For many years, I struggled to be able to articulate any defence of the creative arts. In my own heart, I believed they were important, for books, music, film and theatre all played a significant role in my childhood and upbringing, but when people would talk about jobs, I felt there was somehow something slightly escapist about the arts when compared to ‘worthy’ jobs such as being a doctor or nurse. How could I justify composing music or writing novels as a profession that was truly worthy when there were so many other practical things to do in this world?
Over the years, I came to see that there is no such thing as a sacred/secular divide and no point thinking that the arts belong on one side of a line with pragmatism on the other. Others articulated far better than I could the worth and value of the arts. Eugene Peterson, for example, says “The artist shows us what happens before it happens. The artist has eyes to connect the visible and the invisible and the skill to show us complete what we in our inattentive distraction see only in bits and pieces.” (Run With The Horses’, P 73) I might not be able to justify spending millions of pounds on a painting or paying an actor a small fortune for performing in a film, but my own life has been so richly blessed by all who have had the courage to be true to their creative selves that I could never dismiss the worth of God’s creative spark in people as irrelevant or unimportant.
That’s why I’m so interested in what Action Space Mobile are hoping to do in Goldthorpe. Their current activities include creative activities for learning for disabled children (their ‘Visibility’ project has received funding from ‘Children in Need’ and offers disabled children aged 8-16 years the opportunity to be involved in arts and drama) and for disabled adults as well as projects working with elderly people with dementia.
These groups are not currently high on the public agenda, but this interest in using the arts to help those who may well be considered marginalised by society reflects God’s priorities, I’m sure. Now they are looking to help those who are unemployed by mentoring and training 24 unemployed people in Goldthorpe in media production skills through the hands-on creation of an online community newspaper, The Goldthorpe Newspaper. Working with a professional team of artists and storytellers, participants will learn skills in journalism, social media, digital photography, creative writing, factual writing and research and turn local events into world class stories. Learners will be able to use The Goldthorpe Newspaper as a practical example of their skills, to improve their employability.
How to be involved:
If you live in Goldthorpe, are 19 or over, registered unemployed and would like to learn new skills, make new friends and work on the Goldthorpe Newspaper telling stories about Goldthorpe, the Dearne Valley and its people:
- please ring Action Space Mobile on 01226 391 112
- or tell Kate Roberts at Goldthorpe’s Community Shop on Barnsley Road,
- or leave a message at the Dearne Enterprise Centre on 01709 881 181.
Starting in January 2015, the weekly free meetings will be held at the Dearne Enterprise Centre, Barnburgh Lane, Goldthorpe, S63 9PG.
If you don’t fit into those categories, spare a thought for those working with local communities in the creative arts and don’t forget that we all have gifts and talents to help others. Whatever those gifts are, we can offer them to God and He can multiply them!