WATCH: The Magic Butterflies



Pupils with Profound multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) held an interactive musical show early summer at Birkett House, Wigston, Leicestershire.

The pupils worked alongside practitioners from Enabling Electronicals, Bamboozle Theatre and House of Scattergood on a Sci-art Fusion project.


Sci-art Fusions, is a part of the Ignition* programme, which inspires, surprises and delights young people and wider audiences with the connections between arts, culture, STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) subjects and society.


The Beautiful Butterfly and The Magic Flower is an interactive musical story for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities that is created by the children via novel sensory communication technology.


The butterflies have been specifically designed to interact to movements similar to a Wii games remote.


Using this communication technology the children will be encouraged to participate and change the direction of the story, respond to events within the story and make the musical story ‘theirs’ and so create their own art in a unique and empowering experience.


Dr Sai Pathmanathan, programme director for Ignition*, said, “The Beautiful Butterfly and the Magic Flower’ is a fantastic project which merges creative communication and storytelling with cutting-edge technology.

The technology which develops from the project will have a real impact on the lives of young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities enabling them to communicate in new ways.”


Ignition* is a partner programme of The Mighty Creatives, the young people’s creative development agency for the East Midlands.

Click here to see the full length film.

TMC launch text donation

The Mighty Creatives has launched a just text giving service to allow you to support creativity in children and young people.Together, creativity and culture give children and young people the tools they need to make change happen.

Simply text TMCS11 and insert from £2/£5/£10 or other to 70070 to donate.

Why fund us?

TMC believe all children and young people should experience and access the diverse range of cultural activity because these opportunities can enhance aspirations, achievements and skills.

Click here for more information.

Building a new bridge

The following is a statement from Richard Clark, chief executive of TMC.

Earlier this year, The Mighty Creatives was invited to join Arts Council England’s National Portfolio. Starting in April 2012, we will be working as a Bridge Organisation, providing support for their Goal 5: “Every child and young person has the opportunity to experience the richness of the arts”. Our aim will be to help build more coherent and consistent opportunities for children and young people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to access the arts in every corner of the East Midlands.


We will be working with our partners Arts Learning East Midlands to devise and deliver this important role. Initial activity will start in 2011 with briefing events to talk about what the Bridge will do and to learn about the opportunities and challenges facing the region’s arts sector. This will be followed by an audit of existing arts activity for children and young people in January/February 2012, and the start of the Bridge itself on 1st April.


Arts Council England has produced a briefing paper about the Bridge Organisations nationally. You can download it here. 

Running alongside these activities, The Mighty Creatives has a number of other important jobs to do:


1. Creative Partnerships has been a world-leading programme and we need to find out more about its impact and create a lasting legacy for its achievements. We’ll be working with our many partners in the Autumn to ask the all-important question: where will support for the next creative generation come from?
2. As a result of Creative Partnerships closing, The Mighty Creatives won’t be as big as we have been, and much loved team members will be leaving the organisation before the end of the financial year. We are currently managing a careful transition process that will determine the future shape of the organisation. We will have completed this process by 31 March 2012.


3. We are launching a rich portfolio of new creative activities for children and young people in keeping with our business plan, Planet TMC. Activities include The Bank of TMC, In-work and In-volve, MyWorld and our new Learning Service. You can read about developments elsewhere on this blog and our company website. We would love to hear from any partners interested in working with us, regionally, nationally and internationally. Connect here.


I’ll post more updates here about the development of The Mighty Creatives over the next few months. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.


Richard Clark, chief executive, The Mighty Creatives.



Preeya's first week at TMC

Last week we introduced 18-year-old Preeya Parmar who joined team TMC for a three-week work placement.
Preeya, who is currently studying for her A Levels in Accounting, Business Studies and Psychology at Beauchamp College, has been working with the TMC finance team.

Here's what she's been up to:

(From left to right) Celyne, Preeya, Katrina and Lila talking numbers

"I have recently started work experience at TMC and so far I have enjoyed it. Coming here, I have been given the opportunity to get an insight into a real life work environment and the accountancy processes within the organisation. Whilst being here, I have been working closely with the Finance team. On my first day, I was given an induction on the work building, the structure of the organisation and staff members within the team. Celyne, a member of the finance team, gave me a useful introduction on the main accounting computer system SAGE. I was then taught how to process supplier invoices into SAGE. Throughout the day, I was given some time to put what I had learnt into practice independently. This allowed me to gain a better understanding of how accounting processes work. Manisha, the Communications Manager, showed me what her job entails being in the Communications team. At the end of the day, Bev gave me a more detailed understanding of TMC itself which I found informative.

                               (From left to right) Preeya and Lila at the TMC office



For the next couple of days, I was taught how to print and record supplier invoices and schools into the SAGE system. This allowed me to relate my accountancy knowledge which I learnt in college to real life processes. I was also given information on how school grants worked within the system. Along with this, I was also given the chance to do some filing of invoices and bank statements. Meetings were also carried out with Lila to check on my progress and experience at TMC.


Staff members at TMC have been really friendly and helped me when needed.


So far, my experience at TMC has been very useful as it has allowed me to gain a wider understanding of the accountancy field in an organisation which can help me further in the future."

The TMC finance team (From left to right) Celyne, Preeya, Katrina and Lila

PHOTOS: Pupils' create rural trail

Ten students from Meadowside Primary School, in Burton Latimer, have mapped the route of an historic trail from Fermyn Woods to Lyveden New Bield with drawings, poetry and signs, which have been installed along the route.
Their artwork will be unveiled on Saturday, August 6, as part of a wider international exhibition in Fermyn Woods, called Encounters, Journeys through Language and Landscape.
The pupils have been working with Poet Keely Mills and the staff at Fermynwoods Contemporary Art on a Creative Exchange project which is funded and delivered through The Mighty Creatives (TMC).

Check out some of the photos taken during the project which saw pupils exploring the trail for inspiration!

Click here to find out more about the exhibition launch and project.

PHOTOS: It's time to Progress your workforce

Find out what nine young people from Castle Estate in Bolsover achieved when they joined Sporting Futures who were delivering the Progress project on behalf of TMC.

Hinckley and Bosworth Deputy Mayor praises TMC project

Statement from Martin Cartwright, Deputy Mayor, of Hinckley and Bosworth Council.

"On Friday 15th July 2011, I had the unique opportunity to open the "Footprints to the Future" exhibition produced by the students if Redmoor High school, Hinckley.



"Featuring items from the past discovered by the students and presented in media and exhibition style formats to the very highest standard of quality. Explained by the students in a presentation to the audience that everyone has a past, present and future. The exhibition was opened by myself in the Atkins Building, Hinckley a building that has a past from its origins as a hosiery factory over one hundred years ago to its recent times as being redeveloped into what is today a fabulous building with a great future in helping projects such as Redmoor High School.


"The Footprints to the future exhibition featured findings of the past in archeologically digs that the students of Redmoor School had produced. Presented in an exhibition that the students had produced and featured in a ten minute and thirty minute of video footage from the hundreds of hours of recordings taken. Highlighting beautifully the quality of the student’s work it will be these students that will be among the stars of the future.


"I was very proud of the students and their achievements. Thank you to all the Students of Redmoor high School, Redmoor High Schools staff, Dr Ramez, Ransome Sammone, The Mighty Creatives, Creative Hinckley and to everyone else involved.


"If a news headline were to be produced it would simply say, "Fantastic", "Stunning", "Creative", "Professional"."

Well done Redmoor High school, a simply stunning exhibition, "Footprints to the Future"."

Click here to find out more about the project and exhibition launch.