Hi everyone, we've a bumper newsletter this month!

A reminder that our next virtual get together is Monday 23rd at 10am.

This meeting will be slightly different to the usual CHAOS as it will form part of the consultation for Southampton's bid to become City of Culture for 2025. If you can't make it but want to contribute to the bid fear not, we'll be recording the session and there will be lots of opportunities to get involved over the coming months (including the CHAOS Network City of Culture Forum), plus there is this survey which will be helping to inform things going forward.

On the 23rd we'll be joined by bid director Claire Whitaker who will introduce the current plan for Southampton 2025 and let you know to make your voices heard.

As this meeting will be part of the City of Culture consultation we are asking you to register before attending. You can do this here.

There will still be space for everyone to connect, have a chat, and share our news/events/recommendations.

After that there is just one more meeting in 2020 -

21st December @ 5pm

We'll have dates for 2021 soon!

More on City of Culture
The bid for Southampton to become UK City of Culture for 2025 has begun and CHAOS will be working with the bid team to provide a space for creatives in the city to be part of the conversation. You can get started straight away at the City of Culture 2025 CHAOS Forum, you'll need to sign up to the CHAOS Network. It's so important that we can have a say in this important bid, everyone is welcome (and encouraged!) to take part.

By signing up to become a CHAOS member you'll be part of the growing online community for people involved in arts, heritage and culture in Southampton. You'll have access to news, groups and forums, providing a space for people and organisations to connect and collaborate, continuing and supporting what we currently do at our CHAOS meetings. To join is free and we'll be working together to provide training, skills sharing and other great initiatives. We're looking forward to welcoming you to the CHAOS Community.

Take a look below to see what's going on in the City this month, including talks, workshops and exhibitions.

If you didn't already know... What is CHAOS?: The CHAOS Network aims to bring together the Creatives, Heritage and Arts Of Southampton. Whether you are a creative business, a voluntary arts group or an independent artist, we'd love to see you at the next network meeting, everyone is welcome to discuss all things cultural in the city. Bring your news and events, do some networking and have a coffee with us (virtually!).

Take care,

Becky Honeycombe-Foster
CHAOS Coordinator

Southampton Film Week – but not as we know it!

7 days in and another 9 to go! Yes, Southampton Film Week is over twice as long this year!

All the details, new events and information here

SFW: Shorts the annual short film competition has gone online and the 19 shortlisted films from across the globe are available on demand. Winners will be announced on Saturday but there’s still time to watch and vote for the audience choice.

As SFW can’t host live screenings this year it has partnered with Amplify online Film Festival which offers a brilliant programme of independent film, artist film, features and shorts, talks and classes. You can get a discount on tickets by quoting SFW10.

Also coming up:
The Youth Film Festival: Young Filmmakers Showcase, Short Story Cinema,
sumptuous archive film of Southampton from Wessex Film & Sound Archive and two features with filmmaker Q&As as part of Mayflower 400 (more details below) – and if you keep an eye on social media you will get a glimpse each day into some of the film shared with City Eye as part of its Lockdown Days project.

Mayflower 400 are currently doing Native American Heritage Month and in Partnership with City Eye / Southampton Film week are particularly excited to announce 2 film screenings:

Mashpee Nine

On Thursday 19th November, in partnership with Southampton Film Week, Paula Peters’ documentary ‘Mashpee Nine’ will be screened. The film recounts details of a police raid, arrest and court trial of nine Wampanoag tribal members who were drumming on the Mashpee Pond campsite July 29, 1976 in Mashpee, Massachusetts. After the screening, Paula will be available via a virtual Q&A.This event starts at 7pm and tickets can be booked here.

Stephano

On Saturday 21st November, in partnership with Southampton Film Week, Hit and Run History presents their adventure-travel documentary on Mayflower pilgrim Stephen Hopkins, Stephano: The True Story of Shakespeare’s Shipwreck. The one-hour film follows the story of the only Mayflower passenger who had been to North America previously. A decade earlier, Hopkins had been aboard a Jamestown-bound ship that wrecked on Bermuda, inspiring Shakespeare’s final play, The Tempest. This event starts at 2.30pm and tickets can be booked here

Plus: Artful Scribe’s Poetry Workshop Weekend, led by poets who have made their homes in England, will go ahead on 14 -15 November. A crowd-sourced poetry reading on the theme of Giving Thanks will feature over the weekend, so tune in to get some inspiration.

Also, coming soon:Giving Thanks

With partners across the city, and funded by Barker Mills Foundation, we have been preparing our own Giving Thanks programme. This was supposed to be a big get-together moment, a time for picnics, street parties, coffee mornings etc.. Unfortunately, this has not proved viable at any time this year. However, we still felt it was important, perhaps even more important in fact, that we took a moment to acknowledge the things for which we are grateful. So, on Thanksgiving, November 26th, we will be launching a city-wide project to create new digital memories that bring the people of Southampton together in a shared celebration of our city and community. We’ll share details of how you can join in soon.

November and December Events
October books have a great programme of online events for November and December, including one featuring CHAOS member and Southampton-born artist Sarah Misselbrook who has recently released her latest book Upon Reflection

Find out more about all the events at October books here

Christmas Windows - Get Involved
We're hoping to host different artists/performers in our shop window on Dec 10/11/12 to provide some Xmas cheer to passers by as there isn't much focus this year due to covid19.

If you'd like to be involved please get in touch with clare@octoberbooks.org for further details.

Shopping
Our shop is currently open Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat 10am-4pm for browsing of essential food/household items and for the collection of online orders.
Full details here.

If you'd like books delivered to your door, why not check out our Bookshop.org storefront! We get a percentage from every sale that passes through our storefront.

Our online shop for all non-book items (food/household/festive/calendars/cards/gifts) is due to launch this month - keep checking our website and social media for details.

Coming soon - the GHT online shop
On Monday November 16th our online shop goes live!

We have been selling a fantastic range of original artists’ prints and gifts from GHT since opening last year, but we have now expanded the range to include more work by brilliant Southampton artists. Launching on Monday November 16th, we really hope the shop can help support local artists in the run up to Christmas - and that you can start your shopping in style with help from your favourite local arts charity.

Shop local, support local artists - and start getting ready for Christmas!

Find out more here

A new funding workshop with Arts Council England
We're very pleased to announce a new funding workshop for any visual artists based in SO postcodes.

After a sold out event last year, relationship manager Ceri Johnson from Arts Council England will return to 'a space' to give an introduction to applying for ACE funding. If you are thinking about applying for a National Lottery Project Grant or a Developing Your Creative Practice Grant, this event will give you a head start on deciding the best route for you. ACE are particularly looking for artists who have not made an application before.

Book here

Join Jaquie Rolls for some Christmas willow workshops this December:

Willow Reindeer /deer head workshops

Tuesday 15th December 10am – 5pm £75,
Create a lovely willow stag/ reindeer head for your home or garden

Willow Christmas Crafts
Thursday, 17th December Just in time for Christmas create your own uniques decorations for your home.

Half-day sessions £35 or attend both sessions £65. Session 1: 9.30 am -12.30 noon. Mini snowpeople and reindeer.

Session 2: 1.30 -4.30. Stars, Christmas trees and mini wreaths. Cost £35 for one workshop £65 for both sessions.

The workshops will be taking place at Wickham Community Centre

For more details visit www. jaxsarts.co.uk or email Jacquie via info@jasarts.co.uk

Christmas is certainly not cancelled in Eastleigh this year! The Point is offering plenty of festive cheer for local families and beyond with their December line-up of events.

The Spitfire Sisters Do Christmas
Thursday 3rd December 7.30pm
Christmas is The Spitfire Sisters’ favourite time of year. Performing festive songs both old and new, with their unmistakable vintage styling and extra mirth for good measure. Bells will be jingled and merriment will be made as they perform a song collection to warm you better than a glass of mulled wine.Prosecco & Cheese Board Offer: It’s the perfect festive combination! Why not add a tasty treat to your ticket and enjoy a delicious cheese board before this evening of entertainment.
For ages 14+
Book your tickets here
*The Point will have a reduced audience capacity to allow for appropriate social-
distancing measures so everyone can have a safe, secure and fun-filled time. Find out more on the venue’s See it Safelypage.

A Christmas Quest
Saturday 12th December 2020 to Thursday 7th January
This Christmas Santa has THE most important job in the world – even more
important than making sure all the stockings get filled and the reindeers stay awake.

The sun has gone missing and Santa needs the help of intrepid explorers (that’s you)! Travel a magical world of gigantic presents, frozen mazes, dazzling lights and thrilling challenges into the Polar north and help Santa bring back the sun to make sure his sledge can take off into the night skies this Christmas.

This immersive journey will take your social bubble on an extraordinary expedition to the edge of the world.
For ages 3+
Book your tickets here
Each experience will be for your family or social bubble with staggered start times to make your Christmas experience feel really safe and special.
Christmas isn’t just for children. All evening shows can be tailored on demand for older families and grown up groups. You can also choose for your show to be a Relaxed Performance

BearFace Theatre would like to highlight The National Criminal Justice Art Alliance annual Anne Peaker lectures which are taking place online 17th Nov 16:00 - 18:00

This year we are proud to have Lemn Sissay MBE speaking, Lady Unchained as host as well as performances from Jamal Khan + more. Looking forward to welcoming so many brilliant people who care about arts and criminal justice. For the first time this event will be broadcast by Prison Radio UK reaching out into the prison cells of 80,000 people across England and Wales. It's going to be a fantastic event. For more information and ticket follow this link

BearFace would also like to share their recent report on their work with women on probation across Hampshire and IOW in partnership with Hampshire Cultural Trust and Hampshire and IOW Community Rehabilitation Company. Find out more here

Discover insights in the old stories, with Gil Dekel, a native Hebrew speaker. In this series of talks we will look at the biblical story of creation, and how it relates to concepts of time/space, Chakras energies, and quantum physics. We will also compare the original Hebrew text with its English translation.

Bimonthly Livestreams via Facebook. Free. Book your place here

Watch our previous session video here

Bidding to become UK City of Culture 2025 is a huge opportunity for Southampton – the competition, which is run every four years, brings great cultural, artistic, social and economic benefits to the winning city.

Throughout November and December, the Southampton UK City of Culture bid team are holding city wide consultations in order to gather ideas for the city’s bid. Led by Bid Director, Claire Whitaker OBE, the team are conducting 29 virtual focus groups covering all aspects of culture; from food to sport and music.

Listening to the local community is at the heart of the consultation phase and The UK City of Culture programme will be shaped having identified the need of the local community. Everyone in the city is being encouraged to participate in a public survey, giving them the opportunity to express their ideas, have their voice heard and play a role in helping to win the bid. The public survey will close on December 13th and you can follow news about the bid on the Southampton UK City of Culture social media channels using the @southampton2025 handle.

You can also have your say in the consultation process by attending the next CHAOS meeting on Monday 23rd November at 10am - details at the top of this email

Theatre for Life CIC has teamed up with Southampton Children’s Hospital, Solent Mind and Southampton City Council Cultural Services in a cross-community film project titled EMERGE. The project is part of the city-wide Mayflower 400 programme.

EMERGE will be a devised performance, humanising stories of communities dealing with hidden disability and mental health, connecting with audiences through stories of hope and resilience. Theatre for Life youth company will have the opportunity to explore stories respectfully and with authenticity using headphone verbatim with Kristine Landon-Smith and Neela Doležalová. ‘Emerge’ will also be included as part of the Southampton COVID-19 Stories exhibition led by Southampton City Council.

The collaboration between Theatre for Life CIC and Southampton Children’s Hospital will see young people working remotely with creative practitioners in verbatim theatre, scriptwriting, poetry and devising with Desree and Amari Harris. The project aims to supports patient empowerment, self-esteem and resilience. Solent Mind, Hampshire’s leading mental health charity, will also be providing advice to participants needing support with mental health.

We are looking to preview Emerge in March with a final screening in April, details to be announced.

We would be really interested to hear from any community groups and artists wanting to support our scratch preview and from audiences wanting to attend the final screening.

We would love to know your thoughts, and have created a short Survey Monkey. It would be greatly appreciated if you could complete the survey (should take no longer that 5 minutes to complete).