Who are GoCreate Taunton CIC?

GoCreate Taunton CIC is an award-winning creative community based within the Arts Hub in the county town of Somerset.

Established in 2014 our goal is to help people to discover the arts, and to develop their talents to become better artists and more resilient individuals. We do this through collaborative art groups, including well-being programmes for both adults and children, home education sessions, and one-on-one creative support and professional development opportunities.

At GoCreate , we approach arts education and learning differently. Our “Go Create” approach uses creative activities, inclusive learning methods, trauma-informed thinking and environments that involve and inspire learning-disabled people to engage with learning in a positive and impactful way. We support people to explore ideas, themes and topics in ways which are accessible, imaginative and joyful! We work with people of all ages and support needs; our approach allows everyone to access our work in their own way and empowers people to learn in the way that suits them best.

Everyone who attends our classes or workshops is a member and ALL people involved in the arts in any way are welcome to join us! You don’t have to attend a session to become a member and join our community however. Members benefit from the opportunity to exhibit in our annual exhibitions, sell art at regular Arts Markets and as at GoCreate, everyone is valued, and leadership is shared, members have the opportunity to guide the direction we take at regular meetings and our AGM. As a proactive, positive organisation GoCreate believes that we should be able to be ourselves, make change happen and have fun! Our vision is of a more open, creative and equal world.

Our members represent areas as diverse as Music, Visual Arts, Performance, Photography, Film, 3D Design, Ceramics, Writing and Poetry, Teaching, Architecture, Publishing, Graphic Design, Graffiti, Advertising and more.

We put well-being at the heart of all we do, and through working with professional artists and wellbeing specialists our creative courses and activities are aimed at those facing difficulties in their lives or simply in need of some inspiration.

GoCreate is dedicated to providing a safe and enriching environment where anyone and everyone can develop new creative skills by working alongside professional artists. Within our creative community space within the Arts Hub we offer sessions in which participants can paint, chat, home your artistic techniques and learn new skills from both professional artists and mental health practitioners, as well as having the opportunity to give emotional support to each other.

 

Some of our Current Events

Orchard Gallery	Creatively Minded
Home Educated Arts Award	Christmas Create;
Arts Market	Come Back To Colour

 

Come and Visit Our Orchard Centre Gallery

Orchard Gallery

Our Pop Up Shop is currently open in the Orchard Centre in Taunton. Why not call in to meet the artists, or even buy some Art?! We’ve got a variety of Original Art, created by local Artists ranging from paintings and prints to postcards. We’ve even got mugs, earrings, tea-towels and lots lots more!!

 

2024 Christmas Penguin Trail

 

GoCreate has created a penguin trail this winter to link up many of the shopping areas in Taunton Town Centre. Thanks to funding from Taunton Town Council from their budget for Christmas Entertainment Fund, you can seek out 13 beautifully hand painted Penguins by local artists. You can pick up your free trail map from the Orchard Gallery situated in The Orchard Shopping Centre or from The Taunton Visitors Centre in The Market House. Once you have your Trail Map you can find out the Penguins names and once completed pop your answers in to the gallery to be entered into a prize draw.

Click Here to Download the Free trail guide

 

Can you find the Penguins Names

 

The Penguin Trail

Penguin Trail Venue Map

Our Safeguarding Team

 

GoCreate works with a number of potentally vulnerable groups and takes it’s safeguarding responsibilities seriously. Details for its Safegaurding team can be found below and whilst each can be contacted seperately it is also possible to email safeguarding@gocreate.org.uk. For further information please view our Child Protection and Vulnerable Policies shared on this website. If you have an immediate and significant concern about safeguarding, please do ring 999.

 

James Eastwell Jim is GoCreate Taunton’s Safeguarding advisor and consultant. He has Somerset’s Advanced Child Protection (Interagency) training as well as Safer Recruitment and experience working with vulnerable Adults. Jim is also a qualified Art Teacher, Arts Award Advisor and welcomes contact from any organisation or individuals wishing to recieve Cascade training from Somerset County Council resources. Jim’s main job is as an Attachment and Trauma specialist within a local SEMH provision and he welcomes any local teachers who want to do collaborative work to get in touch. He can be emailled on jameseastwell@gmail.com

Liz Hutchin Having taught for over 30 years in Primary Schools including East and South-east London, Liz established Busylizzie Art & Literacy Ltd, in November 2013 as a way of further developing the passion for art, presentation, creativity and design that had been bubbling inside all that time! Busylizzie Art is about bespoke and personal, from consultation to completion – creating hand-painted designs for wall spaces ranging from music studios, nursery settings to children’s rooms and conservatories as well as individualised Wedding Stationery, hand-made from original watercolour paintings. Busylizzie Art & Literacy in schools is all about whole school staff training and Art Projects and developing children’s skills. The connection with schools is where the link with Go Create and Taunton Live 2015 naturally grew out of…. http://www.busylizzieart.co.uk/

Jenny Keogh Jenny is the CEO of GoCreate Taunton CIC. Jenny is an abstract painter and colourist and has her studio based at The Arts Hub in Taunton. Jenny sees her paintings as internal landscapes, autonomous in method, but often mirroring current personal issues, ambience and feelings. “As well as reflecting my own personal experiences my work captures and displays its own vibrancy, physicality and dynamism. I am hugely inspired by nature, colour and growth and usually manipulate the paint using unorthodox pouring and dripping techniques to allow the paint to take on its own visceral form upon the canvas.” Jenny graduated with a BA Hons in Fine Art in 2003, is the CEO of GoCreate CIC Taunton since it formed in 2014, she is an Arts Award Advisor at all levels and a qualified Drawing & Talking practitioner. www.jennykeogh.co.uk jenny@gocreate.org.uk

Contact Us

 

If you have any questions, queries or support our work please do get in touch. Jenny, Liz and Richard can be reached ay Jenny@gocreate.org.uk, liz@gocreate.org.uk and richard@gocreate.org.uk. Alternatively for general enquiries please use info@gocreate.org.uk For any safeguarding related concerns please us safeguarding@gocreate.org.uk

We look forward to hearing from you