CIAO! is delighted to announce a new partnership with MINI Plant Oxford in mounting its innovative arts and environmental science project in ten Oxfordshire primary schools and with local community groups. The project culminates in June with the Ark, a large-scale public art installation, being positioned on the front lawn of Oxford University’s Museum of Natural History for a five-day celebration of low carbon living.

MINI Plant Oxford supports a range of local community activities and with the support of Oxford Inspires, the city’s cultural agency, have made this partnership possible. Hundreds of Oxfordshire primary school children were first captivated by the car manufacturer when they learned about the development of the 100% electric, zero-emissions MINI E at the Children’s Climate Change Conference, held at the Shedonian Theatre when the Ark project was launched in January.
This partnership will encourage children to develop their own ideas for a low carbon future as engineers from MINI Plant Oxford will visit participating primary schools to lead workshops that encourage children to explore the future of transport. MINI Plant Oxford’s associates will also be taking part in community workshops at the Old Book Binders on Green Street, East Oxford, where they will assist in the final stages of building and decorating the Ark.

Dr Jürgen Hedrich, managing director of MINI Plant Oxford, said: “We are delighted to support the Ark project. MINI is all about doing things differently and taking on new challenges. I’m hoping that this partnership will prove to be a fascinating experience for both the schools involved in the Ark project – and for our engineers who will be working with them.

“It also offers an opportunity for our employees and their families to get involved with helping to actually build the Ark, so we will be playing a hands on role.”

The CIAO! Ark will embody children’s responses to the question - “If you were sailing away on an Ark to a low carbon future, what would you take with you and what would you leave behind?” Following environmental science investigations in each of the schools, children are now working with arts organisations such as Pegasus Theatre, the Oxford Playhouse, the Roald Dahl Museum and the Oxford Literary Festival, as well as with individual musicians, choreographers and film makers, to respond to this question. Their visions of a low carbon future will be displayed and performed on the Ark, from 23rd - 27th June, when it will be installed in front of one of Oxford’s best loved museums.

Karen Draisey, CIAO!’s Artistic Director, commented: “CIAO!‘s partnership with MINI Plant Oxford on the Ark project gives children and families associated with this iconic car the opportunity to learn more about the future of transport. Children are interested in the MINI E and are excited by the chance to work with the Plant’s engineers and offer their own innovative ideas on the development of transport for a low carbon world.”

For further information on the CIAO! Ark Project visit www.ciaofestival.org.uk or contact the CIAO! team on info@ciaofestival.org.uk.

Children from St John Fisher Catholic Primary School in Blackbird Leys will become pop stars for the day at SAE Institute Oxford, using world-class recording studios to record the song that pupils have written and produced as part of the CIAO! Ark Project. Following the children’s environmental science investigations into the effects of climate change on our water supply, they have been working with Nick Cope of the Candyskins to produce a hit single “The Water Goes Up”!

Nick has been working closely with the pupils since March, developing their musical and singing skills for the recording that will see a number of the children playing instruments including guitar, keyboard, glockenspiel and percussion. They have also written the lyrics to the raps that will form the verses of the song. Nick commented: “The children have worked really hard with great enthusiasm throughout the project so the opportunity to record our hard work in a proper studio is like the icing on the cake, as long as no one spills anything on the equipment we will have a fantastic day.”

SAE Institute Oxford, the international headquarters for the world’s largest private college for audio engineering and digital film making training has become one of CIAO!’s latest project partners. Their involvement in the CIAO! Ark Project will offer the children from St John Fisher Primary School the opportunity to explore and experiment with cutting edge recording equipment and be inspired by experts currently working in the music industry.

Steve Hartley, from SAE Institute Corporate & Media Relations said, “We are delighted to support what can only be described as a remarkable community project.
As the power of music affects all of us and has long appealed to our emotions, writing and recording a single is an excellent way to highlight the effects of climate change on our water supply.
I’m sure the creative and positive impact of recording at SAE Oxford’s state-of-the-art studios will help pupils from St John Fisher School gain confidence and develop a team spirit”.

The CIAO! Ark will embody children’s responses to the question - “If you were sailing away on an Ark to a low carbon future, what would you take with you and what would you leave behind?” Following environmental science investigations in each of the schools, children are now working with arts organisations such as Pegasus Theatre, the Oxford Playhouse, the Roald Dahl Museum and the Oxford Literary Festival, as well as with individual musicians, choreographers and film makers, to respond to this question. Their visions of a low carbon future will be displayed and performed on the Ark, from 23rd - 27th June, when it will be installed on the front lawn of Oxford University Museum of Natural History, alongside a public programme of family activities including arts and science workshops, performances entertainments and interactive exhibitions.

CIAO! is working on the project in partnership with Oxford Inspires, INevents and it’s major funders are Arts Council Endland, Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council and Creative Junction.

For further information on the CIAO! Ark Project visit www.ciaofestival.org.uk or contact the CIAO! team on info@ciaofestival.org.uk.

CIAO! and Oxford Jazz Festival have joined forces to present a city centre outdoor concert of some of the UK’s finest jazz on the Ark on Friday 25th June. The CIAO! Ark Project is an innovative arts and environmental science project that will see the installation of the Ark on the front lawn of Oxford University Museum of Natural History in June for a five day celebration of low carbon living.

Following the huge success of this year’s Oxford Jazz Festival in April, CIAO! was eager to work with the organisers of the festival to produce one of Oxfords largest outdoor city concerts, presenting an evening of first-class entertainment on the Ark. The line-up will enable people to hear from internationally established artists like virtuoso saxophonist Tommaso Starace and the latest local up and coming talents.

The evening will get off to a thundering start with the Dunajska Kapelye Balkan Gypsy Jazz Band. This much vaunted power trio will work the audience into a frenzy with their hearty, rhythmically stomping performance on the upper deck of the Ark. This year’s winners of Oxford Jazz Festival’s ‘JazzFactor’ student competition will perform an interval set. The five teenage Oxford based musicians, Quaking Ducks, unanimously wowed the competition’s judges with their performance. The Juliet Kelly Quartet will then take to the stage with special guest Tommaso Starace for the final act of the evening. Referencing influences as diverse as Soul II Soul, the Eurythmics and Soft Cell, Juliet offers up her own take on some 80’s classics alongside her own creations that range from toe-tapping grooves to Latin-inflected ballads. She will be performing alongside saxophonist Tommaso Starace, who has developed a big following on the European jazz circuit. They will be joined by Paul Jefferies (double bass), Rob Terry (piano) and Charlie Stratford (drums).

Max Mason, one of Oxford Jazz Festival organisers, commented: “After just two years Oxford Jazz Festival has become nationally renowned and well established within the county as the must see event for Easter each year. We are delighted to be able to work with CIAO! to showcase some of our exciting performers over a full evening at the Ark”

Like the Ark itself, ‘Jazz on the Ark’ will be powered entirely by sustainable green energy, in the form of solar panels, cycle power and a generator powered by recycled chip fat sourced from East Oxford. The evening will also be catered by one of Oxford’s best-loved ethical restaurants, the Big Bang.

The CIAO! Ark will embody children’s responses to the question - “If you were sailing away on an Ark to a low carbon future, what would you take with you and what would you leave behind?” Following environmental science investigations in the ten participating Oxfordshire primary schools, children are now working with arts organisations such as Pegasus Theatre, the Oxford Playhouse, the Roald Dahl Museum and the Oxford Literary Festival, as well as with individual musicians, choreographers and film makers, to respond to this question. Their visions of a low carbon future will be displayed and performed on the Ark, from 23rd - 27th June, when it will be installed in front of one of Oxford’s best-loved museums. Over the weekend of 26th - 27th June there will be a free programme of activities on and around the Ark, including arts and science family workshops, performances, entertainments and interactive exhibitions.

Tickets are now available for ‘Jazz on the Ark’ and are priced £25.50 (includes BBQ), £22.50 (concession & BBQ), £18.50 (concert only) & £15 (concession). To purchase tickets go to www.wegottickets.com/ciao.

The CIAO! Ark is a large-scale public art installation that will provide an exhibition and performance space during a five day celebration of low carbon living in Oxford in June. Various Oxford city centre locations were under consideration for the Ark and CIAO! is delighted that the Museum is now welcoming it onto its front lawn - a green space in front of one of Oxford’s most iconic buildings. It is an appropriate setting for an installation that represents a meeting place for science and the arts.

The CIAO! Ark is the result of an innovative project in ten Oxfordshire primary schools where environmental scientists and artists are asking children the question - “If you were sailing away on an Ark to a low carbon future, what would you take with you and what would you leave behind?” The children are working with arts organisations such as Pegasus Theatre, the Oxford Playhouse, the Roald Dahl Museum and the Oxfords Literary Festival, as well as with individual musicians, craftspeople, choreographers and film makers to respond to this question. The project received a grant of £150,000 from Arts Council England and has the support of Oxford City and Oxfordshire County Councils as well as a variety of other funders.

Given that 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity as well as the Museum’s 150th anniversary, there’s a lot to celebrate on the Ark as the theme of ‘a positive vision of a low carbon future’ encourages people to think of the many ways in which they can protect species close to home as well as reducing their carbon footprints.

Premises to build the Ark have been secured at the former Green Street Bookbinders in East Oxford and this will commence in early April. Basil Wyatt & Sons Ltd, the Oxford based builders and contractors, are donating their services to restore and renovate the former bookbinders, making the space suitable for building this huge structure. 

The Ark has been designed by theatre designer Nomi Everall of Pegasus Theatre and Architecture san Frontières, who have been working with school children to incorporate their ideas of what the Ark means to them. Workshops in community settings around Oxfordshire between now and June will involve participants in creating a wonderful variety of art works to be displayed in a ‘the Sea of Troubles’ - a visual representation around the Ark of what the children choose to leave behind.

Karen Draisey, Artistic Director of CIAO! commented; ‘We are delighted to be working in partnership on this project with the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in its anniversary year. We are also thrilled by the overwhelming support that the project is receiving from local businesses such as the Green Street Bookbinders and Basil Wyatt and Sons Ltd. As part of a Season of Arts and Science, coordinated by Oxford Inspires and Science Oxford, the Ark will provide people with an opportunity to reflect on the positive aspects of adapting to low carbon living. Very often the arts provide a doom-laden view of climate change but it’s also the case that the next 150 years could see exciting developments in science and technology that allow us to adapt to a greener future and this is what the Ark project will celebrate.’

CIAO!’s Children’s Climate Change Conference has been awarded the London 2012 Inspire Mark by the Cultural Olympiad in recognition of the values that the project has in common with Olympic ideals.

The conference launches the Ark Project which asks children to imagine what, if they were sailing away on an Ark to a low carbon future, they would take with them and what they would leave behind? 

The Children’s Climate Change Conference will take place at the historic Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford on Thursday 14th January 2010, when presentations will be delivered to an audience of 600 primary school children from ten Oxfordshire schools. Speakers include leading scientists and engineers who will give the children insight into exciting and inspirational developments in science and technology, providing positive visions of a sustainable future. Professor Brenda Boardman and Dr Malcolm McCulloch from the University of Oxford among others, will be covering topics from future transport, eco-housing and biodiversity through to the changing climate.

Emma Howell, Ark Project Director said; “The conference showcases exciting and innovative aspects of science to inspire children about the potential opportunity and beauty a low carbon world offers.”

Following the conference each school will work with a scientist to explore an aspect of environmental science. This will then be translated into an artistic creation with an arts partner and these include the Oxford Playhouse, Pegasus Theatre, the Roald Dahl Museum, Nick Cope of The Candyskins, the Animation Station and other individual artists. Architecture Sans Frontières will construct the Ark (a stunning arts installation art) large enough to exhibit the children’s artwork, hold workshops and stage performances. The project culminates in June 2010 when the Ark takes up its position in a central Oxford location for members of the public to visit and take part in a varied programme of events.

During this time a reverse conference will be held allowing children to share their visions and findings with an invited audience of scientists, policy makers and politicians as well as the science and arts community.

Karen Draisey, CIAO!’s Artistic Director said; “We are very proud to have achieved the London 2012 Inspire Mark for the Children’s Climate Change Conference. It reflects on the extraordinary range of partners that the project is bringing together.”

To download a full information pack detailing the CIAO! Children’s Climate Change Conference and the CIAO! Ark Project go to www.ciaofestival.org.uk. If you would like to attend the conference please contact Paula Clark on tel: 01865 263181 or email: pclark@ciaofestival.org.uk.

The CIAO! Ark is an environmental arts and science project, positively tackling many of the issues and perceptions surrounding climate change. It will take place in 2010, involving the participation of ten Oxfordshire primary schools, resulting in an Ark being built in a central Oxford location as an exhibition and performance space to display work created by school children and local community groups.

Working with cutting edge environmental scientists and engineers and many of Oxford’s cultural organisations and professional artists, children will be asked ‘If you were sailing away on an Ark in order to create a low carbon future, what would you take with you and what would you leave behind?’ The artists and scientists will work with children in the schools to help them formulate their responses and translate their visions creatively into art works and performances for the Ark.

Theatre designer Nomi Everall of Pegasus Theatre is working with Oxford based, Architecture sans Frontières on the design and construction of the Ark, which will be built from reclaimed materials harvested in the Oxford area. Large enough to exhibit art works, hold workshops and stage performances, the Ark will provide a centrepiece for the CIAO! Festival in June 2010, when the general public will be able to visit the Ark and take part in events celebrating low carbon living.

The project will be launched in January 2010 with an inspirational conference at the Sheldonian Theatre where 600 primary school children will hear from some of the country’s leading scientists working in the environment, such as Professor Brenda Boardman, expert in energy and future housing and Dr Malcolm McCulloch and Dr Shaun Savage talking about future transport. By June 2010, during the CIAO! Festival roles will be reversed in a second conference, when children will present their findings to an audience of scientists and policy makers, giving young people the opportunity to make their voices heard and express their views on the world they will grow up in.

Emma Howell, Ark Project Director said; “Climate change is rapidly moving up the agenda, with the Copenhagen negotiations at the end of the year, this project aims to present these issues in a positive, inspiring and empowering way, so that everyone feels they can have a role to play in shaping a low carbon future.”

A range of funders is making this project possible. Arts Council England is the latest confirmed funding partner with its award of £150,000, for which CIAO! is still raising match funding.

Karen Draisey, CIAO!’s Artistic Director said; “We are delighted by the Arts Council’s decision which endorses CIAO!’s work in developing children’s arts in the region. It also recognises the partnerships that have been created between artists, scientists, architects, educators and children. Our efforts to make this ambitious project a reality has been underpinned by Oxford’s cultural development agency Oxford Inspires and we look forward to working with them and with Science Oxford on their exciting programme for 2010.”

For a full information pack on CIAO! Festival and The Ark Project go to www.ciaofestival.org.uk. If you are interested in supporting the project you can call 01865 263181 or email info@ciaofestival.org.uk.