Manchester community groups for the Halloween Howler event in Manchester.
Curious Cargo worked in collaboration with artist Fi Smith.

Photos by Karen Wright

East Manchester Community Group - Christmas Tree Shay

A 'Young Mums' community group in East Manchester worked with Curious Cargo to make this Christmas Tree Shay for the Gorton Christmas Market.
People were invited to use a 'snowball' to knock the Christmas pudding off the top of the tree!
Photos by


Garden of Delights Festival - Insect Installation

Working in collaboration with Ordsall Community Arts & primary school pupils in the Ordsall area these giant insects were initially made for a parade,
and then adapted & installed into Platt Fields for the festival.

Gorton 100- Lantern Procession

Commissioned by Friends of Gorton Monastry & New East Manchester Council, Curious Cargo's Tess Hills collaborated with artists: Fi Smith, Jo Foley,
& Elka Szulek to make 200 lanterns with community groups & school children from the Gorton area. The procession celebrated Gorton's 100 year anniversary
as being part of Greater Manchester.

www.thisiseast.com


Manchester Parade- OCA Entry

Working in collaboration with Ordsall Community Arts, artist Fi Smith & young people from the Ordsall area this giant bike, costumes & props made for the
Manchester parade.

Seeds of the East - Flower Installation

Working in collaboration with New East Manchester Council & young people & community groups from the area, these withie flowers were made
& installed as part of the Seeds of the East Festival.

Sunfield 'Sunflower' Parade

Gegant 'sun' puppet, props & banners were made with staff and students of Sunfield School, (pupil's with complex and specific needs),
for the summer parade.


Sunfield 'Under the Sea' Parade

Gegant 'fish' & 'octupus' puppets, props & banners were made with staff and students of Sunfield School, (pupil's with complex and specific needs), for
the summer parade.



Curious Cargo offers mixed-media making workshops which can be tailored to suit your needs. Previous projects have included: wire portraits, mark-making,
silk paper making, withie sculpture, 3D model making, to name but a few.

Projects featured include: Creative Partnerships 'Timeline' project, St Leonard's Primary School, Burnley; Creative Partnerships 'Ear' & 'Inclusion' project with
Mary Elliot Special School & Trinity Primary School, Wolverhampton; Artists in Schools 'Enchanted Forest' project, Manchester; 'Soundscapes - Noisy Washing'
project, Wilson Stuart Special School, Birmingham; 'Gifted & Talented Workshop', South Birmingham Schools Network.; Sunfield Special School, Worcestershire;
Scout Drive Children's Centre, Manchester; 'Families Workshops' Manchester Art Gallery, The Blue Room (young male sex workers), Manchester.








Quotes:

"Tess is one of the most skilled deliver's and puppet makers I have worked with. As a practitioner I have worked with her on more than one occasion. She delivers high quality workshops for young people
as well as excellent CPD for staff. I have found her work is always informative and tailored to the group. At St Leonards Primary School, Padiham, Tess put together an amazing array of workshops and CPD
sessions for the entire school, and the final products that were used in the project were of the highest professional quality. She integrates learning and creativity with a practised eye and is liked by all she works with.
Cannot recommend her highly enough." Ben Cutler, Creative Agent, St Leonard's Cof E School & Creative Partnerships.

"I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you for your outstanding contribution to our day last week. As I am sure you will agree it was a magical day and one that our children will never ever forget. The puppets,
designs, masks and collaborative team work throughout the whole project was truly inspirational. We could never have done this without you. You were amazing and the skills the children have gleaned from yourself will
now be part of their daily abilities and talents. It is our intention that the children leave our school as independent and confident individuals, who possess a varied set of abilities and skills. We have certainly achieved this
and in only a few months!" Christopher Willan, Assistant Head Teacher, St Leonard's Cof E School, Padiham.

"Tess is fantastic, children and staff in the school enjoy her work and learn great skills. She is punctual, trustworthy and very energetic. Would work with her again." Natalie Cheetham, Creative Agent, Curious Minds.

"Tess has a wealth of ideas and practical skills that she employs with affection and sensitivity. Her work with young people with learning difficulties and physical disabilities was exemplary, she brought joy and a real sense
of achievement to the lives of the young people. I have employed Tess on more than one occasion to work in challenging situations and she has always triumphed with her imagination and vast array of practical artistic skills."
Richard Jackson, Creative Agent, Creative Partnerships Rotherham.

"We have used Tess as a creative practitioner in our school several times and have found her, quite simply, remarkable. Never have I met someone so creative. She takes a small whisper of an idea and develops it into a
stunning masterpiece. Throughout the process, she works at all stages with the children, using their ideas, encouraging them expand on these and develop a wide range of skills and techniques. Our children love her. Through
her guidance, they have been able to create pieces of art work that have wowed audiences. These creations have been used to inspire children in many other schools to try out similar projects. Tess allows our children to use
their imagination in their work. This freedom has allowed them to blossom and given them the courage to experiment. They have no fear in approaching creative tasks and are never restricted through reliance on prescriptive activity.
The children are not the only ones to benefit from Tess's skills; the staff of the school have learned so much too. Through working alongside Tess in the classroom, they now feel empowered to teach art with the children have become
increasingly more ambitious in their choice of projects. I cannot recommend Tess highly enough. She has completely changed our view of art within a primary school setting. We now see this subject as essential
in the education of the 'whole child'. It is a medium through which our pupils can express themselves fully and are able to use it to portray their thoughts and feelings". Julie Bradley, Headteacher, St Leonard's Primary CofE School, Padiham, Lancashire.

"Curious Cargo has always delivered well thought through, well prepared fun & relevant work. All of our student's complex and specific needs are catered for with respect,
professionality and lovely humour. Outcomes have always been of a high standard and represent our student's work beautifully". Director of Arts, Sunfield School, Worcestershire.

"I just wanted to say a big thank you for all your hard work on Saturday. It was a wonderful day and the arts workshop really contributed to the success of the marquee.
I'm pleased that over 150 people took part in the workshop - the final piece is great and I'll be considering where we can exhibit it in the future". Danielle St-Amour, Principal Arts Officer ,
Salford City Council

"The children enjoyed the residency - on a scale of 1-10 - 10+!. This particular cohort need a lot of work to keep them on track and Tess managed to maintain this brilliantly.
Shyer children were able to express themselves in drama activity 'safe' behind the mask. It's always lovely to see certain children shine in an area we often have less time to develop due
to constraint's
on SAT's." Yr 6 teacher, St Barnabas CE Primary School, Manchester.

"It is a Joy to work with Curious Cargo, their creativity, passion and skills have allowed us to develop work in a much more exciting manner than we had originally hoped".
Emma Carroll, Senior Manager Schools and Colleges

"Thank you so much for all your hard work towards making 'The Elements' project a huge success and such an incredible experience for everyone".
N.Ponsillo, Project Manager, Manchester Camerata.



    

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