BAHA'I  ACADEMY  FOR  THE  ARTS
JULY/AUGUST  2003

The 11th Baha'i Academy for the Arts was held again this year at Sidcot School, just south of Bristol in south west England, a beautiful venue set in rolling green country side.

We ran 18 courses (- unfortunately the course in creative writing for beginners had to be cancelled, which would have made it 19!!)    A number of new courses were introduced this year including calligraphy, performing with masks, sculpture, film making, arts in the community  and mural painting for the juniors.   Two hundred and fifty students attended, with ages ranging from 3 to 93.  The courses were divided into courses  for senior youth and adults from the age of 15,  for junior youth 11-14,  for pre-junior youth from 8-10,  for 5-7 year olds,  and this year for the first time, a wonderful course for 3-4 year olds with Victoria Bradley entitled  "Tiny Hands,"  which she built around  creative activities including dance, drama and clay work!

The courses were attended  by Baha'is and their friends.  We are very fortunate to have exceptionally accomplished  tutors and everyone seemed to enjoy the week immensely.

The emphasis at the academy is on 'process', not product.  The process that every person goes through is important. We try to provide an encouraging, nurturing environment where people feel challenged, not by others, but by themselves, in aiming for excellence! 

The Academy is gaining  in popularity, This year we published the brochures and put the information out on the net at the beginning of March, and by the end of March we were fully booked.

We have an administrative team of 6 who meet monthly throughout the year, to organize, explore new ideas and generally fine tune the existing structure.  We are planning to become an arts educational trust which will give us a lot more freedom, allowing us to raise money, finance needy students and take on board a lot more than we are able at the moment.

Its hard work and time consuming.............but, its also very, VERY rewarding!

Loving greetings,

Cecilia and Margaret