We currently have a committee of 10 members. Three members are standing down at the AGM on 23rd May 2015 following involvement since Eltham Arts was started. We could therefore recruit additional committee members. If you live or work in Eltham SE9 and have an interest in the local arts scene and would like to be an active Eltham Arts committee member, please send a short biography together with your name and contact details. We would be looking for committee members who are social media literate and enthusiastic!
Eltham Arts postcard competition a success
More the 300 Eltham locals displayed their creative talents for Eltham Arts’ latest competition – ‘A postcard from Eltham’, and winners were announced at a celebratory event on 23 April.
Local community group Eltham Arts was delighted with the number and standard of entries for its latest ‘A Postcard from Eltham’ competition, which challenged locals to design a postcard showing the town as an attractive and creative place to live, work or visit.
Two rigorous rounds of judging were carried out and on 23 April, the competition culminated in an awards ceremony at the Eltham Centre Library, where prizes were awarded in various categories:
WINNERS
Adult winners
First prize
Emily Tyrrell – If you go down to the woods…
First prize
Himani Weir – Where shall we go today?
Second prize
David Kelly – Eltham Hostelries
Second prize
Peter Roper – Eltham Views
Second prize
Sylvia Currey – Tudor Barn Reflexions
Third prize
Pauline Cahill – The Eltham Crossword
12 – 18 age group winners
First prize
Gemma Pellegrinetti – All Aboard the Eltham Bus
Second prize
Natalia Drake-Perello – Memories from Eltham
Third prize
Prize Siobhan Samuel
7-11 age group winners
First prize
Cameron Wren – The Eltham Centre
First prize
Annie Gadd – My Castle
Second prize
Oliver Jackson – Greetings from Eltham
Third prize
Ayesha Faquiri – Eltham
Under 7 age group winners
First prize
Seth Jayawardhena – Severndroog Castle
Second prize
Jay Kumar – Arts in my school
Third prize
Lola Weir – A Windy Day at Severndroog
Commenting on the competition, Gaynor Wingham, chair of Eltham Arts, said: “We were delighted with the response from adults and children to the challenge to design a Postcard from Eltham. The entries were really diverse celebrating Eltham today but showing a love of our fantastic Eltham heritage. With well over 300 entries the judges had quite a task and this is reflected in how many awards were given. Eltham now has some great postcards. We would like to thank everyone who has been involved in making this competition and community event such a success.”
The postcards will very soon be exhibited and on sale locally to showcase the local talent and creativity.
Eltham Arts has so far run a series of initiatives to celebrate the creativity in Eltham, including short story contest ‘Tales of Eltham’ and ‘Eltham in Verse’, which challenged locals to write poetry. Visit www.elthamarts.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for details on these initiatives and more.
Eltham Postcard – Awards Event 23rd April
We had marvellous postcards entered for our Postcard from Eltham competition. The postcards have now been judged and selected for awards. Everyone is welcome to come to Eltham Centre library, 2 Archery Road . Eltham SE9 1HA at 6pm to congratulate the winners and see the postcards. This is part of the World Book Night celebrations at the library and it will be followed by a Meet the Author event. Join in with this community event ! Love Eltham!
Postcard from Eltham Competition – update
The competition deadline has been reached ! Thank you everyone who has designed a postcard, encouraged someone else to design a postcard , distributed leaflets and run postcard workshops in the community. We have had some magnificent entries and judging will commence soon. It will be a very difficult task for the judges,
Put 23rd April in your diary , as that will be our celebratory event . It will start at 6pm at Eltham Centre Library , 2 Archery Road, Eltham SE9 1HA . The winners will be announced and prizes and awards given. We will be printing some winning entries , and you will see what great new postcards we now have in Eltham.
Everyone is welcome at the Celebratory Event . Come and support the local community and our artists!
Eltham is a Creative Community!
Eltham Winter Festival !
At our conference in October on developing the arts in Eltham , one of our BIG IDEAS was an Eltham Festival ! The discussions have started ! The proposal is an Eltham Winter Festival starting Halloween and finishing on 22nd November . The annual event, Eltham Lights Up, which is organised by Royal Greenwich council is scheduled for 19th November 2015.
We are looking at bringing together a programme of events during this time which reflect Eltham’s creativity and engergy. We are also planning an Eltham Art Trail, involving galleries, shops and anywhere else which can host a small display of paintings,pottery or crafts.
We hope this will be an innovative and enjoyable Festival for everyone. There is great enthusiam from groups and individuals so far . We are looking for partners to join together to make this a success. There is support but no finance from Royal Greenwich Council, apart from their event on 19th November, so we will all have to work togther to make this happen. If you have ideas or want to be involved in any way, do get in touch.
A postcard from Eltham
The next creative challenge from Eltham Arts is a competition to design a postcard that shows Eltham as an attractive and creative place to live, work or visit.
You don’t have to be an expert artist to enter. Be a part of creative Eltham – it’s your community!
Prizes and awards for all age groups and special prizes. This competition is organised by Eltham Arts.
For more information contact elthamarts@aol.co.uk or call 020 8859 4678. You can also follow us on twitter @elthamarts.
Competition rules
1. Entry is free and all ages can enter. Up to 3 entries are allowed per person. You must write on the back of each entry in pencil, your name, age [if under 18], email address/ telephone number and the title for your postcard.
2. If you are under 18 your parent/guardian must give permission by signing the back of each entry and giving their name and contact details.
3. Entries must be placed in an envelope. Envelopes must be clearly marked A POSTCARD FROM ELTHAM. Multiple entries from schools can be placed in one envelope. Entries can be posted or delivered by hand to either of the following addresses. • Eltham Arts c/o 17 Greenholm Road, Eltham, London SE9 1UQ • Eltham Library, The Eltham Centre, 2 Archery Road, Eltham SE9 1HA
4. The closing date for entry is Sunday 1st March 2015. After this date no further entries will be accepted. Your entry will not be returned.
5. There will be prizes and awards in two categories, under 18 and over 18, and some special prizes. Winning entries may be turned into postcards and used to promote and celebrate Eltham.
6. Each entry must be on A5 size stiff paper or thin card. Your design must be original, not infringe any copyright and must contain or have the words ‘a Postcard from Eltham’ on it. This can be small but must be readable. You can also give your work a title if you choose
7. You may use any medium. For example, water colour, charcoal, pen and ink or acrylic or mixed media such as collage. Your design can be abstract or realistic and can use letters as part of the design.
8. Winners will be chosen by a panel of judges. The judges will be looking for original design and an imaginative use of colour and form as well as technical skill in the use of the medium you have chosen. Above all the judges will be looking for entries that show Eltham as a great place where people will want to visit or live.
9. The judge’s decision in all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
10. There will be a celebratory event on World Book Night 23rd April 2015 when the winners will be announced.
11. There will be an exhibition and maybe a sale of the original artwork. Selected designs will be printed as postcards and sold. All profits will be donated to local groups and charities.
12. In entering the competition you agree to the use of your entry in any publicity material or publication in relation to or designated by Eltham Arts. The copyright remains with the artist
13. By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions and has read and accepts all the rules for the contest.
Eltham Arts Festive Choir!
Thank you everyone who was involved in the Eltham Arts Festive Choir 2014! We had great fun at the Eltham Centre and the White Hart and raised money for Greenwich Mind and the Ebola Crisis Appeal
Thank you everyone who came along to support us!
Looks like this will be an annual event! Keep singing!
Our story for Remembrance Day
This short story was one of our award winners in our Tales of Eltham competition. The author said it was inspired by the Eltham War Memorial, St John’s Church , Eltham High Street. It is a moving story.
REMEMBER
by Ann Tolladay
When he and his brothers finished at Roper Street school, he felt such pride when he was taken on as an under gardener at Eltham Palace. Bill was working in the post office in Passey Place and Eddy worked in the bank at the cross roads.
On a Friday they would meet up for a pint or two at the Greyhound pub. One night it was so crowded they went round the corner to The Rising Sun and there she was, fate had put the love of his life in front of him, all blond hair and blue eyes. They got talking and to his surprise she agreed to met him the next afternoon.
The Tarn could not have looked better, sun lush greens and flowers. Their feelings for each other blossomed too, they married at St. Johns Church and a year later the twins were born. They lived very contently in a two up two down in Sun Yard. Money was short, but his wife and children gave him a life full of love.
Now he lay here in the mud soaking wet cold and yes angry. The anger welled up in him, the destruction and carnage they were causing must be stopped. It was for the love of what he had left behind, for little families like his that he was prepared to do this terrible thing. The whistle sounded then the movement of men going over the top like a great unstoppable wave. At that moment he knew that what ever his fate, in one part of London what he had planted would continue to grow and even in a hundred years time people would remember and be proud of the sacrifice they were making .
Our Tales of Eltham book is launched!
With a hundred people attending the book launch at Eltham library on Saturday it was standing room only ! What great support for our community short story book Tales of Eltham, with over 90 short stories on subjects as diverse as love, loss, pantomime horses, ghosts and funerals for goldfish . Such a range of stories based on the theme of ‘An Eltham Experience’ has created a lovely book written by children and adults who live in the area or know Eltham well. With many authors being prepared to read their stories at the launch we were moved by some stories and laughed at others. What a great creative community we have in Eltham!
If you would like a copy of the book Tales of Eltham , copies are available at Eltham Library or email elthamarts@aol.co.uk
Five Big Ideas !
The Creative Eltham conference on 18th October was a great success. Fantastic networking and enthusiasm for developing the arts in Eltham.The five workshops were asked to come up with ideas on their ‘themes’ and then to select a BIG IDEA. These are the Five Big Ideas. People went away with lots of ideas that they were going to implement themselves. We will write a longer report of the conference , as we do not want to lose sight of the discussion and other good ideas . However, now we need everyone (Royal Greenwich Council, local arts groups, individual artists, events organisers, businesses ,venues and the community) to show their commitment , look at the Five Big Ideas and think about the future. Together we now need to see how we can take them forward.
PUBLICITY AND MARKETING
Publicity in Passey Place that promotes the arts and events in Eltham, which is able to be used by any local organisation. This should ideally be managed by the council and could be a digital board. Also an opportunity for a piece of local art to be displayed, similar to the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square.
BUSINESS AND REGENERATION
A four-week Eltham Arts Festival, perhaps as part of the Greenwich and Docklands Festival. An attractively-produced programme for the month, funded by adverts for local businesses, and incorporating as many events and venues as possible over Eltham. This would encourage performances and exhibitions in public and open spaces. This would also encourage businesses to be part of the Festival both by having events in their premises (e.g. open mics in pubs) and by bringing their produce (e.g. pie and mash/curry) onto the street alongside arts displays and performances.
HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Making the arts more ‘portable’, like the university theatre project and also marketing arts as a health benefit to both health professionals and potential users. Maybe a GP surgery (or new community hospital) could pilot promoting local arts groups and activities and forge closer links with a local group. Arts on prescription?
FUNDING AND DEVELOPMENT
Building a structure around Eltham Arts. The big question being whether Eltham Arts wants to remain a community group which continues to respond to local artistic development and opportunities or, if it wants to be a bigger player which can attract larger funding pots.
ARTS FOR ALL
A ‘pop-up’ tour of Eltham, with art displays and performing arts along the way e.g. drama in Passey Place; music in the parks; art in cafes and restaurants or a photo exhibition. Artists could be invited to add to a display, which could then be auctioned. Pop-up shop where artists can sell their products.
Eltham Arts 