Over the past year and a half, since graduating from the University of Manchester I have been working as a freelance community artist. My relationship with the charity has continued and evolved since finishing my degree and this has been an invaluable source of support for me. I’ve met a lot of people doing community arts work across the north-west, many of which have either worked for TiPP or did the module at university. One immensely helpful thing has been meeting up for coffee with Simon and having the space to talk critically about my own practice, this has helped me to define what it is I’m doing and where I am going with it. This got me thinking…. TiPP is so much more than 4 people sitting in a little office and visiting prisons and teaching in university… It’s all of the people that have moved across the country or have started their own charities/ companies that do socially engaged creative projects. It’s an ethos that has been instilled in all of those who apply that experience to their work nationally… even internationally in some cases. 

I’m not the first and I won’t be the last person to have this kind of mentorship thanks to TiPP. Recently I’ve been thinking about other people who have been in my shoes in the past and have drawn upon their experiences with the charity to grow as practitioners… and I wanted to celebrate those people! I want to celebrate our shared experience, and how we have applied that in different contexts to just have a peek at the butterfly effect that TiPP has had and continues to have in the world of applied arts practice (and beyond!). I have called the event Fragments because I think that I will only have scratched the surface in the organising of this event… but I hope it will ignite some conversations, perhaps some nostalgia and ultimately, some admiration for TiPP! 

ALL are invited, plus ones, plus tens! You can just turn up. The entry fee is a donation with a suggested amount of £3 but more would be immensely appreciated!

Cara Looij