ABOUT LOUISE NOLAN WORKS

I work under the banner of Louise Nolan Works and initiate creative interventions with passion and curiosity to build better communities, products and services.

I do this by designing and facilitating experiential learning sessions and courses that take into account social impact, understanding local context, building relationships and managing projects between multiple partners. I work with partners to apply for funding and also have experience in developing service level agreements with commissioning-agencies.I've over 20 years combined experience of working with young people and in wider community settings. I'm passionate about leadership and building vibrant and creative places to live work and play. I believe in working alongside local people and communities to tackle the consequences of austerity, inequality and poverty.

I do this by designing and facilitating experiential learning sessions and courses that take into account social impact, understanding local context, building relationships and managing projects between multiple partners. I work with partners to apply for funding and also have experience in developing service level agreements with commissioning-agencies.

I'm a member of the Scottish Artist Union, hold Public Liability Insurance, PVG registered, for Tax purposes listed as a sole trader with HMRC and hold a Full Driving licence.

Contact me: Louise Nolan Works - 07752208034 - hello@louisenolanworks.co.uk

Curriculum Vitae

Education 

Glasgow School of Art, Renfrew Street, Glasgow. Masters of Philosophy in Art and Design in Organisational Contexts. 1998. Research into the theoretical and practical issues if the visual arts in youth work settings.
Glasgow School of Art, Renfrew Street, Glasgow. BA (Hons) Design – Ceramics 1993-1997

Key Strengths: meeting facilitation and course design and business development: building relationships across sectors at a senior level. Negotiating funding and service level agreements and stakeholder engagement.

I’ve extensive experience in designing and facilitating experiential learning courses with schools, communities and intergenerational groups. Including World Café, Open space events, appreciative conversations, problem solving challenges and other gestalt based meeting processes. Creative resilient problem solver and facilitator.

Current focus on local sustainability for arts practice, what it means to belong somewhere, where are the places we can negotiate and celebrate our culture, the social impact of losing our industrial heritage and reclaiming our collective  community self esteem.

Working with found paper and collage and ceramic printing.

Current Freelance Projects

Scottish Canals - Stockingfield Bridge Arts Programme Nov 21- Date

Many Hands Mosaic - Commission

The latest project the “Many Hands Mosaic", for Stockingfield Bridge, we have created 4000 community made tiles for ceramic panels used on benches and the central cone of the bridge spire. The process explores local industrial ceramic heritage, shared clay histories and imagery created from local people’s stories.

Established relationships and networks allowed us to explore an emerging vision for the area and support regeneration transition. We see the opportunity to develop new partnerships and to utilise space, creating resources for the wider benefit of the community. Creating sustainable creative enterprises for the benefit of the community and local artists.

https://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/stockingfield-bridge/stockingfield-artwork-projects/

Glasgow Girls Club November 2019 – April 2020 

https://www.glasgowgirlsclub.org/: 2 days per week. Development lead and community connector North Glasgow project – Robertson Trust funded. I’ve been establishing a senior community leader steering group for the project and trialling a Community Connectors project for girls and young women in North Glasgow.

We have been developing innovative uses of technology to support our work and signpost information, working in partnership with an international tech start up based in Glasgow.  Then Covid....

Maryhill Together – Light up Maryhill Project October 2019 – Dec 2019: 

Multi partner 20+ community development and engagement project. Promoting ward wide participation in a shared lantern making programme, culminating in a community event. Area Partnership and Wheatley Foundation funded.

Glasgow City Council – Creative Communities Artist in Residence Maryhill Ward - Phase 1 April 2019 – June 2022

Creative Communities: Artists in Residence, funded by Glasgow City Council and delivered by Glasgow Life, employed an artist in residence for every community. The scale of the project was unprecedented, commissioning 23 artists and arts organisations and placing them in the 23 wards of Scotland’s largest city. In the first phase of Creative Communities, from March – June 2019, artists worked in every one of the 23 wards, connecting with local groups and individuals to find out what they want from an artist’s residency.

https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/news/creative-communities-artists-in-residence

Lead artist and community development practitioner with New Rhythms for Glasgow 2012 - 2019.

Projects: Glasgow City Council contract to deliver Sighthill Arts Strategy. I’ve been working alongside the local community over past 18 months to create an exciting programme of events and creative opportunities. This programme provides the local community with opportunities to come together, to develop new relationships and evolve new cultural connections. 2-3 sessions per month on average.

Previously Co-ordinated IGF funded youth arts programme in 3 sites in North Glasgow and families work within recovery communities.

Main duties across projects: Working directly with community members, facilitating arts workshops, supervising staff, booking artists and contracting, room bookings, partnership working including attending networking meetings and negotiating contracts, reporting and evaluation, finance management of project budgets, applications for small scale funding, writing proposals for new partnership funding with GHA and DRS in Sighthill. Sourcing and procuring resources for projects.

North West Recovery Communities May 2018 - April 2019

Developing person centered creative sessions within group drop in settings in Drumchapel, Whiteinch and Summerston/Maryhill. Workshops are issue based around recovery themes, and relationship building and skills development.

With established connections now identifying opportunities for further group led projects and resources to support ongoing work. Partnership working alongside NWRC’s Volunteers, GCC Addictions Social work Team, Addaction NW Glasgow, New Rhythms for Glasgow. 8 sessions per month on average.

Tron St Mary's Church Family Support Project

Working with established Women's Craft group and young parents group, parents with ASN children designing and facilitating inclusive activities for beginner crafters and those with additional support needs. Sessions as and when requested.

https://www.facebook.com/tronstmarysparishchurch/

Parent Network Scotland 2012 ongoing: 

working with parents and their kids to make and play together within the context of community Parent Support Hubs in Glasgow. Sessions as and when requested.

Collieston Coastal Café, Aberdeenshire Dec 2018: 

Working with young people and community on Enterprise support, Delivering Craft workshops.

Maryhill Housing Association and New Rhythms for Glasgow 2017-18: 

Oran Craft Club - working with elderly tenants with support needs in sheltered housing to meet and craft on a weekly basis. Building relationships through creativity, and community. Leading to better wellbeing and less social isolation.

Arts in the City Project 2017 

Glasgow Social Work Dept: Various making and group development interventions with young people in and through care services in the city.

Summary of previous clients or partners: 

Agile City – Test Unit project, Aberdeen University ABWIZE, Maryhill Integration Network, Glasgow Youth Arts Hub, Glasgow Connected Arts Network, Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Life Arts Team - Mela and touring theatre, Merchant City Festival, Bridgeman Arts, Platform Easterhouse. Urban Fox Project Parkhead Glasgow. YPeople Glasgow YPeer Mentoring Project, Jobs and Business Glasgow - School Gates Project.

Employment History

Common Purpose Scotland. 120 Bath Street Glasgow. 2004 – May 2012. 

Youth Courses Director Scotland, Your Turn Programme Director, Your Turn Manager.

Project commissioning, partnership working, line management, project managing courses, event delivery and facilitation across Scotland and occasionally Northern Ireland and other areas in UK with locally based teams.

Castlemilk Youth Complex, 39 Ardencraig Road, Glasgow. G45 0EQ. 2001-2004 

Youth worker. Responsible for planning, preparation and delivery of the youth work and arts programme, staff supervision.

The Laurieston Youth Centre, 37 Abbotsford Place, Gorbals Glasgow  1999-2001 

Detached Youth worker 20-hour post. Set up of a new detached youth work programme following a merger of services.

Glasgow City Council, Community Education Area 3 Team. St. Gerrard's Secondary School, Govan. 2000-2004 

Senior sessional detached youth worker. Arts development with Gorbals Arts project and street work delivery.

Glasgow School of Art. Dept of Historical and Critical Studies. 167 Renfrew Street. Glasgow G3 6RQ. 1999-2000

Specialist Tutor for Master of Philosophy in Art and design in Organisational Contexts

Ruchill Youth Drop In Centre, 51 Smeaton Street. Ruchill. Glasgow. 1995-1998 

Sessional Youth worker and Arts Specialist: Developed a group work programme in negotiation with young people and other staff. MPhil research was based on this work. Negotiated arts input and programming with staff and young people.

Training 

Glasgow Kelvin College Community Achievement Award Level 6 Place Making Standard/Springburn Community Consultation in partnership with Springburn Community Council. Oct 18 to date

Agile City – Test Unit Occupying the Post Industrial City – Urban Bothy. Test Unit is a summer school & events programme that aims to turn talk into action by prototyping ideas in public space. Working with diverse group of artists and designers, urban planners to prototype ideas and products.  June 17

Arts Award Advisor training Levels: Discover and Explore, Bronze and Silver May 13

Alternatives to Violence Project Levels 1+2: essential skills and further skills. October 12

Kinharvie Institute of Facilitation Glasgow Community Facilitators Network 5 days training Gestalt Group work theory and practice. Sept 11-May 12 

Mindfulness Today Mindfulness based practice 8 week course (MBSR) Sept 11

Springboard Women's Development Prog Strathclyde University Jan - April 03

Leap confronting conflict Conflict resolution training for an interagency group of youth workers project tackling gangs and violence. May - July 02 

Glasgow City Council Accredited Anti-Racism Training on Glasgow City Councils procedures and guidelines on anti racist youth work. July 2000 

BBC Scotland Media Trainee with E Force Introductory Training in radio production/broadcast journalism Jan - May 99

Stirling University Scottish Drugs Training Board One to One work with Barnado’s (2 days) Drugs Awareness (2 days) 1998

Exhibitions, commissions and articles

Firefly Designs Gallery Bo’ness Autumn Show – selected exhibition. Sept 17

Ready or Not for Remedy productions BBC Slip cast Greenware for TV Show Props Sept 17

Glasgow CAN/Glasgow ARTS Trail of the Possil Meteorite. Handmade way finder poles, community ribbon wand making workshop and street performance at Saracen Cross Possil

 April 17

Tron St Mary’s Church Barmulloch Volunteers Appreciation Gift – paper boxed flowers growing kit, illustrations for Dinner settings. Dec 16

YPeople Glasgow YPeer Mentoring Project. Design and installation of AV Presentation and Visual display for public launch of Project. June 16

Ninety Five Percent youth arts magazine youth culture and its uses within youth work curriculum Summer 01

Mailout magazine Youth culture and its uses within youth work curriculum Jan 99

Closure exhibition, Ruchill Youth Drop In Centre Curated exhibition documenting the arts work and group work that young people undertook over the four year period of the project. October 98

Compass Gallery, Glasgow New Generation show of recent graduate’s work July 97

Paisley Art Institute Ceramic Exhibition March 97

Private commission Ceramic bowls and cards Dec 96

End of year show San Francisco Art Institute. March 96

BIOGRAPHY

I was born in Irvine in 1974 but spent most of my formative years living in Bo’ness a small ex mining town on the River Forth and going to high school in Falkirk.

My local youth club offered me lots of opportunities in my late teens and twenties to became involved in national youth activism and the arts. I travelled to Russia and various UK and European cities with the British Youth Council and UK Youth taking up various board level responsibilities, attending conferences, and volunteering. Youth work supported me into higher education and hugely broadened my horizons, while championing my working class roots.

I came to live in Glasgow in 1994 to attend Glasgow School of Art to study Ceramic Design. I spent part of my course studying at the San Francisco Art Institute. I was offered a bursary by GSA to study a Masters course (MPHIL) Art and Design in Organisational contexts, researching my role as an embedded artist working in a youth work setting. This was an emerging area of artist led research at Glasgow School of Art in 1998.

My working career started in 1998 in Ruchill in the North of Glasgow working with young people from disadvantage backgrounds through arts and issue based youth work, then setting up a detached street work project in the Gorbals. I then moved to Castlemilk Youth Complex as youth worker where I was part of the team who delivered various large scale multi-platform youth arts projects and group work.

In 2003 I arrived at Common Purpose an international leadership development educational charity to manage and deliver their schools courses in Scotland. I was attracted to the prospect of supporting young people in their development to make a difference in their schools and communities. My time there helped me develop and blend creativity with innovative business and facilitative learning practices, working in diverse  and intergenerational groups. I worked with groups of schools, universities and with senior executives from all sectors across the UK and Northern Ireland.

I decided to reignite my creative practice following redundancy from Common Purpose in 2012 which financially made it possible to take the risk.

So at 44 years old I am finally an emerging artist with a little more life experience, and a much reduced bank balance.

As an artist and facilitator I enjoy engaging with groups in creative and challenging ways. My aim is to develop people to fulfil their potential and use creativity to produce social change, gain new insights and ways of thinking together. 

I live in the area where I work, Maryhill, and have done so for 20 years and I hope I’m contributing to the creative fabric of my community.