Subject: RE: EFDSS and good business practice
From:
Desert Dancer
Date: 27 Aug 10 - 10:57 AM
Here is how the EFDSS summarizes their activities as background to a current position opening (link to pdf; there's a copy online at fRoots). One reason for joining, among others, is to support those activitites.
~ Becky in Tucson
The EFDSS is a national folk arts development organisation. It is multi-faceted being a membership society with nearly 4000 members, an arts venue (Cecil Sharp House), an education, training and development agency, a publisher, an advocate and lobbyist, and the custodian of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, which is the only dedicated folk arts library and archive in the UK.
The Society is going through a major period of change. It was reviewed and restructured in 2007 with the objective of re-positioning itself as the leading folk arts agency in England.
To meet the aim of reviving the Society we are increasing and diversifying our activities to bring the folk arts to a wider public. During the past two years the Society has:-
• Received a grant of £154k from the Heritage Lottery Fund for a major archiving and national education project using six of the song collections in our archive (Take Six project).
• Introduced its own regular programme of events at Cecil Sharp House including The Irrepressible Tradition music season, showcasing the best new talent on the folk music circuit.
• Worked with partners to produce events e.g. Mary Neal Project, National Gallery, Sadler's Wells, BFI, Miles of Smiles, The Local, The London Gypsy Orchestra.
• 'EFDSS on the Move' – supporting programmes at the Cambridge, Sidmouth and Furness Folk Festivals, summer 2009.
• Introduced a Family Friendly programme of events.
• Invited external programmers such as BBC 3 broadcaster Verity Sharp, who curated 'Apple Day' in October 2009.
• Developed a visual arts programme.
• Developed a professional development programme including the appointment of an artist-in-residence post (visual artist) and run a choreographic project for professional choreographers on morris and contemporary dance forms.
• Expanded our education programme into new contexts and areas and is developing opportunities for training teachers in the folk arts.
Over the next 5 years EFDSS will continue to develop -
• Cecil Sharp House as the folk arts centre in London.
• Outreach and education programmes to impact on the national curriculum and the training of music and dance artists and teachers.
• Advocacy and lobbying on behalf of the folk arts working in association with other folk arts agencies and organisations.
• Develop partnerships with a broad range of organisations to attract new audiences and to widen the profile of the Society.
• Prepare for a major capital project to provide the library with increased and climatically suitable space for its ever growing collections.
In October 2009 EFDSS became a Regularly Funded Organisation of Arts Council England's Music Department. The Society is now looking to a whole new area of development as the Folk Development Agency for England and as part of this process is developing the Marketing Department to communicate the aims of the Society and to market the EFDSS programme of events and activities; both at Cecil Sharp House and beyond, to both a folk and a non-folk audience.
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sj
