Breeze aims to seek out raw and emerging talent in the arts and media in Devon, and to create a broad range of opportunities to help people on their creative journeys. Jointly sponsored by BBC South West and the Arts Council, each project features artists working with media and arts professionals to realise their ambitions. Around 70 people originally submitted ideas they wanted to develop with the help of Breeze. Twelve project ideas were chosen and are currently being developed with the help of BBC Radio Devon and a range of other local partner organisations.
 | | Frankie taking lessons in film-making |
Among them is "Power Pack" (see photo gallery and video linked on the right), which brings together a group of young people with muscular dystrophy to learn new skills in film-making, music and dance in order to produce their own pop music video. Parent, Sharon Kitcher said: "The Power Pack music video school is determined to live fully charged lives – despite the batteries in their wheelchairs always going flat! "The gang of around 10 girls and boys between the ages of seven and 16 - including nine-year-old twins (Beth and Ceri, pictured) - are fed up having their lives revolve around their physical limitations. "They want to be able to use video and music to explore and show just how powerful and vivid their imaginations are. At the very least, they just want to be able to do something fun and funky with their families."
 | | Let's Dance: Ceri and Beth in action |
With the help of the Plymouth Music Zone, Space for Sport and Arts, TR2 and the BBC, the group spent a day working with film, dance and music practitioners learning new skills and developing ideas for their own music video. Power Pack will be composing, choreographing and shooting their music video during February and March 2006. In another project, Omar Ali has learned new journalism skills which will help him in the course of his work for the Kurdish community newspaper. Omar approached BBC Radio Devon with the idea of developing his journalism skills in order to develop a Kurdish news letter. "I would like to be a journalist working for the Kurdish community," said Omar. "Also, I think it would be good for the BBC to have a volunteer to be the link between Kurds, Arabs, Iranian and Turkish community." In December 2005, Omar was trained by journalists at BBC Radio Devon. His new skills enabled him to interview members of the Kurdish community living in Plymouth on their views of the Iraqi election. Omar will now be a regular contributor to BBC Radio Devon thanks to the Breeze project. Training has also begun for two other Breeze bursary projects. "New Hope" will create a social biography through film, exploring the lives of a group of people living in Devonport, Plymouth. And Andy Blackwell will develop his film-making skills as he attempts to create a piece of theatre in Plymouth's Ham Wood with local school children.
 | | Breeze logo |
Both New Hope and Andy Blackwell have been working with BBC film-maker Johnny Rutherford to develop new skills enabling them to achieve their ambitions. This training is on-going and promises new films from local artists. Breeze is a partnership between a number of South West organisations - the BBC, the Barbican Theatre, Plymouth Arts Centre and TR2. It also has backing from the Plymouth Consortium for Diversity in the Arts and the Plymouth & District Racial Equality Council. This means the scheme offers an innovative opportunity for those wanting to create a new project and learn new skills. Other Breeze projects are currently being developed. These include: • Thiam Lau's project will bring poetry to the public spaces of Plymouth. In Thiam's words "poetry is about the education of our hearts." His work, in both Mandarin and English, will be displayed across the city. • Chaz Singh will explore his identity as a Sikh living in Plymouth through photographic imagery. • Nasir Jamal will work with the BBC to build a dedicated website for the South Asian community in Devon. • Ghana Link will redevelop its website which celebrates the established link between Plymouth and the city of Sekondia Takoradi. • Storyteller, in which Abimbola Alao will use the art of cornrow hair design to tell web based stories. • Chanda Nyerezni and Caroline Keane, will bring Zimbabwean storytelling to the Devon countryside with ancient stone carrying ceremony. • Jake Keohane, one of the key figures behind the newly organised North Devon Respect festival, will learn PR skills to help make the most of the festival. • Katie Thompson will develop a web-based audio and visual archive of the South West's creative talent. For more information about Breeze and any of the current projects, please contact Jo Loosemore via email at jo.loosemore@bbc.co.uk | 
