Make Space at Platt Hall

Happy New Year from Platt Hall. We hope you are keeping well and have survived the darkest month of the year. As spring approaches we are planning our community programme for the year, which we’ll share over coming weeks. Starting with…

Make Space: Creative Skills share workshops

People have asked us a lot in the last couple years about whether Platt Hall can have workshops in creative skills. We know that there are many people in the area who do everyday creative acts and a wealth of talent and creative skills amongst our neighbours! So we’d like to use the Hall as a space for celebrating this, by programming a series of skill share workshops.

What kind of workshops?

The workshops can be in any everyday creative craft or skill that someone feels confident in sharing with people – from woodwork to sewing, henna, jewellery making. Apart from cookery and food, the workshop space at Platt Hall can accommodate most making experiences.

Inspired by all our many conversations during 2020 and 2021, we have a range of suggestions of things people would like to learn or experience.

These include: Patchwork, Embroidery, Sewing, Tatting, Sewing buttons, Craftivism, Using a Sewing Machine, Signwriting, calligraphy, using letter stamps to make images, doing up dolls houses, upcycling clothes and fabrics, collages using found materials, henna design, miniature painting, watercolour painting, learning new board games.

Who can offer a workshop?

We invite anyone who lives in Rusholme, Fallowfield, Moss Side or Longsight to consider offering a workshop to the programme. You could be a professional artist or someone who makes things in your spare time.

If people haven’t had experience of leading a workshop before then they will work with Meg Parnell to develop the workshop, work out what is needed and how it can be co-led. Budget will also be available for interpreters if people would like to deliver the workshop in their first language

​Who are the workshops for?

​The workshop programme will be primarily aimed at adults and will take place on Tuesday mornings throughout March – July. The workshops will be free for participants and we hope that they will be a great time for people to come together from ​across the neighbourhood to share their creative experiences.

Some workshop leaders may feel comfortable running a workshop for adults and children and so some Make Space workshops will take place during weekend Open Days at the Hall.

What about payment?

​We can offer a fee of £200 to the workshop leader to develop and deliver the 2 hour workshop.

There will also be a budget for materials, however we would like to encourage a spirit of recycling and reusing throughout the workshop programme.

How do I propose a workshop?

Please complete this form with as much detail as possible in it by
Wednesday 16th February 2022
https://forms.office.com/r/1SDB8kinNx

How will the programme be decided?

​As with much of our work we are trying to work as collaboratively as possible. We will be asking a few people with relevant experience from the neighbourhood to help us decide the first 8 workshops.

Any questions in advance – please contact Meg Parnell on ku.vog.retsehcnam@llenrap.gem

“I am glad indeed to hear so many people have seen the collection. How glad I should be if we could know if any of them ever make a single thing as a result that will be a delight to themselves, their children or those who come after. We must leave the answer to the future!”

Collector Mary Greg, who gave examples of everyday handicrafts to Platt Hall when it first opened in 1926.