​Four New Work Commissions for 2025

As Little Cog and Full Circle develop and grow the Our Stomping Grounds Festival at ARC Stockton, based on incredible feedback from the past two years' festivals, we are delighted to announce four new work commissions taking place in the lead up to the Festival taking place on 25-27 November. The Festival  Planning Team were determined to create new and exciting collaborative arts opportunities, inviting disabled artists to work with members of the learning disabled neurodivergent community in Tees Valley. With the full involvement and consultation of the Festival  Planning team and our brilliant Creative Producer Ree Kirkbride, the following four incredible projects are now in place. 

How to Get Involved

Learning disabled people are welcome to get involved with these projects. The exhibition is slightly different and we have all the photo shoots lined up but you can take part in the Film-Poem, Freedom Song and Choir, and the Dance and Movement Piece for the Cabaret.

Please email us at [email protected] for more information about the projects. There are details below about when the workshops are taking place but booking is ESSENTIAL as places fill up very soon.  

​Place of Power Exhibition

​Place of Power is a bold exhibition of 20 portraits exemplifying leadership in the learning disabled neurodivergent community in the Tees Valley. The exhibition is full of surprises and outdated perceptions are firmly replaced with images of disabled people exerting agency over their own lives, being part of vibrant communities, and involved in a wide range of activities and employment. The portraits are of learning disabled neurodivergent artists, musicians, DJs, writers, actors, singers, all of whom are connected to the building of the Our Stomping Grounds Festival and the building of community. 

We are delighted to announce that internationally renowned photographer and musician Kev Howard is the Power of Place photographer. Kev has exhibited widely, with his exhibition d-FORMED being seen by over 30,000 people at the Dorman Museum, Middlesbrough in 2017. His social documentary and observational photography has reached global audiences for more than 15 years. He has photographed hundreds of poets, artists, bands and demonstrations in that time, including a photograph of the late legendary poet Benjamin Zephaniah appearing in The Independent. Kev has had work selected by MIMA for the prestigious Middlesbrough Collection, as well as being commissioned by them. He has been exhibited in New Zealand, Southwark Gallery and is currently has work in Glasgow School of Art, where he has previously been Artist in Residence. As a musician, Kev has performed in an Australian Rock Opera and at festivals in Holland, Germany, Belgium, and America. He has been a longstanding member of the disability arts and disability justice movements in the UK, championing equality and creating both provocative and celebratory iconic images of disabled people.

We are very excited to share that the Curator of Place of Power is Jamie Sample. Jamie is well known in the Teesside arts world as a musician and artist. Jamie is currently studying for an MA in Curating at Teesside University which has MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) on site. Jamie volunteers at MIMA and has exhibited his work during Middlesbrough Art Week. A guitarist and singer songwriter, Jamie is involved in a band called Brass Eyed Dragons and is a member of North East Opera. He is known for organising music events, promoting events, and supporting and contributing to culture in Tees Valley through the arts, and supporting charities and organisations working in this field.

Kev Howard

Jamie Sample

​Film-Poem

Spoken word and poetry is very popular with some of the learning disabled artists we work with, and of course words and our voices have power.  They wanted an opportunity to create something a bit different and more developed this year. So rather than working on individual poems - which they will also get the chance to do during the Festival - the idea was put forward to create a community poem on the theme of leadership and any interpretation of that concept, working with one of the region's most amazing poets! And then work with an incredible filmmaker to record the poem to enter into the Short, Short Film Festival at this year's festival! We are so excited to announce this piece of new work.

Lizzie Lovejoy is a Darlo born Poet, Performer and Picture-Maker. They've spent their life listening to people's words, and now Lizzie translates local narratives into creative works. Working across the North, from the Scottish Borders to the edge of Yorkshire, Lizzie's home is their inspiration because the North is a tale worth telling and contains so many stories worth hearing. Lizzie received the NE Artist of the Year Award 2023 and NWN Sid Chaplin Award 2025.

John Kirkbride is a filmmaker and editor based in the North East. Earlier this year he was selected by Film Hub North to be 1 of 4 directors on the Film Generator programme. In 2024, he was commissioned by Borderlands, Creative People and Places to create Haul Away, a 25 minute operatic film for North East Opera. John loves to play with the links between mundanity and absurdity and loves to celebrate the North East as somewhere extraordinary, spectacular and hilarious. 

Getting Involved - - you can be in this project if you are learning disabled - SORRY SOLD OUT
No experience is necessary as support is provided. ​
Writing workshops with Lizzie Lovejoy are on
Thursday 4 September 
Thursday 11 September.
Filming will take place in one day with John Kirkbride and that date will be at the end of September / early October. To be confirmed. 

Lizzie Lovejoy

John Kirkbride

​Freedom Song and Choir

The fabulous Beccy Owen has been commissioned to co-create a 'freedom song' with a group of learning disabled poets and lyricists, and to then welcome into the performance process the incredible SYSTEMIC Choir to prepare the song for its debut performance at this years festival. After the huge success of SYSTEMIC at the launch of our Festival Exhibition in 2024, the Festival Planning Team knew they wanted to be able to work with this incredible inclusive choir again. A unique element to this project is that Beccy will be at the festival with Systemic and the songwriters by the power of film so we will be having a live-digital synthesis of song.  Neither Beccy nor SYSTEMIC imagined their paths would cross again this year when the Choir chanced to ask Beccy to take their photograph one day as she left a rehearsal in ARC. And here we are coming Full Circle. 

Beccy Owen is a Welsh-born, South Shields-based songwriter, singer, musical director, and composer based in the North East of England. Over the last twenty years, Beccy has made a name for herself by releasing six solo albums, with her seventh due out this year. Her most recent record, 'CHAOTICA', was an eight song requiem to the loss and resilience involved in living with chronic health conditions, and over the past few years, her work has become focussed on creating music and sound that offers a restorative and restful portal for listeners. In fact, her forthcoming record is titled 'PORTAL'. Remaining staunchly independent, Beccy’s work as a creative and social artist has won critical acclaim in the media and amongst her vast numbers of underground supporters. She has been described as ‘a delinquent Carole King’ (NME) and by Music Week as ‘a fallen, aggrieved dark angel, and a very, very special talent’.
Beccy has been spreading joy and facilitating group singing for over two decades and regularly holds pop-up choir sessions across the land.  

SYSTEMIC , which is an acronym for “Sing Your Song True Equality Matters Inclusive Choir”, was formed by Tees Valley based community builder Elisha Lowther who is a pioneer championing intersectional inclusivity. The choir had a couple of visions in mind! Firstly it was to create the best little choir in the world, where inclusion and harmony are the benchmarks for success. It is absolutely free to attend and all are very welcome, even those who say they don’t sing . Secondly, they aim to achieve the dream of performing a Les Mis flash mob! After achieving the first objective, we are working on the second. 

Getting Involved - you can be in this project if you are learning disabled - SORRY SOLD OUT
No experience is necessary as support is provided. ​
Song writing workshops at ARC Stockton to create the Freedom Song are on
Weds 1 Oct 4-6pm
Weds 29 Oct 5.30-6.30pm 
Rehearsing the song with Beccy Owen and SYSTEMIC Inclusive Choir
Weds 5 Nov 5.30pm - 6.30pm
19th Nov 5.30pm - 6.30pm 

There will be two opportunities for a rehearsal before the festival but you do need to be available to perform at the festival on two occasions. One is on 25 November when you will help to open the festival that morning and then one other occasion to be confirmed. 

Beccy Owen

SYSTEMIC

Dynamic Dance and Movement

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We have worked with Urban Kaos a couple of times now, and they are Tees Valley icons of dance, movement and captivating communities, so it's fantastic to be able to create a slightly more involved piece of work. When the Festival Planning Team were first talking about all the possibilities for the festival, Urban Kaos were top of the list. We are so excited to announce that they are going to co-create a dance and movement piece on the theme of leadership for performance at the festival's Stomp Cabaret. This provides an opportunity for other learning disabled and learning disabled neurodivergent people to work with incredible professionals, develop their own artistic skills and perform in front of one of our beautiful audiences. 

URBAN KAOS are a North East based creative dance and performance company that aims to empower, excite and ignite the imaginations of all who cross paths with them.Their ethos is that dance is for everyone - regardless of age, gender, ability and socio-economic status and are so proud to say they now have 20 years experience of delivering dance workshops , creative projects, fitness and well being activities all over the North East and beyond. Community is at the heart of all that they do. Their energy and passion is the centre point of all of their work. Dance is love, growth, empowerment, freedom and above all… JOY. Urban Kaos celebrates all who dance with them.
We hope you enjoy the KAOS!

Getting Involved - you can be in this project if you are learning disabled - SORRY SOLD OUT
No experience is necessary as support is provided. 
Meet and Greet - Friday 26 September 10.00 -11.00 am
Workshops at ARC Stockton
Friday 10 October 10am - 12pm
Friday 17 October 10am - 12pm
Friday 24 October 10am - 12pm
Friday 31 October 10am - 12pm
Friday 7 November 10am - 12pm
​Rehearsal on stage to be confirmed
Performance Date - Thursday 27 November in the afternoon.
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