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Excellent Volunteer Opportunity

This is your chance to be part of an exciting project !

Organisation: The Historic Dockyard Chatham In partnership with the Medway African and Caribbean Association.
Volunteer Role: Volunteer Curator for the Temporary Exhibition Untold Stories: A Celebration of Black People in Kent
Responsible to: Alex Patterson - Head of Visitor Experience, Galleries & Collections and
Alexandra Curson- Community Engagement and Volunteer Officer
Hours & Time Frame:Minimum 2 week placement between May and September (Please specify preferred dates on application form)
Recruitment process: Volunteer Application Form, an Interview and two references.

Closing date for applications 5pm Wednesday 30th May 2018

What this role has to offer:

A unique opportunity to work with The Historic Dockyard Chatham and Medway African and Caribbean Association to create a temporary exhibition celebrating the Black community of Kent. The temporary exhibition will be showcased in our award winning gallery No.1 Smithery from the 5th October until the 2nd December.

A two week placement which will provide you with the rare opportunity to really shape the creation and of an exhibition which is the first of its kind in the South East of England. Playing a vital role in the interpreting the research, creating the content and shaping the design of the exhibition and its displays.

The Exhibition- Untold Stories: A Celebration of Black People in Kent.

The temporary exhibition will celebrate the Black community of Kent over the centuries – from leading lights in the abolitionist movement in the 18th century to families making their homes in Kent. The exhibition will also reflect the challenges faced by the community and the remarkable stories of those who sought to make change. It will be created in partnership with the Medway African and Caribbean Association and sponsored by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

http://thedockyard.co.uk/…/untold-stories-celebration-blac…/

Main tasks/responsibilities:

• To draw on previously created research to pick out key biographies and stories to tell
• Determine how these stories should be told
• Develop the content for the exhibition
• Decide what objects and images will best reflect the stories to be told
• Create labels for the artefacts in the exhibition.
• Make stylistic choices about the visual representation of the exhibition
• Assist the development and delivery of complimentary formal and informal learning programmes

Requirements:
 Ability to work for up to 4 hours for a two week period.
 A friendly, engaging, confident and approachable attitude.
 Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
 An understanding or willingness to learn
 Good team working skills
 Good research and IT skills
 Self-motivated
 Creative personality
 Ability to think outside the box
Training opportunities
 Site Based Orientation
 Opportunities to learn about all Chatham Dockyard and its Defences sites
 Opportunity to gain experience working with all departments of Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust
 Opportunity to continue volunteering with the Trust until the Exhibition has been taken down.

email acurson@chdt.org.uk or info@macacharity.org.uk for an application form

Black Heroes of Kent Event, Saturday 7th October 2017

For Tickets to the event please click on the following links:

Matinee Performance: http://www.123contactform.com/form-2857125/Black-People-In-Kent-Matinee

Evening Performance: http://www.123contactform.com/form-2919671/Black-People-In-Kent-Evening-Performance

Young Black Achievers Awards 2017

Nominations are now open for our 12th annual Young Black Achievers Awards. We are delighted to be supported again by Midkent College and Medway Council Black Workers' Forum. We re still look for sponsors for this prestigious event. Every year we receive some amazing nominations and in the past 11 years have given out over 100 awards plus! so help us to grow and celebrate the achievements of young black people across Kent and Medway

To nominate a young person please see details of award rules, categories and criteria on our events page. Nominations can be sent by email to info@macacharity.org.uk or by completing the online form on the events page.

Want to perform at the awards ceremony? or know someone who would like to perform? get in touch! email info@macacharity.org.uk

To order tickets to the event please click this link:

www.123contactform.com/form-2884435/MACA-Sankofa-12th-Annual-Young-Black-Achievers-Awards-2017

Call to Action: MACA Black History Live Project

This is a call to action for actors. actresses. dancers, singers, stagehands , costume designers, make up artists. Medway African and Caribbean Association
Can you act, sing, dance? Have technical skills, make costumes, hair, make up !
Check this out !Auditions taking place for the Black History Live drama production !
We will be holding auditions on Saturday 13th May 12-3pm at Mid Kent College, Gillingham Rd, Medway for a new drama production depicting the lives of African and Caribbean people in the 19th and 20th Century. This production will require people of all backgrounds, as we will be recreating the lives and stories surrounding people at that time. So Black , White, all welcome !
We are also looking for people who have technical skills, can make costumes, help with hair, make up. Check this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2U338irMrE&feature=youtu.be
For more information on this call to action please email Yassmin or Carol at info@macacharity.org.uk, or call 0844 884 9502

Medway African and Caribbean Association

brings Black History to Life with Heritage Lottery Fund support

Medway African and Caribbean Association ( MACA) has received £67,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for an exciting and innovative project called "Black History Live" taking place across Kent and Medway. Led by volunteers from the local community, the project focuses on the history and legacy of African and Caribbean People across Kent and Medway during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Through a series of research workshops, the project will enable local communities to learn more about the history and legacy of African and Caribbean people in the region, culminating in an exhibition called Black History Live that will take place at The Historic Dockyard Chatham in Autumn 2018. Alongside this, a learning resource, a drama production and specially trained exhibition guides will be created in order to tell these fascinating stories. Black History Live will be of great benefit to young people and the wider community, providing the opportunity to learn more about heritage in an engaging way, as well as the opportunity to develop new skills in areas such as research, production and drama. It is also hoped that it will go some way to break down some of the social barriers that exist between different communities in Kent and Medway.

Kent and Medway has a very rich history with regards to African and Caribbean people such as Walter Tull, Olaudah Equiano, Chatham Cuffay and many more. Through this project we aim to bring their stories to life.

Commenting on the award, Carol Stewart, Chairperson of Medway African and Caribbean Association said: “We are really excited to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund. This has been our biggest achievement to date, and we believe this project will open up many doors for the local community, and provide a unique opportunity for the whole community to learn and appreciate the contribution that the African and Caribbean community have made during that time. A lot of our history remains untold, and we aim to bring it to life in a way that engages and enthuses people to want to learn more. A project like this has never been done before on such as scale as far as we are aware in Kent and Medway, so we are really pleased to be spearheading something that is going to create a long lasting legacy. We could not have achieved this without the support of the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, Mid Kent College, Dickens World, Medway Council Black Workers forum, Medway Council Arts Team, local historians Brian Joyce and Marika Sherwood, also the Nubian Jak Memorial Trust and JD Douglas”

Stuart McLeod, Head of HLF South East, said: “This is an important project that will uncover and highlight the little known heritage of African and Caribbean people in Kent and Medway over 200 years. From footballer Walter Tull to composer Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the figures that will be investigated led fascinating lives and I’m delighted that we are able to provide this National Lottery support that will ensure their stories are better known across the county.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

About Medway African and Caribbean Association

Established in 1984 , the charity exists to raise awareness of African and Caribbean culture, and to promote the needs of people of African and Caribbean people/descent through social , cultural, educational programmes across Kent and Medway. MACA holds regular drop in's at the Sunlight Centre for senior citizens, has a Young People's group, holds regular social events, and fundraisers.

About the Heritage Lottery Fund

Thanks to National Lottery players, we invest money to help people across the UK explore, enjoy and protect the heritage they care about - from the archaeology under our feet to the historic parks and buildings we love, from precious memories and collections to rare wildlife.

www.hlf.org.uk @heritagelottery

For further information, images and interviews, please contact
Carol Stewart

Chairperson

chair@macacharity.org.uk

07501 497920