Traditional Arts Development CIC - A vision statement

There is a long history to our summer schools with various people and organisations contributing to their success.

In 2010, we decided to form a Community Interest Company. This company, Traditional Arts Development CIC, will be responsible for the organisation of the summer schools, but will provide a structure and platform for other projects.

Traditional Arts Development, or TRAD for short, seeks to promote an interest in traditional music education in the informal sector. This is education with a small ‘e’ – for traditional skills in any area are largely passed on from ‘master’ to ‘apprentice’ on a small scale - but it is education with a big impact. This is not textbook learning, this is hand to hand, ear to ear passing on of skills.

As an ‘enabling organisation’ TRAD will try to highlight and promote the work of individuals and organisations and encourage the sharing of ideas and experience. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to the encouragement of the passing on of traditions, but there are now plenty of examples of initiatives that have worked. We can see the results of work started by individuals a generation or more ago and, as far as the folk revival is concerned, we are well into the second or third wave of the legacy of these efforts.

‘TRAD’ will highlight and celebrate achievement – not just the high profile ones, but also the ‘voice of the people’, the unsung heroes who are the driving force behind these traditions.

‘TRAD’ is acutely aware of the importance of youth but fully appreciates the value of the older generation. One of its core concepts will be ‘the folk arts apprentice’. ‘TRAD’ will seek to enable this passing on of traditional skills working and helping to provide a network for individuals and organisations sharing similar aims.

‘TRAD’ will be an enabling organisation. Whilst it will initiate some pilot projects it will be our working partners who will be delivering the real achievements, working as they have always done but ‘stronger together’ with the resources that TRAD can develop.