Our Story
Write, Print, Create is run by Emma and Duncan Pass. They are a writer and artist with a background in professional practice who have both won awards for their own work. Between them, they have over 20 years experience in facilitating workshops, and they've worked for all kinds of groups and organisations, including Derbyshire County Council, Derby City Council, arts charity People Express and Inspire Nottinghamshire Libraries, for whom they ran a project which was shortlisted for the 2018/19 Inspire Awards. You can view Emma's website here and Duncan's website here.
Image © Chesterfield Royal Hospital Charity 2019
Emma and Duncan
Emma and Duncan met at art college in Cornwall in 1999 and after graduating, moved to Derbyshire to pursue their dreams of becoming a writer (Emma) and a painter and printmaker (Duncan). They were also keen to work together in some way. At that stage, they weren't sure what form this might take – they just knew that it was something that, eventually, they wanted to do!
Emma had a day job as a library assistant and Duncan worked as a street cleaner, but in the evenings and at weekends they were hard at work on their own creative projects. Emma began writing for young adults, leading to the publication of two novels with Random House, and Duncan began exhibiting his work and building his own printing presses. They started taking one of the smaller presses, made out of a 1950s washing mangle, to fairs and events, where they found it was attracting a lot of interest.
By now, Emma was running writing workshops in schools and community settings, and Duncan had built several more printing presses out of larger industrial mangles. They realized that between them, they could offer a unique workshop experience combining their two disciplines, so Write, Print, Create was born and their dream of working together finally began to take shape.
Our Mission
At Write, Print, Create, we are passionate in our belief that the arts should be accessible to all, regardless of age, background, education or ability. We know from our own experiences that having a creative outlet is essential to basic wellbeing – and the statistics back this up! An evaluation of the Arts on Prescription project run by Arts and Minds found that participants experienced a 71% decrease in anxiety, a 73% decrease in depression, a 76% increase in feelings of wellbeing and a 69% increase in feelings of social inclusion. Isn't that amazing?
However, despite the proven benefits of taking part in creative activities, people can still face barriers which make it harder for them to engage with the arts. We want to work with others to break these barriers down and empower people by helping them find a voice through creative experimentation, expression and play. In Write, Print, Create's workshops, the process is just as important as the outcome - it's the taking part that really counts.
Emma had a day job as a library assistant and Duncan worked as a street cleaner, but in the evenings and at weekends they were hard at work on their own creative projects. Emma began writing for young adults, leading to the publication of two novels with Random House, and Duncan began exhibiting his work and building his own printing presses. They started taking one of the smaller presses, made out of a 1950s washing mangle, to fairs and events, where they found it was attracting a lot of interest.
By now, Emma was running writing workshops in schools and community settings, and Duncan had built several more printing presses out of larger industrial mangles. They realized that between them, they could offer a unique workshop experience combining their two disciplines, so Write, Print, Create was born and their dream of working together finally began to take shape.
Our Mission
At Write, Print, Create, we are passionate in our belief that the arts should be accessible to all, regardless of age, background, education or ability. We know from our own experiences that having a creative outlet is essential to basic wellbeing – and the statistics back this up! An evaluation of the Arts on Prescription project run by Arts and Minds found that participants experienced a 71% decrease in anxiety, a 73% decrease in depression, a 76% increase in feelings of wellbeing and a 69% increase in feelings of social inclusion. Isn't that amazing?
However, despite the proven benefits of taking part in creative activities, people can still face barriers which make it harder for them to engage with the arts. We want to work with others to break these barriers down and empower people by helping them find a voice through creative experimentation, expression and play. In Write, Print, Create's workshops, the process is just as important as the outcome - it's the taking part that really counts.