>> FINDING FUNDING <<

Spherculism has been around for a while now and we are over a thousand strong.

When this project started i looked into finding funding for the project.

I didn't get very far because i had a million and one other things to do at the time.

But now I have the time and the inclination to apply for funding from 'Arts Council England'.

I figure that instead of applying for personal funding for the project I should apply on behalf of this community.

Firstly I'd like to know if anyone amongst us has any experience with finding funding. Has anyone recieved funding from Arts Council England or any other arts council?

Does anyone know of any other funding body that may be interested in our sphercular community?

Is there a kind hearted soul out there who can help with the funding application? I'm alright at english but have no experience of funding applications.

So then. What projects would you like to see spherculism accomplish?

What would you say we have accomplished thus far?

We have an okay website based in phpnuke that allows us to discuss anything we choose. I've aquired plenty of server space and have watched the community grow steadily for the passed 9 months. We now have 3 full time moderators who devote a great deal of time and energy to the site. Without whom the site wouldn't function.

I have filmed everything i know about poi and provided over 200 free video downloads for everyone. The feedback from which has been breathtaking. The quality of poi that i've been seeing lately makes me feel very proud.

We have discussed the terminoloogy of poi at great length and begun the formation of the 'Encyclopoidia'. This has been very much a 'group effort'. The goal of this project is to fascilitate understanding between our members. Text is a notoriously difficult medium with which to discuss complex bodily movements. By defining the terms we have a far better understanding of what each of us is talking about. This in turn reduces the ammount of arguments and helps make our community a particularly happy one.

But the sphercular project is about more than just poi swinging. Spherculism, to me, encompasses many different activities. Poi just happens to be the one in which i am most proficient. Other sphercular forms include staff, diablo, devilsticks, kung fu, contact juggling, break dancing and so on. Any form of movement which involves focusing your energies into spheres and circles, or as i lovingly refer to them ~ Sphercles.

A major goal for spherculism is to teach people how to teach themselves and others. Once this skill has been refined it is possible to apply it to many different sphercular disciplines. It's a fine balance between the 'Rate of learning new things' and the 'Reward gained from that learning'. There is a feedback loop and if that balance is struck then learning can be accellerated very rapidly.

The community is currently working hard to organise many gatherings around the world in celebration of reaching 1000 members. A future project for spherculism is to create a renegade style convention for spherculists to meet each other and share their skills. It will focus on the similarities between the forms so that, for example, a staff spinner can learn movement from a brake dancer and vise versa.

Another project will be to design and produce beter tools for us all to play with. I find the quality of many products on the market to be severely sub standard. I have a BSc in Industrial Design and I have plenty of designs in the pipeline and am forging strong links with companies who can produce and distribute those product designs.

There will also be a poi dvd coming out which will aid learning and fuel understanding even more than the free videos on the site. Progress of this project has been hindered by a lack of funds. However, I have secured enough 'presale promises' already to pay for the project and I have learned all the skills needed to create a saleable dvd. I have held meetings with all those who will be involved in the project from cameramen and editors right through to sales staff and distributors. I fill in many of the gaps with my experties as brand stylist and poi teacher.

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So there are some of my thoughts. I'd love to hear some of yours, especially if you have never posted before because you are as much a part of this site as everybody else.

Also, if anyone has experience with pricing projects then we really need to talk because funders always require detailed spending plans.

With an injection of funding I believe we can really push things forward.

Thanks for your continuing support,

matt